A special “stumbling stone” unveiling last week taught Gunston Middle School sixth graders about the harsh lives of those enslaved across Arlington — and in their very neighborhoods.
The stones, the latest in a series being placed across the county, recognize the lives of Sina and George, a mother-son duo enslaved during the mid-1800s in the area where the school is now located. While the full story of their lives is not known, research has uncovered some information:
(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Gunston Middle School was placed in lockdown this afternoon due to a threat found in the school.
Initial reports suggest that a threat of violence at a specific time was found in a bathroom. Police responded to the scene and the school’s classrooms were locked down.
Gunston Middle School students returned to class today after a police investigation yesterday afternoon.
Arlington County police were dispatched to the school around 3:30 p.m. Thursday for a report of threatening graffiti. A subsequent email to families from the school’s principal said someone wrote “Im going to shoot up the dumb ass school” in a girls’ bathroom stall.
Arlington Public Schools is pausing an impending middle school boundary process, citing stable enrollment this fall.
Earlier this year, APS was bracing for overcrowding at a few middle schools. It proposed busing some students from Dorothy Hamm and Swanson to under-capacity Williamsburg Middle School. It also floated moving the Spanish language immersion program from overcrowded Gunston to Kenmore Middle School.
It has been 10 years since Arlington County last put up speed humps to reduce speeding.
Now, they will be coming to streets around a trio of schools where lowering speeds to 20 mph has not stopped drivers from going well past the speed limit.
Arlington Public Schools is mulling moving the Spanish Immersion Program at Gunston Middle School to Kenmore starting two years from now.
The move would be part of a planned middle school boundary process also set to go into effect the same school year. APS is looking to balance middle school populations, as, without boundary changes, Gunston and Swanson are projected to become overcapacity and Williamsburg and Kenmore are projected to have seats available.
Arlington Public Schools has hired a well-liked high school principal from Alexandria.
APS announced four new principal appointments last night, after their approval by the Arlington School Board. Among them: Alexandria City High School (ACHS) Principal Peter Balas, who will take over as principal of Wakefield High School in the fall.
A student at Gunston Middle School was found in possession of two bullets today.
The Thursday morning discovery prompted a call to police amid concern for student safety. However, an investigation ultimately found “no imminent threat to the safety of the school community.”
Last Thursday, the Arlington School Board promoted two veteran secondary school principals to new positions.
Wakefield High School Principal Chris Willmore will become Director of Secondary Education while Gunston Middle School Principal Lori Wiggins will lead Arlington Community High School.
(Updated at 8:40 p.m.) Gunston Middle School was locked down this afternoon due to a threat.
Arlington County police said the discovery of a “written threat” prompted the lockdown and investigation. The exact nature of the threat was not given.
Gunston Middle School’s eighth grade dance, planned for tonight, has been cancelled due to threats.
In a message to families sent around 12:30 p.m. today, Gunston Principal Dr. Lori Wiggins said that the decision was made as a result of “possible messages circulating in the community referencing individuals interrupting and potentially causing violence” at the dance.
The Arlington County Board is likely to vote this weekend on providing another $140,000 to fix the Gunston sports “bubble” due to issues related to the soil beneath the structure.
Renovations started last year on the Gunston Bubble, the covered, all-season county synthetic athletic field at Gunston Park behind the middle school of the same name. The two-decade-old bubble had reached “the end of its useful lifespan,” reads a county report, and needed to “be constantly monitored and inflated.”
