Summary of April 11, 2024 School Board Meeting
Meeting Open: Vice Chair Davie Priddy opened the meeting, serving as interim chair. Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres was not present (leave of absence). Ms. Miranda Turner, and Ms. Mary Kadera, and Ms. Bethany Zecher Sutton were present. Presentation of Colors: Arlington Career Center Space Force JROTC Cadet Corps
Consent Items
Board approved new appointments
Board approved the Special Education Annual Application (application for Federal funding) as required VDOE under the Individuals with Disabilities Act
Board Announcements
Ms. Kadera: Williamsburg Middle School holding Wolfchella on April 18. Kenmore special educaton teacher Eurith Bowen has been recognized by the Arlington branch of the American Association University Women as the educator of the year
Superintendent's Announcements and Updates
The Superintendent's presentation can be viewed here.
Recognized volunteers and partners who support APS students as part of Volunteer Appreciation Month
Your Voice Matters survey complete. 78% of students participated, as well as 49% of staff and 22.7% of parents
APS is preparing for a division wide roll-out of the Lightspeed internet parent portal which will be fully implemented next school year. The pilot of this program begins April 21. Lightspeed will provide a weekly email update to parents on websites visited by a student and allow a parents to pause web browsing after instructional hours on APS issued devices.
April 23 public hearing on proposed budget.
May 9 adoption of budget
Highlights five APS seniors who were named Amazon Future Engineer scholarships up to $40,000 each toward their undergraduate degree
Randolph Elementary’s 4th grade teams received an honorable mention for their submission to the National ExploraVision Competition
Mr. Priddy announced the following upcoming meetings:
April 19 – Audit Committee Meeting, 8 a.m., Board Conference Room
April 23 – Closed Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Board Conference Room
April 23 – Public Hearing on the School Board’s Proposed FY2025 Budget, 7 p.m., Board Room
April 24 – Policy Subcommittee Meeting, 8 a.m., Board Conference Room
April 25 – School Board Meeting, 7 p.m., Board Room
Board Questions
Ms. Turner asked about Lightspeed and whether parents will have the ability for parents or teachers to pause internet usage that is not consistent with instruction during the school day. Dr. Duran said there is not an option to pause during the day, however, the usage report will highlight sites that students visit during the school day.
Ms. Kadera said that teachers have the ability to use Apple Classroom to monitor and control what students are doing on APS issued devices
Ms. Kadera echos appreciation to volunteers in APS.
Ms. Sutton echos appreciation to Dawn Smith and Pamel Nagurka for their support of APS volunteers and making the process to volunteer in APS more streamlined
Mr. Priddy reminds parents there is a 1 week window to sign up for the Lightspeed pilot
Public Comment
Several speakers thanked APS for reversing its decision on delaying the implementation of the 80/20 immersion programs at Key and Claremont Elementary schools
Numerous parents and students advocated for the retention of a second Assistant Principal position at Abingdon Elementary, citing the various roles the principal plays in supporting students and teachers. They also cited that Abingdon has a large enrollment of nearly 750 students. The second position has been proposed for elimination for the 2024-2025 school year.
Paul Weiss representing the Arlington Teachers’ Union expressed concern that APS did not follow prevailing wage standards for the career center project. Also said that APS’ collective bargaining rules are “anti-teacher” and “heavy handed” which deny the First Amendment rights of teachers.
Monitoring Items
Dr. Durán announced that the Elementary English Language Arts Progress Monitoring Report will be presented.
Dr. Gerald Mann introduced the presenters led by Dr. Gabrielle Rivas, Elementary English Language Arts Supervisor. He thanked Ms. Turner for serving as the school liaison to this report.
Highlights selective areas of improvement
Black students' overall SOL pass rate in 3rd-grade reading is within half of a percentage point of pre-pandemic performance.
Hispanic Non-ELs (non-English Learners) have consistently higher SOL pass rates than the overall APS pass rates.
Asian students’ overall SOL pass rate in 5th-grade reading is within two percentage points of pre-pandemic performance.
White students’ overall SOL pass rate in 3rd-grade reading is within 1.3 percentage points of pre-pandemic performance.
In the last three years, APS has reduced the percentage of students needing Strategic and Intensive support by 10.6% on the DIBELS reading assessment.
Lexia Core5 is 2.5x more effective than other elementary reading programs. It is approved by VDOE for All In Tutoring.
As of the midyear mark this school year, 71.1% of K-5 students are on track to demonstrate proficiency in grade-level literacy skills by the end of the school year.
Note: The DIBELS reading assessment was initiated by APS in 2020-2021, so there is no pre-pandemic data for comparison. Prior to using DIBELS, APS used the PALS assessment.
The Below points were included in the hard copy of the presentation but NOT presented by staff during the School Board Meeting:
Performance by Black students who are not identified as EL, SWD, or economically disadvantaged has returned to pre-pandemic rates.
Hispanic students who are not EL (English Learners), SWD (Students with Disabilities), and economically disadvantaged have not returned to pre-pandemic rates.
Asian students who are not EL, SWD, and economically disadvantaged performance have surpassed pre-pandemic rates.
White students who are not identified as EL, SWD, and economically disadvantaged performance have returned to pre-pandemic rates
42.4% of English Learners 1-4 are on or above grade level expectations for proficiency in literacy, as measured by MOY (middle of year) DIBELS.
64.1% of Black students and 47.1% of Hispanic students are on or above grade level expectations for proficiency in literacy, as measured by MOY DIBELS.
41.5% of Students with Disabilities are on or above grade level expectations for proficiency in literacy, as measured by MOY DIBELS.
52.7% of students who are Economically Disadvantaged are on or above grade level expectations for proficiency in literacy, as measured by MOY DIBELS.
The ELA Office collaborated with school teams on tailoring the most effective instructional plans for supporting our Tier 2 and 3 students.
The Office of English Learners collaborates with the ELA Office to support the integration of language and content instruction.
The Office of Special Education collaborates with the ELA Office to support professional learning and provide supplemental resources.
The Advanced Academics Office collaborates with the ELA Office on curriculum writing, CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts) lesson development, professional learning for teachers, and purchasing resources for schools.
Teachers use high-quality core curricular resources to provide evidenced-based literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading.
The ELA Office is pleased to share that many of the recommendations made by ACTL (Advisory Committee on Teaching and Learning) have been integrated in our instructional practices and expectations.
Board Questions
Ms. Turner asked about the Lexia data vs the DIBELs data, noting the Lexia data indicates much more progress than the DIBELs data.
Staff responded that Lexia data is based on student usage. For Kindergarten 52% of students were working on grade level literacy skills at the beginning of the year, and by the middle of the year, 90% were working on grade level literacy skills.
Ms. Turner asked if the Lexia data shows anything about student proficiency at the skills?
Staff responded that Lexia data is based on usage.
Dr. Durán added 52% of the students are performing at foundational skills.
Ms. Turner tried to clarify asking if 52% means working on grade level or working on foundational skills?
Staff responded that the Lexia data doesn’t mean students are on grade level - it means they are working on grade level skills.
Ms. Turner asked for clarification again - “The Lexia data does not tell us proficiency right?” noting that the DIBELS data does not show the same degree of growth as the Lexia data.
Staff said that is correct and that they could look into further correlations on the data.
Ms. Kadera asks for further clarification as to whether Lexia data indicates that 52% of kindergarteners should be “placed” to work on grade level skills at the beginning of the year?
Staff responds that is correct.
Ms. Turner then asks if Lexia determines that fewer students are on grade level, noting that the data shows only a third of 3rd grade students were on grade level for Lexia.
Dr. Durán states that not all students do Lexia, whereas all students take the DIBELS assessment.
Ms. Turner again asks for clarification stating that the denominator for the Lexia data is the students who are using it.
Mr. Priddy then asks about the time students spend on Lexia, noting staff referred to students spending 5-10 minutes on it per day.
Staff says the Lexia generates the amount of time a student spends working on it, and it should be about 5-10 minutes per day, every day. Students who need the most support would be in the 10 minute category.
Ms. Kadera asks about students showing strong growth in decoding skills, but the same growth is not seen in comprehension skills. She asks about the shift to science of reading curriculum which emphasizes phonics, are we not attending to comprehension skills as much and need to rebalance?
Staff says science of reading does emphasize phonics and core language arts to build vocabulary, and they are optimistic of the results.
Ms. Turner asks again about the Lexia data. “I just don’t understand how we interpret what Lexia is giving us with these percentages. For example, are we using it more heavily in the older grade for kids who are less likely to be on grade level and that’s why the percentage of kids on grade level skills is dropping, or is it something else…I don’t understand how we are interpreting ourselves the Lexia data to demonstrate that Lexia is doing good things for our students?”
Staff says they can do more clarification on this.
Ms. Sutton asks if staff can describe the process that happens when a student is identified as need additional reading support.
Staff says that staff meets as a collaborative team about how to support the foundational skills of students who are performing below grade level, then may use another assessment such as Core Phonics assessment to determine what is the most effective intervention plan.
Staff also looks at weekly progress monitoring to adjust instruction as needed if students are not responding to an intervention.
Ms. Sutton notes DIBELS assessment is given only 3 times per year - and asks at what point an intervention would be adjusted for a student who is not making progress so that learning time is not lost between the iterations of assessments.
Staff responds that teachers or parents have the opportunity to raise concerns based on whether or not a student is making progress.
Staff also says there is the English Language Intervention Protocol which is a tool that teachers are trained to use to help them respond when student is having learning difficulties to help them tease out whether it is a language proficiency issue or academic issue. Also, there are other tools teachers can use to assess students.
Mr. Priddy asks about planning time for teachers with CKLA.
Mr. Priddy asks about when we will see “return on investment” for using the CKLA curriculum implemented in the 2022-2023 school year.
Staff says it usually takes 3-5 years to see effects on results, but there is anecdotal evidence of growth especially for younger learners.
Ms. Kadera asks how reading comprehension is affected by the media used for learning, noting that a meta analysis study suggested that reading comprehension can be hindered by reading on screens versus using print materials. She asks how does the research influence what is happening in the classroom and the amount of time used on devices?
Staff responds that CKLA “read alouds” given an opportunity for comprehension checks.
Ms. Kadera asks as a follow up question how much time students spend on devices? She said that can be a follow up for staff to answer.
She also comments about what kinds of reading and writing we are preparing students for, and also the effects of artificial intelligence, and how students write, noting that texting is a form of writing that is not taught in school.
Dr. Mann says that library data shows that students are returning to the library and checking out physical books at a rate closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Ms. Turner noted that staff report that at some schools, 50% of students need intensive reading intervention. She asked what should we being doing as a system to handle that level of student need in terms of staffing and resources to support that high level of need?
Staff responded that small group interventions are done, but “we cannot intervene our way out of the Tier 1 instruction.” The ELA specialist and coach model the lesson and how we can provide access to the learners that need additional support, and try to ensure that the CKLA and phonics block are taught with fidelity. So, we try to make sure there is solid implementation of Tier 1.
Dr. Durán adds that APS needs to look at the planning factors in terms of APS allocates staff based on needs of students. He also hopes Virginia will provide per pupil funding allocation from the state based on student need and type of student, as he said some other states do.
Dr. Durán added, “You're very right Ms. Turner, that if you have that large number of students who need a different type of staffing, in addition to what Dr. Rivas and her team have been supporting, they’re making it work with what the current conditions are right now, the best that we can. But if we’re really going to affectuate positive change and support teachers in the way that we need to, then we have to have different types of staffing based on student need and types of student, whether they are students with English learners, looking at what level they are, are they SLIFE students, are they not, looking at our students with disabilities, and the amount of those. We expect and want more teachers to have inclusion. Do we have the right staffing for that? And then looking at some of our reading assessments, math assessments, when we’re doing staffing for the next year. And even having flexibility throughout the year if possible.”
Ms. Turner asked is APS doing everything it can within the existing resources that we have because we cannot do anything about the resources provided by the state? She also asked is there a way to measure to see if the efforts to enhance Tier 1 instruction are working? Or whether there needs to be something else done within the parameters of the existing resources that we have.
Staff said APS is monitoring the progress made in Tier 1 with end of unit assessments in addition to other assessments to the work that is happening within the small group support to make sure that we close the gaps that are multi-year.
Staff reiterated, “We cannot intervene our way out of the problem. So how do we shift core Tier 1 instruction for the schools that have those significant populations to include that Tier 2 instruction because we know if we’re pulling kids out of Tier 1 instruction and we’re not teaching them on grade level, they’re never going to achieve grade level standards. And so, if we embed some of those skills that we know they need in order to close the gaps in Tier 1, we should see that over time in our outcomes. So if we’re not seeing students grow more than what we would expect because they have large gaps to fill them - we know that that shift we’ve made really hasn’t been successful, and we have to try something else. So we are monitoring that….But if our data isn’t showing that growth, we know that wasn't’ successful for that group of kids, and so as you said, there’s not a lot of time to waste, and how do we quickly correct course and look at some of the different options we have on the table.”
Ms. Sutton comments this conversation is very heavy on data and process and systems, but it doesn’t tell us if the kids like reading, do they like to write and choose to read when it’s not required of them. Do they recognize reading as something that makes them happy? How can we assess and express whether or not our kids are developing a love of reading and writing in APS? She says her question is rhetorical.
Action Items
Additional revenues were highlighted
Changes to proposed expenditures were highlighted
SB approved a license agreement to lease property at 3108 Columbia Pike which will be used for parking for workers who are building the new Career Center/Arlington Tech building
Information Items
The following policies and procedures were revised or amended:
New Business
None. Meeting adjourned.
