Engage Update Nov. 4, 2021

Changes to the Fall 2021 Boundary Process

At last night’s School Board Work Session on the Fall 2021 Boundary Process, Superintendent Durán recommended pausing the proposed Abingdon to Drew boundary changes while moving forward with the middle school and high school boundary proposals. Currently, enrollment levels at Abington are manageable, so enrollment will be assessed again next year to determine if a boundary process is needed.

Taking a pause for the elementary school level allows staff to review the planning units assigned to Abingdon and Drew comprehensively with all other schools as part of a broader elementary boundary process, versus only considering two elementary schools in isolation.

As a part of this process, staff reassessed current enrollment for Abingdon, which has decreased this school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Abingdon is not currently over capacity, providing staff more time to include it as part of a comprehensive elementary school boundary plan in the future.

The next step in the process is when the Superintendent presents his Fall 2021 Boundary Process Proposal as an information item at the November 16 School Board Meeting. Watch the work session or view the presentation online. Information on the boundary proposals and FAQs are available on the Fall 2021 Boundary Process webpage.

APS & ACPD Memorandum of Understanding Development Process

APS is currently reviewing and updating the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Arlington County Police Department. The purpose of the MOU Development Process is to redefine and reimagine the relationship between APS and ACPD. The new MOU is currently being developed based on the recommendations from the SRO Work Group this past spring. On Monday, November 8, the final draft of the MOU will be posted online for public comment before it is finalized and shared with the School Board for approval.

The following is the MOU Development Process Timeline:

• The MOU development work began on August 30​, 2021
• The final draft of the MOU will be posted for review on November 8, 2021.
• The community will have a 15-day public comment period until Nov. 23 to provide feedback on the final draft of the MOU.
• The final version of the MOU will be presented as a monitoring item at the December 2, 2021 School Board Meeting.

For additional information on the MOU Development Process and to access the MOU for public comment once it is available, please visit the APS and School Resource Officers section on the Engage webpage.

Engage with APS! Message Archive

APS sends the “Engage Update” via APS School Talk each Thursday to update the community on initiatives and opportunities for involvement and feedback. The community is now able to read all messages for the 2021-22 school year in the online archive. As messages are shared with the community, they are posted in the archive for review. The online archive also provides the functionality to read the weekly message in multiple languages by selecting the option to change the language in the upper left-hand corner of the website. View the Engage with APS! message archive.

Share Your Comments on Draft School Board Policies

Review and comment on draft APS policies that are available for public comment on the APS Engage website. Comments can be provided by December 2, 2021, on the following draft policy:

• B-3.6.30 School Board Advisory Committees

 Upcoming Events:

• November 9 – School Board Work Session #1 with the Advisory Council on Teaching and Learning (ACTL)
• November 16 – School Board Meeting