School Board Selects Washington-Liberty High School as New Name for Washington-Lee

Unanimously Approves New Names for the New Building in Rosslyn and Montessori Program

The Arlington School Board unanimously approved Washington-Liberty High School as the new name for Washington-Lee High School. The School Board voted to rename the school in June 2018 based on new school naming guidelines. The new name is based on the recommendation from the renaming committee comprised of staff, student, family and community members.

The renaming committee submitted two names for board consideration – Washington-Loving as the first choice and Washington-Liberty as the alternate recommendation. Washington-Liberty was selected by the Board given the name’s alignment with APS core values and as a way to honor “humble leadership that advances civil liberties for all.”

The Board also approved new names for the new building in Rosslyn and the new Montessori program. The Heights Building was selected as the name for the facility under construction in Rosslyn that will house the H-B Woodlawn and Stratford Programs, slated to open in September 2019.

Montessori Public School of Arlington was selected as the name for the APS Montessori program moving to the Patrick Henry site in Fall 2019.

All new names will go into effect in the 2019-20 school year.

The Board also approved appointments to the Drew Naming Committee, which were presented by Principal Kim Graves to begin a naming process for Drew Model School given the recently approved boundary changes. The new boundaries signify Drew’s transition to a full neighborhood elementary school. More information is available on BoardDocs.

OTHER ACTION ITEMS:
The Board approved the following items:

• Revision of School Board Policy D-12.3 Travel Reimbursement – Click here to view more information.
• Education Center Reuse Educational Specifications – Specifications for the reuse of the Education Center at 1426 N. Quincy Street, including the project’s schedule of program spaces, capacity and detailed space requirements. Click here to view more information.
• Change Order for the Syphax Renovation – The School Board approved the change order, noting that the decision represents no change in total funding already approved by School Board for this project. Click here to view more information.
• Revision of School Board Policy E-3.30 Building and Grounds Management – Click here to view more information.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ITEMS:

• Proposed Revisions to School Board Policy I-10.32 Pupil Services
• Proposed Revisions to School Board Policy M-14 Support
• Funding for Drew and Henry Refresh Projects
• Transportation Staff Facility Renovation Preliminary Project Budget

Full details on these items are available on BoardDocs.

RECOGNITIONS:
The Board recognized Wakefield Boys Basketball Coach Tony Bentley for 17 years of leadership and 300 wins. APS Supervisor of Health and Physical Education, Debbie DeFranco, Wakefield Principal Chris Willmore and Coach Bentley’s family were also in attendance to honor him. Additionally, nine outstanding APS students were recognized for earning scholarships from the Posse Foundation and QuestBridge. APS seniors receiving scholarships are from Wakefield, Washington-Lee, Yorktown and H-B Woodlawn.

NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING:
The School Board will hold its next Regular Meeting (2110 Washington Blvd.) on Thu, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. The agenda will be posted one week before the meeting on BoardDocs.

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.