Schools

A newly formed committee says it aims to learn more about how Arlington Public Schools students use their school-provided devices both in and out of the classroom.

The Educational Technology Advisory Committee, which formed last year, consists of parents, technology specialists and APS personnel. One of their top priorities is determining the educational impacts of the iPads and MacBooks that APS provides all students.


Schools

One meeting down and two more to go before recommendations could emerge for a new name to adorn the forthcoming Arlington Career Center building.

Arlington Public Schools last month created a naming committee to discuss potential names for the new building, which will house the Arlington Career Center and the handful of programs within it, including Arlington Tech. As the committee has just starting meeting, no contenders have yet emerged for the building on S. Walter Reed Drive, slated for completion in the fall of 2026.


Schools

(Updated at 12 p.m.) An elementary school has become the next flashpoint in discussions of how Arlington Public Schools should use its existing buildings.

Last year, the Nottingham Elementary School community was roiled by a potential plan to close the school and turn the building into a “swing space” to accommodate students whose home schools were under renovation.


Schools

(Updated 2/19) Advocates are calling for Arlington County to invest $2 million in additional programs to stop students from dying of drug overdoses.

The mother of an Arlington ninth grader who died of an apparent fentanyl overdose in September joined over 250 others on Wednesday to demand additional funding for free after-school programs. Organizers say a scarcity of accessible, interesting programming makes students more likely to fall into drug addiction.


Schools

School Board watchdog group Arlington Parents for Education (APE) is asking the auditor for Arlington Public Schools to dive into the potential impacts of an increase in paid holidays for year-round staff.

Two school years ago, new religious and cultural holidays were added to the calendar and Supt. Francisco Durán announced APS would fully close for winter and spring breaks. APE said in a new letter to the auditor that this decision could cost millions and may hurt morale of 10-month employees, who are not paid for these days off.


News

Arlington police have charged a former Washington-Liberty High School basketball coach with sexual offenses and are seeking possible additional victims.

George Porcha, 53, of Winterville, North Carolina, is charged with carnal knowledge of a minor and taking indecent liberties with children, per an Arlington County Police Department press release sent out this evening (Tuesday).


Schools

(Updated at 3:20 p.m.) Starting this month, Arlington students can now get free Metrobus rides throughout Arlington.

This builds on a program in place since 2022 allowing students with iRide SmarTrip card to ride Arlington Transit (ART) buses for free. Students who live in Arlington and are enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade can obtain these cards from Commuter Stores in Arlington or, if they are APS students, through their schools.


Schools

Arlington Public Schools has preemptively given students a snow day and an effective three day weekend due to expected accumulating snowfall tomorrow.

APS made the announcement just before 6 p.m., with several inches of snow in the forecast for Friday. Neighboring Alexandria and Fairfax County also announced Friday closures.


Schools

(Updated at midnight) There will be no classes for Arlington Public Schools students Tuesday.

The snow day means at least a four-day weekend for students, when combined with today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. APS made the announcement around 6 p.m.


Schools

(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools experienced a data breach this week affecting information it collects for visitors to school buildings.

The school system notified people of “externally exposed” data in a message sent this afternoon (Friday). The breach is part of a broader leak, reported this morning, affecting some schools in the U.S. that, like APS, use a visitor management system from Raptor Technologies.


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