April 17, 2024 Newsletter
In This Edition:
1. Advocacy in Action: APS Should Change Its Device Policy
2. APS Policies Open for Public Comment
3. What We're Reading
4. April 11th School Board Meeting
5. Happening Soon
APE Asks School Board to Change Its Device Policy
Below is a transcript of APE's public comments presented at APS' March 16th Budget Hearing.
Hello, I'm Camille, speaking on behalf of APE. Since APS has a structural budget deficit, we ask the Board to consider changing its device policy:
The pre K-2nd grade 1:1 policy should be canceled. It is wholly unnecessary and was introduced as an emergency measure in 2020.
The 1:1 policy for 3rd -5th graders should be reduced to fewer devices shared by the whole school, if not also eliminated.
Grades 6 and up should transition to PC laptops, to promote word processing and keyboarding over videos and swiping.
The 1:1 iPad policy costs APS millions, not only in purchases but also in ongoing repairs and replacements. PC laptops cost much less than iPads and have many advantages. Savings from reducing devices should be reallocated to Tier 1 Support—hiring more teachers and reducing class sizes.
Neurology and education research agrees that elementary-level skills are more effectively taught using multisensory methods, i.e. incorporating physical movement with auditory and visual information. iPads produce overly visual input, which a) causes staring for extended periods of time, increasing myopia and near-sightedness, and their bright screens b) increase alertness similar to the effect of caffeine, which can overstimulate kids. Excessive tablet usage negatively impacts social, linguistic and motor skill development in young children, whose nervous systems are still developing. Further, middle-schoolers are especially vulnerable to the negative impacts of screen addiction; social media usage leads to serious mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Using iPads—essentially large smartphones—at school is priming students of all ages to become addicted to phones. Finally, tablets and phones increase ADHD symptoms, while computers do not.
APS says it uses “the right tool at the right time, for the right purpose”, but it feels like we’re using technology just to use technology. PC laptops are more appropriate for learning—they promote “producing over consuming,” and at a quarter of the cost.
We’ve learned a lot in 4 years; now is the right time to roll back tablets and focus on our strongest tool—our teachers.
Watch the video of these public comments from the live meeting, or download the transcript here.
What We’re Reading and Listening To
RAISING EXPECTATIONS Commentary: Virginia can invest in schools while holding them accountable. Here's how (Richmond Times-Dispach)
While money matters, we can’t just spend our way to better performance. High expectations, transparent results and a focus on rewarding success and addressing failure are essential, too. Here Virginia has fallen far short — especially for students from low-income households, Black students, Hispanic students, and those with special needs. For example, in 2022 the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that about 6 in 10 of Virginia’s Black eighth graders were "below basic" in math while half of low-income Virginia eighth graders and half of Hispanic eighth graders were. As the federal official who oversees this test told the Virginia Board of Education last year, “below basic” means unprepared for almost any opportunity in today’s economy.
Screens Are Everywhere In Schools. Do They Actually Help Kids Learn? (New York Times)
And screens truly are everywhere. For example, according to 2022 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only about 8 percent of eighth graders in public schools said their math teachers “never or hardly ever” used computers or digital devices to teach math, 37 percent said their math teachers used this technology half or more than half the time, and 44 percent said their math teachers used this technology all or most of the time...As is often the case with rapid change, “the speed at which new technologies and intervention models are reaching the market has far outpaced the ability of policy researchers to keep up with evaluating them,” according to a dazzlingly thorough review of the research on education technology by Maya Escueta, Andre Joshua Nickow, Philip Oreopoulos and Vincent Quan published in The Journal of Economic Literature in 2020.
This Is Not The Way to Help Depressed Teenagers (New York Times)
Ever since the pandemic, when rates of teenage suicide, anxiety and depression spiked, policymakers around the world have pushed to make mental health resources more broadly available to young people through programming in schools and on social media platforms. This strategy is well intentioned. Traditional therapy can be expensive and time-consuming; access can be limited. By contrast, large-scale, “light touch” interventions — TikTok offerings from Harvard’s School of Public Health, grief-coping workshops in junior high — aim to reach young people where they are and at relatively low cost. But there is now reason to think that this approach is risky. Recent studies have found that several of these programs not only failed to help young people, they also made their mental-health problems worse. Understanding why these efforts backfired can shed light on how society can — and can’t — help teenagers who are suffering from depression and anxiety.
Grade inflation won't catch kids up on lost learning. Good data will. (Washington Post)
Grades K-12 have been puffing up for years. In some schools, pressure to juice college applications is to blame. Others might inflate grades so as not to discourage struggling students. Yet for all their flaws, grades are still the most regular indicator that parents and kids get of academic performance. Now two new studies suggest that covid-19 cranked up the helium — that grades might be giving a false sense of how students are doing. Deceiving families about whether children need help during the window when interventions would do the most good is not kindness. This is no “victimless crime,” says Tim Daly, chief executive of EdNavigator, one of the nonprofits involved in the research.
Buck Up! ("EduWonk" article by Andrew Rotherham)
Progress and continuing challenges are not mutually exclusive. This country, and this sector, has made enormous progress *and* there is still a lot of work to do. But, obviously, to do that work you need people to believe it’s possible.
See something that strikes a chord? Join the discussion on our Facebook page!
April 11th School Board Meeting Recap
Highlights from the meeting include:
Board approved the Special Education Annual Application (application for Federal funding) as required VDOE under the Individuals with Disabilities Act
The Superintendent's Announcement presentation can be viewed here.
APS is preparing for a division-wide roll-out of the Lightspeed internet parent portal which will be fully implemented next school year. The pilot of this program begins April 21. Lightspeed will provide a weekly email update to parents on which websites are visited by a student and allow a parents to pause web browsing after instructional hours on APS-issued devices.
Budget updates: April 23 is a public hearing on the proposed budget, and May 9 is expected adoption of budget
The Elementary English Language Arts Progress Monitoring Report was presented with a robust question and answer session by the Board post (see more details on our full recap!).
Read the full recap here.
Happening Soon
April 18 – 21: Friends of Arlington Library’s Spring Book Sale
Teachers and librarians with school IDs receive 50% off book purchases on Friday and Saturday, and everyone receives 50% off on Sunday (half price day)
Members’ only night: April 18th, 5 – 8:30 p.m.
Public sale: Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Half price day: Sunday, April 21, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 18, 6:00 PM- 8:00 PM, Documentary Screening: "The Right to Read."Wakefield High School
Friday, April 19, 8:00 AM, Audit Committee Meeting. Syphax, Suite 260.
Tuesday, April 23, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Public Hearing on the School Board Proposed FY 2025 Budget. Sign up to speak. Syphax. Watch live.
Wednesday, April 24, 8:00 AM, Policy Subcommittee Meeting. Syphax, Suite 260.
Thursday, April 25, 7pm, School Board Meeting. Sign up to speak. Syphax. Watch live.
Monday, April 29, 6-8 pm, Office Hours with School Board Member David Priddy. Virtual. Sign up.
Don't forget! You can subscribe to APS School Calendars here.
