Summary of 2/22/24 School Board Meeting
Meeting Open: Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres opened the meeting, indicating Ms. Sutton would be participating virtually. Mr. Priddy, Ms. Turner, and Ms. Kadera were present.
Board Announcements
Chair Announcements: Ms. Diaz-Torres recognized Black History Month.
Students from Charles Drew Elementary sang the Black National Anthem.
Black History Month Models of Excellence student leaders were honored.
The Office of Professional Learning honored 29 teachers who had earned or renewed the National Board Certification. There are currently 214 Nationally Board Certified teachers in APS.
The Board announced Dr. Durán received the 2024 Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the American Association of School Administrators
Ms. Diaz-Torres announced that the APS 2024 Honored Citizens nominations are due by March 12
Superintendent's Announcements and Updates: Slideshow Presentation
English learner (EL) update in elementary schools
ELs make up 25% of elementary students
Over 100 EL teachers in elementary schools
EL focuses on learning English and also maintaining their primary language
English learners (ELs) are students who are learning English as an additional language while also learning grade level content and skills.
EL teachers work in collaboration with grade-level teachers to develop students' listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English.
This English language development instruction focuses on the integration of language and content and is the shared responsibility of all teachers
Video presentation showing EL instruction
Next board meeting will update EL in secondary schools
Biannual “Your Voice Matters” survey has launched and is open through March 22
Survey helps understand needs and aspirations of students, staff, and families
Results guide department action plans and and evaluate student progress and success, school climate, employee engagement, and family engagement
Encourages everyone to fill it out especially parents as parent participation has not been as high as student and teacher input
FY 2025 Budget timeline
February 29: Superintendent’s Proposed FY 2025 Budget
March 14: Public Hearing on the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget
March 19: Budget Work Sessions #1 – 4
March 22: County Board/School Board Joint Budget Work Session
April 11: School Board’s Proposed FY 2025 Budget
April 23: Public hearing on the School Board’s Proposed Budget
May 9: School Board’s Adopted FY 2025 Budget
Superintendent encouraged public participation and advocacy in process as the their are differing amount of money proposed for APS in state Senate vs Governor’s budger
Bright Spot: Arlington Science Focus Literary Magazine
Kudos to the Arlington Science Focus School (ASFS) Student Council Association!
ASFS students have collected 40+ student submissions in the first issue of The Lincoln Street Reader.
New magazine highlights the marvels of science and theme of gratitude.
Includes stories, poetry, illustrations, and mixed media artwork, on science and nature.
Thank you to Brittany Oman, Assistant Principal Mr. Sokolove and PTA President Heather McDougle for showcasing student literacy skills, creativity and gratitude in the The Lincoln Street Reader.
Board Questions
Ms. Kadera notes the “Your Voice Matters Survey” is a biannual survey. She asks why it is administered biannually and if it could be an annual survey. Superintendent Dr. Durán says he will ask staff and follow up.
Ms. Kadera notes the EL staff are supported by bilingual family specialists to engage non-EL families. This includes supporting translation for parents of ELs and their support is appreciated.
Mr. Priddy asks when the “Your Voice Matters Survey” results will be available. Staff responds that results are available in about 3 weeks after the survey.
Ms. Turner asks about data for the “Your Voice Matters Survey” and if the data from past surveys is retained and shared. She notes the data is online is locked from public access. Dr. Durán responds that the data is retained and he will look into why it is not available online.
Ms. Sutton notes that public comment period has opened for the boundaries policy and revised PIP. Those documents are available for public comment for 6 weeks instead of the traditional 4 weeks through Friday March 29. The policy is available online.
Public Comment
A teacher states that new APS photocopies are slower, smaller, and don’t make hole punches. Also complains that when teachers have to manually punch holes in documents, it takes away from their teaching duties, especially for the 45 teachers in his school that are already teaching an extra class this year. He also states that budgetary revenue sharing is a bad idea because, in “bad times,” the budget is balanced on the backs of employees and kids that they serve. Also, some teachers do not have a key to their classroom 10 months after the key program started.
A teacher states she is a veteran APS teacher and is advocating for students and teachers because “I know we can do better.”
She states in 2011, the most disastrous budget was passed where, for the first time, staff were not granted a step or a COLA increase. Worse, the planning factors across APS were raised “to balance the budget”. This was an explicit statement– rather than making tough choices–APS leadership chose to instead sacrifice the quality of an APS education.
This pattern was repeated in 2020 (Dr Murphy’s last budget) and 2021 (Ms. Johnson’s only budget). During this same time, staff missed 4 steps and 8 COLAs. During that 10 year period, Dr. Murphy and the board normalized making the “easy” cuts –class size and salaries–and avoided making tough decisions –cuts to programs. We found money during this time to start the 1:1 program but could not find money for the most fundamental part of education–class size.
Since 2010, the norm in APS has been to balance the budget on the backs of our kids and staff. This needs to stop–we are a school district. The most fundamental thing we do is put kids in classes with teachers. This focus needs to drive every decision we make.
These decisions don’t have a one year impact – they follow kids through their careers in APS. The chart I gave (attached) you shows the detrimental impact these choices have on our students. Let’s examine the current 10th grade class–the class of 2026. When they were in 1st grade 71% of these students were in classes above the PF. Through 3rd , 4th , and 5th grade, 50% of these students were in classes above the PF. In middle school they experience 2 increases to the PF. They were welcomed to HS with the largest PF in APS history. Now in 10th grade, 62% of these students are in English classes with 26 or more students. Quite honestly, these students have seen the worst that APS has to offer. We have to do better.
The proposed budget will be released next week and it needs to include 2 things–raises and COLAs–especially for our bus drivers and assistants. AND, quite honestly, if the budget does not reduce class sizes–by either reducing the PFs or funding additional positions as suggested by 200:1 plan–we have already failed our students.
And, “Josh Folb is right”–if we need to ask the county for money–we need to ask for more money because what we do as a school district is the most fundamental thing we do as a society–we have to get it right.
Chart Explanation: The chart featured below has a lot of information in it. Essentially, the more pink, red, yellow, or orange boxes that exists in any one column, the more likely it is that a student in that graduating class was in a class (or classes in MS and HS) that were simply too large. Data on class sizes cannot be located from before 2010.
A special education teacher at Wakefield HS states she has been out sick for a year, since January 2023, due to getting COVID and then pneumonia. She states that before she returned, she requested a chair in each of the 5 classrooms she works in. She notes that she works in co-taught classrooms with 2 teachers, but there is only 1 teacher chair per classroom. She says she provided doctors notes stating she needs a chair, however, the chair was denied. She asks for a chair to be provided for her.
Monitoring Items
Dr. Durán announces that the Science Monitoring Report will be presented.
Dr. Gerald Mann introduces the presenters and notes that the goal is to provide grade level science instruction to all students including EL students.
Dr. Dat Le, Science Supervisor
There is a lot of cross department collaboration between the Science Department and other departments including the Offices of English Learners, Special Education, and Advanced Academics.
There is focus on integrating literacy into content areas
Three year trend shows of increasing SOLs scores by 14 percentage points in elementary school in the past 2 years
Black students outperform the state average on SOLs by 7 percentage points
Special ed students outperform the state average on SOLS by 9 percentage points
Hispanic students show growth but do not outperform the state average on SOLs
EL students perform at about the state average on SOLs
Student enrollment in advance courses (AP and dual enrollment courses) is increasing
More advanced courses (AP and dual enrollment) have been offered in the past 2 years
AP scores are gradually increasing
Focus of support is on 15 schools, particularly related to Hispanic, EL and special education students
This includes assessments at these school
Walkthroughs performed at school and meetings with principals
Meeting with schools on a weekly basis to support teachers and provide lesson plans
Office of English Learners supports science by focusing on lessons plans that include language and content as well as pathways to graduation
Office of Special Education collaborates with the Science Department to perform instructional walkthroughs at schools to make sure students are supported
Focus on middle school teachers to support intensified science and provide lesson plans and professional learning
Next year, intensified science will be offered at the 6th grade level
Office of Professional Learning develops curriculum that are content level for all levels of students.
Curriculum is developed in conjunction with teacher input
Middle school students must write an independent research paper and learn about writing in the process, note taking, citations and creating a bibliography. This process also focuses on non-fiction sources.
Last year, 11 students advanced to the Virginia state science fair and 2 went to the international science fair.
Discussed planetarium which services over 8,000 students per year
Discussed future plans:
To collaborate with special education, EL office, and advanced academics to close gaps for subgroups that are underperforming
Improve science instruction and make it more consistent at the elementary level through use of science coaches
Use assessment to identify students who are struggling and to provide them with additional interventions and support
Questions
Ms. Kadera said she is a former science teacher and supports the need for high quality science instruction in the world today so that students develop a firm understanding of science. She said APS science capabilities including teachers, planetarium, and outdoor lab are robust. She also notes there are resources and assets in the community that could push-in to support instruction, through volunteers, or through field trips and internships. She asked what the vision is for science instruction 5 years from now.
Dr. Le responded that science would have an “even billing” with reading, ELA and math because science is tied to accreditation.
He also said consistent and adequate instruction time at elementary level.
Ms. Kadera asked what are the root causes of the gaps for EL and other students.
Dr. Le attributes it to pandemic learning losses.
Ms. Kadera hypothesized that EL students may also have less access to summer camps or learning opportunities.
Ms. Turner asked if pre-COVID data could be provided for science achievement, as the presentation had only examined data from the past 3 years.
Dr. Le said he does not have the data off-hand, but he will look into it.
Ms. Turner also asked about unit assessments and how the data is examined.
Dr. Le said science unit assessments are done for grades 3, 4 and 5. There are usually 2 unit assessments per quarter.
All assessments are aligned with SOLs and curriculum documents, which align with standards based grading, to create more consistency across schools.
The data is examined to see if there is any need for re-teacher or additional support such as small group teaching, or if an entire school.
Assessments are also done for grades 6, 7, 8 in middle school.
In high school, unit assessments are only done for biology.
Unit assessments have only been done for the past 1.5 years.
Dr. Mann provided data from pre-COVID. Countywide science pass rate in 2019 was 86%. For EL students, it was 71%.
Ms. Sutton asked how the 15 schools are identified for monitoring and support.
Dr. Le said the schools were identified based on SOL data.
Ms. Sutton requested that data be broken down by subgroups by school amongst other subgroups within APS - and not just comparing APS subgroups with the state, as was done in the presentation. She also requested for enrollment data for science be broken out by subgroups including race and ethnicity. Ms. Diaz Torres concurred. Ms. Turner concurred and also asked for pre-COVID data.
Dr. Durán stated that future monitoring reports will include information about APS subgroups, pre-COVID data, and compare to state data.
New Business
None. Meeting adjourned.
