Summary: 9/30/21 SB Meeting
At last night's School Board Meeting we heard the following:
VLP Program. APS continues to apologize for its implementation of the VLP program, and parents (about a half-dozen at this meeting) continue to raise concerns, including that a month into the program (i) many classes still lack teachers, (ii) the 190 SWD students are not having their IEPs met, and (iii) asynchronous students have missed five weeks of classes and now must make it all up on their own time. While APE has questioned why APS would set up a virtual school program when Virginia already offers two such programs, and when virtual instruction has been proven to be less effective than in-person instruction, having set up such a program, APS has an obligation to educate those children who chose VLP in the format promised (i.e., virtual) so that VLP students do not receive a second-class education, which should never be acceptable.
APE Comments: On behalf of APE, speakers noted that APS’ recent failings (summer school, VLP, German program) have all revolved around insufficient teachers, and urged APS to become more aggressive in hiring and retention of teachers, including increased compensation, more aggressive recruiting, and more empowerment for teachers. APE also advocated for APS to adopt test-to-stay, a program that has proven successful in other states (including California, Massachusetts and Illinois) for safely minimizing the number of quarantine days for students. APS needs to work with the County and the state to get the necessary supplies and approval from VDH.
Math Monitoring Report. APS provided an update on math in schools. APS’ stated goal was a greater focus on equity in math, ensuring growth mindset, and a positive math culture.
Although the data was not presented (it is available online), Ms. O’Grady described the performance data as “disturbing.” APS noted that only 64% of students achieved 1-year or more of growth last year (compared to 80% plus in most years). APS noted that its priorities are more school-based resources, including math coaches and interventionists, and more resources (e.g. books) in schools. Although Ms. Diaz-Torres praised our interventionists for “working miracles,” she was corrected as APS has very few interventionists currently. It was noted that 30% of our students require Tier 2 and 3 intervention, which requires more instructional time. Dr. Kanninen urged APS to look for resources to fund those priorities during the year-end close-out process. APS stated that it is preparing to implement VMPI, which will affect students currently in fourth grade. APS contends that Calculus is not a key indicator of success for students and that colleges are not focused on that.Independent Auditor Priorities. APS’ independent auditor (John Mickevice) reported on his priorities for the year, which include: (i) VLP program; (ii) operations, costs and resource deployments at option schools compared to neighborhood schools; (iii) payroll; (iv) compliance with DOJ EL settlement; (v) ARP and ESSR funds compliance issue.
Budget: The Board directed Duran to provide a needs-based budget and also the cuts recommended to balance the budget. The school board is looking to have zero-based budgeting in future years. The Board noted that it wants transparency in the budgeting process and that math should be a priority for funding.
Board Priorities and Allocation of Time. As reflected on our Board Meeting Scorecard the Board devoted substantially more time this week to academics issues (41% of meeting), with its focus on math. The Board failed, however, to spend any time addressing learning loss recovery. While APS has no detailed plan for such recovery for the 26,900 students who lost 4-6 months of learning time last year, Board member Diaz-Torres insisted that APS deliver a concrete plan to make up lost learning time for students in the VLP program.
