Seniors at Washington-Liberty High School kicked off the first day of school today (Monday) with an annual “Senior Sunrise” tradition on the school’s football field.
Students from the class of 2026 began shuffling onto the field around 6 a.m., and by sunrise, about 100 of them had gathered at War Memorial Stadium to celebrate. As they took pictures, lounged on blankets and enjoyed a free breakfast treat, some reflected on what it meant to begin their final year of high school.
As students head back to school on Monday, new speed cameras and speed humps are intended to improve safety in Arlington school zones.
The Arlington County Police Department has installed 10 additional cameras over the summer, bringing its total number up to 28. Additionally, the county is in the process of installing new speed humps at seven locations near schools.
Changes to the online back-to-school packet, updated cellphone policies and planning for projects to support student well-being are coming to Arlington Public Schools this year.
School leaders hope that some of the changes will deliver a smoother process leading up to the first day of class, which begins one week from today on Monday, Aug. 25.
Virginia’s annual tax holiday returns this weekend, bringing three days of discounted shopping across the state.
Between Friday and Sunday, Arlington’s 6% sales tax will not apply to any of the following items, bought in-store or online.
As the 2024-25 school year starts today, Arlington Public Schools is launching several new initiatives to tackle student safety and enrichment.
Approved changes for this year include a new attendance policy for high school athletic events, a new after-school program pilot, and an extra five-day weekend in November.
As students begin returning to Arlington Public Schools this coming Monday, Aug. 26, new initiatives are meant to encourage safer driving around schools this year.
Variable message boards sharing safety messaging and raising awareness about the start of the school year will appear along roads in Arlington in coming days. Ten new speed cameras have also been installed near select schools, operating when school zone lights are flashing at the beginning and end of the school day.
Virginia’s three-day tax holiday begins next Friday, Aug. 2, marking a weekend of discounted shopping for back-to-school season and hurricane preparedness supplies, among other goods.
Starting Friday and ending on Sunday, Aug. 4, eligible items will be sold across the state without sales tax.
Arlington’s private schools say they are still riding a wave of enrollment increases that started early in the pandemic.
More than three years ago now, Covid lockdowns shut down schools, which reverted to distance learning. That fall, however, local private schools affiliated with a church or the Catholic Diocese of Arlington reopened their doors while Arlington Public Schools continued with virtual learning for most students for the better part of the 2020-21 school year.
(Updated at 4:15 p.m) Arlington Public Schools students headed back to school today and the positive energy, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán, was palpable.
“It was so wonderful,” he told ARLnow on a phone call this afternoon, debriefing from his morning spent visiting the half-dozen schools with new principals, including Gunston Middle School. “People are excited to be back.”
Arlington County police will be stepping up enforcement and a traffic safety education next week as students go back to school.
The first day of school for Arlington Public Schools is Monday, meaning more children walking, bicycling, and riding the bus around Arlington.
Signs and stepped-up enforcement are part of the police plan for bringing Arlington students back to the classrooms safely.
In advance of the first day of school for Arlington Public Schools students on Monday, the Arlington County Police Department is encouraging drivers to be especially cautious on local roads.
The $38 million transformation of the Washington-Liberty annex is nearly complete.
Over the last three years, the nearly six-decade-old Arlington Education Center has undergone a complete overhaul to turn it into classrooms and school space for the burgeoning student body. This is the most significant renovation in the history of the building, which was completed in 1969 and previously used as the Arlington Public Schools headquarters. (The APS administrative offices are now located at Sequoia Plaza.)
