Arlington Public Schools | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published February 24, 2017 at 9:45AM

Superintendent Presents Proposed Budget — Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy presented his proposed, $617 million budget to the School Board last night. The budget includes $9.2 million for student enrollment growth and $8.7 million for teacher and staff pay increases. [Arlington Public Schools]

Wakefield Girls Advance to Regional Finals — With a semifinal win in Leesburg, the Wakefield High School girls basketball team has advanced to a regional championship game for the first time in the program’s history. They will play defending champs Edison tomorrow (Saturday) at Edison. The boys team, meanwhile, lost in the regional semifinals; both teams will also advance to the state tournament. [InsideNova, Facebook]

Schools

The Children’s School Plots Move, Possibly Parting Ways With Integration Station

By Tim Regan

Published February 17, 2017 at 11:00AM | Updated February 17, 2017 at 11:35AM

The Children's School's current home in Ballston (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) A co-op child care center for Arlington Public School employees has plans to move to a new space in Ballston, possibly splitting it up from a special needs program it has long integrated with.

The Children’s School’s board of directors this week signed a letter of intent to relocate its program to 4420 N. Fairfax Drive for the 2017-2018 school year.

Schools

APS Considering Locations for New High School

By Tim Regan

Published February 15, 2017 at 4:55PM

Tier two: Reed site in Westover

Arlington County’s new public high school could end up at one of nine proposed sites.

Arlington Public Schools is scheduled to hold a joint meeting with its Advisory Committee on Instruction (ACI) and Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital (FAC) programs tonight (Wednesday) to share options in consideration for the new school. The meeting, to be held at the Syphax Center at 7 p.m., is part of a four-month process to determine the instructional focus of the school.

Schools

Yorktown Principal’s Letter Regarding Sign Issue

By ARLnow.com

Published February 14, 2017 at 5:45PM

While the “Patriots Know” signs remain up in classrooms, according to an Arlington Public Schools spokesman, Pasi apologized for the “distress” the issue — which has received national attention from conservative media — may have caused.

“We sincerely regret any distress this may have caused our students, parents or anyone in the Yorktown community,” Pasi wrote. “We want our focus to continue to be instruction, while at the same time providing a safe and supportive environment for discussion, consistent with the YHS and APS mission, vision and core values.”

Schools

FCC Commissioner Questions APS Backup Fiber System Plan

By ARLnow.com

Published February 13, 2017 at 4:15PM

Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican appointed by President Obama, says the APS plan, first reported by ARLnow.com, is an example of wasteful “overbuilding” under the federal E-rate program.

E-rate is funded via Universal Service Fund fees and is intended to make “telecommunications and information services more affordable for schools and libraries in America.”

Schools

Glebe Elementary Closed Due to Power Outage

By ARLnow.com

Published February 13, 2017 at 11:30AM

Glebe Elementary students were bused to Washington-Lee High School this morning after a power outage closed the school.

The school sent the following letter to families.

Schools

APS Beginning Planning Process for New High School

By ARLnow.com

Published February 10, 2017 at 10:00AM

That’s according to the Arlington Public Schools website, which details a planning process that will soon be kicking off for the new school.

A four-month process is planned to determine the instructional focus of the school, concluding in June with a staff recommendation to the School Board. Via APS:

Schools

APS Contemplates Federal Education Policy Under DeVos

By ARLnow.com

Published February 8, 2017 at 10:10AM | Updated February 13, 2024 at 11:34AM

Following an unprecedented tie-breaking vote from Vice President Pence, the country’s new Secretary of Education was confirmed Tuesday, 51-50.

Betsy DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist from Michigan, was the Trump administration cabinet pick who garnered the most stout resistance from Democrats. Opponents worry that she will support private K-12 schools and voucher programs at the expense of public education. That even pulled two Republicans over to vote “no” alongside all 48 senate Democrats.

Schools

Parents Wary of Plan That Could Separate APS Daycare, Special Needs Program

By Tim Regan

Published February 3, 2017 at 2:30PM

Westover/Reed building (photo via Google Maps)

A plan to build a new educational facility at the Reed School in Westover has some parents worried for the future of a daycare and special needs program there.

Last year, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy announced a renovation project to create a new 725-seat elementary school at the site of the Reed School building in Westover.

Schools

APS Reviewing High School Enrollment Projections

By ARLnow.com

Published February 2, 2017 at 11:35AM

Arlington Public Schools has hired a consultant to review its high school enrollment projections.

The consultant, Dr. Richard Grip, previously worked on the Arlington Community Facilities study. He will be studying the way APS projected enrollment during its recent high school boundary change process.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 24, 2017 at 9:00AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 11:09AM

Wardian Dominating Global Marathon Event — Arlington resident and running superhero Michael Wardian has won the first two races in the World Marathon Challenge. Wardian, 42, posted a time of 2:54:54 in Antarctica, the fastest marathon ever run on the continent, and a time of 2:45:42 this morning in Punta Arenas, the South American leg of the seven day, seven continent and seven marathon event. Wardian is trying to break the event’s record average race time of 3:32:25. [Facebook, Twitter, Washington Post, Runner’s World]

APS Projected to Keep Growing — Arlington Public Schools is bursting at the seams, building new schools to keep up with rising enrollment — and that enrollment is expected to keep growing over the next decade. According to projections presented at a School Board meeting last week, the APS student body is expected to rise from around 27,000 now to 32,500 by the fall of 2026. In terms of per-student costs, the added 5,500 students could add more than $100 million to the school system’s current $600 million annual budget. [InsideNova]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 12, 2017 at 9:00AM | Updated January 12, 2017 at 9:20AM

Williamsburg to Implement Block Scheduling — Williamsburg Middle School will, in fact, be implementing a block schedule for classes next year, an Arlington Public Schools spokeswoman tells ARLnow.com. While Kenmore has a modified block schedule for sixth grade, and Gunston is “exploring moving to a flexible schedule for next year,” Jefferson and Swanson are not considering moving to a block schedule, we’re told.

Home Prices Decline in Arlington in 2016 — Per WTOP’s Jeff Clabaugh and listing service MRIS: “The median price in Arlington County last year was down 1.8 percent from 2015. Arlington and Alexandria were the only local jurisdictions to see declines in 2016 prices versus 2015.” [WTOP]