Superintendent Updates School Board on 3-5 Year Plan Progress

At last night’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Pat Murphy provided a monitoring report for the three community processes that are underway for decisions related to the APS 3-5 Year Action Plan:

1. Drew Model Visioning Process is focused on articulating the school’s direction and ensure that it is attractive to students and their families, embraces the school’s rich history, and prepares students for the future. Several opportunities are available for the community to provide feedback and a final vision is expected later in the spring. APS is currently gathering community feedback through a survey that is open until Feb. 25.
2. The New High School Instructional Focus is underway to determine the instructional focus of the new high school planned to open by 2022. A joint meeting of the Advisory Council on Instruction (ACI) and the Facilities Advisory Council (FAC) was held on Feb. 15 to review options for location and instruction; prioritize considerations; and test a survey tool. The community survey is planned for Feb. 27-March 17.
3. School Board Policy (SBP) 25-2.2 Enrollment and Transfers for Schools and Programs is being undertaken to blend school options, ensure equitable access, simplify the policy and standardize practices. The first draft of the policy and Policy Implementation Procedure is available online. A survey went out this week to solicity the community’s feedback. The survey will be open through March 5. Two “Getting Started” informational community meetings are planned for Feb. 22 and March 2.

To learn more about these initiatives and to get involved, visit aps2016.apsva.us/engage.

ACTION ITEMS:
Revision of Select Student Services School Board Policies – The Board approved minor changes to the policies for Foreign Exchange Student Programs and Student ID Badges. The changes are delineated in policy revisions posted in BoardDocs.

OTHER MONITORING ITEM:
APSGo! – In 2013, APS launched APSGo!, a community-wide, school-driven process that raises awareness and provides incentives, information and encouragement related to walking, biking, transit, car/vanpooling and school busing. Earlier this year, staff, students and parents were surveyed about their transportation preferences. The results of the survey along with the rest of the report are available online.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

• Revision of Select Student Services SBP: Staff is recommending minor changes to SBP 25-2.1 Admissions and Placement and 25-3 Support for Students-Wellness. The changes are delineated in policy revisions posted in BoardDocs.
• Revision of Select Human Resources SBP: Staff recommends changes to SBP 35-4.6 Grievance Procedures and SBP 35-4.9 Disciplinary Actions. The Proposed changes are available online.

RECOGNITIONS:
Models of Excellence The School Board honored nine Model of Excellence students who were recognized for their high levels of success in the areas of academic, professional, athletic achievement, or civic leadership and involvement. The recognitions were originally presented on Feb. 8 at Kenmore Middle School at the “Over Here in Arlington Being Excellent” community event which was part of this year’s APS Black History Month celebrations.

The student Models of Excellence are: Michael O’Grady, Gunston Middle School; Christine Wanda, H-B Woodlawn; Jakhi Beale, Jefferson Middle School; Jordan Bussie, Kenmore Middle School; Rylei Porter, Swanson Middle School; Jeremiah Parker, Wakefield High School; Mone’ Parker, Washington-Lee High School; Diamond Stephens, Williamsburg Middle School; Taylor Welch, Yorktown High School.

2017-18 Decal Design Competition
The Board congratulated Wakefield High School 10th grader Amy Kohan for winning the 2017-18 Arlington County Vehicle Decal Design Contest. Also recognized were this year’s finalists, Sydney Machion and Marjorie Henriquez from Wakefield.

Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) Healthiest Schools Award
Claremont Immersion and Taylor Elementary schools were recognized for receiving the Marine Corps Marathon Healthiest Schools Award. The award recognizes the top five schools with the most registered student participants in this year’s MCM Kids Run.

NEXT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING WILL BE BUDGET PRESENTATION:
The next School Board meeting on Thu, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. (Watch live stream here) The agenda will include one item – the Superintendent’s presentation of the FY 2018 Proposed Budget. The meeting will end after Dr. Murphy’s presentation and will be immediately followed by the School Board’s First Budget Work Session in Room 101 at the Ed Center.  The meeting presentation and Work Session will both be live-streamed.

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.