School Board Approves Schematic Design for New Elementary School at Jefferson Site

At last night’s meeting, the School Board approved the schematic design for the new elementary school that will be built at the Jefferson Middle School site. The new building will provide at least 750 seats and will be open by the start of the 2019-20 school year. It will be a multi-story building on the northwest corner of the Jefferson Middle School site and will include structured parking. The project is expected to cost $59 million.

OTHER ACTION ITEMS:
Revision of School Board Policy 25-1.9 Privacy Rights and Regulations – The School Board approved revisions that add “student number” and “grade level” to the list of items considered directory information. “Directory information” is individual student information that APS will not disclose to any third party with consent from the student’s parent or guardian. More information is available in BoardDocs.

Internal Audit Plan – The School Board approved Internal Auditor John Mickevice’s work plan for the year. The full report is available online.

INFORMATION ITEMS:
Middle School and High School Program of Studies – Staff presented an overview of revisions for next year’s Middle School and High School Program of Studies. The only courses that are proposed for deletion were those that were divided into separate courses, based upon the content. The rationale for the revisions was to ensure that the courses align with the Virginia Department of Education, the APS Strategic Plan, and students’ interests and needs; adherence to evidence-based best practices; and the development of critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, communication and citizenship.

Summer School Report and Fees – Staff provided an overview of course offerings, staffing, and enrollment in summer school. SOL pass rates for both students completing new work and those participating in make-up and strengthening courses. They recommended goals for next year’s summer school program, and proposed changes to the fee structure that support these goals.

Revision of Select Human Resources School Board Policies – Staff proposed addition of Virginia Code citations to Policy 35-4.3 Workplace Violence and Policy 35-4.5 Employee Communication in Native Language. More information is located in BoardDocs.

License Agreement with County for Bus Parking at 2629 Shirlington Road – Staff presented a proposed license agreement with the County that would relocate bus parking from the Trades Center to 2629 Shirlington Road. More information is located in BoardDocs.

APPOINTMENT:
As part of the Consent agenda, the School Board approved the appointment of Erin Wales-Smith as the Director of Talent Acquisition and Management. Talent Acquisition and Management is a new office within the Department of Human Resources created to focus on recruiting and maintaining diverse and high quality staff, a goal of the APS Strategic Plan. Wales-Smith has 28 years of experience as an educator, including 12 years in teaching and 16 years in administration, with educational endorsements in administration and supervision, early childhood and elementary education, and special education. She joined APS in 1996 as a special education teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary School.

RECOGNITION:
The School Board began the meeting by recognizing the Gunston Middle School Odyssey of the Mind team. Gunston Middle School’s team tied for fourth place in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals on May 28, 2016. The students competed against 60 other teams from around the world in Division II of Problem 1: No-cycle Recycle.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Citizens who want to comment on any of the items discussed at the School Board meeting should email the Board at school.board@apsva.us or call 703-228-6015. Citizens may call 703-228-2400 on the Monday after the School Board meetings to listen to a meeting summary. School Board meetings are also broadcast live on Comcast Cable Channel 70 and Verizon FiOS Channel 41; live-streamed on the APS website, and re-broadcast on Fridays at 9 p.m. and Mondays at 7:30 p.m. immediately following the meeting. All materials and minutes of the meeting will be posted to the website at aps2016.apsva.us/schoolboard upon School Board approval at a subsequent meeting.