Five Most Read Schools News of 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, Arlington Patch will review some of the year's most read and important news stories. Watch for our Year in Review pieces on the days leading up to New Year's Eve.

Here are the five most read schools news articles that had Arlington talking in 2011:

Elementary Schools Redistricting Gets Underway

 officials started redistricting the town's six elementary school districts, as part of an ongoing process to alleviate overcrowding at some schools.

In December, safe walking routes to school and a strong sense of community are two major concerns for them during the process.

The schools have finished a , which will continued to be worked on during 2012.

In November, Superintendent Kathleen Bodie apologized for the release of a previous draft map containing approximate address information of special education students, which she said .

Bodie was later  to review the district’s protocols on student confidentiality and report back in January.

It was a lengthy process, but demolition of  started in December, giving way for a new school to be delivered by fall 2013. 

The Thompson rebuild project was  at a cost of $20 million. Parents said the old school had no fire sprinkler or fire safety system, a seriously compromised roof and failing heating. Major buildling systems and windows also needed to be replaced and special education teaching spaces were inadequate, parents said.

In June, students, parents and staff rounded Thompson, sang songs and .

In June, the to cut athletic fees at  by 46 percent.

The committtee voted 5-0 to approve the , which studied several options for the reduction.

Fees for most sports decreased by about 40 percent or more. The highest decrease is in cross-country, where fees dropped from the previous year’s $480 to $100 per student, a 79 percent difference. Cheerleading was next, with a drop from $408 to $100, or 75 percent.

Parents of  football players demanded answers and action from school officials, after several players were while they were at an away game in October.

According to the  report, student athletes returned from a game against Woburn High School to discover iPods, wallets, money and other items had been stolen while they were out. Several lockers were missing locks, except for one that was found half cut, according to the report.

Administrators at the school said they would  near athletics locker rooms.

Arlington High School competed in season two of the High School Quiz Show, the Emmy Award-winning academic contest on WGBH.

During season two, Arlington High’s team lost to Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School on the final round of challenges for the eastern portion of the state. After the eastern finals, the Spy Ponders would have moved to the State Championship to face the winner from the western part of the state.

In November, WGBH announced the team will  in the show’s third season, which will premier on Feb. 12, 2012.