A local advocacy group is pressing Arlington Public Schools’ leaders to have students in class five days per week on a more frequent basis.
“APS’ own attendance policy highlights that ‘missing just two days a month can negatively impact learning,’ yet the district’s calendars routinely miss multiple days of instruction per month,” Arlington Parents for Education (APE) said in a recent newsletter.
Departing School Board member Mary Kadera is taking a different approach to assessing her four years in office.
Elected officials preparing to leave office often begin their end-of-term speeches rattling off a litany of real or perceived successes. But Kadera prefaced her comments at the Dec. 18 School Board meeting — her last after four years in office — by noting a series of regrets.
An LGBTQ+ advocacy group is calling for Arlington Public Schools to take a more aggressive stance in support of transgender students.
Equality Arlington released a letter this week urging the school system to “stand up for the rights of transgender athletes and oppose all discriminatory policies from whatever source they come.”
Debate over gendered spaces in Arlington Public Schools has erupted following the arrest of a sex offender accused of exposing themselves in multiple girls’ locker rooms.
The school system is tightening security measures at its pools in response to Richard Kenneth Cox reportedly loitering while naked around women and girls after hours on APS property.
Arlington Public Schools leaders are trying to ensure families continue to feel safe following immigration enforcement changes under President Donald Trump.
The school system has rolled out additional trainings for school administrators and staff and launched a new webpage with immigration resources for families, Superintendent Francisco Durán announced yesterday (Thursday).
Stressful relations with former colleagues and the challenges of spring campaigning are among the reasons the Arlington School Board’s chair says she isn’t seeking another term.
“If I didn’t love the work so much, then the toxicity aimed at me, personally, from some of my former colleagues would have driven me out the door already,” Kadera told members of the Arlington County Democratic Committee on Wednesday (Dec. 8) as she announced she won’t be running for re-election this year.
Mary Kadera says she’s had a change of heart about the Arlington’s Democratic party’s School Board endorsement caucus, which helped her to land a School Board seat.
Kadera, who said she initially voted to keep the process after careful study, wrote in a blog post on Monday that it’s time to listen to dissenting voices and try something else.
Kadera Concerned By Test Score Drop — “Give Democratic School Board endorsee Mary Kadera credit for recognizing the elephant in the room. At the Sept. 8 Arlington Committee of 100 campaign forum, Kadera acknowledged the massive drops in scores on state Standards of Learning exams (SOLs) as Arlington students were locked at home over the past school year. And, she said, steps need to be taken to get back on track.” [Sun Gazette]
Ruthie’s Makes National ‘Gem’ List — Arlington Heights restaurant Ruthie’s All Day has made “OpenTable’s 100 Best Neighborhood Gems in America for 2021” list. The southern-inspired restaurant will soon be celebrating its one-year anniversary. [OpenTable, Restaurant News]
