Arlington Public Schools will open its doors for regular in-person instruction next week amid concerns about the Omicron variant and record-high rates of new Covid cases.
Buildings will open on Monday, Jan. 3 with normal schedules for in-person instruction and Extended Day programs, APS said in an email to families yesterday (Wednesday). Free COVID-19 testing at schools will resume Monday as well.
The future of Arlington Public Schools’ in-house Virtual Learning Program appears to hang in the balance.
The school system developed the program over the summer to give families an alternative to five days a week of in-person instruction. APS made in-person learning the default this fall after offering remote and later, hybrid instruction, last school year. About 600 students attend the VLP.
Starting this summer, Arlington Public Schools intends to pay its bus drivers the most of neighboring school systems in Virginia and Maryland.
Arlington’s bus drivers would receive the highest wages at all stages of their careers compared to other regional school systems, if APS leadership and the School Board stick to their pledge to improve employee compensation in the 2022-23 fiscal year budget, which is being developed.
(Updated 1:10 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools is applying to the state for more than $15.6 million in federal funds to tackle pandemic-era learning loss.
The school system says it would use the money to provide more specialized instruction, before- and after-school tutoring and expanded summer school offerings.
(Updated at 10:25 a.m.) Jamestown Elementary School is having an early dismissal today due to a “significant water leak.”
The announcement was made in an email to families.
The Arlington School Board will vote on boundary changes tomorrow (Thursday) targeting two overcapacity schools in South Arlington.
This fall, Superintendent Francisco Durán launched a “limited” fall 2021 boundary process to relieve overcrowding at Abingdon Elementary School, Gunston Middle School and Wakefield High School.
A petition calling on Arlington Public Schools to ramp up education on sexual misconduct and healthy relationships has netted more than 31,000 signatures.
The petition targets Yorktown High School, where in October a homecoming football game was marred by “unacceptable behavior” by a group of students. Several Yorktown students reportedly harassed fellow students with sexual language, and one student told police she was inappropriately touched.
Arlington Public Schools will be capping the number of traditional “snow days” students get this winter.
Once the school system calls six snow days, APS will revert to remote learning for students who are attending school in-person this year.
(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) Firefighters investigated smoke seen inside the Montessori Public School of Arlington around lunchtime today.
The school at 701 S. Highland Street, in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, was evacuated after an alarm started sounding, according to initial reports. Arriving firefighters said they found smoke coming from the vents. There was no sign of an active fire.
There will be a police presence at Kenmore Middle School on Friday after two separate incidents yesterday.
The school told parents Wednesday afternoon that threatening graffiti with the statement that “I’m gonna shot this school on Friday 11/5/21” was discovered in the 8th grade boys’ bathroom earlier that morning.
Facing a shortage of substitute teachers, Arlington Public Schools has raised its pay rates to attract more candidates.
Teachers have been struggling to find substitutes, leading them to come in on days they wanted to take off or to rely on co-workers willing to cover for them, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán and the Arlington Education Association.
Braving the rain and wind, Arlington Public Schools bus drivers demonstrated along S. Arlington Mill Drive on Friday, calling for better pay and greater respect.
Huddled under umbrellas across from the Arlington County Trades Center (2700 S. Taylor Street) in Shirlington, about 50 drivers held signs saying, “We need our bonus” and “honk 4 drivers” and “equality for all” to cars passing by.
