May 19, 2026 Newsletter
May 19, 2026
In This Edition:
1. What We're Reading
2. Open Policies: Make Your Voice Heard
3. May 14th School Board Meeting
4. What's Happening Soon
What We’re Reading and Listening To
Parents, Schools Clash Over Movement to Abolish Screens (The 74 Million)
Parents who advocated for bell-to-bell cellphone bans are now targeting Chromebooks and other ed tech. Influenced by researchers like Jonathan Haidt and Jared Cooney Horvath, who argue that cellphones and classroom technology have harmed students’ development, they’ve mobilized in Facebook groups. They’re demanding pencil-and-paper assignments and asking teachers to excuse their kids from computer-based math and reading apps. Their pleas have sparked pushback from districts that for years have relied on technology for everything from curriculum to testing.
Va. students just finished their SOLs. It’s the last time they’ll be this early or easy. (Richmond-Times Dispatch)
Starting next year, Virginia schools will be required to administer SOL exams during the final two weeks of the school year, eliminating the post-testing lull that has long marked the unofficial start of summer for many students. At the same time, the state is prepared to implement next year a significantly higher passing bar incrementally over the next four years.…“It's just common sense that we should want to have kids learning for as long as humanly possible to get ready for these tests,” [Senator Schuyler] VanValkenburg said.
Virginia students continue to struggle in reading but show signs of recovery. (Richmond-Times Dispatch)
Virginia students continue to struggle in reading, years after the state suffered some of the worst learning losses in the country following the COVID-19 pandemic. But the state ranks 10th out of 35 states in reading growth between 2022 and 2025, according to the new Education Scorecard, a project by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth that analyzes standardized test scores across thousands of school districts nationwide…The average Virginia student is performing about .68 grade-level equivalents behind their 2019 level and .04 grade equivalents behind their 2022 levels.
Homework Is Starting to Look a Lot Like Candy Crush (The Atlantic)
One afternoon earlier this year, my 11-year-old son was sitting at his laptop and working quietly on his math homework…When I glanced at his screen, equations were nowhere to be seen. He was controlling a monster in the midst of battle, casting magic spells to outduel an opposing player. “That’s not your math homework!” I told him. But it was. His fifth-grade-math teacher had told her students to spend time on Prodigy, a site that looks and feels like a video game. As my son indignantly showed me, Prodigy surfaces multiple-choice questions in between cartoon-monster attacks.
We Watch the School Board Meetings So You Don’t Have To
Key Presentations From the May 14 Meeting:
Action Item:
Arlington Special Education Advisory Council Charge
APS staff presented the charge for ASEAC for the next school year. BoardDocs Presentation Materials
Monitoring Item:
Strategic Plan Priority – Operational Excellence (Focus on Information Services)
APS staff presented on technology operations, cybersecurity, digital tool oversight, infrastructure resiliency, staffing sustainability, and support systems for instructional technology across the division. BoardDocs Presentation Materials
Information Items:
VSBA Legislative Positions
The Board reviewed proposed Virginia School Boards Association legislative priorities and positions for the upcoming advocacy cycle. Agenda Attachment / Presentation
Parking License Agreement at Drew Elementary School
APS reviewed a proposed parking license agreement related to Drew Elementary School operations and property use. Agenda Attachment / Presentation
Textbook Resource Adoption for Mathematics and American Sign Language (ASL)
Staff presented recommended instructional resource adoptions for mathematics and ASL courses, including curriculum alignment and review processes. Agenda Attachment / Presentation
Superintendent’s Proposed FY 2027–36 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
APS leadership introduced the proposed ten-year Capital Improvement Plan, including enrollment pressures, facility planning priorities, and long-term infrastructure investments. Agenda Attachment / Presentation
Happening Soon
Tuesday, May 19, 6:30–8:30 PM – School Board Work Session with Advisory Committees – End of Year Reports. Syphax. Watch live
Monday–Tuesday, May 25–26 – No School: Memorial Day Holiday.
Wednesday, May 27 – No School: Holiday: Eid al-Adha.
Thursday, May 28, 7:00 PM – School Board Meeting. Syphax. Sign up to speak
Tuesday, June 2, 12:00–5:00 PM – School Board Work Sessions: Inclusive Practices (Special Education), Early Childhood and FY 2027–36 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Syphax. Watch live | Agenda/Materials
Tuesday, June 2, 7:00 PM – Public Hearing on the School Board Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) FY 2027–36. Syphax. Sign up to speak | Watch live
Don’t forget! You can subscribe to APS School Calendars!
