Welcome back! Hope everyone had a restful spring break.
We're working to keep the APC website up to date. If you haven't had a chance to look around, here are a few new items we've put up:
Information about the J-2 PIP and APC is now available in Spanish, Arabic, & Amharic, as well as English.
The most updated policy which we received from APS via FOIA request is available here for your consideration. It is currently available only in English. If anyone has translation skills for any language at all, we'd love to have it translated for our non-English-speaking families.
We've added a number of graphics and links to things that are presently being used to teach transgender topics in classrooms in APS and around the country.
We're staying abreast of current events related to these issues as they unfold around the country, including this open letter from a Latina mother to South Bend, IN, mayor Pete Buttigieg.
We also received an email from Tara Nattrass, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning, who is the point person in the development of the J-2 PIP:
With regard to timeline and processes, staff are currently working on a draft of these procedures and during the rest of April and into the beginning of May, the working draft will be shared with the School Board Policy Sub-Committee, APS advisory groups such as the School Health Advisory Board and the Student Services Advisory Committee, the Executive Leadership Team, and principals. After further input has been gathered from these groups and the draft is further refined, it will be posted on the Engage with APS website in May with a questionnaire to gather input from the broader community. We then hope to have the PIP finalized in June.
If you haven't yet had a chance to communicate with your teachers, administration, school board, and/or staff members, please take a few moments to do so now. These sample letters can be copied/pasted into emails as they are, or edited to your preferences. It is imperative that APS knows parents are aware, watching, and ENGAGED on this issue.
Thanks so much for all you're doing! We're all Arlington Parent Coalition.