An age gap of a half-century or more didn’t dim enthusiasm during a special art program at a recent Arlington preschool program.
The intergenerational program, held June 15, brought together members of Arlington’s 55+ program to support and paint with the 3-to-5-year-olds in the Creative Preschoolers program at Lubber Run Community Center.
A Falls Church middle school student won a region-wide “If I Were Mayor” essay competition through a plea for sidewalk improvements.
Willa Thom, representing Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, was honored for her achievement at the June 22 Falls Church City Council meeting. She had competed in the Virginia Municipal League’s Region 5, which includes much of Northern Virginia.
Wilmer “Whiz” Mountain was a teacher and mentor to more than 3,000 students during a three-decade career in the math department at Yorktown High School.
For that achievement, and for a lifetime of service in areas beyond education, Mountain was honored June 17 by the Optimist Club of Arlington.
School Board members have increased spending estimates for renovations to Thomas Jefferson Middle School, seeking to strike a balance between different proposals.
Board members voted 5-0 on June 18 to adopt the school system’s fiscal 2027-36 capital improvement plan, setting the stage for an $80 million school-bond referendum in the fall and future referendums down the road.
Ranging in age from 16 to 46, those in the graduating Class of 2026 at Arlington Community High School proved there was no single path to educational success.
“Every road led here,” Principal Jeannette Allen said at the graduation ceremony, held June 12 at Washington-Liberty High School.
Members of Arlington Public Schools’ class of 2026 wrapped up their high-school lives last week with a sense of gratitude and fulfillment.
“We are proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited for what lies ahead,” said Evangeline “Evie” Price, one of Washington-Liberty High School’s seniors and a speaker at the school’s June 13 graduation ceremony.
Significant divisions appear to remain among School Board members on the scope of a planned renovation and addition to Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
Three design concepts — with costs of $130 million, $140 million and $168 million — are still on the table, while at least one School Board member has not given up on the possibility of a complete replacement.
Police and firefighters from the county’s bomb squad are on scene at Wakefield High School after a reported threat.
First responders — including bomb-sniffing dogs — were dispatched to the school around 3:45 p.m., after school dismissal, for an unspecified threat that prompted school officials to initiate security procedures.
Arlington school leaders have more work to do in sketching out how they might use public-private partnerships to construct new facilities in an era of fiscal constraints.
Superintendent Francisco Durán’s proposed fiscal 2027-36 capital improvement plan, unveiled May 14, makes reference to potential future partnerships to help defray costs of constructing and maintaining new facilities.
A divided School Board last Thursday backed a 22% cut in the anticipated future cost of a renovation/expansion project at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, but left the door open to more discussion.
The 3-1 vote, with one abstention, reduces the cost estimate to $130 million, from an initial $168 million proposed by Superintendent Francisco Durán and staff.
Three years after dropping Kaiser Permanente and Cigna as health-insurance providers, Arlington Public Schools is bringing them back.
Superintendent Francisco Durán said at the May 28 School Board meeting that the two firms had been selected to provide health-insurance coverage for a three-year period beginning at the start of 2027. They will replace CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, which has held the contract since January 2024.
School leaders are about to formally ink a deal to relocate Arlington Community High School to Amazon’s HQ2 campus.
Eight months after celebrating the upcoming move, Arlington Public Schools leaders plan to sign a 30-year lease with Amazon for more than 30,000 square feet of space at 1450 S. Eads Street in the Metropolitan Park complex in Pentagon City.
