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At last night’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy presented seven proposed refinement options for high school attendance zone boundaries. The refinements will take effect in September 2017 and balance enrollment among the three comprehensive high schools over the next four years by moving selected planning units to Wakefield and Yorktown. The proposal included a four-year grandfathering option for students with an older sibling concurrently enrolled at Washington-Lee High School.Staff gathered community input to develop the proposed options through a series of community meetings, an online boundary tool, and presentations to civic associations, PTAs, and community groups. A dedicated website, email, and phone number were established to keep the community informed and as additional tools for gathering feedback. Staff finalized the list of options based in part on community feedback and in accordance with School Board Policy 30-2.2 Boundaries that conform with the criteria including efficiency, proximity, stability, alignment, demographics, and contiguity.The proposed options and related information are available online at aps2016.apsva.us/apsboundaries or on BoardDocs. The School Board will hold a work session on Wed, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Wakefield Cafeteria. A public hearing will be held on Tue, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Education Center, and will make a final decision at the School Board meeting on Dec. 1.
OTHER INFORMATION ITEMS:
Amendment to License Agreement for Wilson Property: Staff presented a proposed amendment to the license agreement for the Wilson property that changes the commencement date from October 1, 2017 to March 1, 2017, seven months earlier than the original Agreement. More information is available in BoardDocs.
Proposed Charge to Joint Facilities Advisory Commission: The Board discussed a proposed charge to the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission. This new commission is being established in partnership with Arlington County to provide input on capital facilities needs assessment, capital improvement plans and long-range facility planning for both the County Government and APS. More information about the commission is available on the County’s website.
MONITORING ITEMS:
Career and Technical Education Update: Staff provided a report on the new Arlington Tech program launched this year. Arlington Tech is a full-time program located at the Career Center, and focuses on project-based learning. The first cohort of 40 students will graduate in 2020, and the program will expand each year, eventually increasing enrollment to 800 students by the 2022-23 school year. Both parent and student feedback has been enthusiastic so far, and the Department of Instruction is planning a Parent Information Night for prospective students and their families on November 15. Online applications are being accepted now, and the deadline to apply is January 31, 2017.
Compensation Study: Consultants presented their findings from a market rate and pay policy study of APS compensation. They examined compensation of 4,200 employees in 380 job titles, and the competiveness of teacher pay with other regional employers. They concluded that teacher pay is very competitive compared with the market, and that for 55 other job titles that were benchmarked, pay was market competitive at the entry, midpoint, and pay range maximum. The full presentation is available in BoardDocs.
ACTION ITEMS:
Revision of Select Human Resources School Board Policies: The Board approved the 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: The Board also approved a license agreement with the County that will relocate bus parking from the Trades Center at 2700 S. Taylor Street to 2629 Shirlington Road. More information is located in BoardDocs.
CONSENT AGENDA:
The School Board received the 2015-16 Annual Report from Food and Nutrition Services. The full report is available online.
RECOGNITION:
The School Board began the meeting with a presentation from students who are involved in the Minority Student Achievement Network. They shared highlights from their recent participation in the national conference held in Charlotte, NC last month.
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.
