School Board Reviews Process to Develop the 2018-24 Strategic Plan

School Board Approves 2019 Budget Direction and Process to Develop Naming Policy Criteria
Superintendent Provides Update on September 30 Enrollment

At last night’s meeting, School Board members discussed the process for developing the 2018-24 Strategic Plan. The new Strategic Plan will be drafted with community input to define goals and strategies that help APS address continuing challenges and chart the course to meet the evolving needs of students. A Steering Committee of community stakeholders and staff will be appointed by the Superintendent to lead the strategic planning process. Staff presented a timeline for the process and engagement opportunities that will invite the public to provide input to help shape the final plan. The School Board is expected to hold a work session in January to review the Committee’s progress and is scheduled to adopt the final plan on June 7, 2018.

School Board Adopts 2019 Budget Direction
The School Board adopted its 2019 Budget Direction, which prioritizes the importance of investments to address critical needs linked to enrollment growth, while reducing per-pupil spending to ensure long-term sustainability. The Board also requested that the proposed budget should be consistent with supporting the APS strategic goals and include a compensation increase for eligible employees.

School Board Approves Process to Develop Naming Criteria for the APS Naming Policy 50-1.10
The School Board approved a process to develop criteria for the School/Facility Naming Policy. A staff naming committee made up of representatives from a broad cross-section of employees throughout the school division will be convened to review the policy. The committee will research derivations of all current APS school names and identify whether any APS schools may need to be considered for renaming by their respective school communities. The staff committee will also engage the community in feedback on the naming criteria; update the criteria to reflect the APS Mission, Vision and Core Values; and provide clear guidance to direct all future community conversations for school naming processes. The School Board will review and approve the committee’s recommendations, and if necessary, direct the Superintendent to begin the renaming process for schools that need to comply with the updated policy. View the complete presentation in BoardDocs. 

September 30 Enrollment Update: Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy provided an update on the student enrollment
As of September 30 this year, the total number of PreK – 12 students is 26,941 students, which is 98.8% of the Spring Projections and a 3% increase compared to September 30, 2016. Broken out by school level, elementary enrollment is up by 2.8%, middle school enrollment saw the biggest jump with an increase of 4.1%, and high school enrollment is up by 2.6%.  The September 30 enrollment report is submitted annually to the state and is used to determine state and federal funding allocations.  The data also will inform plans for the FY 2019 budget as well as the facility needs in the FY19-28 Capital Improvement Plan next spring.  

OTHER MONITORING ITEMS:

• Superintendent’s 2017-18 Action Plan Update
  Dr. Murphy reviewed the work that is underway to prepare for new schools and program moves, revise and draft new policies, continue operational planning and move forward on capital initiatives. He presented an overview and timeline for resetting the middle school boundaries, which kicked off on Oct. 2. Community input is being requested on the current proposals through Oct. 18.

• Library Services Update
  Staff presented an update on Library Services, which aims to foster a lifelong love of reading among all students. Librarians work closely with the instructional team to provide resources and support for teaching and learning. Data indicates that printed materials circulation continues to rise, with more than one million books circulated each of the last two years. For the eBook/audiobook collection, circulation has tripled over the past three years, from 19,000 to more than 66,000 digital materials. Staff shared highlights from author visits, collaborative work with the County libraries, and progress that has been made to expand school library space in some schools. View the complete presentation in BoardDocs. 

ACTION ITEMS:
In addition to approving the 2019 Budget Direction and the Process to Develop Criteria for the APS Naming Policy, the School Board also approved the charge and appointments to the Building Level Planning Committee for the new elementary school that will be constructed at the current location of the Reed Building. 

INFORMATION ITEMS:
The Board discussed the following information items:

• The Board reviewed a contract award for construction management advisor services for the new middle school at Stratford.
• The Children’s School (TCS) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is being developed in collaboratively by with TCS and APS for its Integration Station (IS) program. TCS is a private, nonprofit cooperative daycare for children of APS employees, and IS is an APS special education preschool program. Both programs are currently co-located in the Reed Building, which is being redeveloped into a new elementary school scheduled to open in 2021. The MOU ensures that both programs will move to a new leased space together, and ensures their continued partnership at the new location.

For more information on the above items, visit BoardDocs.

APPOINTMENTS:
The School Board approved the following administrative appointments:

• Shannon Ellis, currently the Assistant Principal at Swanson Middle School, has been appointed as the Interim Supervisor of Mathematics;
• Kimberly Jackson-Davis, currently the counselor at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School, has been appointed as the Interim Assistant Principal at Washington-Lee High School; and
• Antonio Hall, currently the Assistant Principal at Washington-Lee High School, has been appointed as the Assistant Principal at Swanson Middle School.

RECOGNITION:
The School Board began its meeting with a recognition of Drew Model School students who participated in the Young Scholar’s Innovation Academy during the summer. Approximately 700 elementary students were selected to participate in this two-week program which focused on project and problem based learning by having students become experts in the fields of Zoology, Geology, and Conservation.

Next School Board Meeting: 
The next School Board meeting will be held on Thu, Oct. 19 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.