Please join us for our first PTA Meeting on Tuesday, September 26^th @ 7:00 pm. We will be joined by Arlington School Board member Mary Kadera. Mary is Taylor’s Board Liaison for the 2023-24 School Year and is coming to talk about the Board’s recently proposed middle school boundary changes as well as the county’s plan on school building renovations.

If you would like to ask Mary a question or provide a comment before the meeting please do so here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Q5IjFNat7it0eSRWYnm6GmBL4L6-6crEXqa4_1qZhcY/edit

I would encourage you all to plan to attend in person for this important opportunity to engage with Taylor’s School Board Liaison!

HAPPENING AT TAYLOR

NEW: TAYLOR PTA MIDDLE SCHOOL BOUNDARY COMMITTEE

The PTA Board has voted to establish a temporary working committee to focus on advocating on behalf of the Taylor community with respect to APS proposed middle school boundary changes. 

If you are interested in participating on this committee, please send a note to PTA President, Jane Wishneff at president@taylorpta.org.  

Come and celebrate the beginning of the school year at the PTA's Fall Parent Social! It will be held at Whino Ballston Quarter on September 6th at 7pm immediately following Back to School Night. Appetizers will be provided and additional food and drink will be available for purchase.  

Fall Enrichment Registration



Opens: Friday, September 8 @ 9:00 AM

Closes: Monday, September 18 @ 11:59 PM

We have some exciting classes starting soon! Mark your calendars for Fall Enrichment Registration. Click the Flyer to access the Registration page.

**Limited financial aid opportunities are available for those who qualify. Please indicate your request at the time of registration.

**If approved, financial aid is available for one class per child per session

REGISTRATION FOR GIRLS ON THE RUN IS OPEN!



Ms. Ross and her team are looking forward to another fun and rewarding Girls on the Run (GOTR) season this fall! Girls in grade 3-5 are eligible to participate. Registration information can be found here: https://www.pinwheel.us/register/index/FALL2023PROGRAM?sid=1dcf88ec65cb4b3b9c14fffa6466ae4f.

KidsGiving is back! 

KidsGiving is a program designed to teach students the importance of philanthropy and volunteering in our community through our partnerships with local non-profit organizations right here in Arlington. All Taylor students are invited and encouraged to sign up for KidsGiving and participate in the monthly activities. See our flyer for details. Register your student to become a KidsGiving member by filling out the form at this link: tinyurl.com/TaylorKidsGiving2023 Want to learn more? Contact Taylor KidsGiving Coordinators Mary Sanders and Maria Baer: kidsgiving@taylorpta.org

Science Olympiad is back!

It’s time for the Fall 2023 Science Olympiad competition season! Science Olympiad is an exciting, parent/guardian-run extracurricular extension to Taylor’s STEAM focus.

This Fall 2023 season will consist of 6 weeks of weekly Taylor parent/guardian-run Learning/Practice Sessions, followed by a state-wide Competition Day in Arlington hosted by the Virginia Science Olympiad organization.

NEW for 2023-2024 - Change in Single-Day Dismissal Protocol

New this year, Taylor will be using a Google Form for you to report single-day dismissal changes. 

Please bookmark this link for quick access. The link to this form can also be found on the Taylor website and in the principal’s weekly email message.

For early pick-ups, plan to pick up your child prior to 3:00 pm.

Sign up for Taylor Listserv

Sign up here to connect with other parents on topics surrounding APS, Taylor curriculum, extracurriculur activities and much more!

Contacting Taylor – Parent FAQ

Q. My child will be absent from school, how should I let the Taylor office know?

A. You can report absences through ParentVue, send an email to taylor.attendance@apsva.us or call the attendance hotline at 703-228-8965. Please also let us know if they will be late arriving at school in the morning for an appointment.

Q. How do I report a single-day change in dismissal for my child?

A. Parents should now use the dismissal change Google doc to submit daily changes to their child’s dismissal instructions. The deadline for submitting dismissal changes is 3:00 pm each day.The link can also be found at www.Taylor.apsva.us.

Q. What if I need to make a long-term change to my child’s regular dismissal instructions?

A. For changes to dismissal that affect their regular dismissal instructions, send an email to taylor.attendance@apsva.us and the front office will notify the teacher.  

Q. Who should I contact if my child will be picked up early from school?

A. Send an email to your child’s teacher to let them know you’ll be getting your student out of class early and let them know whether you anticipate your child returning back to class that day. 

Stay engaged with the Taylor PTA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and remember to join the Taylor Facebook group.

COMMUNITY NEWS

APS Middle School Boundary Changes

BACKGROUND

In the latest (June) APS Pre-Capital Improvement Report, the district announced recommendations to adjust middle school boundaries in order to balance enrollment in tandem with relocating the dual-language immersion program. These boundary changes would go into effect starting with 6th graders in the 2025-26 school year. Currently, all Taylor students go to the same neighborhood middle school, Dorothy Hamm.  However, under the recommended boundary changes, roughly two-thirds of the student population would be rezoned to Williamsburg. Of those rezoned students, over 90% live within the current walk zone for Dorothy Hamm, but they would be bused to Williamsburg. The Taylor PTA Board is opposing this recommendation, and many affected parents and community members have expressed concerns about the assumptions behind the proposed changes and their potential impacts. 

Some additional details:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d44b0fb8a79baee744cb61/t/64c9b0172d1a29290482e7e9/1690939415342/Middle+School+Boundary+FAQ_Taylor.pdf - Taylor PTA boundary change FAQs

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2023/06/Pre-CIP-Report-2024-2033-Finalv2.pdf - APS June Pre-CIP Report (see especially Appendix H starting on Page A-106)

https://www.apsva.us/engage/2023-ms-boundaries/ - APS boundary change proposal information, dates, links, FAQs

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/AZ2V3D5FA2B8/$file/B-2.1%20Boundaries.pdf - APS boundary change policies

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2023/04/PlanningUnits_UpdateMap_November2021_.pdf - APS planning unit boundaries as of 2021-22

____________________________

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

• Tuesday 9/26 - School Board work session on middle school boundary changes
• Thursday 10/12 - APS presents official proposal for middle school boundary and immersion program changes to the School Board 
• Thursday 12/14 - School Board votes on middle school boundary and immersion program change proposal 

_______________________

OTHER WAYS TO ENGAGE

• Attend the next APS pre-CIP report information / public input sessions:
• Tuesday 8/22 @ 6pm (Kenmore MS) 
• Tuesday 9/5 @ 6pm (virtual) - planned focus is relocation of the immersion program, but APS has indicated they may discuss the middle school boundary changes as well
• Submit questions or comments to APS via email at engage@apsva.us (deadline to provide feedback on the pre-CIP report is September 15th) 
• Sign the petition to urge APS to reconsider its boundary proposal at www.HammWalkers.org
• [Donaldson Run residents] Join the DRCA Hamm Walkers sub-group at https://drca-group.groups.io/g/HammWalkers/join

·      If you would like to display a yard sign to help information neighborhood stakeholders about the re-zoning recommendations contact Kelly Thorne at Kelly.Thorne@gmail.com. 

• Email our School Board members: 
• Cristina Diaz-Torres (Chair) - cristina.diaztorres@apsva.us
• David Priddy (Vice Chair) - david.priddy@apsva.us
• Reid Goldstein - reid.goldstein@apsva.us
• Mary Kadera (Taylor Liaison 2023-24) -  mary.kadera@apsva.us
• Bethany Zecher Sutton (Hamm Liaison 2023-24) - bethany.zechersutton@apsva.us