Embedded Files
Meeting Minutes & Activities
Summer 2025
Summer 2025
During the month of August, we published a series of Substack posts focusing on high school overcrowding, in preparation for Aug & Sept school board meetings. Check them out!
Sept 2025
Sept 2025
And, we’re back! At our Sept 2025 meeting, Family Council for ACPS welcomed new and continuing representatives from every single school in ACPS. How to stay in touch with us:
Find your school’s representative here.
Facebook – engagement opportunities, school board updates, and more.
Substack – our in-depth “blog” on topics like a new northern high school.
Over this school year, our monthly deep-dives will focus on ACPS-wide issues that matter to YOU. Our spring 2025 survey results show “What is Going Well” is our amazing teachers! This fall, we will tackle two big family concerns: Talent Development and Struggling Learners.
To learn more about Talent Development and Panorama school climate surveys, please read our Substack post! Both topics are summarized in our Minutes, but the Substack gives the more lively parent-to-parent views.
Following our Sept meeting, Officers sent a letter of concern to ACPS leaders re: Talent Development implementation. See ACPS response plus Talent Development QnA received addressing many of our questions. ACPS has requested to return to Family Council in the spring to share an update. Also see School Board approved (10/9/25) Talent Development plan + PPT.
Oct 2025
Oct 2025
Our Oct 2025 meeting focused on Struggling Learners. See our Substack post for a full summary. We heard from a local researcher plus a top-notch ACPS reading specialist about:
How do children learn to read, and what does effective instruction look like?
How are the ACPS test scores for reading and math?
How did ACPS get here, and what’s underway to improve outcomes?
Check out our Minutes and presenter Slides, plus a Wakelet collection of research & articles. Family Council received answers to some of your Qs: Fall 2025 Back-to-School QnA, and will keep following up on the many unanswered Qs.
Resources shared with Family Council Reps ahead of the meeting:
ACPS SOL Results Compared to State – Added 2 slides at end on how to find your school’s data & what the bar graphs show.
Optional: Sept 11 school board presentation (jumps to start of section) talking through SOL results by subject area. (Bellwether status starts here, followed by QnA.)
Optional: If you aren’t familiar with the Bellwether Audit conducted for ACPS, please review.
Optional: See Family Council Oct 2023 meeting on reading intervention & approved advocacy, which led to increase in reading specialist staff.
Dramatic Gains in 3rd Grade Reading by Birmingham – article shared by Dr. Haas via his weekly update to staff.
Optional: District Leadership for Racial Equity: Lessons from School Systems that are Closing the Gap – New book from Linda Darling Hammond, including chapters on 4 districts. If you want a deeper dive without reading the whole book, see the Conclusion.
Optional: ACPS leader Dr. McLaughlin explained in the Sept 11 meeting that 97% of the actions recommended by Bellwether are complete. For reference, here’s the status document.
Nov 2025
Nov 2025
At the November 2025 meeting of Family Council, representatives reviewed research on access to disability evaluations (see two Substack posts below) and collaborated with fellow volunteers on next steps for both Talent Development and Struggling Learners. See Minutes.
In early Nov, Family Council submitted an Advocacy Letter on Safe & Inclusive Schools. We received a brief response from Dr. Keiser, and will continue to follow up.
In late November, we rallied community attention for DonorsChoose on Giving Tuesday, resulting in 4 projects being fully-funded in a single day and many more on their way.
Dec 2025 & Jan 2026
Dec 2025 & Jan 2026
Family Council does not hold a meeting in December, but we do continue the work!
On Disability Evaluations -- We sent an Advocacy Letter in support of the SEAC Annual Plan re: access to disability evaluations, based on consensus vote. Officer HGB presented at the Dec school board meeting as part of the SEAC Annual Report, and multiple Family Council volunteers spoke in public comment to share their own experiences and read aloud quotes from our research. We received a Dec 11 Response from Dr. Haas focusing on the school board meeting speakers & presentation, and another Dr. Haas Response on Dec 22. We will continue to seek response from ACPS, specifically for the SBIT requests as this falls outside of the responsbility of SEAC.
School Buildings -- See our Substack post for an update on the proposed Capital Improvement Plan from ACPS & the reaction of the Supervisors at the early-Dec joint meeting. Families rallied to speak at the Jan 14 Board of Supervisors meeting, with speakers on both the need for a new northern high school AND renovations to Stony Point Elementary.
As a group, we have been inviting Supervisors & their School Board counterparts to tours of selected schools, including:
WAHS -- To highlight overcrowding & renovation needs, we hosted new elected leaders for Samuel Miller district Fred Missel & Bob Beard, plus At-Large Allison Spillman.
Community Lab School -- Hosted White Hall Supervisor Ann Mallek, plus School Board member Kate Acuff.
AHS -- Tour planning underway for Rio leaders Ned Gallaway & Jim Dillenbeck, plus a separate tour for Bea LaPisto-Kirtley & Fred Missel.
Stony Point -- Tour scheduled for Gallaway & LaPisto-Kirtley.
Baker Butler -- Tour proposed at Gallaway request.
We received Thanks from Dr. Haas for these efforts.
Jan 2026
Jan 2026
Our January meeting will focus on Technology, including update about AI from ACPS. Thank you for sharing your many questions and comments! We've submitted the Jan Qs and Comments to ACPS leaders.
We received QnA from Oct/Nov 2025, and are continuing to request answers to the Sept Qs submitted.
We continue to follow up on our Advocacy on Safe & Inclusive Schools, receiving This Response from Dr. Keiser focused on hate/bias incidents, policy, and plans to review student club policy. Officers are working with an ACPS community partner to bring the discussion into the community, and hopefully bystander training into high schools.
Material reviewed ahead of meeting by representatives:
The Screen That Ate Your Child's Education -- NY Times essay
Is There a Healthy Middle Ground on AI in Schools? -- Ed Week essay
"Overuse of Technology for Learning" -- Family comments from our spring 2025 survey
Technology Comments from spring 2024 survey
For those inspired to learn more about Technology, see:
Brookings recorded webinar "Screens and children’s well-being: The latest evidence of technology’s impact on mental health and education"
Arlington Parents for Education -- advocated for reduction in budget for 1:1 technology in schools, shared info, got limits in K-1 and task force with survey underway. also see parent requests to limit tech, and Lightspeed reports for families.
Feb 2026
Feb 2026
Our February 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, Feb 11, a week earlier than usual due to holiday.
The ACPS Budget season will be in full-force during the month of February! To get a head-start, see the Budget Overview shared with PTO Leaders, plus the Budget in Brief overview of how the ACPS budget as a whole is structured.
Mar 2026
Mar 2026
Our March 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, March 18.
Apr 2026
Apr 2026
Our April 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, April 15.
May 2026
May 2026
Our May 2026 meeting, the last of the school year, will be held on Weds, May 20. This meeting will include the official election of new Officers for the 26-27 school year.
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