Thursday, April 18, 2013
The budget represents a 2.4 percent increase over the prior budget.
The School Board for Alexandria City Public Schools has adopted a fiscal year 2014 combined funds budget of $245 million, a 2.4 percent increase over the prior budget. The newly adopted budget of $244,960,261 includes a 3.3 percent increase in appropriations from the city compared to the last budget cycle. The FY14 approved operating budget is $226 million, a 3.9 percent increase over the FY13 final operating budget. The city’s public school system continues on an upward trajectory in enrollment, which in 2014 is expected to top 13,700 students – an increase of 593 students over current enrollment. The combined budget includes the operating budget along with $11.4 million in grants and special projects and approximately $7 million for …
Friday, February 15, 2013
A bill pending in Virginia's General Assembly could give control of several Alexandria schools to a state body.
10:35 a.m. Saturday update — Alexandria School Board Chairman Karen Graf said the affected schools include Francis Hammond Middle School 2 and 3, not Francis Hammond 1. — — — — 4:41 p.m. Friday update — Senate Bill 1324 passed the House appropriations committee Friday on on a 17-5 vote. It will now be heard in the full House of Delegates. — — — — Changes to a Virginia education bill could increase the number of schools that a proposed state government body could control. The bill, which would amend the state constitution to allow the General Assembly to create a statewide schools division to take over schools at risk of failure, was amended in a Senate committee to include schools that have been accredited with a warning for three …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Alexandria City Public Schools' board sends a letter to Gov. Bob McDonnell saying proposed legislation would harm a local school.
Members of the Alexandria City School Board sent a letter to the state governor opposing legislation they say would usurp their power and adversely affect Jefferson-Houston School. Additionally, they requested a meeting in Richmond with Gov. Bob McDonnell to discuss the matter. The board late last week said while it welcomes the governor’s efforts to “improve education at Virginia public schools, including advancing educational achievement at the lowest performing school…we strongly oppose the Opportunity Educational Institution legislation.” The measure, which the Senate and House have adopted “will not produce the results we all want,” they wrote. State Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45), a former Alexandria city councilman and ex-member of the …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
ACPS School Board revokes a decision by the school division's superintendent by reinstating a Sheltercare teacher who oversees the special program for at-risk children.
The Alexandria City Public Schools’ board voted to reinstate a teacher overseeing a city facility for at-risk children known as Sheltercare after ACPS top management abruptly ended his contract. “We’re pleased that the children are once again being served,” School Board Chairman Karen Graf told Patch. The board argued that because the position is a line item on the budget, the superintendent and his deputy had no business removing the position without prior discussion with the board and public. Dorothea Peters, who serves on the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Commission, testified on behalf of Sheltercare at the board’s Jan. 10 meeting, saying ACPS notified teacher Michael Casey on a Thursday in October 2012 that his last day would …
Friday, January 11, 2013
ACPS-TV, the cable channel producing original content for Alexandria City Public Schools, is producing a series of statements from new School Board members. Check out the first one, "On Board with Karen Graf" from District A.
School Board Chairman Karen Graf says she will deliver on her campaign promise of process, performance and persistence and that schools are the root of the community.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Lisa Guernsey Krupicka, Rob Krupicka, Dan Solomon and Laura Dove put their support behind District A School Board candidate Karen Graf.
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Friday, November 2, 2012
To the editor, To our Alexandria friends in District A, there's an excellent slate of candidates for School Board in the Nov. 6 election. We are fortunate to have such a wealth of choices in our district. You can vote for up to three. We encourage everyone to learn more about the candidates. One good resource is now online: the candidates submitted written responses to the questions from the Del Ray Citizens Association debate. Their responses were published and voted on by a group of 15 Alexandria residents. But to add to that, we encourage you to vote for Karen Graf. We support Karen Graf for School Board for Alexandria's District A. Here's why: Karen looks out for all of Alexandria's kids. We've witnessed Karen's focus and perseverance…
Monday, October 29, 2012
Patch asked candidates for School Board to complete a questionnaire to shed some light on where candidates stand in issues important to Alexandria City Public Schools. Here's what they had to say.
Patch School Board Questionnaire District A Candidate Karen Graf Age: 42 Occupation: Mother/Wife Incumbent or non-incumbent: Non-incumbent How long have you been an Alexandria resident? 8.5 years Which neighborhood do you live in? Del Ray Website, Facebook page or other contact information: Website graf4schoolboard.wordpress.com; Twitter twitter.com/KarenAGraf; Email Address graf4schoolboard@gmail.com; Facebook facebook.com/FriendsOfKarenAGraf Campaign Headquarters Address — 2308 Mount Vernon Ave. #330 Alexandria VA 22305 What unique perspective, experience or expertise would you bring to the School Board? As a school board member, I think that I will distinguish myself through the following characteristics: What are top challenges …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Five of the six candidates running for Alexandria School Board in District A attended a forum Monday night at Mount Vernon Community School.
Five of the six candidates for Alexandria School Board in District A attended a forum Monday evening at Mount Vernon Community School to discuss issues of student achievement, school capacity and community engagement, among others. Concerns about communication—between Alexandria City Public Schools and parents, Superintendent Morton Sherman and teachers and from the school board to the citizenry—emerged as one of biggest issues in the school district according to the candidates. “We need to do a better job across the board of communicating our goals and also balancing the need to move quickly with the need to make sure that our stakeholders have an understanding of the changes we need,” said Helen Morris, the lone incumbent running in …
38.82836
-77.06063
Mount Vernon Community School
2601 Commonwealth Ave, Alexandria, VA
/articles/district-a-candidates-discuss-communication-improving-achievement
1380900
/locations/7984761
Monday, June 11, 2012
Alexandrian Karen Graf says she looks forward to finding out the full roster of School Board candidates, who must file by Tuesday, and has had a fulfilling campaign during the last three months.
- OPINION
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Dear Editor: Only one day remains for candidates to register for November’s Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) School Board election. When I announced my candidacy nearly three months ago, I circled this date on my calendar. I had so much to do, so much to accomplish, to build the foundation for a successful campaign. Visiting schools, meeting with teachers, speaking with current board members, educating myself, developing a point of view, honing my message, reaching out to the community, rallying support, raising funds. My “to do” list seemed endless, and every completed task raised two or three new avenues to explore. Now, it is tomorrow. Ten weeks have never flown by so fast. I can’t claim to have accomplished everything that I …
Monday, April 9, 2012
Chris Yianilos worked on education issues as a staffer for former U.S. Sen. John Warner.
Chris Yianilos, a former deputy chief of staff for retired U.S. Sen. John Warner, announced his candidacy for Alexandria School Board in District B on Thursday night at a meeting of the Alexandria Republican City Committee. Yianilos, who currently works for Virginia Tech as its director of federal relations on Capitol Hill, said he would like to take his experience working on issues of kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education in Warner’s office and translate it to Alexandria. “You don’t have to look too far into the newspaper to know there are some real challenges facing the school system,” Yianilos said. “I think I can bring a fresh set of ideas, a fresh look.” Yianilos is married with two children under the age of 4. He and…
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T.C. Williams High School - Minnie Howard Campus
3801 W Braddock Rd, Alexandria, VA
/articles/yianilos-announces-candidacy-for-school-board
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bobfriely
4:26 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
Some of the former board members have been hired to act as principals in ACPS elementary schools in exchange for their silence. more ›