Simons for School Board

The Current Situation
Confidence in our schools is extremely low.  This is at a time that our reputation should be on a major upswing.  More and more schools have achieved Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) goals and more and more schools have been accredited.  Yet, I hear disparaging words about our school system. 

I have heard many unkind words about its central administration. This is a focal point that has divided our community.  There is the perception that Central Administration has grown too large for the number of students in our community.  Too much money is going to the administration and not enough goes into our classrooms. 

A great deal of the angst seems to come from a lack of transparency on the part of the administrators.  People want to be informed before decisions are made and involved in the process right from the beginning, not as an afterthought. Information, delivered in a timely fashion, breeds trust.  New initiatives are often put into place because they are new.  The community then pays for costly studies to see if “new” is indeed better. 

THE SIMONS SOLUTION
•    Make all members of the Alexandria Community—parents and those without children—feel welcome in our schools and encourage them to get involved and volunteer in our classrooms.  Bring them in on the process.

 Elynn speaks to Alexandria residents at a Meet & Greet.

•    Encourage community members, even those without children, to volunteer in our schools.  We have a wealth of knowledge and experience in our community that can be shared to benefit our youth.  
•    Demonstrate a willingness to listen to all.
•    There is also a public perception that too much money is being spent on administration and not enough money is going into the classrooms.  Has ACPS become top heavy?  If so, let us address the issue. 
•    Review all capital construction projects for cost and also for timing.  Too often construction equipment has been left sitting on playgrounds all summer. Projects are started the last week of August and continuing into September, just as the school year is beginning.  This leaves school without playgrounds and campuses under construction while school is in session.  Renting trailers that sat unused at Minnie Howard School is an excellent example of poor planning.
•    Long-range planning is a must.  We must look at the ebbs and flows of the school-age population.  Accurate demographic information, viewed over a ten-year period, would prevent the schools from costly errors in judgment.
•    As a School Board, we must insist upon competence on the part of those persons assigning children to different schools so as to ensure that there is parity in class sizes.  Currently, we have some schools searching for students while others are busting at the seams. 
•    Review whether the programs offered at various schools (language immersion, 12-month school) continue to be what the parents in that community want/require. 
•    Review all leases.  Is there a lower cost alternative to renting office space on Beauregard Street?  Enter into negotiation with city council to perhaps rent space from the city for administrative offices.  With the economy on a downward swing, we need to look at alternatives to spending $1 million dollars per year for these offices.
•    Consider office space that is needed in future construction projects. 
•    Disciplinary matters that come before the board must be handled in a manner that will ensure equality.  Punishments must fit the infractions for all students.
•    Elevate the level of public confidence in our School Board by being open and available to all citizens of Alexandria.
•    Consider a student representative on the School Board.
•    Have all relevant materials about our schools in a clear format on the Internet.

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The Current Situation

In order to raise the bar for all Alexandria City Public School students and facilitate each child in reaching their true potential, we need to examine what we are offering right from the start.

THE SIMONS SOLUTION
•    Begin by “leveling the playing field” in kindergarten.   Many students start school without being ready to learn.  Work with city and/or state officials  to see if we can make pre-school available to all.
•    Seriously examine criteria for labeling “Talented and Gifted” students at the elementary level and address the under-representation of minorities.
•    Examine whether the special education program is truly meeting the needs of students and systematize how accommodations are being instituted. 
•    Ensure that all testing is done in a timely fashion.
•    Evaluate programs for the “middle” child.  The majority of our children do not fall into the “Talented and Gifted” level or the Learning Disabled.  We need to tailor programs that will address their learning needs too.  
•    Encourage PTAs to hold parenting seminars.  At the lower levels, topics could include “Back door teaching techniques,” “Being an advocate for your child,” “Helping, versus doing your child’s homework,”  “How more dads can be involved.”  At the middle school level we could use seminars on topics such as “Why is middle school such a difficult period?”  “Will there be life after middle school?”  On the high school level, “Maintaining a sense of humor during the college application process,” would be useful to many. Parents who have had children go through the various phases could be a wealth of information for those going through rearing children for the first time.  Let’s put these valuable resources to work.

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The Current Situation

If Alexandria truly wants to increase the number of students in advanced placement (AP), if we as a community wish to have as many students as possible pass their SOLs, and if we really want our children to be able to graduate from an accredited high school, then preparation must begin long before they reach TC Williams.  Social promoting is once again on the upswing.  This is creating very a difficult situation once a student is promoted to the high school level.  Too often they find themselves in high school without having passed the 5th grade math SOL or the 8th grade Math SOL.  They do not possess the requisite skills needed to pass the appropriate Math classes to obtain a diploma.  It is not fair to the students or the teachers for anyone to expect the staff at TC Williams, regardless of how wonderful and creative they are, to remediate this situation in three years. These are students that need our help beginning much, much earlier.

THE SIMONS SOLUTION
•    Provide remediation for all students who did not pass appropriate SOLs in elementary school.  Bring the parents and students in on this process as early as possible.  Eliminate the senior year surprise of no diploma.
•    Publicize the fact that ACPS does indeed support open enrollment for all students who wish to take Algebra I in 8th grade.  In 2005 the College Board revamped the SAT and as a result, students need a considerable amount of second semester Algebra II in order to perform their best work. Unless a student takes Algebra I in the 8th grade, Geometry in the 9th grade and Algebra II as a sophomore, he or she could seriously struggle with the math sections of the SAT. Abolish or seriously revamp the Algebra I readiness test that is currently in use.  The test, as it is now used, is a major stumbling block for many students who wish to attempt Algebra I in the 8th grade.  I do not believe that this instrument takes into account a student’s work ethic or academic maturity.  Therefore, any student willing to put forth the effort should not be discouraged.  There can be exit strategies for those who are not succeeding after the first quarter.
•    Open enrollment should be an option for all honors level courses, starting in the 8th grade.
•    Teach honors level courses with honors level curriculum. These courses should not be taught only to the SOL level.

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The Current Situation

Progress is being made on integrating computers in grades 9-12, but there are still numerous shortcomings.  While some teachers have been extremely creative in using technology in their lessons, and the Minnie Howard Math Department has even put some of their textbooks on the laptops, many other teachers are not using the computer on a daily basis. 

Students carrying their laptops to school every day has not been the most effective way to integrate technology.  Many of the computers are breaking, students are bringing them in with uncharged batteries, and often students forget to bring their computers into class on the day they are needed.  The needs of our teachers and students could be better served.

THE SIMONS SOLUTION  
•    Have a classroom set of laptop computers.  This is something that most teachers did want (grades 9-12).
•    Better publicize that TC Williams library is open in the evening for those wishing to go online at school.  We should consider extending the hours even more and have it staffed with either volunteer or paid computer techs.
•    If computers are available, allow all parents of TC students to avail themselves of computers in the library.  This could be a way of getting parents and students learning together.
•    Make the laptops usable in any Wi-Fi spot in the city.
•    Encourage the City to be as Wi-Fi-friendly as possible.
•    Establish a lending policy for computers for students who do not have access to computers at home. 
•    Find a way for ACPS computers to go online away from school property. 
•    Set aside one Saturday per month for students who need to retake SOL tests.  At the current time, students are being pulled out of classes to repeat failed tests.  They are then missing valuable class time and risk failing more SOLs.
•    Look at the “national” schedule of exams (AP’s, SAT’s SOL’s) before planning a school’s extracurricular activities.  Scheduling a school play the same weekend as the SATs or at the same time AP exams are given is ludicrous.