APS Elementary School Walk Zone Review

Arlington County Schools (APS) is requesting volunteers from the community to assist in evaluating elementary school walking zones ahead of the 2018-2019 school year.  Parents with children in or expected to attend APS elementary schools are encouraged to apply.  Schools included in the Douglas Park neighborhood coverage include:

  • Abingdon
  • Barcroft
  • Claremont
  • Drew Model School
  • Patrick Henry
  • Randolph

A schedule of working group assigments and meeting dates is available here [PDF].

Criteria for Task Group Membership:

  • An understanding of their school neighborhoods;
  • Ability to schedule and perform a community walking tour of the neighborhoods within the 1-mile policy zone as identified by APS;
  • A time commitment that consists of approximately one month of intensive effort between Feb. 15 and March 22 in gathering community input and conveying this to APS staff.

Task Group Work and Timeline

Feb. 15-March 1 – “Getting Started on Walk Zone Review” community meetings*

School task groups will be invited to attend one of four 1½-hour meetings with APS staff to review the walk zone for each school, provide input, and learn about the process and tools to gather community input on potential expansions of school walk zones.

March 12-22: “What We Heard on Walk Zone Review” community meetings will invite each school task group to attend one of four 1½-hour meetings with APS staff to review the input from their respective school communities on potential expansions of school walk zones.

To volunteer, drop an email to DPCA president Adam Henderson and indicate which group(s) you are interested in serving on.

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Recap of 18th November Civic Association Meeting

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Approximately forty-five people attended the Civic Association meeting on Tuesday evening 18 November at the Arlington Mill Community Center.

The agenda included:

We had a forum with eight representatives from the US Postal Service
The purpose of this forum, which lasted approximately seventy minutes, was to discuss numerous issues with misdirected and undelivered mail and other service issues that have sharply increased in Douglas Park over the past year. Postal service officials listed to our concerns, apologized, and relayed some of the steps that they have undertaken in attempt to bring the issues under control. These include:

  • A new Customer Service Manager at the South Glebe (Arlington South) Station
  • Increased training for mail carriers in Douglas Park
  • A review of carrier routes in Douglas Park

Postal services officials acknowledged that these are only initial steps in addressing the problems. In addition, the postal service intends to bring in a review team to track carriers in Douglas Park for a period to ascertain whether they are performing route deliveries correctly and efficiently. Most importantly in this meeting, however, was the request for real-time data so that postal officials can track problems to specific personnel. The Arlington Postmaster, Mr Walter Daniels, has requested that residents email him directly with misdelivery or other issues on the day of or the day following the incident, letting him know the date, time, nature and address of the occurrence. Mr Daniels also indicated that where feasible, it would be helpful to include a photograph attachment of the mail panel of the misdirected piece, which will allow officials to determine if there are machine-sorting issues that are contributing to our problems.  UPDATE FEBRUARY 2015. Mr Daniels has moved on at USPS. Our new contact for mail problems is the new South Arlington Station Manager, Marcus Clinkscale. He may be reached at marcus.c.clinkscale@usps.gov.

In summary, the Postal Service now seems to be very aware of the ongoing issues in Douglas Park and has expressed a firm desire to address the situation. It’s now our job to make sure they follow through by providing the ongoing data they need to find the root causes. Postal officials have agreed to attend a future meeting of the Association, likely in February 2015, to update their progress and receive more feedback from residents.

We had an update from Alison Tomlinson and Allegra Jabo; our representative and alternate to the Thomas Jefferson Middle School Working Group (TJMSWG).

The TJMSWG is charged by the County Board with evaluating the Thomas Jefferson Middle School site and making a recommendation as to the feasibility of building a new 725-seat elementary school on the campus. The TJMSWG will present a preliminary report to the County Board in December and a final report in January 2015. An overview of the group, along with supporting documents, is available here.

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General DPCA Meeting—Tue 18th Nov 2014

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The next Douglas Park Civic Association (DPCA) will be held on Tuesday evening 18 November 2014 at 7.30p in the Senior Room (Room 205) of the Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 S Dinwiddie St at Columbia Pike. You can park for up to four hours free of charge in the public car park under the community center (turn on Dinwiddie, then follow the signs to the back of the building).

On the agenda:

• A forum with post office officials regrading mail delivery problems in the ‘hood
• An update on the TJ Middle School site Elementary School review process from our Douglas Park reps.

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Open House on Elementary School Plans at TJMS Site, Sat 18th Oct

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An open house will be conducted by the Thomas Jefferson Working Group (TJWG) on Saturday 18 October at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 125 S Old Glebe Rd.

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Upcoming Fora on Randolph ES Expansion Plans; DPCA Special Meeting

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Douglas Park residents will have two opportunities in October to weigh in and learn more about Arlington Public Schools (APS) plans for Randolph Elementary School.

Background:
As many of you are aware, the School Board is seeking to place additional elementary schools seats in South Arlington. Early this summer, the grounds of Thomas Jefferson Middle School (TJMS) was identified as APS’s preferred location to build a new South Arlington elementary school. The County Board has commissioned a working group to evaluate the site with a report due to the County Board in January 2015. The Douglas Park community is represented on that working group. In August, APS identified Barcroft and Randolph Elementary Schools as preferred candidates for expansion should the County Board reject siting a new school at TJMS.

On Mon 20 Oct at 7p at Gunston Middle School, 2700 S Lang St, APS staff will conduct a community-wide forum on South Arlington elementary school expansion options, including TJMS, Barcroft and Randolph.

On Thu 23 Oct at 7.30p in the cafeteria of Randolph Elementary School, 1306 S Quincy St, the Douglas Park Civic Association (DPCA) will conduct a special meeting to discuss the specific options for Randolph Elementary and their impact on Douglas Park. John Chadwick, APS Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations will be among the APS staff in attendance.

All interested Douglas Park residents are encouraged to attend either or both fora.

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 17th June

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 17 June 2014 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room of Firehouse 9, 19th Street South at South Walter Reed Drive.

On the agenda:

  1. An update on the 2014 Virginia General Assembly session. Forty-Ninth District Delegate Alfonso Lopez will be on hand to review the activities of 2014 session of the Virginia General Assembly.
  2. Bike Boulevards Update.  As has been discussed in several Civic Association meeting over the past few years, Arlington County is installing improvements along 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th Streets South to create ‘Bike Boulevards’ paralleling Columbia Pike.  Plans include changes to pedestrian crossings at South Glebe Road, South Walter Reed Drive, and South George Mason Drive.  The proposed improvements include
    • HAWK signal at South George Mason Drive and 13th Street South
    • HAWK signal at  South Walter Reed Drive and 9th Street South
    • Rapid flashing beacon and crosswalk at South Glebe Road and 9th Street South
    • Other intersection curb and crosswalk improvements.

    Christine Simpson of Arlington DOT will be on hand to review the latest plans.    Additional information is online at http://www.arlingtonva.us, search ‘Bike Boulevards.’
    The Executive Committee of the Civic Association voted on 22 May to oppose the portion of the Bike Boulevard between South Glebe Road and South Walter Reed Drive until the County develops a plan to address ongoing pedestrian, cyclist and motorist safety issues in the corridor.

  3. Proposed Traffic Changes near Randolph Elementary School.  Arlington County and Arlington Public Schools (APS) have been working to address perceived traffic circulation and safety issues around Randolph Elementary School.  Proposals include:
    • Two to three additional student loading and unloading spaces along South Quincy Street.
    • Updated school warning signage and ‘End School Zone’ signs along South Quincy Street.
    • School crosswalk signage at 13th Street South and 14th Street South.
    • ‘No U-Turn’ signage at South Quincy Street and 14th Street South.
    • Turn restrictions during arrival (8–8.30a) and dismissal (3–3.30p) at the intersection of South Quincy Street and 14th Street South.

    Stephanie Taylor of Arlington Transportation Engineering will be on hand to review the proposal and answer questions.

  4. Fourth of July Parade and Picnic.  Most of the details are nailed down, but we’ll spend a few minutes to review the plans to be sure that everything is ready to go.
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All are welcome to attend.

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School Board Candidates’ Forum In Leiu of Civic Assn Meeting, Tuesday 22d April

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In lieu of our normal April meeting, the Douglas Park Civic Association and co-sponsors Arlington Heights Civic Association, Columbia Heights West Civic Association and Barcroft School and Civic League, will conduct a School Board Candidates’ Forum on Tuesday evening, 22 April 2014 at 7.30 pm in room 527A/B of the Arlington Mill Community Center, 909 South Dinwiddie Street. Three candidates vying to fill the seat of retiring member Sally Baird on the Arlington School Board—Greg Greeley, Barbara Kanninen and Nancy Van Doren—will join us to talk about how their vision for Arlington schools will support South Arlington students. The forum will also feature questions from Pike Neighborhoods civic associations and an opportunity for questions from the audience attending the forum.

The general format of the forum will be as follows:

  • Call to order
  • Introductions
  • Opening Statements (2 min per candidate)
  • Questions from Pike Civic Associations (approximately ½ hour)
  • Questions from the floor (approximately 1 hour)
  • Closing statements (2 min per candidate)

The evening should conclude around 9.45 pm.

The sponsoring civic associations would like to note that this is a nonpartisan event. We respectfully ask for no applause, cheering, jeering or other verbal replies by audience members in response to candidate statements. Applause for all participants should be held to the end of the evening. Mobile phones should be turned off or silenced for the duration of the forum.

Please make plans to attend this informative event.

This month’s newsletter is available here.

 

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Recap of 25 February Civic Association Meeting

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Approximately twenty people attended the Civic Association meeting on Tuesday evening 25 February 2014 at Firehouse 9.

The agenda included:

We heard a presentation from Monique O’Grady, Arlington Public Schools (APS) parent and civic activist on the ongoing re-evaluation of the Arlington School Board’s commitment to a new elementary school in South Arlington. In 2012, Arlington voters approved a $42.6m school bond. Per APS’s fact sheet on the bond (seen here [PDF]), the funds were to be used to build additions to three North Arlington elementary schools and one new elementary school each in North and South Arlington. Now that all four North Arlington projects are completed or underway, the school board has suggested reprioritizing funds to finance needed middle school upgrades, leaving South Arlington without the promised new elementary school. Ms O’Grady has been active in leading the effort to work creatively with the board to both fulfill the commitment to South Arlington and to address the middle school needs. A copy of Ms O’Grady’s presentation may be found here [PDF].

In addition, Ms O’Grady has supplied a timeline of events and methods for those who wish to express their views on the situation:

  • 21 Febr: Twitter Town Hall at 12p for elementary and middle school options. Tweet to @APSVirginia. (Transcript [PDF]).
  • 22 Febr: Community Conversations with ambassadors regarding elementary and middle school options. Held at Jefferson, Kenmore, Williamsburg, Gunston, and Swanson from 10a to noon.
  • 26 Febr: Community Meeting #1 for update, feedback of middle and high school options at Gunston M S Theater 1 from 7 to 9p. Simultaneous Spanish translation services will be provided.
  • 28 Febr: Twitter Town Hall at 12p for middle and high school options. Tweet to @APSVirginia.
  • 1 Mar: Community Conversations with ambassadors regarding middle and high school options. Held at HB Woodlawn, Washington-Lee, Yorktown, the Career Center and Claremont from 10a to noon.

You may also write the school board at school.board<at>apsva.us and the county board at countyboard<at>arlingtonva.us. Folks can also get more information at www.apsva.us/moreseats.

You can also view the now-closed change.org petition to fund the South Arlington elementary school here.

Our annual election of officers.
Officers elected for the 2014-2015 term were:

  • Adam Henderson, President
  • Tony Brooks, Vice-President
  • Annette Pigott, Secretary
  • Al Fox, Treasurer

Email contact information for Civic Association officers may be found on the Contact page of this website.

The next Civic Association meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening 22 April 2014.

 

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Civic Association Meeting Tuesday 25th February

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The next meeting of the Douglas Park Civic Association will be held Tuesday 25 February 2014 at 7.30p in the downstairs meeting room of Firehouse 9, 19th Street South at South Walter Reed Drive.

On the agenda:

  1. Elections. This meeting will include our annual election of civic association officers. All current officers (AdamHenderson, President; Chris Worden, Vice-President; Al Fox, Treasurer and Annette Pigott, Secretary) are running for re-election. However, new nominations are open for all these offices as well. If you would like information about the role of civic association officers, please contact Adam Henderson at president<at>douglasparkca.org.
  2. Arlington Schools 2015-24 Capacity Development Plan/Capital Improvement Plan. The Arlington School Board is currently in the planning process for capacity and capital for the ten year cycle beginning in 2015. There have been many discussions in the community regarding the need for elementary school space in South Arlington and whether the updated plan will address this need. Civic activist Monique O’Grady will give an overview presentation on the topic and conduct a short question and answer session.
  3. Other business.

All are welcome to attend.

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Wakefield Alumni Association Announces Fall Bash

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Come join Wakefield alumni, staff, parents and wef_fall_bash_2013supporters of Warrior Nation at the annual fall bash!!

Saturday 2 November 2013, 7p to 2a at P Brennan’s, 2910 Columbia Pike

This is a party not to be missed!

  • Halloween costumes! Optional – prizes for best costumes – (better late then never)
  • Music by DJ Sabra! (featuring. 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and today)
  • Door prizes! / Line dances! / 50/50 raffle!
  • Battle of the decades donation competition!

All proceeds go to the Wakefield Foundation Scholarship Fund—over $1 million given already! Suggested donation is $5, but give what you can.

P. Brennan’s is a two-storey restaurant and pub where Arlington Hardware used to live (at the corner of Columbia Pike and S Walter Reed Dr—plenty of room for everyone! www.pbrennans.com

Please note that parking is free after 6p in the Halstead Building underground parking lot behind P. Brennan’s. Do not park in the Rite-Aid or BB&T lots or you will be towed. Watch for posted No Parking signs.

Bus transportation available. Closest MetroRail stop: Pentagon

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