School Board Announces New Assistant Principal and Director Appointments

At its July 25 meeting, School Board Chair Tannia Talento announced several new appointments and provided an update on the superintendent search timeline. Talento reiterated the School Board’s focus on hiring an interim superintendent by September 1 for the 2019-20 school year, while working with an outside firm to conduct a national search for a permanent superintendent.

Talento said the interim search is in progress, and the School Board is hiring a search firm to aid with the national search. A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued in August, and the Board expects to have a search firm hired by early fall. Once the firm is in place, the process will include input from staff, families and the community. APS will share a timeline and updates on the search process via a dedicated page on the Engage with APS! webpage by the first of August.

Additionally, the School Board made the following new appointments as part of the consent agenda:

• Alyson Weissberg appointed Assistant Principal, Alice West Fleet Elementary School – Weissberg has experience as a classroom teacher and as an assistant summer school principal. Currently she is the instructional coach at Hoffman-Boston’s summer school program. She focuses on collaboration and positive learning environments and is committed to supporting students and families from many backgrounds to foster student success.
• Jennifer Denino appointed Assistant Principal, Randolph Elementary School – Denino has been with APS for 20 years, serving in various leadership roles, most recently as the lead English Learner teacher at Claremont. She has also been a summer school principal at Key and Claremont and, during the past year, worked as a testing coordinator, gaining experience in organization, training, planning, and communicating with stakeholders.
• Terri Carson appointed Director of Finance – The Board also appointed Terri Carson as Director of Finance. Carson has over 13 years of experience in a variety of finance positions, and for the past 4 years she has been the APS administrative officer and risk manager. While at APS, she has built relationships with school staff, County staff, parents, and the business community, working collaboratively to foster communication and identify solutions to problems.
• Wendy Pilch appointed as Director, Early Childhood and Elementary Education – Pilch has held this position as interim for the past two years, providing high-quality coaching and support to elementary schools, and helping build innovative programs to meet the needs of all students. During her 20 years with APS, she has also served as Title I and Reading Recovery teacher; Family Engagement Coordinator for Title I; Title I Supervisor and Interim Assistant Principal at Drew Model School.

The School Board also discussed the following items:

• APS is an Arlington Census 2020 Partner: APS staff are working with the County to help educate and inform students and families about the Census, a once-a-decade population and housing count that is safe and confidential for every household. Leading up to Census Day, April 1, 2020, APS will be sharing information with families about the process and why a complete count is important.
• Arlington Community High School Accreditation: Barbara Thompson, Principal, Arlington Community High School presented the proposed Arlington Community High School alternative accreditation application.
• Randolph Modernization Project: Facilities and Operations staff provided an update on the Randolph Modernization Project and requested an increase to the construction contract with an individual change order having a maximum total of $195,000. The requested approval for an increase of funds is still within the project’s overall budget.
• Revisions to SB Policy J-6.8.1 Student Safety – Bullying/Harassment Prevention: Director of Administrative Services Jeannette Allen provided an update on revisions to the policy and policy implementation procedures, and discussed next steps with the Board. The policy will come back to the Board for approval in October.

To view presentations or for more information, visit BoardDocs. All materials and minutes will be posted to the website at aps2016.apsva.us/schoolboard upon School Board approval at a subsequent meeting.

Next School Board Meeting

• Tuesday, August 22 at 6:30 p.m.

For More Information
Citizens who want to comment on any items discussed at the School Board meeting should email the Board at school.board@apsva.us or call 703-228-6015. School Board meetings are 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 will be posted to the website at aps2016.apsva.us/schoolboard upon School Board approval at a subsequent meeting.