News Releases / 20060925_School Board

For Immediate Release: Revised Sept. 25, 2006

On Thursday, Sept. 21, the Arlington School Board adopted new high school space guidelines. The School Board requested an evaluation of the space guidelines for high schools and recommendations for revision in July. The evaluation and revisions address changes in educational programs and technology, and ensure that APS space guidelines are efficient, while supporting programs and student-centered environment. The new guidelines will reduce the square footage of a high school by five to seven percent and are likely to result in a savings of $1 million or more.

The process sought stakeholder input from administrators, teachers and others to determine if the guidelines should be changed or updated.

The revised guidelines include the following changes:

• Provide space for a black box theatre and a large group room for meetings, testing, presentations and community use;
• Provide office or work space for staff including testing coordinator, mental health counselor, athletic trainer and technology support specialist;
• Improve science lab space to have both lab and lecture capability;
• Add a lab to enhance technology education in engineering, research and design;
• Refine health and physical education space by including a cardio room, converting gymnastics facilities to dance studios, reducing locker and shower rooms, and reducing storage guidelines;
• Streamline media centers;
• Adjust work space for teachers to reflect the standard that teachers will have a dedicated classroom;
• Update arts spaces to integrate darkrooms into graphics art labs and add music keyboard labs to orchestra classrooms;
• Integrate technology so that every classroom supports computer use by ensuring that each class has wireless service which will increase the use of laptops; and
• Add new aquatics facilities to include an eight-lane pool.

The Board approved several other items. Those included:

• Budget framework - which was amended to specify that any new initiative be offset by savings.
• Change order for the Washington-Lee construction project in the amount of $513,899. The funds will be used to remove and replace unsuitable sub-surface materials. These funds will come out of the contingency fund originally adopted with the project budget.
• Capital Improvement Plan - The CIP work plan calls for four studies which include a multi-site study and preliminary studies for the Career Center and Wakefield. More information on the CIP is available at .
• Changes to the indicators for the 2005-11 Strategic Plans.

Also approved by the Board was the charge to the Professional Development and School-Based Task Group which will examine the research related to effective models for delivering staff development and providing supplemental teaching to elementary students by teachers other than the classroom teacher. The membership of the task force will include five members from designated citizen groups, seven at large members and a chair appointed by the board.

Dr. Mark Johnston, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction gave a presentation to the Board regarding the inventory of instructional approaches which is an objective in the 2005-11 Strategic Plan. The inventory serves as an important communications tool for both staff and community and will serve as the foundation for the development of instructional approaches that will be designed this year. The presentation can be found at .

Citizens who want to comment on any of the information items discussed at the Sept. 21 School Board Meeting should contact the Board at or call 703-228-6015.

Citizens may call 703-228-2400 the day after the School Board meetings to hear the Superintendent’s meeting summary. School Board meetings are also broadcast live on Arlington Cable Channel 70, and re-broadcast on Fridays at 9 p.m. and Mondays at 7:30 p.m. immediately following the meeting. Minutes of the meeting will be posted to the Web site () upon School Board approval after the October 5 meeting.

For more information call 703-228-6004.