Schools

Arlington Public Schools is kicking off the school year with a more nuanced approach to curtailing athletic activity for hot and humid weather.

School Board members have adopted a new policy designating the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as the benchmark covering athletic contests and practices.


Schools

Arlington Public Schools leaders are playing their cards close to their chests following the end of a federal investigation into the school system’s anti-discrimination policy.

In response to demands from the U.S. Department of Education, which targeted policies allowing transgender students to use facilities corresponding with their gender identities, Superintendent Francisco Durán said only that APS has received the findings and is formulating a response.


Schools

Construction is continuing at full tilt at Arlington Career Center’s new home, with a planned opening date at the start of the 2026-27 school year.

The forthcoming Grace Hopper Center, located adjacent to the existing Career Center building at 816 S. Walter Reed Drive, has been rapidly taking shape since the project broke ground in May 2024.


Schools

New summer school programs at Arlington Public Schools are hoping to find success where other efforts have fallen short.

Two new pilot programs are meant to help measure the impact of different learning models — and perhaps improve on mediocre results from summer school programs in 2024.


News

Two LGBTQ+ advocacy groups are calling for Arlington Public Schools to defy federal attempts to dismantle the school system’s anti-discrimination policy for transgender students.

Both Equality Arlington and the Arlington Gender Identity Alliance (AGIA) issued statements this week on the results of a U.S. Department of Education investigation into five Northern Virginia school districts.


Schools

Arlington Public Schools ended the 2024-25 school year with nearly a quarter-million dollars in uncollected debt for student meals.

School Board members authorized the transfer of $248,523 in funding to cover the shortfall on Thursday. Of that total, about 80% was from students who have graduated, while the remainder was from students classified as inactive, according to a staff report.


Schools

A freeze on federal education dollars cast $1.5 million in Arlington Public Schools funding into doubt.

This was the amount of funding at APS that the U.S. Department of Education withheld for weeks as part of a review to ensure that spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.


News

The federal government is pushing Arlington Public Schools to stop allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity.

The U.S. Education Department announced today that it has completed a five-month investigation into the anti-discrimination policies of five school districts in Northern Virginia, including APS.


Schools

A new policy on notifying parents about confirmed and suspected drug overdoses could be going into effect at Arlington Public Schools.

To comply with a new state law that went into effect July 1, the Arlington School Board is considering a new policy statement requiring the notification of all parents or guardians at a school within 24 hours of a school-connected student overdose.


Schools

Arlington’s new School Board chair is promising to protect community values she sees as under threat from the state and federal governments.

Bethany Zecher Sutton’s colleagues unanimously selected her to chair the School Board at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday), replacing Chair Mary Kadera.


Schools

More partnerships with civic and business leaders could be coming to Arlington Public Schools as the school system seeks to rebuild relationships that suffered during the pandemic.

Superintendent Francisco Durán spotlighted a work-based readiness program at a meeting with School Board members earlier this month. He said that enhancing the program is one of the primary goals of a partnership improvement plan.


Schools

Two Arlington elementary schools will no longer receive federal Title I funding in the new school year, while another will join the list of those that do.

Abingdon Elementary and Hoffman-Boston Elementary no longer qualify for the program, which supports schools with a high concentration of students in economic need.


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