Keep Communities Together

For Arlington Public Schools to continue its excellence, we must ensure that we have the correct number of seats for our students in the right areas – especially as the county grows and neighborhoods are developed.  However, determining exactly where seats are needed, how many seats are needed, when the seats are needed, and how new seats are obtained is a huge challenge. Without this critical information, decisions should not be made. Moving schools and destroying communities should be the absolute last resort for APS – not the first solution attempted.

Clearly Communicate Changes with Families 

Families rely on APS for programs like extended day and summer enrichment. Arlington has a world-class education system because of these programs -- not simply because of the outstanding in classroom instruction.  Plus, these programs provide an additional income source for our teachers and staff. When APS is considering changes that would eliminate a program like elementary school summer enrichment, APS should provide the community with clear and ample notice and when a decision is made, APS should be clear about the decision.  For example, on the Summer School website, there is nothing about the elimination of the summer enrichment program, which is relied upon by families across the County. The summer enrichment program should be reinstated because it benefits students and teachers. 

Institute Collaborative Problem Solving 

Our community has a tremendous amount of expertise beyond the School Board and APS Staff.  We need to listen more to the people who are in the schools cultivating our children’s love of learning and the families who are impacted by APS decisions.  We have to ensure that proposed solutions are actually solving the identified problem.  Our solutions should not be left exclusively to the School Board and APS when our community has so much wisdom to offer for everyone’s mutual benefit. It is not enough for APS to simply provide the engage@apsva.us email address. We will ensure that there is legitimate dialogue and substantive ways for the community to meaningfully contribute to planning for the future welfare of our students and community. 

Insist on Equity for All Students

Arlington has one of the most diverse education systems in the country – from curriculum-focused programs (e.g., language immersion) to student-focused curriculum (e.g., H.B. Woodlawn).  However, simply being “open” to all students via an application process does not mean that every choice is truly available for all students. Further, we need to address the flaws in the system that results in a lower percentage of minority students enrolling in high level classes, a higher number of minority students classified as special needs, and comparatively more severe punishments and discipline for students of color. We must use data, combined with community input, to stop implementing changes that worsen disparities among schools and students. Equity means giving all students the same opportunities to achieve their greatness.

Engage Students in School Board Policy Decisions

Innovation and problem solving should include the students impacted by school board decisions. Offering students an opportunity to engage with the policy makers impacting their daily lives on a more regular and substantive basis would provide additional education outside of the classroom and develop the future generation of elected officials and policy makers. 

Join the Student Fight Against Climate Change

Millions of students across the world are campaigning to convince their elected officials to take meaningful action on climate change. Although the County Board is currently taking steps to reduce Arlington’s ecological footprint and APS has taken significant steps by ensuring that many buildings obtain LEED certification when construction took place (including Discovery, Wakefield, Yorktown, Reed, Washington-Liberty, and Kenmore), APS should also embrace this student-driven initiative and set a net-zero goal to reduce carbon emissions.