Arlington Public Schools

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A turtle, seen in Arlington (Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann)

New Rail Bridge Design Revealed — “The new rail bridge will be built with many of the features in the existing span, including its structure, material and form, with steel girders and similar pier spacing, according to preliminary site plans approved this month by the National Capital Planning Commission. The plans also call for the use of Ashlar stone cladding for the bridge piers, and abutments and walls near the George Washington Memorial Parkway.” [Washington Post]

County Board Approves ‘Heights’ Parking — From School Board member Barbara Kanninen: “‘APS did us a solid.’ Thx @kcristol for that comment regarding our hosting the County’s temp fire station for several years! Glad to see the use permit for Phase 2 [of The Heights building in Rosslyn] approved this morning, providing important universal access improvements for all students, esp @APS_Shriver.” [Twitter]

APS Hiring Hundreds of Teachers — “Officials in Arlington Public Schools will also spend the summer working to fill an atypically large number of empty positions. Arlington, which enrolls 27,045 students, according to state data, saw 284 teachers resign between August 2021 and mid-May 2022. The district usually employs about 3,000 teachers, per spokesman Frank Bellavia. That is 96 percent higher than the average number of resignations between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021: 145.” [Washington Post]

Free Chicken Today — “July 18th is Nelson Mandela’s birthday. His birthday is recognized and celebrated world wide as Mandela day; a day for us all to inspire change and make a difference in our communities. At Nando’s we are proud of our South African heritage. We will join in celebrating his birthday on July 18th by following his example and giving back to our communities.” [Nando’s Peri Peri]

Cyclist Struck on Busy Ramp — “Police, fire on scene of cyclist struck by driver on the WB Route 50 / Washington Blvd ramp. Cyclist was thrown from bike and is being treated by medics, per scanner.” [Twitter]

Treasurer Honored, Again — “Arlington County Treasurer Carla de la Pava received the President’s Award for her service and leadership to the Treasurers’ Association of Virginia (TAV). The award was presented during the association’s annual conference in June. It is the second time de la Pava has be recognized with the President’s Award.” [Arlington County]

More Bad Driving on I-395 — From Dave Statter: “You’ll want to see this one. Driver goes bowling with the barrels & almost takes one along for the ride. @VaDOTNOVA time for clean-up again on aisle 8C.” [Twitter]

It’s Monday — Mostly cloudy, with rain and possible storms in the evening. High of 88 and low of 74. Sunrise at 5:59 am and sunset at 8:33 pm. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

Juvenile arrests in Arlington down significantly during past school year

By ARLnow.com
Police outside of W-L High School during threat investigation in 2017 (file photo)

Arlington police made 75% fewer arrests of juvenile suspects during the recently-concluded school year compared to the last pre-pandemic school year.

That’s according to data supplied by the Arlington County Police Department, at ARLnow’s request. Arrests of adult suspects also declined, but only by 16%.

The data covers arrests between Sept. 1, 2018-June 15, 2019, compared to the same time period in 2021 and 2022. During the past school year, juvenile arrests only made up about 3% of ACPD’s total arrests, the data shows.

Arlington arrest stats from Sept. 1-June 15 (courtesy ACPD)

Overall, crime in Arlington has increased from pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest ACPD annual report.

A number of factors may be behind the big drop in juvenile arrests, including — notably — changes to how the police department interacts with Arlington Public Schools. The school system voted to remove School Resource Officers from school buildings in June 2021 amid concerns about racial disparities in youth arrests and scrutiny of what advocates termed a “school-to-prison pipeline.”

“Contributing factors to the decline may include legislative changes, changes in crime trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, updated policies between ACPD and APS, and reduced police staffing,” said police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

It’s unclear how many of the juvenile arrests are of local students. Savage noted that “while the request for juvenile arrest statistics was related to timeframes that encompass the school year, these statistics reflect all juvenile arrests at any location in the County and do not necessarily involve Arlington County students.”

Despite some high–profile incidents at schools since the removal of SROs — and some adjustments to APS involving law enforcement in certain circumstances — officials say they’ve been able to keep students safe without the on-site police presence.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
1/3

Raytheon, Boeing Mostly Moving Execs — “The real answer is that these are relatively easy shifts for both new companies — each of which already had a sizable presence here for years. They are both racing to be closer to their top customer, the federal government, in what appears to be a pretty simple change for each. Based on the little that the companies have shared publicly thus far, it’s essentially relocating a few key executives and support staff from one existing office to another.” [Washington Business Journal]

Wardian Completes Coast-to-Coast Run — “Around sunrise on Friday, July 1, 2022, ultrarunner Mike Wardian completed his run across America… [he] was greeted by the soft waves of the Atlantic Ocean and a beautiful sunrise at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.” [iRunFar, Instagram, Washington Post]

Arlington SUV Used in Crime Spree — “An Arlington County man whose vehicle was stolen after thieves went inside his home to take the keys was surprised to find out his car was connected to a pursuit where three teens were charged with the attempted murder of an officer. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said his BMW was stolen out of his driveway in the overnight hours of June 17 after thieves went into his home and took the keys.” [WUSA 9]

Fawn Finds Way Out of Stairwell — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “Earlier today Officer Barrett responded to a call for a fawn stuck at the bottom of a stairwell. It turns out the fawn wasn’t really stuck, but just needed a little encouragement!” [Twitter]

Colonial Place Listed for Sale — “A trio of Arlington office buildings dubbed Colonial Place at Courthouse Metro, which haven’t changed hands in going on three decades, hit the market this week. Colonial Place, located at 2101, 2107 and 2111 Wilson Blvd., weighs in at more than 750,000 square feet, immediately across the street from the Courthouse Metro station… the four parcels that comprise the total property, sitting on 7.1 acres, assess altogether at more than $315 million, per public records.” [Washington Business Journal]

Ed. Dept. Rules Against APS — From Arlington Parents for Education: “US ED’s Office of Civil Rights ruled against APS, finding that online platforms and paper packets used during remote instruction posed barriers to individuals with disabilities, particularly those with vision disabilities or who use assistive technology.” [Twitter]

New School Board Leadership — “The Arlington School Board held its annual organizational meeting for the 2022-23 school year and elected Reid Goldstein as Chair and Cristina Diaz-Torres as Vice-Chair. The terms for the new Chair and Vice-Chair begin immediately and will continue until June 30, 2023.” [Arlington Public Schools]

It’s Tuesday — Rain and possible storms in the afternoon and evening. High of 86 and low of 71. Sunrise at 5:50 am and sunset at 8:38 pm. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photos by Dennis Dimick, Tom Mockler and Emma K. Alexandra

New leg of Pacers Running donates hundreds of shoes to APS students in need

By Mavis Chan
1/3

A new business launched by Pacers Running has donated more than 100 pairs of sneakers to Arlington students from low-income families.

Relay, which sells second-hand and refurbished running shoes, donated 104 pairs of sneakers in April to The Clothesline for Arlington Kids, said Chris Farley, owner of Clarendon-based Pacers Running. Farley also promised to donate around 100 more over the summer and 200 in the fall.

The initial batch of shoes was given to Arlington Public Schools students who received outfits from the Clothesline, which donates clothing to children in need, the nonprofit’s co-founder Ben Sessions told ARLnow.

“I think if I can get some kids that might not be able to afford some of these shoes on their feet, that is pretty cool, I feel really good about that,” Farley said. “I think it’s really important to support the communities that you live in.”

Relay has previously donated shoes to track teams across the country, as well as to other nonprofits in Arlington like the Jennifer Bush-Lawson Foundation, he said.

“We’re committed to donating 1,000 pairs this year,” Farley said. He added that he hoped one day the business could donate 10,000 pairs of shoes.

Relay receives from vendors shoes that had been returned by customers, then cleans the shoes and gets them ready for resale. In the case of the Clothesline donations, Farley said he donated pairs with a long remaining shelf life.

Shoe donations of this size are rare for the nonprofit, co-founder Ellen Moy said. She said her organization usually receives “one pair of new shoes once a month.”

“It’s very uncommon to get new shoes donated to us, so when kids get a new pair of shoes, they are so happy,” she said. “I just feel like it really makes a difference in their lives.”

Shoes from Pacers would normally be out of the price range of the families going to The Clothesline, Moy said. Each pair sells for between $80 and $150 in retail, Farley said.

“Most low-income families do not have the opportunity to get high-quality [shoes],” she said.

One of the nonprofit’s volunteers, who is also Farley’s former neighbor, introduced him to The Clothesline earlier this year, Sessions said.

“He was looking for an opportunity to help support local nonprofits in the community,” Sessions said. “So we started a conversation and that culminated in him donating about 104 pairs of shoes in April to us.”

The Clothesline has given away around 100,000 pieces of clothing since it was founded in 2018, Moy said.

“People are happy to have us in the community, so we’re a great place to donate clothes that are still in excellent condition and we’re a great place to distribute clothes,” she said.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
The overlord of N. Longfellow St. in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Socialists Hold Abortion Rally — From the Northern Virginia Branch of Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America last night: “Fight, fight, fight! Abortion is a human right! DSA, La Colectiva, PSL demonstrate for abortion rights in Courthouse, Arlington.” [Twitter, Twitter]

‘Missing Middle’ Too Late? — “The former president of the John M. Langston Civic Association supports Missing Middle housing policies, but contends Arlington leaders are about a quarter-century too late for them to have a tangible impact. Speaking at a Juneteenth program June 23 at Central Library, Wilma Jones said any changes to housing policies, to allow a diversity of housing types in single-family neighborhoods, will have only limited impacts in communities such as hers, which already have seen major gentrification.” [Sun Gazette]

Parent: Daughter Bullied for Not Wearing Mask — “Over the last year, our child has been repeatedly bullied by multiple children because of her speech impairment. What was a minor speech deficit 2 years ago is now a significant problem. And a recent incident that started with bullying over her speech escalated into a physical attack because she was not wearing a mask and false assumptions about her vaccination status.” [Arlington Parents for Education]

Derecho 10th Anniversary — Updated at 9:50 a.m. — From the National Weather Service: “It’s been 10 years since the June 29th, 2012, derecho impacted the Mid-Atlantic region. Widespread damage was observed across nearly the entire area. This included observed wind gusts up to 80-85 mph.” [Twitter, ARLnow]

It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 86 and low of 66. Sunrise at 5:47 am and sunset at 8:39 pm. [Weather.gov]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Amazon HQ2 reflected in a puddle in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

New Way to Complain About Helo Noise –Those with concerns about helicopter noise in the local area now have a new outlet to provide feedback. A new helicopter-complaint pilot program was announced June 24 by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8th) in collaboration with the Helicopter Association International and Eastern Regional Helicopter Council. Residents will be able to submit noise concerns online at https://www.planenoise.com/dcmetro/, or by voicemail at (877) 209-3200.” [Sun Gazette, Press Release]

Arrest After Crash on the Pike — From ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage, responding to an ARLnow inquiry about this crash: “At approximately 12:10 p.m. on June 27, police were dispatched to the report of a crash with injuries at the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Quincy Street. The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the striking vehicle hit two vehicles and a tree before fleeing the scene on foot. Responding officers canvassed the area, located the driver and took her into custody. One patient was transported to an area hospital with injuries considered non-life threatening. The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending.”

Amazon Eyes Greenhouse for HQ2 — “The greenery proposed for Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington is so extensive that the company needs a greenhouse to keep it going. According to plans submitted to the county, Amazon hopes to convert Meadow Farms Nurseries and Landscapes (10618 Leesburg Pike) in Great Falls into a greenhouse to provide a ‘permanent operation to provide for the continuous maintenance of the extensive landscaping elements’ at HQ2.” [FFXnow]

APS Website Redesign Coming — “We are in the early stages of redesigning our website. Can you spare 15 minutes to help make sure the new Arlington Public Schools website will be easy for everyone to use? We’ve set up an online exercise to gather feedback, and we’d love for you to participate.” [Arlington Public Schools]

It’s Tuesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 79 and low of 61. Sunrise at 5:47 am and sunset at 8:39 pm. [Weather.gov]

Black Parents of Arlington raises new concerns over APS performance gaps

By Mavis Chan
The title page of the report published by Black Parents of Arlington

Black students in Arlington Public Schools still see lower passing rates and are more likely to be suspended than white students, an advocacy group found, as detailed in a new report.

Black Parents of Arlington, a local group founded in 2019 to advocate for the interests of Black students in the county, published “APS in Black: Measuring Educational Opportunities for Black Students” this past weekend.

The report highlighted “long standing inequities between Black and white students in APS,” according to a press release.

The organization claims that APS was “unable to dismantle the systemic racism within its foundation,” and failed to create an environment in which Black students can “thrive academically” or are given sufficient opportunities outside the classroom.

There was an approximately 20 percentage point difference in pass rates in Virginia’s Standard of Learning test between Black and white students in the 2018-2019 school year, according to the report. Black students had an around 70% pass rate in both math and reading, while white students had an around 90% pass rate across all APS schools.

Although the disparity in pass rates vary significantly in different elementary, middle and high schools, most schools showed more than a 10 percentage point gap between Black and white students in math and reading pass rates between 2017 and 2019.

Slide from BPA report (via Black Parents of Arlington)

While three-fourths of white students qualified for advanced courses such as AP and IB classes, only 26% of Black students did in the 2019-2020 school year, according to the group’s report.

Additionally, Black students only made up 20% or less of the population in APS middle and high schools, but were more likely than white students to be suspended in most schools, the report said.

One reason for these disparate outcomes was because of the mismatch between the demographics of teachers and that of the students, co-founder of the organization Whytni Kernodle asserted.

“Many of the African American workers in Arlington Public Schools are in central office, which means what they’re not is in front of children teaching them how to read, teaching them about algebra, teaching them about history,” she said.

As of September 2020, 44.8% of students in APS were white, while 10.2% were Black, 28.4% were Hispanic, and 8.8% were Asian, according to data from the school system.

APS needs to invest more in training and other resources to address the disparities, and to avoid entrenching the “status quo,” Kernodle said.

“If you need to change the culture of a situation or an organization, you have to use bold tactics and you have really look at who you have on the ground who’s there that should be there and who needs to be shown the door,” she said.

As of publication time APS has not offered a response to the report.

The full press release from Black Parents of Arlington is below.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Post-it Notes on the office building at 1600 Wilson Blvd in Rosslyn, congratulating a graduating H-B Woodlawn student who’s noted for her Post-It Note art (courtesy photo)

School’s Out for Summer — Today is the last day of high school for Arlington Public Schools students. Tomorrow is the last day of middle school and Friday is the last day of elementary school. [Arlington Public Schools]

Meetings Planned for Route 1 Changes — “Two upcoming online forums will look at Virginia Department of Transportation proposals for U.S. Route 1 through the Crystal City corridor. On June 15 at 7 p.m., the Livability 22202 Route 1 Working Group and VDOT proposals will be presented and feedback sought… On June 21 at 6:30 p.m., VDOT will host a public-information meeting on the proposal.” [Sun Gazette, VDOT]

Yorktown Girls Win State Soccer Tourney — “A season that began with a loss ended with no other setbacks and a state championship for the Yorktown Patriots. The girls soccer team won the Virginia High School League Class 6 state tournament by nipping the Kellam Knights, 1-0, in the June 11 title game.” [Sun Gazette, Washington Post]

DJO Softball Wins State Title — “The [Bishop O’Connell] Knights capped a dominant campaign with their 26th Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state title over the past 28 seasons. Katie Kutz tossed 235 strikeouts and went 17-0 while batting .482 at the plate en route to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and VISAA player of the year nods.” [Washington Post]

Groundbreaking for Bus Maintenance Yard — “Arlington County will host a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning for its new Arlington Transit (ART) operations and maintenance facility. The public is invited to attend. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at the site of the future facility at 2629 Shirlington Rd. in Arlington in the Green Valley neighborhood.” [Patch]

School Board Absences — “The board, whose schedule of meetings is approved at the start of each fiscal year, has had a tough time gathering all five members on the dais at one time in recent months. Goldstein frequently has been absent, and at the May 26 meeting Priddy was gone. (On May 26, Diaz-Torres was not attending in person but did participate remotely from Puerto Rico, Kanninen said at the start of that meeting.)” [Sun Gazette]

More Bad Driving on I-395 — From Dave Statter: “This is a new one. Driver just stops at the end of the gore partially blocking the left lane until they can figure out their next move.” [Twitter]

Gov. Proposes Three-Month Gas Tax Holiday — “In Arlington, Virginia, the cost of regular gas is around $5.29. As gas prices continue to climb, CG Green says he’s pumping the brakes on unnecessary trips. ‘Look at it, it’s crazy,’ said Green. ‘It’s $5.29 for gas. I have to rethink where I’m going.’ Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin says he is in favor of temporarily suspending the commonwealth’s gas tax.” [WUSA 9]

It’s Wednesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 86 and low of 68. Sunrise at 5:44 am and sunset at 8:37 pm. [Weather.gov]

Advisory committee raises concerns about APS proposed capital budget

By Mavis Chan
The School Board reviews the Joint Facilities Advisory Committee report at a work session (screenshot via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) An advisory group meant to guide facilities planning has several concerns with Arlington Public Schools’ proposed capital spending plan, namely the cost of a new Arlington Career Center.

APS would only be able to construct the Career Center by nearly maxing out its debt capacity, according to a Joint Facilities Advisory Committee report published June 7.

The county and APS cap debt repayments at 10% of their projected budgets. Under the School Board’s proposed CIP budget, the debt service is expected to remain around 9.8% from fiscal year 2027 to fiscal year 2032, according to JFAC’s report, leaving little wiggle room for maintenance projects and unforeseen needs.

At the same time, the CIP contains “discrepancies in the accounting for available bonding capacity for APS,” JFAC says.

The group Arlington Parents for Education explained in a newsletter today:

APS shares bond capacity with the county. This week, it was revealed that the county has a very different idea of how much APS has available in bond capacity; the County’s CIP has only $78 million in available bond capacity for APS. This is a discrepancy of $242 million.

“The main concern of JFAC is this CIP in the broader context all the known facility and infrastructure needs of APS and ACG,” JFAC’s chair and vice chair wrote in a recent letter. “It presently does not transparently demonstrate long-term financial viability for short term projects and expenditures or demonstrate that long-range planning processes for land use or capital projects have been fully considered.”

The lack of transparency “makes it harder for the public to recognize the planning commitments APS is making in this CIP,” the committee report stated.

However, APS believes it is being fiscally prudent.

“I don’t think we have anyone on this School Board or anyone on the staff is recommending that in the out years, we bump our CIP up to the maximum 9.8% target that we used to come up with that bonding capacity. It was just to show that there is room available in the out years for other projects that will come in those next CIPs,” said Assistant Superintendent Leslie Peterson during a work session reviewing the committee report.

The proposed CIP was also vague on the details of how the capital projects would be funded, the JFAC report said. The proposed budget did not set a specific amount of funding for long-range plans to renovate existing facilities, nor did it account for their cost estimates in setting its desired bond capacity, according to the report.

The School Board and county government projections for bond capacity are also at odds, with the School Board budgeting $242 million more than the county.

School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen said bond capacity may open up if the county — and, by extension, APS — receives more revenue than what was projected, allowing the board to carry out all the identified projects. If that doesn’t happen, the School Board would then discuss how to best handle new capital spending needs.

“If that’s the way it is, we’re gonna have that conversation then, there’s no pre-having that conversation,” she said.

The proposed CIP estimates the new Career Center building, which would be the most expensive project the school system has ever undertaken, would cost around $174 million. It would be funded by about $136 million from a 2022 bond referendum, as well as $37.4 million in past bond funding.

The JFAC report expressed concern at this decision since the School Board would be asking for a large sum of money at “a time of high inflation and financial uncertainty.”

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Around Rosslyn before the storms (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Yorktown High Jumper Sets Record — “Led by two individual champions, the Yorktown Patriots finished third in the recent Virginia High School League’s Class 6 girls outdoor state track and field championships… The Patriots’ individual-event winners were Viktorie Klepetkova in the high jump for the second year in a row, but this time with a school and meet-record leap of 5-feet, 11-inches, and Anna Corcoran in the 800-meters.” [Sun Gazette]

Arlington on CBS Evening News — “The ‘walking school bus’ is helping both kids and senior citizens start the day off right. Once a week, seniors walk with students to school in Arlington, Virginia. Jan Crawford shares more.” [CBS News]

Born on Bridge, Straddled Still — “You’ve known folks born in Arlington, and you’ve known some born in D.C. But have you known anyone born in between? That is to say, born on Key Bridge? Paul Mclain, 65, recently retired as an academic assistant in the Duke University Slavic and Eurasian Studies Department, can claim such citizenship limbo. And it has caused him hassles as an adult.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Barrelling Through the I-395 Barrels — From Dave Statter: “Watch: Bad day for the barrels. At 9:40 this morning one driver decided to blaze their own trail right through them.” [Twitter]

It’s Monday — Humid and partly cloudy throughout the day. Storms possible later in the afternoon and overnight. High of 86 and low of 71. Sunrise at 5:44 am and sunset at 8:36 pm. [Weather.gov]

Wakefield students question Sen. Tim Kaine about Congress passing gun legislation

By Matt Blitz
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) speaks with Wakefield High School students about gun violence (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

Only days before graduation, Wakefield High School students questioned Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) about what can be done to pass gun legislation in Congress

Kaine paid a visit to Wakefield on Monday afternoon, in the wake of another school shooting, to speak with students about gun violence and increasing safety in their classrooms. He was joined in the school’s library by about 30 students as well as Arlington School Board Chair Barbara Kanninen and Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Durán.

It was four years ago when Kaine came to Wakefield to talk about the same thing.

After speaking for about 15 minutes, the Virginia senator took questions from the students — many of whom were seniors and only about ten days from graduation. The students questioned the senator about Congress’s inaction, filibustering, bans on assault rifles, and the specific impact gun violence has on communities of color.

“Why are we having the same conversations over and over again?” asked one student.

“Assault rifles are often used in shootings and their purpose is to kill as many people as possible. So, what work has been done [in banning them]?” questioned another.

“What can we do to stop this endless cycle? We protest… and nothing happens,” another student asked, clearly emotional.

Kaine listened and answered each one, expressing optimism that at least some legislation might be passed in the coming weeks that could expand background checks and red flag laws. However, he agreed with the skepticism of some of the students.

“I have to admit, I do have a little feeling of skepticism, not despondency, but I have a little feeling of skepticism,” he said. “We’ve been here before and tried this… but we can’t give up.”

Kaine brought a number of times the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting that happened when he was governor. It was as an event, he said, that “scared” him and made him realize the needed urgency for gun control laws.

He also frequently touted the “Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act,” a measure that he and fellow Virginia Sen. Mark Warner introduced last year. It’s based on a series of state bills in Virginia which were signed into law in 2020, calling for universal background checks, a 30-day wait period between handgun purchases, and prohibiting those with protective orders from possessing a firearm. Notably, though, the bills didn’t ban assault weapons or high capacity magazines.

Kaine also called using the Second Amendment as reasoning for not expanding background checks, enforcing wait periods, and limiting the size of magazines as a “poppycock argument.”

“You can’t take away completely people’s right to bear arms, but you can impose reasonable regulations,” he said.

(more…)

View More Stories