The Arlington County Republican Committee has endorsed independent School Board candidate James “Vell” Rives IV.
Rives is facing incumbent Democrat Bethany Zecher Sutton in the Nov. 3 election. This is the second time Rives will carry the GOP endorsement after he secured it in 2025, as well.
Last year brought overall improvements to standardized test scores at Arlington Public Schools, but results throughout the school system remain uneven.
School Board members dissected results for 2025-26 Standards of Learning, or SOLs, by school and different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic categories. The data “tells two stories simultaneously,” School Board member Monique “Moe” Bryant said at the Sept. 24 School Board meeting.
Supporters of the Integration Station are again mobilizing against a plan to shut down the specialized program for young students with intellectual disabilities.
About 20 proponents of the program used the School Board’s Sept. 24 public-comment period to ask Board members to rescue the program from planned elimination. The mood among many speakers, most with direct connections to the program, was testy.
County school leaders are seeking parental feedback as new homework requirements are rolled out this school year.
“The goal is not just to give more homework and have more students be busy,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said at the Sept. 10 School Board meeting.
School Board candidates faced off this week on the question of whether front-line educators are getting enough support in Arlington.
“We are not supporting our teachers [and] they are burning out,” said James “Vell” Rives IV, a Forward Party-endorsed independent challenging Democratic incumbent Bethany Zecher Sutton.
Arlington Public Schools kicked off the school year with an enrollment of 27,173, down 1.6% from last year.
The figure, which counts students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, is down from 27,603 reported during the first week of the 2025-26 school year.
All 11 candidates running for local office in Arlington have agreed to appear at the Arlington County Civic Federation’s annual candidate forum.
The event will be held on Tuesday, Sep. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Hazel Conference Center at VHC Health (Virginia Hospital Center). It will also be livestreamed and archived for later viewing.
School Board members are expected to expand options for excused absences in the upcoming school year.
To comply with changes to state law, three new categories may be added to the existing 13 qualifying for excused absences at Arlington Public Schools:
A staff proposal to remove a net of two days of instruction for Arlington elementary schoolers brought noncommittal comments from School Board members.
The proposal would rearrange instructional time in October and March to accommodate parent-teacher conferences at the elementary school level. It would result in 178 days of class, leading to some heartburn among School Board members who have pledged not to go below 180 days each year.
The new president of the Arlington Education Association (AEA) says she hopes for a cooperative relationship with school leaders over the coming year.
“The strongest districts are built on collaboration, transparency and mutual respect,” Danielle Jones said at the Aug. 13 School Board meeting.
A late start to the school year and other logistical challenges could result in Arlington elementary schoolers getting fewer than 180 days of instruction this year.
School Board members are reviewing a proposal to alter the 2026-27 elementary school calendar to provide more opportunity for meetings between teachers and parents in October and March. This would result in just 178 instructional days for elementary-school students.
Arlington school leaders are getting creative about recruiting and retaining special education teachers.
Arlington Public Schools has embarked on a partnership with George Mason University’s Project Patriots initiative, giving current staff the ability to earn required degrees and obtain special-education certification while still working full-time for the school system.
