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Read about Issues click here
Abby will focus on the ABC's of School Success:
Virginia Partisans Gay & Lesbian Democratic Club Endorsement Questionnaire February 2007 Candidate Name: Abby Raphael Office Sought: Arlington School Board Previous Elected or Appointed Office: None 1. Have you attended events for, joined, or otherwise expressed support for the Virginia Partisans Gay & Lesbian Democratic Club, Equality Virginia, or other Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender or AIDS groups? I was pleased to attend the 2006 AGLA Anniversary Celebration, and am registered to attend Equality Virginia’s Commonwealth Dinner in April. I look forward to working with these organizations in the future to help promote understanding and respect for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. 2. If elected, would you establish a written non-discrimination policy, which includes sexual orientation, for your employees? I am pleased that Arlington has been a leader in this area and already has a written, non-discrimination policy, which includes sexual orientation, for its employees. 3. Would you support efforts, in this office, to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and housing? Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has no place in our schools. This includes not only employment and housing for APS employees, but also any form of discrimination against employees or students on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, our schools should work to ensure that all teachers, staff, parents and students feel welcomed. 4. Would you oppose any efforts to amend the United States Constitution and Virginia constitution to ban same-sex unions? Yes and I have done so in the past. I spoke out against the November 2006 proposed amendment to the Virginia constitution, and sent materials opposing the amendment to many people. After a heated discussion with a Catholic priest, whom I met at a neighbor’s house, he agreed not to tell his congregation that they had to support the amendment to be “good Catholics.”
5. Would you support adding “sexual orientation” to the list of categories for hate crimes protection? Yes. In the school context, this concept needs to be taken further, to protect students from bullying related to sexual orientation. I also am concerned about what I see as a recent increase in student use of slang, pejorative and very hurtful words related to sexual orientation. Our schools must be clear that such language is unacceptable. Furthermore, our schools should promote an environment where all students feel accepted, welcomed and valued. 6. Would you vote to protect women’s reproductive rights? Yes. I have been a supporter of Planned Parenthood for more than 25 years. 7. Would you support Family Life Education and guidance programs in public schools that offer age-appropriate, nonjudgmental information on sexuality, tolerance, homosexuality, and sexually transmitted diseases? Yes. We have an obligation to provide age appropriate, nonjudgmental information about sexuality, tolerance, homosexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. Discussing these issues as part of the family life curriculum gives students the opportunity to learn, question and ultimately make good, safe choices for themselves. It also allows students to look beyond labels and to understand and respect each other. In addition to the family life curriculum, the Gay-Straight Alliances in schools provide students an opportunity to discuss these issues in a nonjudgmental way. 8. Would you support efforts to eliminate the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and allow open service by gay and lesbian service members in the U.S. armed forces? Yes. 9. Are you openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? No. 10. How have you advocated for same sex equal rights in the community at large in the past (i.e. have you publicly spoken out for policies at your place of business, testified before government bodies, adopted written policies for your employees, marched for lesbian and gay rights, etc)? As an associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, I provided pro bono legal services in the early 1990’s to the Lambda Legal Defense Fund by helping prepare a memorandum arguing that Arlington County had the legal authority to extend its Human Rights Ordinance to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The County Board previously had taken the position that the Dillon Rule precluded extending the law in this way. Arlington County then voted to extend the protections of the Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation. The law has never been challenged. 11. In what ways have you worked to include gays, lesbians and other minority groups in your personal or professional life? The more people get to know each other as people, not focusing on labels, the more we will understand each other and respect each other. In my personal and professional life, I have lived by this principle. My hope is that people will not simply tolerate each other, but will respect each other, regardless of sexual orientation or other minority status. Because this is the way I live my life, I count among my friends and colleagues people who are gay, lesbian or are part of other minority groups. I am fortunate that many of these individuals have chosen to support me in my campaign for School Board. I also was pleased to work to help elect Sally Baird to the School Board. 12. Is there anything else we should know about your candidacy?
Responses of Abby Raphael to the Friends of South Arlington 2007 School Board Candidate Questionnaire – February 16, 2007
APS faces challenges in the coming years, including continuing to close the achievement gap, addressing overcrowding at some schools while better promoting our great schools that are underenrolled, fairly prioritizing capital improvements, working to ensure that all citizens feel that they are included in the decisions made about our schools, expanding successful academic programs, and reviewing the budget to ensure that we are spending taxpayer dollars responsibly.
I would like to see APS expand the foreign language program in elementary and middle school. In addition, Arabic and Chinese offerings for middle and high school students should be expanded so that currently enrolled students can continue their studies.
While serving as the PTA president at Arlington Science Focus School, I was able to increase participation in the PTA by having speakers (usually school staff) at all of our PTA meetings, having lively discussions during the meetings about important issues, and creating a welcoming atmosphere – particularly for new parents. Also as PTA president, I proposed that we focus on student wellness with the theme: “Healthy Students – Fit to Learn.” We worked with students, parents, teachers and the principal to make health and fitness activities an important part of the school. These activities included a 5k and 1 mile Family Fun Run, with the proceeds used to help fund the installation of outdoor fitness equipment on our playground. Students grew vegetables in the courtyard and enjoyed these during lunch. At the PTA’s request, teachers agreed not to give students candy. Parents attended evening programs about the school lunch program and about fun fitness activities for children, especially during the winter months. Working with parents from Glebe, Longbranch and Science Focus last year, I led an effort to obtain funding from the School Board for reading specialists, after these schools lost Title I funding. Many parents who had never before been active in schools issues spoke at School Board hearings and wrote letters. While we were not successful, I am gratified to see so many new parent activists. As a Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Instruction, I worked with ACI leaders and drafted a memorandum to the School Board about the need for increased positions for elementary reading, math and gifted/talented specialists. As a result of this work, the School Board appointed a committee that currently is addressing this issue. As a member of the Budget Advisory Council, I proposed this year that the Council recommend to the School Board that it include in its direction to the Superintendent a requirement to prioritize any new initiatives. The Council made this recommendation and the School Board adopted it. In the 1990’s, while working as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Arlington, I also served as the President of the Board of Directors of Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington County, Inc. That non-profit group continues today providing resources to inmates and their families, from mentoring and tutoring, to teaching job skills.
In light of the federal government’s denial of Virginia’s request to extend for one year the use of the Stanford English Language Proficiency (SELP) test for Level 1 and 2 LEP students, I agree with the resolution passed by the School Board in February. Accountability and high expectations are important for all of our students. However, we should only use the SOL grade level reading test for those LEP students for whom this test is a fair assessment.
Through my work on the Budget Advisory Council, I continue to advocate for a review of our administrative costs as a potential area for budget savings. According to the FY2007 report of the Washington Area Boards of Education, Arlington spends a larger percentage of its operating budget for staffing of non-school based positions (vs. school based positions) than any other jurisdiction in the Washington metropolitan area. For Arlington, 12.7% of positions are non-school based, compared with 10.7% for Alexandria, for example. According to the FY2007 APS Adopted Budget, APS has 754.88 non-school based positions. A 2% reduction in non-school based positions, for example, could mean a redirection of 15 positions into the schools. These positions could be used for foreign language, or other instructional needs in the schools. A close look at our administrative costs, and the entire budget, for possible savings is warranted regardless whether or not we have a surplus budget. Taxpayer dollars must be spent responsibly.
Involving all parents in their children’s education is one of the best ways to close the achievement gap. Helping parents learn English, through REEP for example, is critical. This will help parents to communicate with their children’s teachers. APS can do more to help parents with creating an environment at home that promotes student achievement. This can include information about encouraging reading, talking to children about their school day, and providing a supportive atmosphere for students do their homework. This information needs to be accessible to parents – provided at times and in locations that work with parents’ schedules. In addition, I would like to see PTAs partner with each other, to provide support to schools with less parental involvement. PTAs could help each other with communication, through newsletters and school directories. They also could share successful projects that have parents helping students in the classroom. The County Council of PTAs might benefit from some APS staff support to be able to facilitate these partnerships and sharing of information for all PTAs. In addition to increasing parental involvement, I believe that we can help close the achievement gap through better nutrition for our students. As a member of the Food Services Advisory Committee, I am working with my colleagues to increase the nutritional quality of the food we provide. For students who qualify for the free or reduced price meals program, we need to increase participation so that more students eat the school meals. At Wakefield, for example, there are hundreds of students who qualify for a free or reduced price breakfast, who do not eat the breakfast offered at school. Part of the problem is the fact that buses may not arrive in time for students to eat before class. We are pursuing solutions to this, including providing a bagged breakfast that students pick up at the door as they enter school.
I have spoken with many South Arlington residents who feel that they are not treated as full partners within the APS community. The best place to start is to acknowledge this and ensure that we include residents from throughout the County in the decision-making process in a meaningful way. As a candidate, I am talking with as many people as I can throughout the County to listen to their ideas and concerns and to better understand their perspectives. This includes going door to door, meeting with individuals and groups, and attending events. My work on various committees with citizens from all parts of the County also is helping me to appreciate fully various perspectives. As we approach issues such as boundaries, admissions policies and prioritizing capital improvements, we must ensure that the process is inclusive and the results are fair to all of our students, parents and residents.
From a budget perspective, we should minimize the use of leased space – particularly when APS owns buildings that are not being fully utilized. Regarding the Wilson Building, I share neighbors concerns about the need to preserve green space and about the possible future need for that site as a school. We should consider a broad range of options for the Wilson Building, including what existing APS programs could be located there. As for the Career Center, my sense is that the community might be interested in pursuing some kind of public/private partnership there, to help promote economic development along Columbia Pike, while maintaining the Career Center (and perhaps adding the High School Continuation Program) to that location. While the Board certainly must take into account the economic value of these properties, that is one factor among many that must be weighed. I am pleased that the Multi-Site Committee has scheduled an additional public hearing on these issues.
We first must define the problem that we are trying to address. The fact that Tuckahoe currently is at more than 113% capacity and that many parents are upset by this overcrowding must be addressed. While enrollment projections change, Tuckahoe has been projected to be overcrowded since the last boundary process.
The Studio JAED study identified nearly $2 million in immediate improvements needed for Wakefield to address HVAC problems. At the same time, the 2006 bond included more than $4.5 million for a study and design for Wakefield. Given the length of time before construction will begin at Wakefield, the immediate HVAC needs identified in the Studio JAED study should be addressed. The challenge is to meet these immediate HVAC needs in a way that can also be used once construction begins. Performance contracting is an option that APS may want to consider to fund these improvements. For the long term, the School Board must prioritize capital improvement projects. Although design money was included in the 2006 bond for Wakefield, Jefferson and the Career Center, the School Board has not indicated the order in which it intends to proceed with these projects. The School Board will get some input on this from the Multi-Site Study Committee and must ensure that the process for determining these priorities is inclusive, transparent and fair. If I were the Superintendent, I would include money in my proposed FY2008 APS Budget under major maintenance/minor construction to address Wakefield’s HVAC problems. As a School Board member, I would work with my colleagues to include funding in the budget to address the HVAC problems at Wakefield. In addition, I would try to ensure the inclusive, transparent and fair process discussed above for determining the capital improvement priorities.
I don’t believe that we need another layer of administration or bureaucracy. It is the School Board’s job, together with the Superintendent, to ensure efficient, effective and responsible use of taxpayer dollars. As mentioned above, I do support asking for a free efficiency review of APS, which could include what efficiencies might be derived from consolidating certain functions with County government.
Many schools are in need of capital improvements. The Career Center, Jefferson and Wakefield require major improvements. However, other schools also need work, such as Abingdon and Randolph. I am particularly concerned about schools that lack adequate fire protection and I would make safety the first priority in addressing capital improvements.
We must be mindful that APS receives nearly half of the local tax dollar and that approximately 85% of taxpayers do not have children in the school system. Shared use of school facilities should be encouraged. Better communication between the County and APS about capital improvements is important. I also am concerned about the fact that fields maintained by APS are not available to students for outdoor recreation during the cold months.
This is an area for improvement. While many summer programs offered by the County and schools are included in the same catalogue, some school programs are included in a separate catalogue that is distributed later in the school year. This makes it difficult for parents to plan the summer for their children. There seems to be little coordination of County and APS after-school programs. PTA’s appear to coordinate most of the after-school enrichment activities for students. Greater coordination between the County and APS could make these programs more accessible to families.
REEP’s biggest challenges are finding dedicated space along Columbia Pike, to replace the space it will lose at Arlington Mill; securing funding to replace the family literacy programs that once were available at Arlington Mill, Barrett, Carlin Springs and Randolph, but now only exist at Drew; and finding space for REEP to be co-located with other important services in the Metro corridor to replace the Clarendon site once that lease expires.
I listen, I do my homework, I understand the concerns of people across Arlington, I challenge assumptions, I work collaboratively with others, and I think a lot about the issues we face. I know that process matters. A fair and effective decision-making process must be inclusive and transparent. I use my best judgment to make a decision and use my leadership ability to try to build a consensus.
League of Women Voters of Arlington Fall 2007 Voters’ Guide Candidate’s Name as Listed on Ballot: Abby J. Raphael Biography: My leadership includes: PTA president, Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Instruction, and member of the Budget Advisory Council. A graduate of the University of Virginia Law School and Duke University, I have served as an Arlington Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney. Personal: married, two daughters who attend Arlington public schools. If elected, what will be your top two priorities for your term of office? If elected, my top priorities include promoting success for all Arlington students and working together as a community to make the best decisions for our students, parents, teachers and residents.
Arlington Education Association Political Action Committee Candidate’s name: Abby Raphael
My experiences as a PTA president, a Vice Chair of the Advisory Council on Instruction, and a member of the Budget Advisory Council; my service as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Arlington; and my role as a mom of two girls who attend Arlington Public Schools all have prepared me to be an effective member of the School Board. Through these opportunities, I have worked with teachers, administrators, parents and citizens from across Arlington on the budget, curriculum, boundaries and many other issues. These experiences have helped me to understand different perspectives, to build consensus, and to be a leader.
Two of my top priorities are promoting success for all Arlington students and working together as a community to make the best decisions for our students, parents, teachers and residents. Our core mission is to promote success for all students. This means a continued focus on eliminating the achievement gap. One way to reduce the gap is to help all parents become involved in their children’s education. I also will work to implement a comprehensive foreign language curriculum, beginning in elementary school, to better prepare our students for the future. We can increase achievement for all students by providing healthier school meals. Success also means educating well-rounded students, with attention to the physical and emotional well-being of each child. Through all of these efforts, we must focus our resources on teachers, who are our most important investment. Working together as a community includes ensuring that the decision-making process is transparent, inclusive and fair. In the coming months, the School Board will address significant issues, such as overcrowding in some elementary schools and prioritizing capital improvements. I will continue to seek the views of people across the County on these issues. Community also means that individuals and advisory groups have the opportunity for meaningful input in the School Board’s decisions.
Recruiting and retaining high quality educators and support professionals must be a priority. Teacher exit interviews indicate that the primary reason teachers leave Arlington is to work where they live, which for most of our staff is not in Arlington. It is good for teachers and for the community for our teachers to live here in Arlington. The School Board needs to address this issue (see response to question 10 for more discussion). For Arlington to continue to be a place where quality teaching professionals choose to work, we must continue to provide competitive salaries and benefits. The School Board recognized this in providing a 2.2% salary adjustment in the FY08 budget – an increase that was higher than that of other jurisdictions and significantly higher than what the County provided its employees. In addition, we should recognize that attracting and retaining these professionals includes other factors such as small class sizes, meaningful professional development, child care through the Children’s School and an effective employee assistance program.
What should be the role of the School Board in these negotiation processes? The CPST provides an opportunity for the School Board to be informed about employee concerns and perspectives. I believe that employees must know that their input on a variety of issues matters. From the parent perspective, I have seen the frustration of some parents who have worked hard to provide recommendations to the School Board, but feel that the staff and School Board have not seriously considered or valued their work. Process matters. The School Board’s decision-making process must be transparent, inclusive and fair.
How do you think the defined contribution plan should be structured? Retirement benefits are an important part of the package that APS provides to attract and retain quality employees. We must balance the retirement needs of newer employees with those who have provided service to our students for many years. One priority of our defined contribution plan should be to encourage employees to participate. Having an adequate match is one way to do this. The School Board has recognized this in increasing the contribution for employees with less than 24 years of service to 1.7%, up from 1.4%. Before I would offer an opinion on how the plan should be structured, I need to learn more about the current plan, what other school systems provide, and what private employers provide. In addition, I plan to discuss this issue with APS staff, current and former AEA leaders, School Board members and others.
To fully and fairly evaluate principals and supervisors, instructional staff should have an active role in the evaluation process. The staff perspective is important in understanding how effective principals and supervisors are in articulating goals, in allocating resources, in encouraging teacher creativity, and in fairly managing staff. Positive feedback and constructive criticism from instructional staff are key components to maintaining quality leadership in our schools and in the central office.
I am pleased that the School Board has asked for citizen input about the STEM program. Because this program would involve a significant instructional change, we need to have the perspectives of the Advisory Council on Instruction, parents, citizens, and teachers to help decide whether the STEM program should be implemented, and if so, where and in what fashion. While I am interested in the STEM concept, I am concerned that initial discussions included estimates that 300 high school students would participate in the program, leaving their existing comprehensive high schools. To properly evaluate the proposed program, more information is needed about the kind of student this program is intended to attract, the goals of the program, and what needs such a program would meet that are not already being met in our high schools. I also am committed to maintaining and improving our vocational courses at the Career Center.
Safety of our students, employees, parents and visitors must be our first priority. A January 2007 consultant study concluded that “many of our buildings have at least one doorway compromised sufficiently to provide relatively easy access to the building.” While this problem is being addressed, I believe that it should be remedied expeditiously. The study also noted that schools lack a consistent visitor badge program. My understanding is that APS plans to implement such a program during this school year. In addition to access to buildings, we must address the issue of gangs. The APS 2006 Safety Survey showed that 20% of our schools indicated that they have identifiable gangs or gang members among their student populations. APS must work closely with the Arlington Police Department in gang prevention activities. As a former Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Arlington, I feel strongly that APS must have a cooperative relationship with the Police Department. For example, we no longer have police Resource Officers in our elementary schools. If budgets preclude this, we should ask that officers’ daily patrol duties include stopping at our elementary schools on a daily basis. Police officers should be positive role models for our students. Security also includes the issue of illegal drug use. APS must be committed to providing effective drug prevention education for our students.
Planning time is an important part of a teacher’s day. Our students benefit greatly not only from individual planning, but also from team planning. I have seen this in my daughter’s elementary school, where the classroom, art, music, science and other teachers have the opportunity to plan together to provide an integrated curriculum. My middle school daughter also benefits from her teachers’ collaboration, particularly in scheduling tests and assignments. I would be interested in any proposals of the Elementary School Principals’ Group and others about how much planning time is needed and how to best structure that time.
As discussed above, the primary reason teachers cite for leaving Arlington is the fact that they live elsewhere. The APS Live Where You Work program provides an opportunity to assist employees with the purchase of a home. We should ensure that employees are aware of this benefit. In addition, we should review the available funding for this. I also believe that the School Board should discuss options for affordable housing for our teachers. While I know that this is an area of interest for many Board members, it has not been a focus.
The School Board allocated more than $2 million in the FY08 budget to begin meeting the new GASB requirements for funding what is known as Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB). Millions more will be required over the next few years to meet the new standards. While this poses a challenge in the short-term to find the funding, it will benefit our employees in the long-run. APS should not reduce our commitment to a competitive package of salary and benefits for our employees to fund this requirement.
I advocate expanding our foreign language curriculum in elementary school. As I have spoken with hundreds of people across the County, it is clear that this is a priority for many others as well. Of the elementary schools that now offer foreign language, some have eliminated early release and some have not. One of the strengths of our system is the flexibility and choices it provides at the elementary level. As we move forward to expand foreign language offerings, we need to ensure that teachers, administrators and parents play an active role in shaping what the program should look like. Planning time is very important for teachers and it benefits our students. We should evaluate the existing foreign language programs, including the issue of their effect on planning time, as we move forward in expanding the foreign language curriculum.
Pursuant to NCLB, our students’ performance is measured based on the SOLs. NCLB does not encompass other measures of student performance, such as graduation rates, SAT scores, or participation in AP or IB courses. In addition, as the pass rates under NCLB increase, eventually to 100%, more and more schools will be deemed to have “failed.” Unfortunately, schools that improve from one year to the next, but do not meet the higher pass rate, are labeled as “failing.” This year, nine of our elementary schools and all of our middle schools did not make AYP. This largely was a result of the fact that the federal government rejected the test that we had been using to test our LEP students who have been in our schools just over one year. Instead, these students were required to take the grade-level English test. I am hopeful that Arlington and other jurisdictions, as well as state and federal leaders, will continue to work to develop an alternate test that fairly evaluates progress that these students are making. Sanctions for failure to make AYP for Title I schools include providing a transfer option to two other schools, with transportation provided, and providing outside tutors. Fortunately, very few students in Arlington choose the transfer option. I believe that most families recognize that not making AYP does not mean that a school is failing. However, the School Board must set aside funds every year for transportation and for tutors. Hoffman-Boston is facing more severe sanctions if it does not make AYP again this year. Arlington has kept a good balance of preparing students to be successful on the SOLs, but recognizing that education involves far more than passing these tests. Our teachers must be encouraged to continue to teach for meaning, and not use the SOLs as the sole benchmark of student success.
I was interested to learn that the AEA survey showed strong support for CAP. The first phase of this program, offering the salary adjustment to teachers who have achieved national Board certification, is now in place. The next phase of the program includes offering the benefit to teachers who successfully submit a portfolio to a committee of APS employees. It will be important for the School Board to evaluate this program as it is implemented – to determine teacher satisfaction with it and to review the costs associated with the program.
I believe that the School Board should work closely with the County Board in considering options for the entire Wilson School/Firehouse #10 site. In these discussions, the School Board should make clear that it intends to continue use of that site for school purposes, including potential future use of the site for an elementary school. Many possible uses for the site have been proposed. Of course, the school system still is using the site for swing space as other buildings are renovated. APS has significant leased space for administrative offices and has recognized the need to find school-owned space for these offices. In addition, it has been proposed that the Wilson site could be used for a Montessori school or affordable housing for teachers. All of these options should be explored. I also believe that it is prudent for the School Board to consider the possibility of some development on the site that would generate revenue. As the Superintendent and County Manager explore various options, their discussions – and future School Board action – should be guided by a commitment to have school use at the site, including possible future use as an elementary school; the need to maintain or expand green space and recreational space; and consideration of the historic nature of the Wilson School building. Ultimately, the School Board will need to determine if the estimated available revenue from development is worth the costs to the community.
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| Paid for by Abby Raphael for Arlington School Board Committee P.O Box 5437 Arlington, Virginia 22205 |
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