Arlington Public Schools has hired a well-liked high school principal from Alexandria.

APS announced four new principal appointments last night, after their approval by the Arlington School Board. Among them: Alexandria City High School (ACHS) Principal Peter Balas, who will take over as principal of Wakefield High School in the fall.


Voting to determine which School Board candidate gets the endorsement of the local Democratic party kicked off yesterday and continues this week.

Candidates Angelo Cocchiaro and Miranda Turner are vying to be the Democratic-supported candidate who will run in the general election in November to replace outgoing School Board Chair Reid Goldstein. The winner will face any independent candidates, which so far includes James “Vell” Rives, who is running for the second time.


(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) A student at Kenmore Middle School is facing charges after an alleged threat.

The student posted a photo of a gun and the words “wait until tomorrow” in a group chat, according to an email from school administration.


James “Vell” Rives is entering the race to fill the Arlington School Board seat being vacated by Reid Goldstein.

He will be running in the general election in November against the candidate who wins the Arlington County Democratic Committee endorsement caucus, either be Miranda Turner or political newcomer Angelo Cocchiaro, who both nabbed high-profile endorsements recently.


Arlington County police are investigating whether a student threatened another student with a knife brought into a local middle school.

The alleged incident happened this past Thursday morning at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, at 125 S. Old Glebe Road.


In one year, a group of Washington-Liberty High School students built a subatomic particle detector from scratch, teaching themselves everything from a new coding language to how to solder.

Now, that hardware and software are set to get launched into space this week, though a date has yet to be set.


Arlington Public Schools has “paused” some overnight field trips amid a law enforcement investigation.

Some fifth-grade students were on a recent overnight field trip to the school system’s Outdoor Lab in Fauquier County when an incident allegedly occurred and was reported to the local Sheriff’s Office.


Outgoing Arlington School Board chair Reid Goldstein has endorsed School Board candidate Angelo Cocchiaro in the race to replace him.

While Goldstein is the first sitting School Board member to endorse a candidate thus far, his opponent Miranda Turner was endorsed by a former top-level administrator for Arlington Public Schools.


Arlington School Board candidate Angelo Cocchiaro is not dropping out of the race, despite a statement to that effect that briefly appeared on his website Friday.

In it, Cocchiaro implied that he was experiencing challenges raising money and could not afford an effective campaign. He pledged to continue advocating for students using the network of advisory boards within Arlington Public Schools.


Seven years after ending its substance use treatment options for youth, a local facility is poised to resume providing some outpatient services.

National Capital Treatment & Recovery CEO Debby Taylor tells ARLnow that Arlington County approached the center about providing therapeutic services to youth in the county after 14-year-old Sergio Flores fatally overdosed at Wakefield High School. The center has since obtained licensure to provide intensive outpatient and outpatient services and could be ready to debut its programming this spring.


With a few minor revisions, the Arlington School Board adopted the superintendent’s budget recommendation as its own proposed budget last week.

Their approval came with the caveat that the $803.7 million budget could change between now and the final approval, which is set for a future School Board meeting on May 11.


Last Thursday, the Arlington School Board promoted two veteran secondary school principals to new positions.

Wakefield High School Principal Chris Willmore will become Director of Secondary Education while Gunston Middle School Principal Lori Wiggins will lead Arlington Community High School.


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