Arlington Public Schools | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published May 8, 2019 at 8:30AM | Updated May 8, 2019 at 10:11AM

Ride Hailing ‘Strike’ Today — “Getting an Uber or a Lyft may be impossible — or take longer and cost more — Wednesday when drivers for both companies plan to strike in major U.S. cities to protest what they say are unfair wages and poor working conditions.” [Washington Post]

APS Poaching Fairfax Teachers — From a candidate for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors: “Today I met a veteran teacher who is leaving FCPS because Arlington County will pay her $12,000 more annually. Meanwhile, all I hear about is how we are fully funding our schools. We still have some catching up to do Fairfax County.” [Twitter]

Schools

W-L Alum Offers $1,000 for Essay Opposing School Renaming

By Airey

Published May 2, 2019 at 10:00AM

The Sun Gazette ran a mysterious ad in this week’s paper, offering W-L students who write an essay about “why my school should be named Washington-Lee” the chance to “win $1,000 cash.”

The ad did not specify who was running the contest, and only said submissions to be sent to [email protected]. When contacted, a man identifying himself as Tom Hafer of McLean responded and said he was organizing the contest.

News

ACPD’s 2018 Crime Report Reveals Falling Crime Rates, Except Drunkenness

By Airey

Published April 30, 2019 at 3:35PM | Updated February 28, 2020 at 10:49AM

Arlington police car (file photo)

(Updated at 5:45 p.m.) Arlington County’s crime rates have continued to fall for seventh straight year, with a few exceptions, according to a new report from the police department.

The new data comes from ACPD’s annual crime report which the department released today (Tuesday). The 37-page document reports falling crime rates between 2017 and 2018 for many offenses, including burglary, kidnapping, assault, embezzlement, prostitution, and forcible sexual assault.

Schools

JUST IN: APS Informs Parents of Limited Data Breach

By ARLnow.com

Published April 26, 2019 at 11:35AM | Updated April 26, 2019 at 7:32PM

(Updated at 7:30 p.m.) An “error” in the data inputted to the college readiness system used by Arlington Public Schools may have exposed the name, address, grade point average and college entrance exam scores of nearly two dozen students to an unrelated parent.

Superintendent Patrick Murphy was sending a message, below, to all secondary (grades 6-12) families Friday morning informing them of the breach, an APS spokesman told ARLnow.

Schools

School Board Approves $670 Million Proposed Budget with $6 Million Gap

By Airey

Published April 12, 2019 at 3:45PM

The Arlington School Board has advanced a $669,314,705 million proposed budget — a budget that features a gap of over $6 million.

The Board voted 4-0 to approve its proposal for the school system’s next fiscal year budget. One member, Barbara Kanninen, abstained. Final budget approval is set for May.

Schools

Amazon to Give $10,000 Grants to Four Arlington Schools

By Airey

Published April 12, 2019 at 11:20AM

Amazon is planning to award four Arlington schools with a $10,000 grant for robotics programs.

Abingdon, Hoffman-Boston and Drew elementary schools, along with Kenmore Middle School, have been selected for the grant along with 96 other schools nationwide, according to the statement released this morning.

News

County Officials Announce Plans to Tackle Health Inequalities

By Airey

Published April 11, 2019 at 10:45AM | Updated September 23, 2020 at 11:23AM

(Updated 17/04/18) Arlington County officials are calling for action on health disparities among residents in two new reports released this week.

Schools

Kenmore Middle School To Be Honored Next Week for Special Needs Inclusion

By Airey

Published April 3, 2019 at 1:35PM

Next week, Kenmore Middle School will be recognized as one of the country’s top five schools for including special needs students in its community.

The Special Olympics selected Kenmore last fall and will present the Unified Champion Schools National Recognition Program award next Friday, April 12, from 1-2 p.m. at the middle school.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 2, 2019 at 7:45AM | Updated April 2, 2019 at 8:40AM

Clerk’s Office Stressed By Extra Work — “Increasing amounts of paperwork – whether of the hard-copy or electronic variety – are putting the squeeze on the staff of Arlington’s clerk of the Circuit Court.” [InsideNova]

Amazon Aiming for Net-Zero HQ2? — “Amazon seems to be eyeing the possibility of constructing ‘net-zero energy’ buildings when it readies its new offices in Pentagon City and Crystal City, and raised the issue repeatedly in negotiations with county officials.” [Washington Business Journal]

Schools

Study: APS Technology Initiative Gets High Marks from Students, But Remains Polarizing for Parents

By Airey

Published April 1, 2019 at 10:15AM | Updated April 1, 2019 at 12:47PM

Apple iPad (file photo)

A new study indicates most Arlington Public Schools staff and students find personal electronic devices helpful in the classroom, but School Board members say questions remain about an initiative to give iPads and laptops to students.

Dr. Shaun B. Kellogg of the Friday Institute of NC State University, which conducted the “1:1 Digital Device Initiative Study,” said teachers and students surveyed were “generally pretty positive” about devices, but that “parents who completed the survey were clearly more skeptical of the benefits.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 1, 2019 at 7:30AM

Cherry blossoms with Rosslyn in the background (photo courtesy Craig Fingar)

School Board Budget Quarrel — “Despite being blasted by colleagues for circumventing established procedures and potentially poisoning a well of goodwill, a majority of School Board members on March 28 voted to direct their chairman to tell County Board members the school system couldn’t take any further budget cuts.” [InsideNova]

Arlington Tech Succeeding in Engaging Girls — The Arlington Tech high school program “applicant pool for the 2019-20 school year has an almost equal breakdown when it comes to gender. As far as reflecting the county’s racial diversity, this public school program, which accepts students based on a blind lottery, is within a few percentage points.” [Technically DC]

Around Town

Photos: H-B Woodlawn’s Future Home Under Construction

By ARLnow.com

Published March 28, 2019 at 9:20AM

The Heights Building (the future home of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program) under construction at the Wilson site in Rosslyn

Construction is proceeding as planned on The Heights Building, the name of the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program’s new home at the former Wilson School site in Rosslyn.

Located at 1601 Wilson Blvd, The Heights Building will include an estimated 775 seats for students, at a cost of around $100 million. The Leo A. Daly– and BIG-designed building, with its unique stacked-rectangle design, will house both H-B Woodlawn and the Stratford Program.