Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is looking to rename the post office on N. George Mason Drive after Jesus Collazos, a beloved postal worker who died of the coronavirus.
Collazos left the poor neighborhood of his childhood, Barrio Obrero in Colombia, for the U.S. in the 1980s. He settled in Arlington with his wife, where he delivered mail for 25 years and they raised a family, the Washington Post reported last year. He was known for responding to letters to Santa Claus and for his friendly presence.
Arlington County is taking steps toward making virtual meeting participation a post-pandemic option for residents, staff and local officials.
“We are all trying to figure out what worked really well about virtual engagement and adapting it,” County Board Vice Chair Katie Cristol tells ARLnow.
The net number of new coronavirus cases reported in Arlington is hovering just above zero.
A net of five new cases have been reported over the past seven days, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. That includes the removal of an unspecified number of probable cases that ended up testing negative.
‘Walking Marine’ Walks Through Arlington — “Terry ‘The Walking Marine’ Sharpe has been walking through Arlington today and giving out toy soldiers to raise awareness of veteran suicide.” [Twitter]
Goldman Sachs Investing in Local Startup — “Arlington startup MotoRefi, whose platform aims to make refinancing car loans easier for consumers, is closing in on an eight-figure round involving a blue-chip investor. The company is poised to raise about $45 million in new funding, the lion’s share of which comes from Goldman Sachs, according to sources familiar with the deal.” [Washington Business Journal]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUIFx3ibZeY
(Updated at 9:30 p.m.) A man filmed children wearing masks at a local playground while accusing their parents of “child abuse.”
Arlington hasn’t just seen a drop in new coronavirus cases, it has seen its cumulative number of cases go backwards over the past few days.
On Friday, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported a total of 15,285 cases in Arlington over the course of the pandemic. Today, that same figure was 15,284, for a net negative number of new cases over that time span, according to VDH data.
Mary Kadera has received the endorsement of the Arlington County Democratic Committee, following a caucus that was conducted online for the first time.
Kadera, the vice president of the Arlington County Council of PTAs, will now advance to the Nov. 2 general election to determine who will fill a seat currently held by School Board Chair Monique O’Grady. The chair announced in January that she will not seek re-election.
The rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington has continued to drop to levels almost unimaginable just a few months ago.
As of Monday morning, a net 15 cases have been reported over the past seven days, or just over two per day. That’s the lowest weekly total since March 19, 2020, when testing was hard to come by and cases were likely severely undercounted.
Arlington Public Schools is apologizing for how it handled the news that it would have to restrict summer school eligibility.
At first, the school system expanded summer school eligibility to students with disabilities, English learners, and those struggling to achieve passing grades. That was until it turned out that there are not enough teachers to support them.
Last Monday, APS told parents and teachers that "despite having offered financial incentives to teachers to teach summer school, there are fewer applicants than the number of students who are eligible for summer instruction at the elementary level, making it impossible for APS to offer summer strengthening support to all eligible elementary students."
Teachers and parents decried the news, which dropped last Monday. Teachers said it sounded like they were being blamed for the reduction in eligible students. Arlington Parents for Education, a group that has pressed for a faster reopening, said APS "pulled the rug out" from under parents banking on summer school to help their kids recover from learning loss.
Bridget Loft, the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, apologized for the first sentence of her communication during a town hall on summer school last night (Monday). The sentence was also removed from the original announcement.
"It was poorly worded and did not accurately represent the fact that our teachers have worked tirelessly to support our students throughout this school year," she said.
One teacher who spoke with ARLnow said a similar retraction was sent to teachers but noted that the apology was not shared with the larger community.
"In a time when every teacher is truly learning how to do something new daily, it was seen as if teachers were thrown under the bus," the teacher said.
APS offered a $1,000 bonus for certified teachers and a $500 bonus for support staff to attract more personnel to participate in the summer program. But after a challenging year, that incentive did not produce the response APS was hoping for.
"I did not hear from a single teacher who said that the $1,000 was enough to sway those who were uninterested in summer school off the sidelines," the teacher said. "For those who were going to do it anyway, it was a nice perk."
This is a phenomenon happening across the nation. Education Week reports that throughout the U.S., school districts face staffing shortages because teachers have worked nonstop during the pandemic and need a break.
"Summer school staffing always seems like challenge and the pandemic makes it much worse," the APS teacher said. "The best word to describe most teachers is 'done' for this year. Most want to start fresh in the fall."
Loft repeated those sentiments during the town hall.
"Most of our teachers have given their all," she said. "I would be loath to say it's burnout: They are human they need time to rest and recharge."
More than 5,000 elementary-level students were identified as potentially eligible for summer school this year, but APS only has enough staff to enroll some 1,900 students, Loft said. Now, the school system is drumming up supplemental materials and at-home lessons for about 3,000 previously identified students.
In a normal year, between 2,000 and 2,500 elementary-age students are identified for summer school.
APS has hired 175 summer school teachers for the elementary level and is still hashing out eligibility and staffing at the middle and high school levels, staff said.
So what will summer school actually look like?
The elementary students who are still eligible will be in-person or online five days a week, for four hours a day, during the month of July. They include rising kindergarteners in APS's Pre-K program, certain students with disabilities, English-language learning students, and those with the lowest levels of English proficiency.
The rest will have access to self-guided lessons taught by state-certified teachers and supplemental programs through their electronic devices, Loft said.
As for the middle and high school level, Director of Secondary Education Tyrone Byrd projects having enough staff.
"Right now, we're envisioning we'll be able to support students who sign up," he said.
Image via Arlington Public Schools
(Updated at noon) For the second time since March 2020, no new coronavirus cases were reported in Arlington County over the past 24 hours.
The county’s cumulative case count remained at 15,272 this morning, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The last time there were zero new cases in a given day was in July 2020, during last summer’s lull.
(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) The rate of new coronavirus cases in Arlington has hit another low — the lowest point, in fact, since around the start of the pandemic.
As of Sunday, the trailing seven-day rate of new cases was 38, according to Virginia Dept. of Health data. The last time the one-week total of COVID-19 cases in Arlington was that low was March 26, 2020, when tests were hard to come by and cases were almost certainly being undercounted.
Virginians who are fully vaccinated can ditch their masks for most indoor and outdoor situations effective tonight at midnight, Gov. Ralph Northam announced this afternoon (Friday).
He also moved up the end date for all distancing and capacity restrictions to Friday, May 28. Virginia was already preparing to ease some restrictions tomorrow (Saturday), but as of today, all distancing and capacity restrictions will end on Friday, May 28 — two weeks earlier than planned.
