education

The Right Note: On the Radar

By Mark Kelly

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column by published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Mark KellyIt’s a busy week in Arlington with varied possible topics to discuss in this space. The governor signs a transportation bill and vetoes an Arlington hotel tax, the school boundary debate continues, there are three public forums to raise concerns with the County Board, and there’s Peter’s Take on Ken Cuccinelli.

Governor McDonnell signed the largest tax increase in Virginia history to pay for his transportation plan. It includes regional taxing authority and projected revenue from an online sales tax that may never materialize. While many on my side of the political fence did not support the tax plan, we are hoping that the new transportation dollars will go farther than they did on the $1 million bus stop here in Arlington.

The Governor vetoed the Arlington hotel tax which, somewhat surprisingly, made it through the General Assembly. Since the tax is paid by guests from other places, its rejection seems to come down to the fact that Arlington gets no special love from elected officials in Richmond. Of course, it seems the feeling is mutual.

There is no less enviable job in the world than being on any school board that has to change boundaries. No matter the overcrowding issues in any school, telling parents their children may have to move from one school to another is no easy task. The Arlington School Board hopes for consensus, but I imagine there are four board members who are glad they are not on the ballot this year.

Mr. Rousselot’s attack on Attorney General Cuccinelli was an over the top campaign scare tactic. Rousselot said that Cuccinelli “would exploit every opportunity to set Virginia’s women back 60 years to an era in which they were ‘stuck in the drudgery of domestic servitude.’” Certainly, for any voter who bases their vote on the issue of abortion, there is no doubt where the two candidates stand. To make the leap to “drudgery” and “domestic servitude” strains the bounds of credibility. For insight into the Attorney General’s view of women, before he ran for any office, see this Washington Post profile.

The County Board is holding three public forums this week. While many people have shown up with statements and questions, I think we have all learned by now that the Board will do what they want to do. If the public input fits into their agenda, all the better. If not, that will probably be okay with them too.

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

The Right Note: Numbers Games?

By Mark Kelly

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column by published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Mark KellyAccording to Arlington County, it will cost $2,858 to produce records in response to a recent FOIA request on the Columbia Pike trolley project.

The FOIA request was for e-mails, memos and other specified documents between county staff, consultants and County Board members in regards to the preference of a particular station for the Skyline trolley stop, the location of the maintenance facility, traffic impacts on Columbia Pike during construction, economic development, and other issues.

Of that $2,858 cost, $2,341 would go to AECOM — the County’s consultant on the project and County Board member Chris Zimmerman’s new employer. The effective rate per hour for AECOM’s work is approximately $180 when you include their expenses and fees. Is it any wonder Zimmerman signed a consulting contract with them? Good work if you can get it.

The county’s share made up the additional $517, a bargain by comparison, at an hourly rate of just under $65 per hour.

No average citizen can fork over $2,858 for copies of these documents. The county seems to be hiding behind this cost to keep the documents out of public view, signaling an aversion to transparency when it comes to the massive project.

What the county staff should do is offer to provide all of their copies of the documents requested for $517. Since the county was in receipt of virtually all requested documents, this seems like a reasonable solution to provide an appropriate level of transparency.

Speaking of numbers that do not add up, the Arlington Public School superintendent recently released a proposed budget for next year.

The total topline spending number in Superintendent Murphy’s budget was $520.4 million. The total projected enrollment is 23,586. For those of you with calculators, that equals $22,063 per student.

According to the superintendent’s budget presentation, however, we will be spending $18,709 per pupil. So, the published amount provided to the public is $3,354 or 18% less than the actual amount.

By my quick “back of the envelope” calculations, it seems as though the superintendent only counts $441 million of the $520 million in his per pupil numbers. I can only assume from his presentation that state and federal aid do not count. However, based on Arlington’s median income, I think we can safely say that Arlington taxpayers pay more than their fair share of state and federal taxes. In other words, Arlingtonians are picking up this share of the school funding tab as well.

I am sure someone has a politically expedient explanation for why this spending does not count in the per pupil calculation. But, it seems disingenuous to people who care about things like accountability, transparency, or even math. This is coming from our school superintendent after all.

Regardless of whether you think we do not spend enough on our schools, too much, or just right, shouldn’t we be honest about what we are actually spending to educate each of our children?

Mark Kelly is a former Arlington GOP Chairman and two-time Republican candidate for Arlington County Board.

Local Students To Take On Global Issues At ‘Earth 2100’

By Aaron Kraut

Arlington nonprofit Our Task will host an “intergenerational” conference to discuss environmental and global development issues on Saturday, Aug. 11 at the Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St.).

Our Task Executive Director Jerry Barney said the conference is aimed at local high school and college students who want to share ideas and discuss what the world will look like in 2100, and what should be done to deal with ongoing deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, population increases and a host of other issues.

“It comes from a growing unease and a growing sense of fear among thoughtful young people that the planet they’re going to inherit is not at all the planet they hope to inherit,” Barney said.

The all-day conference is open to participants of all ages, but for the past six years has attracted mainly local students. They are organized in focus groups and presented with an issue “from the 10,000-foot level,” said Our Task Chair Angeline Cione. They then develop and present solutions.

This year’s opening speaker will be conservation biologist and George Mason University professor Dr. Thomas Lovejoy. Registration is free and will run until the day before the event.

Photo courtesy Jerry Barney

Summer Class Registration Begins Tomorrow

By Katie Pyzyk

Coming up with ideas for things to do throughout the summer isn’t always easy. But the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation has hundreds of classes available, and registration opens tomorrow, May 23.

Examples of active kids’ classes are swimming and tennis, creative classes include music and theater, and crafty classes include woodworking and ceramics. A wide range of activities is also available to adults, including knitting, various sports and gardening.

The catalog of courses is available online, as is a request form to have a copy sent through the mail. Registration can be done online starting at 8:00 a.m.

Although registration forms can also be mailed and faxed starting tomorrow at 8:00 a.m., and phoned or carried in starting on May 30, online registration is recommended to expedite the process.

Registration for those who are not residents of Arlington begins on June 6.

Morning Poll: Middle School Block Scheduling

By ARLnow.com

A plan to implement block scheduling at Arlington’s five middle schools has been greeted with resistance from parents.

Block scheduling allows extended classes for core subjects — like math and science — in order to increase instruction time. In a Washington Post article that termed block scheduling a “fad,” Arlington Public Schools officials said the system gives teachers greater flexibility for creative and personalized instruction.

School Superintendent Patrick K. Murphy, who installed a block schedule when he was the principal of a middle school in Fairfax County, said regular-length periods are too short for the kind of creative teaching needed. “We are doing a disservice to students to run them through a seven-period day with a 45 minute turnaround,” he said.

Margaret Gilhooley, interim assistant superintendent for instruction, said that, in elementary school, “if a class is not grasping a concept, you can expand the time.” With just 45 minutes in middle school, that is difficult to do.

Parents who oppose the plan contend that block scheduling will have a negative impact on certain types of non-core elective classes, like music, and that middle school students don’t have the attention span for a 90-minute math class. Also, say some parents, why should APS change a scheduling system that’s already producing good educational results?

The School Board is expected to examine the issue in May, while implementation of block scheduling is set for the fall of 2013.

From the perspective of either a parent or of someone who once attended middle school, what do you think about the plan?

School Board Delays Block Scheduling Decision

By Katie Pyzyk

Parent concerns have prompted Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy to delay consideration of a plan to institute “block scheduling” at Arlington middle schools.

The change, which has been in the works since 2007, would extend core class times — for subjects like English, math, social studies, science and world languages — while reducing the number of classes per day. Longer “block” periods for sixth graders would be 76 minutes, and would increase to 93 minutes for seventh and eighth graders. Electives would remain at the current, shorter length.

An APS staff presentation to the School Board on the block scheduling plan, originally scheduled for March, has now been pushed back to May. Murphy said the delay will “provide additional time to continue to our ongoing dialogue with families.”

At Thursday night’s packed School Board meeting, numerous parents expressed concerns about the proposed schedule changes. Although block scheduling is already in place at Yorktown, Wakefield and Washington-Lee high schools, some parents don’t believe it’s the right answer for middle school students. One concern is the attention span of younger students.

“The class length is not developmentally appropriate for 12 and 13 year olds,” said a concerned father.

APS cites research showing quality of instruction and student achievement as one of the main reasons for desiring the change. Students will spend more time delving deeply into core subjects and less time switching classes, school officials say. Research also referenced classes such as science labs that would benefit from fewer stops and starts due to time constraints.

While officials say block scheduling allows for more elective choices, opponents say it would decrease the amount of time students spend in individual elective classes such as music, physical education and arts.

Many speakers at Thursday’s Board meeting insisted that the block scheduling plan would have a particularly negative impact on music classes. In addition to less class time, some parents said the plan’s reported elimination of cross-grade classes will decrease the quality of music education.

“The proposal as currently presented is deeply flawed,” said Swanson Middle School Band Boosters President Katy Banks. “The new proposal doesn’t allow for cross-grade music programs. It’s a little like if the National Symphony Orchestra were asked to select their musicians based on their age and not their ability.”

With implementation scheduled for September 2013, in time for the 2013-2014 school year, APS has until the middle of next school year to revise its block scheduling concept. The school system, meanwhile, will hold five community forums in February to give parents a chance to learn more about the plan and to provide additional feedback about the proposed changes.

More information about the block scheduling plan and the community forums is available on special ‘Middle School Design Team’ section of the APS website.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Life-Like Simulators at Arlington Nursing School — The Chamberlain College of Nursing in Arlington is using simulated humans to train its students. The life-sized, life-like simulators can sweat, breathe, talk, and even give birth — and can be treated by new students without risking life or lawsuit. [WUSA9]

Local Indie Book Store Recognized — One More Page Books (2200 N. Westmoreland Street) in the East Falls Church area has been named one of the “Best Indie Bookstores on Twitter” by Mediabistro. The store, which specializes in books, wine and chocolate, has 857 Twitter followers. [GalleyCat]

CEO Leaves Rosslyn Company — Pete Snyder, the CEO and founder of Rosslyn-based New Media Strategies, has announced he’s leaving the company to pursue other ventures. Snyder sold the company five years but stayed on as CEO. New Media Strategies has 130 employees in Arlington and across the U.S. [AdAge]

Flickr pool photo by Maryva2

AIM Offers Spring Classes for Advanced Media Creators

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Independent Media has unveiled the schedule of spring classes for its Master of Independent Media program. The classes offer in-depth instruction for advanced media creators at a relatively low cost — between $150 and $300.

Here’s a list of the classes offered.

  • Introduction to Drupal-Based Web Sites (Feb. 16 – March 30)
  • Photoshop Digital Darkroom (Feb. 24 – March 10)
  • Marketing Media Projects (March 1 – April 5)
  • Digital Still Photography (April 28 – June 2)
  • Location Lighting for Film and Video (March 28 – May 2)
  • Producing and Directing Narrative Works (March 31 – May 5)

APS Pulls Factually-Challenged History Text from Classrooms

By ARLnow.com

A fourth grade history textbook is being pulled from all Arlington County public schools because its contains numerous historical errors.

Controversy over the text, Our Virginia: Past and Present, erupted in October when it was revealed that the book contained a dubious passage about black soldiers fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Fairfax County schools announced on Friday that they would be pulling the text after dozens of additional errors were found. Yesterday, Arlington Public Schools followed suit.

“APS was notified by the [Virginia Department of Education] last Friday, January 7, of the specific errors in the Grade 4 text,” Arlington Public Schools said in a press release. “Based on that information, school officials feel it is in the best interest of students to remove the print version of the textbooks at this time.”

Teachers will use supplemental learning materials in classrooms until a corrected digital version of the textbook becomes available, likely at the end of the month. The publisher will provide corrected print editions of the textbook free of charge this summer.

The school system says it will help train parents who want to learn how to use the digital textbook.

Del. David Englin (D), who represents part of Arlington, has proposed a bill that would require experts to review textbooks before they could be certified for use in Virginia schools.