Arlington Public Schools leaders are planning further limits on some grade levels’ access to digital devices, promising more opportunities for public feedback.
Superintendent Francisco Durán updated School Board members on May 14 regarding the status of changes and what is coming next for the program that once provided every student with a MacBook or iPad.
He said the public’s views are being taken into consideration when evaluating next steps.
“We’re going to continue to receive that feedback as we move through the next two years,” Durán said. “We want to hear from our teachers … we want to hear from our parents … and we definitely want to hear from our students.”
Under the revisions, students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten no longer have access to digital learning devices, except for students who receive specialized instruction or require accessibility supports.
In higher elementary-school grades, the school system is moving from the past practice of providing an iPad to each student to providing a classroom set that can be used when needed.
In grades 6 to 8, the school system is moving from iPads to Macbook Neo devices.
Within each grade level, some schools are moving forward with the changes more quickly under pilot programs, Durán said.
After Durán’s presentation, School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton asked for a follow-up providing updated financial impacts of the changes.
Zecher Sutton said Board members wanted to “get that final bottom line of the cost.”
Montessori program could expand to middle-school level: Arlington School Board chair on May 14 floated the possibility that Arlington Public Schools’ Montessori program could expand from the elementary-school level to middle school.
Bethany Zecher Sutton made the comments as part of a discussion of Superintendent Francisco Durán’s recommendation to move the Montessori Public School of Arlington from its current location to the Arlington Career Center building, which will be left vacant when its students move to the new Grace Hopper Center in the fall.
Some parents have sought expansion of the Montessori school from its current upper limit of fifth grade to eighth grade. Under the planned move, “the size of the building would allow for that,” Zecher Sutton said.
The issue would not be taken up as part of the capital-improvement discussion, but could be discussed later, she said.
Durán’s fiscal 2027-36 capital plan calls for spending about $40.5 million to get the Career Center building prepared for the Montessori school. Once the move happens, the existing Montessori school would be razed and replaced with open space.
Future teachers sign up early: Superintendent Francisco Durán at the May 14 School Board meeting saluted seven Arlington Public Schools’ students who have signed agreements to return as teachers after obtaining college degrees.
The students are part of the Teachers for Tomorrow and Early Childhood initiatives. They will join 18 students currently in college and pledged to return to Arlington classrooms after college.
“Programs like this help cultivate our next generation of educators by giving them opportunities,” Durán said. “They are giving back to the community where they grew up and learned.”
Wakefield nurse saluted after state award: Durán praised the selection of Wakefield High School nurse Heather Williams as the Virginia Department of Health’s nurse of the year.
“This is a tribute to her for her compassion, her leadership and her commitment to all of our students at Wakefield,” the superintendent said.
Williams is a public-health nurse with the Department of Human Services. Earlier this year, she had been named Arlington Public Health Nurse of the Year and also earned Northern Virginia-wide honors.
In announcing the selection, State Health Commissioner Dr. Cameron Webb also singled out Williams’ empathy.
“When a nurse shows up with that level of dedication, compassion and commitment to working in partnership with the community, she’s not just providing care — she’s building trust that can last a lifetime,” Webb said.
