School Board | ARLnow.com

Published June 7, 2018 at 4:15PM

A protest of the School Board's Career Center plans at a May 17 meeting (courtesy of Kristi Sawert)

A group of parents who could someday send their kids to a new high school program at the Arlington Career Center remain frustrated by the school system’s plans for the site, and they’re planning a new effort to make their voices heard.

Concerned parents, largely hailing from the Arlington Heights neighborhood around Columbia Pike, are banding together to form a new nonprofit called “Citizens for Arlington School Equality.” The organization, which will lobby the School Board to include a broader range of amenities at the school site, is planning to kick off its efforts with a march from Patrick Henry Elementary School to the Board’s meeting tonight (June 7) at the Syphax Education Center (2110 Washington Blvd), with a rally to follow.

Schools

School Board Looking for County Help on New Construction, But Funding Squeeze Complicates Debate

By Alex Koma

Published June 1, 2018 at 3:45PM | Updated June 1, 2018 at 4:40PM

A joint meeting of the County Board and School Board on May 29. (photo via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Arlington school leaders believe they’ll need plenty of help from the County Board to build enough schools to keep pace with a rapidly growing student body over the next decade — but the county’s own financial pressures will likely limit just how much it can lend a hand.

The School Board and County Board convened for a joint meeting on Tuesday (May 29) as officials pull together their respective capital improvement plans, documents outlining construction spending over the next 10 years, in order to better coordinate the process.

News

School Board Moves Closer to Renaming W-L High School Under Proposed Policy Change

By Alex Koma

Published June 1, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated June 1, 2018 at 3:27PM

The Board has been mulling the possibility of stripping Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s name from the school ever since last summer’s violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville sparked a national conversation about Confederate symbols, but members asked school system staff to develop a more detailed policy framework to guide the naming of all buildings first.

Arlington Public Schools officials delivered that proposed change to the Board last night, and members are now set to take action on it by this coming Thursday (June 7).

Schools

School Board Nears Agreement on Plan to Add Some, But Not All, Amenities to Career Center Site

By Alex Koma

Published May 25, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated May 25, 2018 at 1:47PM

(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) The Arlington School Board is nearing consensus on a plan to build 1,050 new seats for high schoolers at the county’s Career Center by 2024, with some, but not all, of the features community members want to see at the site.

At a May 22 work session, the Board expressed broad agreement on changes to Superintendent Patrick Murphy’s proposed 10-year construction plan, known as the capital improvement plan. School leaders have yet to finalize these decisions, but Board members signaled an increased willingness to embrace a plan that costs roughly $64 million more than the one Murphy proposed.

Schools

School Board Weighs Options to Beef Up Amenities for Career Center High School Plan

By Alex Koma

Published May 18, 2018 at 1:45PM | Updated May 18, 2018 at 2:13PM

Arlington Public Schools is set to add seats for 850 high schoolers by 2021, but the key question for school leaders now is how, exactly, that construction might proceed.

The School Board is gearing up to award a $2.4 million contract for design work at the “Education Center” site adjacent to Washington-Lee High School (1426 N. Quincy Street), where the school system has planned to add space for up to 600 high school students three years from now. Rather than building a fourth comprehensive high school, the Board agreed last summer on a plan to split new seats between the Education Center and the Arlington Career Center just off Columbia Pike (816 S. Walter Reed Drive).

Schools

Parents, Students Speak Out About APS Plan To Phase Out Japanese and German Language Classes

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published May 7, 2018 at 9:45AM | Updated May 7, 2018 at 10:39AM

Arlington Public Schools will not offer high school students beginner’s level Japanese and German classes this fall, and some parents and students are speaking out about it.

Much of the loudest advocacy has been geared toward supporting up the Japanese classes. Public comments after a world languages presentation at last week’s School Board meeting (May 3) focused on the ways that the Japanese classes have made an impact on students.

Schools

School Board Avoids Class Size Increases in New Budget, But Warns of Trouble Ahead

By Alex Koma

Published May 4, 2018 at 3:45PM

The Arlington School Board managed to avoid class size increases in its new budget, but the county’s worsening financial outlook has school leaders warning that future spending plans could include additional painful cuts.

The School Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve a roughly $637 million budget for fiscal year 2019, though board members expressed plenty of trepidation about the document.

Schools

APS Eyes Accessibility Upgrades for Thomas Jefferson Middle School

By Alex Koma

Published May 3, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated May 3, 2018 at 12:06PM

(Updated at noon) The price tag for a new elementary school could soon get a bit larger, in an effort to make the Thomas Jefferson Middle School more accessible for people with disabilities.

Arlington Public Schools officials are asking the School Board to approve an extra $250,000 in spending at Alice West Fleet Elementary School, which is scheduled to open in September 2019, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) changes at the adjacent middle school.

Schools

APS Eyes Seven Elementary Schools as Future “Option” Program Sites

By Alex Koma

Published May 2, 2018 at 9:45AM | Updated May 2, 2018 at 2:51PM

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools staff have named seven elementary schools that could host countywide “option” programs in the coming years, as officials move ahead with their reevaluation of elementary school boundaries scheduled to wrap up this fall.

Yesterday (May 1), APS released an updated draft analysis of potential changes to county elementary schools, with the bulk of the document addressing which schools could someday offer option programs — meaning they are open to student applicants from all over the county. APS currently is eyeing seven possible locations, but aims to keep a total of five schools as option program sites.

News

Career Center Working Group Opens Up Possibility Of Swimming Pool

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published April 27, 2018 at 9:45AM

The possibility of including a swimming pool in Career Center site planning arose at a joint Arlington County Board/Arlington Public Schools work session last week.

Kristi Sawert, who presented Career Center site considerations for programming and amenities during the work session, said that the pool possibility was “one of the more lively discussions” that the working group has had. Sawert listed several reasons for being pro-pool, including what she called a long-standing APS and School Board policy that aquatics education is essential.

Schools

Washington-Lee PTA Concerned about Possible Education Center Repurposing

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published April 25, 2018 at 9:45AM | Updated April 25, 2018 at 12:08PM

Some members of the Washington-Lee High School Parent-Teacher Association are concerned that the Arlington School Board may re-purpose the adjacent Arlington Education Center into an elementary school instead of adding high school seats, as was previously decided.

The concern stems from a working session on April 12 centered on the Arlington Public Schools Capital Improvement Plan, in which School Board members briefly discussed the costs of potentially converting the Education Center into elementary school space rather than up to 800 high school seats.

Schools

Parents Push Back on Proposed Attendance Changes at Nottingham Elementary

By Alex Koma

Published April 24, 2018 at 1:45PM | Updated April 24, 2018 at 3:25PM

(Updated at 3:25 p.m.) The Arlington School Board could soon change which students are allowed to attend Nottingham Elementary School, and some parents are pushing back on the proposal.

Arlington Public Schools staffers see Nottingham as a candidate to become an “option school,” meaning that students from around the county would be able to attend the Northwest Arlington school, and it would offer specialized programs. APS also is considering converting three other schools to option schools as it re-examines attendance boundaries ahead of opening two new elementary schools over the next three years.