Arlington Public Schools opened the 2024-25 academic year with nearly 500 more students than at the same point a year before, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members in his Sept. 5 start-of-school recap.
The tally of 27,889 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade on Sept. 3 was up 475 from the same point last year, and was closing in on the number projected in the school system’s budget adopted in springtime.
“We’re very close,” Durán said.
State law sets Sept. 30 as the date of the official count of each locality’s student body.
During pre-COVID times, projections were for sustained, significant growth in Arlington’s student population into the future. But more recent calculations envision flat growth, with the total number of students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade hovering between 28,000 and 29,000 for the next decade.
While most of its teaching positions have been filled, Durán said there remained 41 vacancies as of early September, most at the secondary-school level.
APS Getting Closer on Filling Ranks of Substitutes: Improvements in pay, cleaning up the database and starting recruitment/outreach efforts earlier seem to be paying off as Arlington Public Schools seeks to have enough available substitute teachers on hand throughout the 2024-25 school year.
Superintendent Francisco Durán on Sept. 5 told School Board members initial trends were “promising” – with the school system able to fill 80 percent to 90 percent of the need in schools in the first weeks of the academic year.
That compares to between 60 percent and 80 percent in recent years.
Gerald Mann, the school system’s chief academic officer, said increases in pay for both occasional substitutes and those who fill in on a long-term basis have helped, as has clearing out names of those no longer available or interested.
“We have rebuilt the pool – we are close to 1,000 if not over 1,000” available substitutes, Mann said. “We are looking good.”
On another front, the Arlington County Police Department started the year short in the number of crossing guards. Durán on Sept. 5 said he had been told by Police Chief Andy Penn that the department still needed to fill nine vacancies.
New Rules Imposed for Attendance at High-School Sporting Events: Arlington’s high schools opened the 2024-25 year with new attendance rules for athletic events.
Due to growing attendance, and perhaps due to incidents that occurred previously the school system is taking “precautions” to ensure safe experiences for all in attendance, officials said.
“We take great pride in our school spirit and encourage student and fan participation,” school leaders said in a letter to the school community. “We also expect our students and fans to use sound judgment and demonstrate appropriate behavior that presents a positive viewing experience for all.”
Among the rules now in place:
• Only students of the participating schools will be allowed entry without a parent/guardian, and must show student ID.
• Any students in eighth grade or younger must be accompanied by their parent or guardian for admission to any Arlington high-school sporting event. The adult accompanying the student needs to be in attendance for the duration of the event.
• Some contests will have admission fees of $7 for adults and $5 for students (free for seniors and children under age 5). Cash and electronic ticketing are accepted.
Anyone with questions should contact the director of student activities at the high schools.
“We also encourage parents to talk to their children about practicing good sportsmanship and respectful behavior as a fan and spectator at our sporting events,” said the letter which was signed by the county’s supervisor of health and physical education and the principals of Wakefield, Washington-Liberty and Yorktown high schools.
