Meeting Minutes & Activities
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!
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.
Our October meeting will focus on Struggling Learners. Send us your questions & comments! We are stronger when we hear from you.
Our Oct 2025 meeting was held on Weds, Oct 15. Minutes and Substack coming soon.
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.
Our Nov 2025 meeting will be held on Weds, Nov 19.
Family Council does not hold a meeting in December, but we do continue the work! Stay tuned for updates.
Our January 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, Jan 21.
Our February 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, Feb 18.
Our March 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, March 18.
Our April 2026 meeting will be held on Weds, April 15.
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.