Arlington Public Schools | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published July 3, 2019 at 7:30AM

Kayakers in the Potomac near Rosslyn and the future Arlington boathouse (Flickr pool photo by Lisa Novak)

Incubator Leaving Crystal City — “Startup incubator 1776 plans to open its new D.C. location this year and will ultimately shut down its Crystal City location. 1776 spokesman Lucas McCanna said the company will relocate to ‘the general McPherson Square area,’ but declined to give a specific address.” [Washington Business Journal]

AAA: Worst Times for Independence Day Travel — “Holiday travelers hailing from the area will face absolute gridlock along key freeway segments starting [today], July 3. Topping the list of the worst corridors for those departing Wednesday, July 3, is Interstate 270 northbound.” [Press Release]

Opinion

The Right Note: School Board Needs to Get Serious

By Mark Kelly

Published July 2, 2019 at 3:00PM

It is a big summer for Arlington Public Schools. It started with the June 12th announcement that Superintendent Patrick Murphy is leaving his post September 3rd after a decade at the helm.

Yet, according to incoming School Board Chair Tannia Talento, the search for his replacement still has not begun, nor have they named an interim superintendent who can be an active part of the transition. Talento noted the School Board plans to hire an executive search firm, but has not done so yet. In fact, Talento says the search firm may not be in place until sometime in the fall.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 2, 2019 at 7:30AM

Talento Selected as School Board Chair — “The Arlington School Board held its annual organizational meeting for the 2019-20 school year and elected Tannia Talento as Chair and Monique O’Grady as Vice Chair. The terms for the new Chair and Vice Chair begin immediately and will continue until June 30, 2020.” [Arlington Public Schools]

Which Amazon Units Are Coming to HQ2 — “We’re still a pretty long way from knowing what the estimated 25,000 workers at Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters will do, but a top company executive has named three units that will be represented in Arlington: Alexa, Amazon Web Services and Amazon’s consumer division.” [Washington Business Journal]

Opinion

Progressive Voice: Let’s Keep All Arlington Kids Healthy This Summer

By Progressive Voice

Published July 1, 2019 at 3:00PM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:23AM

By Sheila Fleischhacker

It’s unthinkable any child goes hungry or experiences “summertime anxiety,” which is associated with summer’s unstructured nature and is marked by the lack of predictability in what each day is going to look like or, for some children, whether there will be enough to eat.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 25, 2019 at 7:30AM | Updated June 25, 2019 at 8:46AM

Overturned Vehicle on GW Parkway — “The northbound George Washington Parkway was closed [past Key Bridge] during Tuesday morning’s rush hour after a vehicle overturned, authorities said… The southbound side of the parkway was also affected.” [Washington Post]

Transgender Policy Discussion at School Board Meeting — “Students, parents and advocates packed the [Arlington school] board meeting to loudly back [a transgender non-discrimination] plan, waving miniature LGBT and transgender pride flags to signal agreement with the nearly three dozen speakers who proclaimed support… Supporters on Tuesday vastly outnumbered those who turned out to protest the plans.” [Washington Post]

Schools

APS Teacher Honored After Saving Choking Student

By Airey

Published June 24, 2019 at 10:15AM

APS teacher given a Citizens Award for saving a student from choking (Image via APS)

An Arlington teacher received a Citizens Award after saving third-grade student Grant, who was choking during lunch.

The Arlington County Fire Department and Arlington Public Schools recognized Jamestown Elementary teacher Jaimie Sapp last week after Grant’s father Roger had contacted the department to say how impressed he was by her quick actions.

Schools

School Board: Search for New Superintendent Will Begin Soon

By ARLnow.com

Published June 19, 2019 at 4:30PM

Arlington’s School Board says it will soon announce plans to “seek a superintendent who is an exceptional leader and educator.”

School Board Chair Reid Goldstein issued a statement this morning following last week’s surprise announcement that Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy was retiring. In the statement, Goldstein thanks Murphy “for his commitment to student success in Arlington over the past decade” and says plans to find his replacement are in the works.

Opinion

Peter’s Take: Support APS Implementation Plan to Prevent Discrimination Based on Gender Identity

By Peter Rousselot

Published June 19, 2019 at 2:30PM

As ARLnow.com previously reported in 2015, the Arlington School Board unanimously amended its non-discrimination policy to add gender identity as a protected category.

The current version of that APS policy (J-2) is here.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 19, 2019 at 7:30AM

Last Week of School — The 2018-2019 school year is concluding this week for Arlington Public Schools. Today is the last day of school for high schools, while Friday is the last day of school for middle and elementary schools. [Arlington Public Schools]

Park Service Advances Boathouse Plan — “Plans to establish a community boathouse on the Potomac River in Arlington just passed a major milestone. The National Park Service completed its Environmental Assessment (EA) with a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which sets up the project to move forward.” [Arlington County, Twitter]

Schools

Stratford Program Soon to be Renamed After Special Olympics Founder

By Airey

Published June 18, 2019 at 4:30PM

Starting next month, Arlington Public Schools’ Stratford Program will be officially renamed the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Program.

The secondary school program is for students with special needs. A seven-member renaming committee of teachers, parents, and students decided to rename the program after Eunice Shriver Kennedy, founder of the Special Olympics and long-time activist for people with intellectual and physical disabilities.

Schools

County Board Eases Classroom Trailer Approval Process

By Airey

Published June 17, 2019 at 4:45PM

The Arlington County Board has approved zoning changes to make it easier for county schools to add temporary trailers to school grounds.

After a brief discussion, Board members voted unanimously on Saturday (June 15) to allow Arlington Public Schools administrators to add so-called “relocatable structures” to schools without needing to go through the county’s lengthy use permit amendment process.

Schools

JUST IN: APS Superintendent Murphy Announces September Retirement

By Michael O'Connell

Published June 14, 2019 at 4:30PM | Updated June 17, 2019 at 2:00PM

(Updated 6/15/19) Dr. Patrick K. Murphy announced today that he would be retiring as superintendent of Arlington Public Schools effective Sept. 3.

Murphy, who has been APS superintendent since July 1, 2009, notified the School Board of his decision in a June 12 letter.