Arlington Public Schools | ARLnow.com

Published December 1, 2020 at 1:00PM | Updated December 1, 2020 at 1:29PM

Bags of produce await distribution through FRESHFARM's Pop Up Food Hub (Photo courtesy FRESHFARM)

(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) The Arlington County Council of PTAs is collecting money through Friday to buy fresh produce for families in need, with help from a local farmers market operator.

Through the initiative — part of the council’s pandemic relief efforts — the CCPTA is partnering with FRESHFARM Markets to provide fresh food to about 900 families who have been receiving food through seven PTA and school-based distribution sites. Fundraising will go until Dec. 4, with an extra push today (Dec. 1) for Giving Tuesday.

Schools

History of Integration Animates the New Dorothy Hamm Middle School

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 25, 2020 at 3:45PM

On the wall of the ground floor of the extension is a mural of the first four Black students to integrate Dorothy Hamm Middle School in 1959 (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

A giant photograph of four Black children who made history in Arlington was just installed in the new wing of Dorothy Hamm Middle School (4100 Vacation Lane), which is close to being completed.

The mural honors Ronald Deskins, Michael Jones, Lance Newman and Gloria Thompson, who set foot in Stratford Junior High School on Feb. 2, 1959, officially ending the practice of segregation in Arlington Public Schools.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 25, 2020 at 7:30AM | Updated November 25, 2020 at 8:36AM

Thanksgiving County Closures — “Arlington County Government offices, courts, libraries & facilities will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26 & Friday, Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving. Courts will close Wednesday Nov. 26 at noon… Metered Parking: Not enforced on Thurs. Nov. 26 or Fri., Nov. 27.” [Arlington County]

Development Plan for Silver Diner Site — “The Donohoe Cos. is targeting Clarendon’s Silver Diner for a major redevelopment. The company has yet to file specific plans with Arlington County for the triangular parcel at 3200 Wilson Blvd., a block from the Clarendon Metro station, but it has outlined a mixed-use vision for the newly dubbed ‘Bingham Center’ on a project page on its website. Specifically, the developer envisions 286 apartments, a 224-room hotel, 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, a public park and ‘a new public street designed with the principals of a woonerf (a curbless pedestrian-friendly street).'” [Washington Business Journal]

News

County Seeks Diverse Voices on Race, But So Far It’s Mostly White Women

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 24, 2020 at 3:30PM | Updated December 2, 2020 at 10:28AM

Scenes from a protest and march from Shirlington to Ballston to honor George Floyd (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 10:30 a.m. on 12/02/20) Arlington is seeking diverse voices in its Dialogues on Race and Equity, but so far the biggest group of respondents have been middle-aged white women who are relatively affluent.

Arlington County Chief Race and Equity Officer Samia Byrd and Challenging Racism Director Alicia Jones McLeod, who are promoting a new questionnaire on the topic of race, see this as a sign to keep pushing for broader participation.

Schools

Pilot Program Brings Some Students to Wakefield High School

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 19, 2020 at 11:55AM

Wakefield High School's pilot day-long study area (Photo courtesy APS)

Wakefield High School has opened its doors to a handful of students in search of better internet connectivity, a quiet place to study or a trip out of the house.

From 8 a.m.-3 p.m., up to 30 students can study at socially distanced work stations in the school’s vaulted atrium, featuring a glass wall that overlooks a courtyard. In the space, students can study without the distractions or demands of family life and they have access to technicians if their computers break.

Schools

UPDATED: George Floyd Reference in Science Question Prompts Controversy at H-B Woodlawn

By ARLnow.com

Published November 18, 2020 at 2:55PM | Updated November 19, 2020 at 10:40AM

(Updated at 10:40 a.m.) A fill-in-the-blank question during a science class at H-B Woodlawn has caused an uproar.

The chemistry question, asked Tuesday during what ARLnow is told was a 10th grade class, references the police killing of George Floyd.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 18, 2020 at 7:30AM

A landscaping crew blows leaves from an apartment complex in Westover (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Streetcar Anniversary — Today is the sixth anniversary of the cancellation of the Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar project. [ARLnow]

APS Still Planning for In-Person School — “Some have asked why we are proceeding at this time given the latest health metrics. It is important that we gather the information schools need to plan now, so that they have the time to prepare for possible transitions in January. Delaying the process would mean that we would not be ready to open our schools for more students, should we determine it is safe enough to do so.” [Arlington Public Schools]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 16, 2020 at 6:00AM

Arlington trees on a clear day (file photo)

Crystal City Development Approved — “The Arlington County Board today approved JBG Smith’s plan to develop Crystal Gateway, a nine-story office building with ground-floor retail, at 101 12th Street S. in Crystal City. Community benefits associated with the project include the developer conveying 54,500 sq. ft. of land for Gateway Park, which will connect Long Bridge Park to Crystal City.” [Arlington County]

Teacher Groups Banding Together — “Representatives from teacher associations in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Manassas Park will host a news conference Monday urging a return to virtual-only learning. In a statement Sunday evening, the Fairfax Education Association said it ‘stands with our colleagues from the Northern Virginia region to ask the Governor to return the Commonwealth to a full Phase II of the reopening plan and to recommend that our schools return to a fully virtual method of instruction.'” [InsideNova]

Schools

APS Staff Worried About Unsafe Conditions As Some Students Return

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 12, 2020 at 3:55PM | Updated November 12, 2020 at 4:40PM

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Even a limited return to classrooms has some Arlington Public Schools employees worried, amid questions about safety protocols and the benefit of the in-person activity.

Thirty-three schools opened their doors last week for students with disabilities, as part of “Level One” of the return-to-classrooms plan. Classroom assistants are helping the students to participate in distance learning activities, within school buildings, while teachers remain remote.

Schools

APS Changes Course, Will Participate in Winter Sports

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 10, 2020 at 5:15PM

A high school swimming competition in 2014 (file photo)

Arlington Public Schools will proceed with all but two winter sports, with some modifications, after talks with staff and neighboring school systems.

Swimming and diving, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, rifle and dance will proceed, but not wrestling — given the close contact that wrestlers engage in — or winter cheer, since competitive cheer can be offered outside later in the year, Superintendent Francisco Durán said in an email to families.

News

Superintendent Proposes Scaled-Down Set of Elementary Boundary Changes

By Jo DeVoe

Published November 9, 2020 at 3:45PM | Updated November 10, 2020 at 7:35AM

The latest Arlington Public Schools elementary boundary process earned some public plaudits, a relative rarity, after the number of students who would have been assigned to new schools was cut nearly in half.

The superintendent’s recommended plan makes enough changes to accommodate the new Reed and Key elementary schools, which open in the fall of 2021. Twenty-two planning units, or about 800 students, will be reassigned among Arlington Science Focus School, the Key school site, and Ashlawn, McKinley, Taylor and Tuckahoe schools. The move increases the number of students who can walk to school by 600.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 9, 2020 at 6:00AM | Updated November 9, 2020 at 8:53AM

Arlington, MoCo Hire Consultant — “Montgomery and Arlington counties have hired a consultant to develop alternatives to the flight paths at Reagan National Airport that have led to dramatic increases in noise complaints from residents across the region. ‘This will be a game changer,; said Ken Hartman… Montgomery County’s point person on the airplane noise issue.” [Washington Post]

Biden Breaks 100K Mark in Arlington — “It likely won’t be the highlight of his political career, but Joe Biden will go down in history as the first presidential candidate to win more than 100,000 votes in Arlington. Biden garnered 102,510 of them, according to unofficial tallies reported immediately after the election… Trump’s performance, both in total votes and in percentage of the vote, slightly outperformed his 2016 tally in Arlington.” [InsideNova]