By Carla Branch
alexandrianews.org
Alexandria City School Board and Superintendent Sherman in session. (Photo: Regan Kireilis)
While the Alexandria School Board’s primary focus remains adoption of the fiscal year 2011 budget, last night’s meeting included a discussion about how students will make up the seven days of instructional time lost to the two 2010 blizzards and whether to make Jefferson-Houston a focus school.
Board members did not vote on adding 30 minutes to every school day from March through May, but gave Alexandria City Public School Superintendent Morton Sherman approval to move forward with plans to do so. “We need a little more information on how that time is going to be used,” said Board Chair Yvonne Folkerts.
Virginia law requires students to spend 180 days or 990 hours in the classroom. ACPS has added three days, providing 1,036.25 elementary instructional hours and 1,112.50 secondary instructional hours. To meet that standard, ACPS must add 61.5 elementary and 65.66 secondary instructional hours across the remainder of the school year.
Sherman and the staff looked at three options for making up the lost time:
1. Restore only the amount of time needed to meet state requirements.
2. Use a combination of spring break days and days at the end of the year to make up missed days.
3. Restore instructional time by adding minutes to the remaining instructional days.
Sherman has asked principals to tell him how they propose using the extra 30 minutes of instructional time. “What works for one school may not work for another,” he told the Board.
Before approving the additional 30 minutes, Board members would like to see more specific plans from Sherman and the principals. They will vote on the matter at the Feb. 25, meeting.
Jefferson-Houston Gets a New Focus
In 1999, Jefferson-Houston Elementary School became Jefferson-Houston School for Arts and Academics. In 2007, because of staff changes and failing SOL and No Child Left Behind scores, the School Board removed the arts focus. Now, as the school adopts its new K-8 and International Baccalaureate programs, Sherman is asking the Board to make that the school’s new focus. This would allow parents who do not live in the Jefferson-Houston attendance zone to apply for lottery positions at the school.
“The K-8 model is very appealing to some parents, especially those who like keeping sixth-graders in elementary school,” Folkerts said.
ACPS provides transportation to focus schools. “This would help increase the enrollment at Jefferson-Houston and could take some pressure off some of our other elementary schools that are crowded,” Folkerts said.
While the Board consensus is to approve the new focus school, they asked Sherman to look at whether they should allow parents in the Jefferson-Houston to opt out of the focus school as was the case when it had an arts integration focus and is still the case for parents in the Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy attendance zone who do not wish their children to attend a traditional academy. They will vote on Feb. 25.