A Peace Corps veteran who taught English in the Central African Republic, Libby Garvey chose to run for a seat on the school board after becoming closely involved with the challenges facing local school
Voters to Chose School Board Reps
Four candidates contend for two seats in Nov. election
September 23, 2004
Voters in Arlington will chose who fills two seats on the local school board in the coming Nov. election. Incumbents Libby Garvey and Frank Wilson are contending to retain their seats against Shaun Wheldon and William Barker.
Libby Garvey
Libby Garvey's work in Arlington schools began with the Parent Teacher Association while her two children were attending Abingdon Elementary. A Peace Corps veteran who taught English in the Central African Republic, Garvey chose to run for a seat on the school board after becoming closely involved with the challenges facing local schools. She has since served two terms on the board.
"I started seeing larger issues in our schools, a lot of overcrowding in the system and some problems with the way we were handling construction projects," Garvey said in a Friday interview.
Garvey worked to help streamline the methods local schools used to manage renovations and construction, calling for more school board oversight of projects and for more accurate assessments of construction costs. Her efforts with the board culminated in the creation of a new school in South Arlington, Carlin Springs.
"I took my daughter on a tour of the school when it was finished," Garvey said. "She gave me a big hug and told me how much she liked it."
With a new building planned at Washington-Lee High School and several other renovation projects in the future, Garvey said she wants to further her work improving school facilities but an equal priority on her platform is student achievement. Until recently, she said, Arlington schools didn't measure student achievement in an organized manner, allowing the gap in test scores to widen between some students and others.
"It used to be that you didn't ever talk about closing the student achievement gap because you didn't have data to show it," she said.
A recent school board report revealed six Arlington schools failed to meet the federal standards for yearly academic progress outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Garvey challenged the NCLB guidelines, saying they don't offer an accurate picture of what constitutes academic progress.
"It sets one specific bar for students to reach," she said. "If a school makes a huge leap in progress but misses the bar by only a few points, it is still deemed an inadequate school. If a school is already above the bar and test scores fall, but they don't fall below the NCLB progress level, that school is said to actually be making progress."
She added that "NCLB does a disservice to the public by creating confusion about what makes a good school." Garvey also pointed out that the goals of NCLB already existed in the Arlington school districts expressed mission statement before President Bush signed his legislation into law.
Last week, the school board approved a plan to establish a committee that will evaluate the possibility of redesigning the boundaries of some schools in the Northern part of Arlington. Some parents have voiced concern over the prospect of being forced to move their children to new schools. Garvey said the proposed redistricting is a response to overcrowding. Changing the boundaries, she explained, will cost less in tax payer money than expanding schools that are filled to capacity.
"We can't go to the taxpayers and tell them we don't want to change boundaries and that they're just going to have to pay more to create space in overcrowded schools," she said.
Engaging students in the classroom is another of Garvey's concerns.
"A lot of students say they don't know why they are learning something," she said. "It's essential we make those connections so they see the value in what they are studying. Simply saying they'll need it when they get to college isn't enough."
Arlington's teens are in need too, she continued. Garvey said there is high need for skateboard parks and other recreational areas where older youths can spend time.
"Older kids feel disconnected from the community," she explained. "We need to find ways to show them they are valued."
On the administrative side of her job, Garvey said the board is putting the finishing touches on a strategic plan to manage Arlington schools more efficiently and with greater direction. She added that she wants to remain on the board to help put that plan into action.
"The school board has improved a lot since I began working with the board," she said. "Experience counts. We've been working on the strategic plan but in the next term I can help take it to the next level."
