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Morning Notes

Published September 6, 2012 at 9:15AM

Kaine to Visit Rosslyn Office — Former Virginia governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine (D) will be making a campaign stop at an office building in Rosslyn today. Kaine will participate in a roundtable discussion on the clean energy economy at 3:15 p.m. The event is not open to the public.

School Bus Gets Lost on First Day of School — An Arlington County school bus carrying Glebe Elementary students arrived at school nearly an hour late on Tuesday after the driver made a wrong turn. The driver was new and had to meet up with another driver at Barrett Elementary in order to find his way back to Glebe. The kids on the bus were “a little scared,” according to a parent. [Washington Examiner]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 5, 2012 at 9:00AM | Updated September 5, 2012 at 3:42PM

Policy Prompts Parents to Walk, Drive to School — A controversial new busing policy that has resulted in more students walking to school prompted many parents to walk with or drive their kids to school yesterday (Tuesday). A number of parents talked to the TV news crews who were camped outside schools to report on parents’ discontent with the policy. [WJLA, MyFoxDC]

More Troubles for Crystal City Head Shop — Now it’s not just Arlington County that’s telling the owner of a new head shop in Crystal City to take down a colorful mural outside the store. The shop’s landlord has told the store’s owner to take down the mural. A lawyer for the landlord also says the store owes back rent. [WUSA]

Schools

APS Seeks to Clarify Transportation Changes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 27, 2012 at 4:20PM

In a letter to parents and in an online video (above), Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy is trying to answer questions and quell outrage among some parents in response to changes to the school system’s busing policies.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Buses or Teachers?

By ARLnow.com

Published August 24, 2012 at 10:25AM

APS chose the latter, and now faces a growing protest from parents whose children are no longer able to take the bus to school due to new busing policies. Many parents affected by the new policies have said that forcing their children to walk 1 to 1.5 miles to school, often across busy roads, puts their safety at risk.

News

Hundreds of Parents Protest Against APS Bus Changes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 22, 2012 at 5:10PM

School bus (courtesy Divaknevil)

The changes include reorganizing and consolidating bus stops, assigning students to specific bus stops, and requiring students to present an APS-issued pass in order to board the bus.

To determine eligibility for the bus passes, APS used a computer program to calculate each student’s distance from their school. Elementary students less than a mile from their school, and middle and high school students less than a mile and a half from their school, will not be issued bus passes, and will be required to walk, bike or be driven to school.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 17, 2012 at 9:10AM | Updated August 17, 2012 at 10:37AM

Parents Speak Out Against New Bus Policy — Some parents spoke out against Arlington Public Schools’ new voucher-based school bus policy at last night’s School Board meeting. The policy will result in some students no longer being able to ride the bus to school. School Board member Abby Raphael said the changes are necessary: “Our school system is growing,” she said. “We have to adapt and make changes. It’s very expensive to add a bus and a bus driver.” [Sun Gazette]

APAH Asks For School Supply Donations — The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is seeking donations of school supplies. APAH will fill backbacks with the supplies and give them to about 250 disadvantaged students ahead of the first day of school. [Arlington Mercury]

Schools

Abingdon Elementary Summer ‘Book Bus’ Deemed a Success

By ARLnow.com

Published August 13, 2012 at 3:30PM | Updated August 14, 2012 at 2:40PM

The book bus was launched this summer with the goal of providing enhanced reading opportunities for students at Abingdon, where nearly 53 percent of students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. Once a week for five weeks, the bus would make stops in the community around Arlington, giving students the chance to check out books right in their neighborhood.

The bus was staffed by Abingdon teachers and the school’s principal, all of whom volunteered their time. Inside the bus were about 2,000 books donated by local businesses, nonprofit organization, a local author, and several publishers. Much of the equipment used to check out books — including barcode scanners — were also donated.

Schools

APS Transportation Director Suddenly Retires

By ARLnow.com

Published August 8, 2012 at 4:32PM

Transportation Director Gregory Sutton’s last day on the job was yesterday, Aug. 7, Assistant Superintendent Linda Erdos confirmed to ARLnow.com today. Erdos would not say whether Sutton’s retirement was announced in advance or whether it was an unexpected resignation. She did say, however, that the process to replace him will not begin until later this year.

“We do not share the private reasons that employees share when they notify us of their decisions,” Erdos said. “We have an interim team of transportation managers who will lead Transportation while we begin our personnel process to fill the position later this year.”

Schools

Arlington Public Schools Changing Bus System

By Aaron Kraut

Published August 6, 2012 at 4:30PM

School bus (courtesy Divaknevil)

School Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy announced the new policy, devised after an independent study of the system last fall, in a letter to parents in July. APS sent parents another letter on Aug. 1 urging them to update their addresses.

From the July letter:

Traffic

Bus Accident Shuts Down Street Near Hospital

By ARLnow.com

Published June 22, 2011 at 12:39PM | Updated July 12, 2017 at 2:01PM

An accident reportedly involving two buses has shut down a street near Virginia Hospital Center.

16th Street N. has been temporarily shut down between George Mason Drive and N. Edison Street due to an accident reportedly involving an ART bus and a school bus.

News

Two Students To Be Charged in School Bus Fight

By ARLnow.com

Published March 31, 2011 at 10:57AM

ACPD officers responded to the intersection of N. Taft Street and 21st Street, in the North Highland neighborhood, around 8:00 this morning for a report of a fight on a school bus. A 15-year-old and a 16-year-old were detained and issued juvenile petitions by police. They will both be charged with disorderly conduct, according to Arlington police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal.

The bus then continued on to Yorktown High School. The two students were released to face possible disciplinary action at the school.

Opinion

Should APS Have Let Kids Out Early?

By ARLnow.com

Published December 17, 2010 at 8:41AM | Updated July 12, 2017 at 2:16PM

Instead, while Fairfax and Loudoun students enjoyed a two-hour early release, Arlington students toughed it out.

It was a somewhat gutsy call, because anything that goes wrong on the way home is going to to be blamed on the administrators. And yes, things did go wrong.