To: Arlington County VA School Board, Patrick Murphy, Superintendent of Arlington County Public Schools, and John Chadwick, Assistant Superintendent of Arlington County Public Schools
We want Arlington County Virginia Public Schools to Be Right-Sized, Green, Diverse, and Well-Plan...
We are residents of Cherrydale and nearby neighborhoods. Many of our children are directly affected by the middle school overcrowding crisis facing Arlington County Public Schools. We join other Arlington neighborhoods in opposing a 1300-seat school at the Wilson site, and we urge the School Board to find solutions that relieve middle school overcrowding in the near term, not 5 or more years from now.
We propose a set of guiding principles that we believe the School Board, the Superintendent, and the broader Arlington communities should use going forward in our collaborative efforts to address overcrowding.
We want schools that are:
1. RIGHT-SIZED: Our schools should be sized and designed to suit the programs they house as well as the sites they occupy.
2. GREEN: Our schools should be environmentally beneficial in their siting, construction, and use, preserving and enhancing green space, promoting walking, and improving our local environment.
3. DIVERSE: Arlington County is one of the most diverse communities in the country. Our schools should reflect this diversity.
4. WELL-PLANNED: New schools and additions should be carefully thought out, subject to a full community engagement process, with the programs they will house determined prior to asking taxpayers to approve funding.
We encourage all interested parties to consider these principles as they chart the path forward to address the overcrowding crisis facing our county’s middle schools. We welcome the opportunity to work with the School Board and everyone else with a stake in this process.
We propose a set of guiding principles that we believe the School Board, the Superintendent, and the broader Arlington communities should use going forward in our collaborative efforts to address overcrowding.
We want schools that are:
1. RIGHT-SIZED: Our schools should be sized and designed to suit the programs they house as well as the sites they occupy.
2. GREEN: Our schools should be environmentally beneficial in their siting, construction, and use, preserving and enhancing green space, promoting walking, and improving our local environment.
3. DIVERSE: Arlington County is one of the most diverse communities in the country. Our schools should reflect this diversity.
4. WELL-PLANNED: New schools and additions should be carefully thought out, subject to a full community engagement process, with the programs they will house determined prior to asking taxpayers to approve funding.
We encourage all interested parties to consider these principles as they chart the path forward to address the overcrowding crisis facing our county’s middle schools. We welcome the opportunity to work with the School Board and everyone else with a stake in this process.
Why is this important?
We are residents of Cherrydale and nearby neighborhoods. Many of our children are directly affected by the middle school overcrowding crisis facing Arlington County Public Schools. As taxpayers, we are also impacted by the manner in which the school system addresses this crisis.