Arlington Public Schools

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Crystal City Development Approved — “The Arlington County Board today approved JBG Smith’s plan to develop Crystal Gateway, a nine-story office building with ground-floor retail,  at 101 12th Street S. in Crystal City. Community benefits associated with the project include the developer conveying 54,500 sq. ft. of land for Gateway Park, which will connect Long Bridge Park to Crystal City.” [Arlington County]

Teacher Groups Banding Together — “Representatives from teacher associations in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Arlington and Manassas Park will host a news conference Monday urging a return to virtual-only learning. In a statement Sunday evening, the Fairfax Education Association said it ‘stands with our colleagues from the Northern Virginia region to ask the Governor to return the Commonwealth to a full Phase II of the reopening plan and to recommend that our schools return to a fully virtual method of instruction.'” [InsideNova]

Feedback Sought for Police Chief Search — “The County Manager has launched a search for a new leader of the Arlington County Police Department. During the first phase of the search, the County is interested in hearing from the community. ‘We value the perspective of every resident and business,’ said County Manager Mark Schwartz… You can offer feedback through December 11.” [Arlington County]

Joint Chiefs Chair’s Wife Saves the Day — “When a bystander collapsed at the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery Wednesday, a nurse was nearby and rushed to his aid. She happened to be the wife of the nation’s top military officer, Gen. Mark Milley.” [NBC News]

‘Click It or Ticket’ Starts Today — ” The Thanksgiving celebration is traditionally one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. As the holiday approaches, the Arlington County Police Department is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on a high visibility Click It or Ticket campaign.” [Arlington County]

State Sen. Pushing Pot Legalization — “We’re continuing to build a bipartisan coalition to #legalize responsible adult use of #marijuana in Virginia. I am working hard to ensure that ending the war on drugs is a top priority.” [@AdamEbbin/Twitter, Virginia Mercury]

N. Va. Delivered State for Biden — “Updated counts from the Virginia Department of Elections show that President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, defeated Trump by over 520,000 votes in Northern Virginia, defined as the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park… Across the rest of Virginia, Trump, a Republican, defeated Biden by about 70,000 votes, winning 50.2% to Biden’s 47.9%.” [InsideNova]

APS Staff Worried About Unsafe Conditions As Some Students Return

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Even a limited return to classrooms has some Arlington Public Schools employees worried, amid questions about safety protocols and the benefit of the in-person activity.

Thirty-three schools opened their doors last week for students with disabilities, as part of “Level One” of the return-to-classrooms plan. Classroom assistants are helping the students to participate in distance learning activities, within school buildings, while teachers remain remote.

“The catch is that they’re still learning virtually,” said one assistant, who spoke with ARLnow among a group of other assistants, all on the condition of anonymity.

Some school staff members also say they walked into buildings with spotty adherence to the protocols.

Several assistants told ARLnow that they cannot be physically distant from students, who need one-on-one care. There are also reports that not all staff are staying home if they feel ill, and the system is not providing employees enough information on cases among staff, according to the Arlington Education Association, a labor group representing APS employees.

The assistants, who have been with the school system for a combined total of 22 years, decided to speak up because APS is not following through on its protocols, she said.

“We’re just trying to get the word out there because we don’t think it’s fair we’re back,” she said. “Numbers are rising. We’re here risking our lives to watch them learn virtually. We want to be back when it’s safe and to the fullest extent.”

In response, APS spokesman Frank Bellavia emphasized that the return-to-school plan is still in the early stages and said adherence is being examined.

“Students have been in school for a week and we are working through making sure our protocols are followed,” he said in an email.

The assistants’ assignments are based on student need, Bellavia said. While students need teachers to support distance learning, they need assistants for one-on-one support.

On Tuesday, AEA President Ingrid Gant said her organization does not have confidence in APS’s return-to-school plan.

“Dr. Durán, the lives of our students, staff, and teachers are at the forefront, while the number of cases in Arlington and surrounding districts continue to increase,” Gant wrote in a letter to Superintendent Francisco Durán. “The delaying of Level Two returns proves you are putting our school system first. However, any references to the APS Engage page at this time cannot give answers to our needs and pertinent concerns.”

The AEA wants the school system to test every room for adequate air transfers; communicate anonymous information related to cases, hospitalizations and deaths; ensure staff can stay distant while students eat; and provide staff with four N95 masks a week.

Bellavia responded that HVAC testing, communication to staff regarding COVID-19 cases, lunch periods and PPE are being done or have already been addressed in previous communications to staff.

“We are committed to the health and safety of staff and students and are following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Virginia Department of Health,” he said.

Meanwhile, the group of assistants said they cannot keep their distance because kids need help using their iPads. Complicating the close contact is that many cannot wear masks, as a result of their disabilities. While students should have doctor’s notes supporting their exemption, many do not, they said.

Others cannot regulate bodily functions such as drooling, spitting and biting, and need assistance going to the bathroom.

“It’s not the students’ fault,” said the assistant. “We understand they have these difficulties.”

Physical distancing may not be able to occur at all times, due to the student’s disability, Bellavia confirmed.

“The Office of Special Education has provided guidance and appropriate methods of providing support that incorporates mitigation measures to continue to support students with disabilities,” he said.

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APS Changes Course, Will Participate in Winter Sports

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington Public Schools will proceed with all but two winter sports, with some modifications, after talks with staff and neighboring school systems.

Swimming and diving, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, rifle and dance will proceed, but not wrestling — given the close contact that wrestlers engage in — or winter cheer, since competitive cheer can be offered outside later in the year, Superintendent Francisco Durán said in an email to families.

The decision comes after public outcry over the weekend to APS’s decision not to participate, which was announced on Thursday. People pointed to other school systems, which are allowing students to participate in winter sports.

“I have received many emails from students and families regarding my decision not to participate in Season 1 Winter athletic competition, due to current health metrics and safety concerns related to indoor sports,” Durán said.

The decision was discussed in the School Board meeting on Thursday, during which a few parents and School Board Member Tannia Talento asked him to reconsider.

Durán said he decided not to allow APS to participate in sports because it would not align with the return-to-school plan, which has been put on pause until 2021.

But with new modifications, such as a ban on in-person spectators and limited to no use of locker rooms, Durán said winter sports can move forward.

“We are exploring opportunities to livestream some competitions for spectators and will share information once arrangements have been made,” he said.

If community health conditions worsen, APS may modify or suspend athletics activities in consultation with health experts, he said.

“We will continue to monitor health metrics and work with school athletic staff and other school divisions to protect our athletes, coaches, employees, and families,” Durán said.

Tiffany McAvoy, the author of a petition to reverse APS’s decision, urged those who signed to email Durán and the School Board over the weekend.

“We want to fill up their inboxes so we can’t be ignored,” she wrote in her update to the Change.org petition.

In the first day after she created the petition, more than 1,800 people signed, she said in her update. Since then, the total has grown to 2,100 people as of Tuesday afternoon.

Student athletes and families will receive additional guidance closer to the start of the season, which begins Dec. 7.

“Our plans are evolving with the current conditions, and we will be flexible and responsive to the needs of our students whenever possible, assessing all options to safely support our students’ academic successes, mental health, and social-emotional well-being,” Durán said.

The Virginia High School League, a statewide sports league comprising public and private high schools, approved a Championship + 1 schedule in September that would allow students to play 60% of their sport’s regular season schedule, starting in December, with modified regional and state championships.

On Oct. 29, Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order that allows the proposed VHSL schedule to begin in December as scheduled. In a statement published by VHSL, Northam said the league been a partner during the pandemic and has drafted thoughtful guidelines for reinstating sports.

File photo

Superintendent Proposes Scaled-Down Set of Elementary Boundary Changes

By Jo DeVoe

The latest Arlington Public Schools elementary boundary process earned some public plaudits, a relative rarity, after the number of students who would have been assigned to new schools was cut nearly in half.

The superintendent’s recommended plan makes enough changes to accommodate the new Reed and Key elementary schools, which open in the fall of 2021. Twenty-two planning units, or about 800 students, will be reassigned among Arlington Science Focus School, the Key school site, and Ashlawn, McKinley, Taylor and Tuckahoe schools. The move increases the number of students who can walk to school by 600.

Originally, some 1,400 students were to have been reassigned.

The larger set of boundary changes was first proposed in early October. A public hearing on the superintendent’s new proposal will be held on Dec. 1, before the board considers adopting it on Dec. 3.

A separate countywide boundary process is slated for as soon as 2022.

The new plan presented on Thursday night was drafted after APS staff received numerous messages from parents who requested that the process avoid impacting children’s friendships and relationships with teachers, which have been harder to develop and maintain during distance learning.

Staff told the School Board that Superintendent Francisco Durán’s new boundary recommendations make minimal adjustments and preserve flexibility for a broader process to come.

Many parents who spoke at the meeting commended the school system for the changes.

“It’s clear stakeholders listened to community feedback, took it on board and made real effort to try to align boundaries to minimize disruption and better utilize space in available schools,” said Katie Geder

For another parent, Mike Flood, the recommendations checked all the boxes: limited disruptions, balanced enrollment, stability and proximity to neighborhood schools.

June Locker said parents in her planning unit were surveyed and a majority believe that APS has addressed their concerns, she said.

School Board members were divided on how to alleviate the crowding not addressed in the new plan, and with enrollment declining, questioned how severe overcrowding will be next fall.

Board member Reid Goldstein said the plan leaves too many planning units alone.

“While we’re doing virtual [learning] is the perfect time to make the necessary capacity changes,” he said.

Both Goldstein and board vice-chair Barbara Kanninen said they were nervous the countywide boundary process would not happen in 2022 as planned, and asked Durán for a commitment to one.

Durán said the goal in providing additional flexibility is to have a broader, countywide boundary process.

“There is that commitment to do that,” he said.

Board member Tannia Talento disagreed with the calls for bolder boundary changes, saying the system needs flexibility in the event that capacity needs are lower than projected in the next few years.

Board member Nancy Van Doren predicted that enrollment will bounce back because most of those who opted out this year are in prekindergarten and kindergarten, ages when it is easier to keep kids home.

“We may have more of a pop back, quickly, than we might be concerned about,” she said.

In February, the School Board approved an elementary school building swap to account for the new Reed School building in Westover, as well as the former home of the Key Spanish immersion program near Courthouse being converted to a neighborhood school to account for population growth in the area.

That process, and past school boundary change processes, have frequently been met by criticism from parents, in contrast to the encouragement from most speakers at Thursday’s meeting.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington, MoCo Hire Consultant — “Montgomery and Arlington counties have hired a consultant to develop alternatives to the flight paths at Reagan National Airport that have led to dramatic increases in noise complaints from residents across the region. ‘This will be a game changer,; said Ken Hartman… Montgomery County’s point person on the airplane noise issue.” [Washington Post]

Biden Breaks 100K Mark in Arlington — “It likely won’t be the highlight of his political career, but Joe Biden will go down in history as the first presidential candidate to win more than 100,000 votes in Arlington. Biden garnered 102,510 of them, according to unofficial tallies reported immediately after the election… Trump’s performance, both in total votes and in percentage of the vote, slightly outperformed his 2016 tally in Arlington.” [InsideNova]

What the School Bond Will Fund — “The $52.65 million will be used for the following projects: $24.3 million for planning and design to meet 10-year projected capacity needs at all school levels; $15.4 million for major infrastructure projects such as HVAC replacement for schools; $7.65 million for building refreshes and kitchen renovations at ATS, Key and McKinley; $5.30 million for security entrances at Taylor, Gunston, Jefferson, Williamsburg, Wakefield.” [Arlington Public Schools, InsideNova]

Firefighter Follows in Fallen Father’s Footsteps — “The son of a Washington, D.C. fallen firefighter is following in his dad’s footsteps. When Anthony Phillips Jr.’s father died in the line of duty on May 30, 1999, he never thought he would do that work that took the life of his father 21 years ago. But, never say never… Phillips just graduated from the Arlington Fire Academy Recruit Class 78.” [WJLA]

Some Fog This Morning — Updated at 8:55 a.m. — From a National Weather Service tweet last night: “Some patchy dense #fog is developing over portions of central and northern Virginia. Remain alert if traveling overnight, as visibility could quickly fall to a quarter mile or less.” A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. [Twitter, Twitter]

Nearby: Downtown D.C. in Trouble — “Now,empty streets are the norm. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the District’s once-thriving downtown area into a ghost town over the past nearly eight months… Downtown D.C.s’ economy has been crushed by the pandemic, though it has made a slight recovery since the BID issued its last report in July.” [DCist]

APS Makes Decision Not to Participate in Winter Sports

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 4 p.m.) While many schools in Virginia will start their winter sports seasons next month, Arlington Public Schools will not follow suit.

Some parents and a School Board member urged Superintendent Francisco Durán to reverse course on this decision during the School Board meeting held that night. They argued that other jurisdictions in Virginia — including neighboring Fairfax County — are gearing up to play sports, and that not participating harms students in the short- and long-term.

“We’ve already taken school away from our kids,” said Megan Newfeld, a parent of a high school aged-son who plays golf. “It’s now enough.”

Not providing public school sports makes it harder for kids who cannot afford private or travel teams to improve, she said. Further, she added that all students who are competitive and looking to get recruited by colleges will be at a disadvantage.

Durán said the Virginia High School League (VHSL) allows each district to determine whether to participate in winter sports, which include swim and dive, basketball, wrestling, and indoor track and field. APS declined because it would not align with the return-to-school plan, he said.

“Participating in sports while continuing distance learning does not send a consistent message,” Durán said.

APS will revisit the metrics to see about participating in “season two” sports — sports like football, cross country and golf, which are usually played in the fall and which mostly are played outdoors — he said. Winter sports, by contrast, are mostly played indoors.

School Board member Tannia Talento asked Durán to reconsider the decision, in part because students are already doing conditioning on school grounds.

“These students are in these places already and doing work, and it’s at the high school, where they are more aware of conditions,” said Talento.

Although it is not consistent with the return to school plan, which is on hold, she said “we have to weigh everything individually and holistically and make compromises where we can.”

Yorktown High School boys basketball coach Joe Reed lamented the decision in a tweet, writing the his “heart goes out to my players, especially the seniors.”

An online petition calling for APS to reverse its decision has garnered more than 1,250 signatures as of 3:45 p.m.

“The benefits of team sports go far beyond exercise — improved academics, teamwork, leadership, positive mentorships and overall improved mental health,” the petition says. “For this school year, these factors are even more important as many Arlington teenagers are at home struggling with virtual learning and missing out on the normal activities of their high school years.”

“As the superintendent and school board of a county with large disparities of wealth, it is even more important that APS offer sports for those who cannot afford to play elsewhere,” the petition adds.

Late Friday afternoon, the pro-school-opening group Arlington Parents for Education also weighed in with a statement.

“Not only is VHSL proceeding with the season, but thousands of Arlington children have been participating in youth, club and travel sports all fall with absolutely no outbreaks,” the group said. “Durán’s only rationale on not allowing athletic competition is ‘consistency, ‘which is a self-fulfilling argument that since APS is failing to provide the in-person support and instruction many of our children need for academics, it may as well do the same for sports.”

The VHSL, a statewide sports league comprising public and private high schools, approved a Championship + 1 schedule in September that would allow students to play 60% of their sport’s regular season schedule, starting in December, with modified regional and state championships.

On Oct. 29, Gov. Ralph Northam signed an executive order that allows the proposed VHSL schedule to begin in December as scheduled. In a statement published by VHSL, Northam said the league been a partner during the pandemic and has drafted thoughtful guidelines for reinstating sports.

“Keeping our student athletes safe is critical during this pandemic,” Northam said. “I know I join many parents in looking forward to the safe return of school sports.”

VHSL Executive Director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun welcomed the news, saying in the statement that the amendment “clears the way for all of our sports to play.” The league drafted guidelines for playing sports that include limits on attendees, cleaning and disinfecting recommendations, masking and social-distancing.

File photo

New Traffic Garden Teaches Kids the Rules of the Road, in Miniature

By Jo DeVoe

Without in-person school, play dates and activities, many kids have lost their primary sources of social interaction and exercise due to COVID-19.

But volunteers in Arlington say a new traffic garden, a space where kids can play and learn how to travel roads safely, could restore some of the lost opportunities for play.

“It was clear we needed new stuff for kids to do,” said Fionnuala Quinn, who makes and consults on traffic gardens. “This is a friendly, happy place for them at a time when a lot has been taken away from them.”

After getting approval from the Women’s Club of Arlington (700 S. Buchanan Street) in Barcroft to use their parking lot, a group of 10 bicycling enthusiasts, community members and engineers grabbed some chalk paint and duct tape and got to work. Three-and-a-half hours later, the parking lot was transformed into space with railroad crossings, crosswalks, streets and roundabouts that kids can walk, bike or skateboard along.

“It’s a bright spot in a tough time,” said Gillian Burgess, a cycling and walking advocate and former chair of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, who helped with the effort.

Families seem to enjoy it and kids find it intuitive, she said.

“It’s funny, parents will ask us how to use it, but kids just do it naturally,” she said.

The crew in Arlington is one of about 30 nationwide that have repurposed parking lots and constructed these temporary traffic gardens since the start of the pandemic, Quinn said.

“Once you start looking and thinking about this, you realize there is asphalt lying neglected everywhere,” she said. “As soon as you do it, small children appear.”

The original traffic gardens were built in the 1950s in Denmark and the Netherlands. They resembled miniature cities, with tiny buildings and kid-sized roads and traffic signs.

The trend made its way to the U.S., with a large concentration of them in Ohio, where they are called safety towns, Quinn said. She has catalogued about 300 installations in the U.S.

Quinn, who lives in Reston, left her engineering job to engineer and consult on traffic gardens full-time. She said the 50s-era gardens ertr amazing, but expensive to maintain and most kids only ended up going once during their childhood.

Her job is to make these gardens easier and cheaper to build and maintain so that they can be replicated on a smaller scale, more locally, and be more accessible to all kids.

She has helped with permanent installations at two Washington, D.C. schools, and spearheaded two in Alexandria and one in Fauquier County. They required months or years of planning and work.

But temporary pop-ups, including the one in Arlington, use little resources and take less time. Once people see how much kids love them, the pop-ups also advance the community conversation toward permanent versions, she said.

The Barcroft traffic garden will be in place for a few months. Burgess is working on getting the message out through schools and neighborhood email lists and has started looking for other locations in the county. She aims to add more gardens by this spring.

The group is working with the Arlington Safe Routes to School coordinator to apply for grants to fund permanent traffic gardens at Arlington schools.

With kids learning remotely, Safe Routes to School grants are going toward different educational initiatives, including traffic gardens, Burgess said. In the meantime, she and Safe Routes are also working with the school system to make walking and biking routes to school safer.

Photos courtesy Gillian Burgess 

School Reopened Wednesday for Some, Others Delayed Until 2021

By Jo DeVoe

(Updated at 9:20 p.m.) At long last, some children in Arlington Public Schools were able to walk the halls and see their teachers.

Wednesday was the first day of in-person school for about 230 children with disabilities in 33 APS buildings and programs, and administrators were happy to see them back. The day went smoothly, from health and safety protocols to transportation and technology operating as planned, said Superintendent Francisco Durán.

“We were very excited to welcome our first group of students back for in-person learning,” Durán said. “Principals and staff at each school enthusiastically welcomed our students as they arrived and helped ensure a safe and successful transition.”

But the scene may be bittersweet for some of the PreK, early elementary, and career and technical education students — and parents. Those students were initially slated to return next Thursday, but APS decided return dates set for 2020 would be delayed until 2021 due to rising cases.

The news was announced in an email from Durán on Monday, but he informed parents last Tuesday that delays should be expected.

“We continue to see the case incidence rate in our area increasing, not decreasing,” Durán wrote. “Level 2 comprises significantly larger numbers of students and staff. Moving too quickly to Level 2, while case levels are still rising, represents a safety risk and could cause further disruption to schedules.”

But on Wednesday morning, some smiles were evident through the masks.

On social media, scenes of students at schools prompted a response from a local group advocating for a return to in-person education.

“Can’t imagine how happy they are to be back,” tweeted Arlington Parents for Education. “Now onto the rest!”

Durán said pausing the plans allows APS to see if its mitigation measures are successful with the first group of students, and gives the school system more time to solidify staffing plans.

In a statement, Arlington Parents for Education said it will continue to advocate for students to return.

“At some point, we have to learn to live in a world where COVID-19 exists and children are allowed to attend school. There is no such thing as a zero-risk environment for anything,” the organization said. “Arlington’s children will feel the effects of this decision for years to come.”

In June, before a rise in cases later in the summer, only 10% of families that responded to an APS survey said they preferred an online-only start to the 2020-2021 school year.

The clamor from some parents for kids to return spilled over during a COVID-19 virtual update with County Board members last Friday. About 95% of questions from the public during the Q&A portion of the call concerned schools reopening, County Board member Katie Cristol said during the meeting.

“To the members of our community who are looking to the County Board to provide a different answer on school reopening than the one they’ve gotten from APS to date, we can resonate with that frustration,” Cristol said. “But I’m sorry, we’re not here to give you different answers than the ones you’ve gotten from Superintendent Francisco Durán and the School Board.”

She affirmed the school board’s jurisdiction over managing public schools.

“It keeps accountability with those who can make decision, and keeps decisions in partnership with the superintendent that have to do with students and workforce, groups of people that the County Board does not have as much insight into,” Cristol said.

Arlington County sent $10.15 million of its CARES Act funding to APS, including a $500,000 grant for providing home internet access to low-income households. Another $1.65 million went toward wireless network deployment and $340,000 went to food programs. The food programs also received $1.125 million from other sources of state and federal funding.

Photos courtesy APS

JUST IN: No Return to Classrooms in 2020 for Most APS Students

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) Most Arlington Public Schools students will not return to classrooms until 2021.

Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán announced today that the planned “Level 2” return for younger and technical education students “will pause through the remainder of this calendar year.” On the other hand, the “Level 1” return for students with disabilities will proceed as planned this coming Wednesday.

The delay follows an increase in local coronavirus cases.

“I have made the decision to pause Level 2, which we had projected to begin November 12,” Durán wrote in an email to APS families. “We continue to see the case incidence rate in our area increasing, not decreasing. Level 2 comprises significantly larger numbers of students and staff. Moving too quickly to Level 2, while case levels are still rising, represents a safety risk and could cause further disruption to schedules.”

Durán said the school system will continue “to solidify staffing plans and capacity for Level 2 students” and will provide regular updates through December.

Arlington Parents for Education, a group advocating for opening schools for in-person learning, said in a statement that “Arlington’s children will feel the effects of this decision for years to come.”

The full email from Durán is below.

APS Community,

With in-person learning for Level 1 beginning on Wednesday and with November 12 fast approaching, I am providing my weekly Return-to-School Plan update today instead of tomorrow.

Last week we received interim guidance for schools from the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Department Health. We will be making modifications to the APS COVID-19 Dashboard this week to reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention primary and secondary indicators for schools. Our dashboard reporting will continue to show the regional weekly transmission information from the Virginia Department of Health in addition to these core indicators.

Based on our review of the updated guidance and latest health metrics, we are proceeding with Return-to-School Level 1 beginning on November 4. We are prepared to provide in-person learning support to the 236 students in Level 1, using every recommended health and safety protocol to make this transition safely. Schools have communicated details regarding this transition to Level 1 families, and transportation information for Level 1 students is available in ParentVUE.

I have made the decision to pause Level 2, which we had projected to begin November 12. We continue to see the case incidence rate in our area increasing, not decreasing. Level 2 comprises significantly larger numbers of students and staff. Moving too quickly to Level 2, while case levels are still rising, represents a safety risk and could cause further disruption to schedules.

We will pause through the remainder of this calendar year. This decision allows us to carefully monitor the effective implementation of all CDC mitigation strategies, while continuing to solidify staffing plans and capacity for Level 2 students. I will provide continuous updates on our planning and progress through my regular weekly messages and in our School Board Monitoring Reports on November 5, November 17, December 3, and December 17.

As we plan for in-person learning, we continue to strengthen our distance learning offering. Teachers, students, and classes have established meaningful routines together during the first quarter of the school year, and our teachers and staff are working harder than ever to provide a quality distance learning experience. We remain committed to providing all students the best educational experience possible, with the academic and social-emotional support they need to learn and grow during these challenging times.

Thank you for continuing to work collaboratively with us to support all students, by sharing your questions, comments, and ideas.

Sincerely,

Dr. Francisco Durán
​​​​​​​Superintendent

Ed Talk: Separate But Equitable

By Maura McMahon

Ed Talk is a biweekly opinion column. The views expressed are solely the author’s.

To paraphrase The La’s, “There they go! There they go again!”

APS has again embarked on an elementary boundary process that dismisses student demographics, one of the six guiding principles in APS’ boundary policy. This isn’t surprising. But it is disheartening that APS’ new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO), Arron Gregory, supports APS’ approach.

Mr. Gregory explains that “diversity” comes from our differences in culture, heritage, and upbringing. At the same time, he states that we need to shift our focus from the free- and reduced- lunch (FRL) aspect of diversity to the programs and services APS offers because “free- and reduced lunch is not going to create diversity within our schools,” that we can have diversity in any school because it is “about our thought process (and) cognitive diversity.”

Mr. Gregory reasserts Arlington’s long-standing “separate but equal” approach – or in today’s parlance, “separate but equitable.” There is just one problem with Mr. Gregory’s argument: the FRL aspect is precisely what produces the “cognitive diversity” he wants to focus on.

Like it or not, economic status is highly correlated with race in our society and in Arlington. It is the economic part of diversity that is critical to achieving the equity Mr. Gregory and APS profess is at the forefront of their decision-making. Since race legally cannot be used as criteria in designating school boundaries, FRL is our primary measure of diversity and is the logical and practical aspect on which to focus.

He is right that boundaries are but one in a series of steps toward equity. The problem is, APS is not actually using the boundary process to affect equity in our schools. Ignoring student demographics, or FRL eligibility, is misguided for several reasons:

  1. It hasn’t worked so far. Arlington’s high FRL schools have had highly qualified teachers and extra resources for years; yet the disparities in students’ opportunities, achievement, and experiences relative to those of students in low FRL schools has persisted;
  2. It runs counter to decades of social science research demonstrating that disparities are more effectively narrowed by providing economically diverse learning environments than by increasing investment and resources in high-poverty schools.
  3. It completely disregards so-termed “social capital” that enables true equity.
  4. It is shortsighted and does not consider the implications for disadvantaged students beyond their APS years.

Been there done that

Arlington has maintained a district of high- and low-FRL schools for decades, focusing on programs and services. My children attended one of Arlington’s highest FRL elementary schools and now attend high-FRL middle and high schools. I can attest to the high quality teaching that goes on in these schools and have seen the valuable extra resources and supports that these schools provide. Yet achievement and opportunity gaps persist. Vast disparities in the academic and social enrichment PTAs are able to provide remain. Those high-FRL schools continue to be disparaged and avoided by many in our community.

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Group Organizes Against School Bond, Say APS Reopening Takes Priority

By Jo DeVoe

A group of Arlington Public Schools parents has organized to vote ‘no’ on the $52.65 million school bond.

In recent days Vote No Arlington launched a last-minute online campaign against the county’s 2020 public school bond, to voice their frustration with how APS is handling the return to school.

“Right now is a very emotional time,” Vote No Arlington founding member and APS parent Geoff Olinde said. “People feel they are not being served well by APS, and this is one of the few avenues to get APS’s attention.”

The $52.65 million bond will be on the ballot on Nov. 3. According to APS, the bond would fund four major types of capital improvements, which range from increasing space to accommodate projected higher enrollment rates to renovating kitchens.

But Olinde said the middle of an economic downturn is not the right time to take on $52 million of additional debt that will burden taxpayers. Furthermore, enrollment projections went “out the window” due to COVID-19, and many children may stay in private schools, he said.

Olinde — who earlier this week was a guest on the Larry O’Connor show on WMAL radio — said he is far from being a political activist, but the breakdown in education due to COVID-19 motivated him to get involved. He said he has supported previous bonds, and would have supported one that was specifically to support schools reopening.

According to APS, this school bond does focus on the short term as well as longer-term capital needs.

“The 2020 School Bond funds will address immediate needs by providing best-practice security entrances to schools that do not yet have them, expanding kitchens to better serve more students, and upgrading older HVAC systems for healthier school environments,” according to the district.

Alexandra Bocian, who also has supported school bonds in the past, said now is the time to focus on returning kids to school, not brick-and-mortar improvements.

Voting ‘no’ is the only way her voice for reopening schools will be heard, she said. Bocian said teachers and parents who prefer virtual learning have a voice, but parents who want to return are not being heard. She also worries that a ‘yes’ vote would note get her children any closer to returning to school.

“I can talk until I’m blue in the face, but if I hit you in the pocketbook, maybe you’ll listen,” she said.

As a Black working mother of three children, Bocian said she knows what her children can obtain being educated face-to-face, as opposed to online — and said the current solution is not equitable. Instead, it favors wealthy families, who can afford small tutoring groups called “pods,” which can cost up to $2,000, and those where a parent or both parents are home to help their kids.

While countries like France are exempting schools from lockdown orders, APS is just beginning to figure out who returns to school and when, and that is also not equitable, Bocian said.

“How do you think those kids who are going to get to school feel versus those who don’t?” she said. “That causes an issue.”

The school bond is being supported by the Arlington County Democratic Committee. Supporters say the funding is needed to address important school needs.

More information on the planned use of the APS school bond is below.

The $52.65 million will be used for the following projects:

  • Planning and design to meet 10-year projected capacity needs at all school levels $24.3 million*
  • Major infrastructure projects such as HVAC replacement for schools $15.4 million*
  • Building refreshes and kitchen renovations at ATS, Key and McKinley $7.65 million
  • Security entrances at Taylor, Gunston, Jefferson, Williamsburg, Wakefield $5.30 million *Additional funds for these projects will be included in future Capital Improvement Plans
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