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Yorktown, W-L Win Nail-Biters While Wakefield, O’Connell Fall

Published September 30, 2013 at 10:30AM | Updated September 30, 2013 at 2:41PM

Yorktown (3-1) delivered National District foe Falls Church (3-1) its first loss of the year, a huge victory for potential playoff seeding in November. The Patriots jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead with two touchdowns from senior running back M.J. Stewart, an held on to win, 17-14, despite allowing Falls Church a fourth quarter touchdown. Yorktown will trying to push its record to 4-1 next Friday night on the road against J.E.B. Stuart.

Washington-Lee (3-1) was in serious peril of dropping its second game of the season to Hayfield (0-4), but scored 23 second-half points to storm back for a 23-21 victory. The Generals got a game-winning, late fourth-quarter touchdown from running back Daquay Harris, who is having a breakout year as a junior. Next week they host Falls Church to try to keep pace with the Patriots.

APS Pulling Back From France Exchange Program

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 25, 2013 at 2:30PM

Photo by wox-globe-trotter

A high school and middle school exchange program to France could be on its last legs after Arlington Public Schools administration took a closer look at its travel policies.

Up until this school year, teachers had been granted “professional leave” for a two-week student exchange trip to Reims, France, one of Arlington’s sister cities. But that is coming to an end, jeopardizing the Reims exchange program — a possibility that’s upsetting some parents.

County Board Approves Williamsburg School, Delays Vote on Lighting

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 25, 2013 at 1:05PM

In a separate vote, the board voted unanimously to delay a decision to install lighting until 2015, when it will form a working group of community members for a full discussion on the potential for lighting the synthetic turf fields.

The lighting on the turf fields was the sticking point for many of the two dozen speakers during Saturday’s board meeting. Several members of the Rock Spring Civic Association spoke against lighting the fields, and condemned the County Board for not following its own procedures in considering the lighting.

Yorktown, W-L, Wakefield at 2-1 After Friday’s Games

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 23, 2013 at 5:00PM

Yorktown beat up on Edison, 44-18, to get back in the win column a week after losing its first regular-season game in years. Senior star running back M.J. Stewart rushed 22 times for 191 yards and three touchdowns, raising his season total to 621 yards in three games. Quarterback Will Roebuck threw just three incomplete passes and ran in a score of his own. The Patriots got past an unexpected speed bump and put their foot on the gas starting National District play. The Patriots will host 3-0 Falls Church Friday night.

Washington-Lee also bounced back from its first loss of the season with a district win, sneaking by Stuart, 15-10. Running back Daquay Harris ran for 202 yards and a touchdown while the Generals defense smothered the Generals’ running backs. The Generals, like the Patriots, are now 2-1 and 1-0 in the National District, and should go 3-1 next week when they visit 0-3 Hayfield.

Board to Examine Permit for New School

By Katie Pyzyk

Published September 17, 2013 at 11:30AM | Updated September 17, 2013 at 2:19PM

Plans for the new school have been in the works for some time, and the Arlington School Board unanimously approved a conceptual design in February. Although a number of concerns from the community have arisen during the planning process, county staff recommends Board approval for the use permit.

One issue that previously prompted a meeting is the traffic impact a new school would have on the surrounding area. A study indicates traffic impacts only occur during a 15 to 20 minute “peak” period during school arrival and departure times. It is therefore suggested that the two schools stagger their start/end times to reduce this traffic impact, with Williamsburg having an earlier start time than the new school. Staff believes the new school’s parking lot has been adequately designed to prevent long lines of waiting cars from spilling into the neighboring streets during drop off and pick up times.

Groundbreaking for Ashlawn Elementary Addition

By ARLnow.com

Published September 9, 2013 at 2:00PM

Students, teachers, parents and administrators attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new addition to Ashlawn Elementary on Friday.

The 27,000 square foot, $14.3 million addition will add nine classrooms, a new media center and administrative offices to the school, which is located off of Wilson Blvd near Bluemont Park. The addition is part of Arlington Public Schools’ effort to boost school capacity amid a burgeoning student population.

Photos: Arlington Goes Back to School

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 3, 2013 at 4:30PM

Teachers and administrators welcomed an estimated 23,586 students inside the halls of Arlington Public Schools for the first time since June this morning (Tuesday).

Police Encourage Caution As School Begins

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 2, 2013 at 8:30AM

Police officers will be a high-visibility presence, directing traffic in school zones, and variable message boards will be placed along county roadways reminded drivers to take extra precaution as students start returning to area schools.

Arlington County issued the following tips for safe driving on the first day of school:

APS Releases Standardized Test Results

By Katie Pyzyk

Published August 20, 2013 at 3:45PM

Arlington’s Grade 8 English reading pass rate this year is 77 percent, compared with 71 percent for all of Virginia. However, Arlington’s 8th graders scored a 90 percent pass rate last year.

A likely explanation for the local and statewide drop in English scores is the introduction of a more rigorous exam. The VDOE’s website says:

Photos: New Wakefield High School

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 14, 2013 at 10:15AM | Updated August 15, 2013 at 8:03AM

(Updated on 8/15/13) Construction of the new Wakefield High School is wrapping up as school officials prepare for the first day of school on Sept. 3.

The $113 million project broke ground in 2011. It is expected to receive a LEED Gold certification for sustainability, thanks in part to having — when completed — 400 geothermal wells, each 500 feet deep, to heat and cool the school.

High School Students Required to Take Online Classes

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 9, 2013 at 2:00PM

Arlington Public Schools has been offering online classes for some time now — last year, APS offered 25 classes, mostly foreign languages like Arabic, Chinese and Japanese — but the portfolio of offerings will need to greatly expand to accommodate the new state law.

With less than a month to go until the school year, APS Director of Instructional and Innovative Techonologies Pat Teske said the decisions on which classes to offer online and how many are still being made.

Delaying College, W-L Grad Prepares For Year of Service in Brazil

By ARLnow.com

Published August 6, 2013 at 11:45AM

This article was written by Maddy Berner

“I was looking at choosing colleges and I wasn’t sure of about that level of intensity,” she said. “I felt like I needed more time to figure that out.”