December 17, 2024 Newsletter
In This Edition:
1. School Board Unanimously Passes Away for the Day
2. School Devices, EdTech and Parental Rights
3. Parents: Please Fill Out Impact Aid Survey
4. What We're Reading
5. December 12th School Board Meeting Recap
6. Happening Soon
Arlington School Board Unanimously Passes Away for the Day
We would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of our supporters who helped advocate for a Bell-to-Bell J-30 policy. School Board Chair Mary Kadera shared during last week's meeting that this policy issue generated the most community discussion of any she has worked on since joining the board. Your letters, office hours visits, petitions, in which you shared both research and personal testimonials went a long way in helping board members make an informed decision. We are so grateful to the time and effort you all put into the important issue of personal devices in Arlington schools.
The policy passed 5-0 and will go into effect on January 1st. Read the final policy and Policy Implementation Procedure (PIP). We will continue to closely follow its implementation, keep our readers apprised of its progress, and advocate for best practices.
Read about the vote in our school board meeting recap.
School Devices and EdTech: What Are Your Rights as a Parent?
A new podcast from an attorney specializing in school-based EdTech helps parents understand their legal rights around the critical issue of tech usage in the classroom.
Why It Matters: Studies indicate that meaningful numbers of children access inappropriate material online while at school (including 30% of teens who report viewing pornography while at school). Evidence is mounting that excessive screen time worsens conditions like ADHD and myopia; doubts about EdTech's impacts on learning are also growing. For a variety of reasons, including privacy and data collection concerns, a growing numbers of parents are worried about school-based EdTech usage and seeking to better understand their rights. Attorney Julie Liddel, founder of the Ed Tech Law Centersheds light on this issue in a recent podcast.
Some highlights are:
Parents have the right to be informed about EdTech use in schools.
Both federal and state law requires that tech companies obtain parental consent before they collect and use children’s personal information.
Informed consent starts with parents being given a comprehensive set list of what digital products and services their child has access to in a given year, as well as the Terms of Service and privacy policies of all of these products and services.
Currently, there is not an internet-connected service/platform that exists today which does not collect user information in order to function.
Consent cannot be provided by schools; consent must come from parents. (She further notes that a wraparound blanket parental consent form set up to be required by schools in order for a child to enroll does not constitute voluntary consent.)
We encourage any parent concerned about this issue to inform themselves as we watch for forthcoming judicial rulings in this space.
Listen to School Tech: Know Your Rights.
APS Seeks "Impact Aid" for Military Families, Students with Connections to Federal Government
In recent weeks, APS parents have been required to complete a form on Parentvue before accessing their students’ grades. This form is part of an effort to secure additional federal assistance for students from military families as well as students who have other connections with the federal government. APS requests that families fill out this survey by January 10th, 2025.
Impact Aid is the nation’s oldest K-12 federal education program and was originally signed into law in 1950. It reimburses school districts for local revenues lost due to the presence of federally-owned, and therefore tax exempt, property. This includes children of active-duty uniformed services personnel, children living on federal property or in subsidized federal housing, and children whose parents work at a number of eligible federal properties. Many such properties exist in Northern Virginia, for example: the Department of State office space in Rosslyn, Arlington Cemetery, Reagan National Airport, the Pentagon, Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center, Langley CIA campus, Mark Center Federal Office, and so on. APS has not historically applied for this funding, but it is an important and ongoing source of federal assistance to school districts with a concentration of federally-impacted schools, particularly as APS faces a significant budget shortfall for the 2025-2026 school year.
For more information, visit this APS webpage about Impact Aid Program Funding
What We’re Reading and Listening To
New accountability system supports advanced math learners (ADVANCE)
Virginia’s new accountability system incentivizes schools to provide valuable middle-school math pathways, resulting in more opportunities for Virginia students, especially the most underprivileged.It will also counter the non-evidence-based, anti-acceleration ideology of certain discredited thought leaders in K–12 math education who have had a corrosive effect on Virginia K–12 math education.
Gen Z Has Regrets (NYTimes)
Our survey shows that many Gen Z-ers see substantial dangers and costs from social media. A majority of them want better and safer platforms, and many don’t think these platforms are suitable for children. Forty-five percent of Gen Z-ers report that they “would not or will not allow my child to have a smartphone before reaching high school age (i.e. about 14 years old)” and 57 percent support the idea that parents should restrict their child’s access to smartphones before that age.
Socioeconomic status explains most of the racial and ethnic achievement gaps in elementary school (The Conversation)
Our research shows that some factors have more impact on gaps in achievement than others. For example, gaps in achievement between Black and white students, and between Hispanic and white students, were smaller when students came from families with similar household incomes…The achievement gaps can be addressed through policies that reduce early economic and educational disparities.
Working Memory: Education’s Unfinished Revolution (TES)
Experts have said that an understanding of working memory is among the “most important things teachers should know” to be effective in classrooms…Helping students to put more information into long-term memory, sometimes also known as “memorising”, can also help to manage the cognitive load associated with learning something new and free up more space in working memory. Research has shown that students with quick recall of maths facts, for example, can work out complex maths problems more efficiently.
School Tech: Know Your Rights (Scrolling2Death Podcast)
After finding a self-harm video being promoted to my child on her school-issued device, I decided to embark on a journey of opting my child out of devices at school. And boy, has it been a journey. Attorney Julie Liddell illuminates the issues surrounding EdTech in the classroom and what parents need to know to advocate for their children.
Read something that strikes a chord? Join the discussion on our Facebook page!
December 12th School Board Meeting Recap
Highlights from the meeting include:
J-30 Personal Device policy passes unanimously, 5-0
Last call to join ACTL Advisory Groups
Middle and High School Program of Studies passes 5-0
Read the full recap here.
Happening Soon
Wednesday, December 18, 8am, Policy Subcommittee Meeting. Virtual. Join the meeting.
Thursday, December 19, 8am, Audit Committee Meeting. Syphax, Suite 260.
Thursday, January 9, 5:30pm, Committee of the Whole Meeting–Budget. Syphax, Suite 260.
Thursday, January 16, 7pm, School Board Meeting. Sign up to speak. Syphax. Watch live.
