The School Board approved its priorities for the 2017-18 school year at last night’s meeting. The School Board establishes annual priorities to assist in keeping the Board’s work focused, effective and aligned with its Strategic Plan goals.

This year, the School Board’s priorities will focus on five areas, which include:

• New Policies and Policy Revisions that address the 1:1 technology initiative, inclusion practices, and additional updates on options and transfers;
• Operational Planning to develop the new 2018-24 Strategic Plan; determining the FY 2019-28 Capital Improvement Plan, and building a sustainable budget that supports the whole child and maintains excellence in classroom instruction;
• Preparation for New Schools and Program Moves that will require elementary and middle school boundary adjustments when new schools are opened, and the relocation of the Montessori Program;
• Capital Initiatives to plan for future growth at the Career Center, Education Center, and the Reed Building.
• Community Engagement that focuses on supporting and empowering teachers and staff, and strengthening school, family and community relationships.

OTHER ACTION ITEM:
The Board approved architectural and engineering services for the HVAC modernization at Gunston Middle School. Design work will take place through April 2018 and construction will take place during the summer of 2018 and 2019. The contract was awarded to 2RW in the amount of $574,616.

• MONITORING ITEMS:
  Superintendent’s Action Plan Update: Dr. Pat Murphy reported on the action plan that support the Board’s priorities in the year ahead. He highlighted the new approach to each Engage Process that will include early information and capturing community input with multiple ways for the community to participate, along with clear time frames. All initial information will be available at aps2016.apsva.us/engage by Monday, Sept. 25, and then the Engage section will be updated regularly for all of the topics throughout the year.Dr. Murphy also noted that there will be an Open House on Sat, Sept. 23 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Kenmore Middle School. The open house will give community members the opportunity to learn about major community processes such as boundary changes, strategic planning, instructional vision and capital improvement; ways to provide feedback and decision timelines. Information will be available in English and Spanish, and activities will be available for children to allow time for adults to browse information at each station and discuss the topics with staff.The Superintendent’s full presentation is available online.
• Arlington Tech and Career, Technical and Adult Education (CTAE) Update – Staff reported on the current enrollment of Arlington Tech as well as the projected enrollment through the 2022-23 school year. To read the full report, click here.

INFORMATION ITEMS:
The Board discussed the following items:

• The School Board’s 2019 budget direction/framework
• The Process to Develop School/Facility Naming Criteria for the APS Naming Policy 50-1.10
• The Charge to the Building Level Planning Committee for the New Elementary School at Reed
• The Contract Award for Architectural and Engineering Services for the New Elementary School at Reed

For more information on the above items, visit BoardDocs.

RECOGNITIONS:
The meeting began with a recognition of eight student-leaders for Hispanic Heritage Month. The students were recognized for their leadership in and out of the classroom and for their commitment to excellence in their instructional pursuits. The eight students included: Cesar Alvarado, Yorktown High School; Natalie Arandia, Washington-Lee High School; Sara Duran Calzada, Arlington Career Center; Jordan Gormes, Langston High School Continuation Program; Jonathan Hernandez, Wakefield High School; Rodrigo Hernandez Martinez, Arlington Community High School; Miguel Ramirez, New Directions; and Allan Villanueva, H-B Woodlawn.

The School Board also recognized the Michelle Cottrell-Williams from Wakefield High School and the 2017 APS Teacher of the Year for being selected earlier this week as the 2018 Virginia Teacher of the Year. Board members shared a video clip from last Monday’s awards ceremony in Richmond.

Next School Board Meeting: 
The next School Board meeting will be held on Thu, Oct. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The agenda will be posted one week before the meeting on BoardDocs.

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.