County school leaders have announced growth plans for the Arlington Tech program, which will include a doubling of the student body by the 2029-30 school year.
At the same time, Arlington Public Schools confirmed Friday, Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. as the application deadline for county students interested in vying for spots at the Arlington Tech program — and other option schools and programs — to have their applications submitted.
Arlington Public Schools aims to build on the success of a coding competition for students that launched last year.
The second annual High School Programming Competition — which is open to both middle and high schoolers — will be held on Saturday, Feb. 7 from 10:45 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Arlington Career Center.
Students from Arlington high schools will have the opportunity to connect directly with their counterparts in a city in Ukraine later this year.
A new pen pal initiative with Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine will add to a pilot program connecting local high schoolers to Reims, France.
An unusual set of administrative circumstances has led to confusion over how many students are allowed at a private school in Lyon Park.
The Arlington County Board earlier this month extended an existing use permit allowing Tyndale Christian School to operate with a maximum of 40 students. It did so even though the school at 716 N. Barton Street currently has an enrollment of 80 students.
The School Board’s policy subcommittee will open 2026 with consideration of new policies to combat waste, fraud and abuse while protecting those on staff who report it.
At its Wednesday, Jan. 7 meeting, subcommittee members will consider two separate but interconnected draft policy documents:
School Board members have tasked Superintendent Francisco Durán and staff to come back in the spring with options for renovations to two aging middle schools.
Whether there will be enough money in the future to fund major upgrades to Thomas Jefferson and Swanson middle schools remains an open question, but Board members said they are committed to finding ways to make improvements.
Departing School Board member Mary Kadera is taking a different approach to assessing her four years in office.
Elected officials preparing to leave office often begin their end-of-term speeches rattling off a litany of real or perceived successes. But Kadera prefaced her comments at the Dec. 18 School Board meeting — her last after four years in office — by noting a series of regrets.
County education leaders are still evaluating new accountability ratings that showed a mix of success and shortcomings among Arlington schools.
Eight Arlington schools were categorized as “Needs Intensive Support” under new rating system and first results released earlier this month by the Virginia Department of Education, Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members at their Dec. 18 meeting.
A “threatening email” has prompted additional police patrols around schools in Arlington.
The email was sent to “multiple school divisions and institutions of higher education across Virginia” and “there is no indication of a specific or credible threat to any APS school,” Arlington Public Schools said in an email to families Thursday afternoon.
The new home of the Arlington Career Center is still on track to be ready for the start of the 2026-27 school year, but the margin of error is getting increasingly narrow.
School Board members are preparing to discuss a staff request to appropriate $670,000 in contingency funds on Thursday, aiming to meet the most recent challenges for the new Grace Hopper Center at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive.
Planned program changes at the new home for the Arlington Career Center are prompting anger at a parent group supporting Arlington Tech.
Concerns are being raised that a shift in proposed programming at the forthcoming Grace Hopper Center, detailed by Superintendent Francisco Durán and staff to School Board members during a Nov. 18 work session, could dilute the specialty program and the opportunities it provides to students.
Arlington Democrats have approved rules for the party’s 2026 School Board caucus, though whether it will be held remains to be seen.
Arlington County Democratic Committee on Wednesday nearly unanimously set in place rules for a springtime caucus that will only be required if more than one candidate files for the lone position on the ballot next year.
