Three incumbents and one newcomer on the Falls Church City Council ballot were elected yesterday (Tuesday), while the winner of the final seat on the School Board hangs in the balance.
Challenger Arthur Agin prevailed in the City Council race, as did incumbents Laura Downs, Marybeth Connelly and David Snyder. Agin will take the seat of Debora Schantz-Hiscott, who did not seek re-election, in January.
Arlington Public Schools is expanding an initiative that provides parents with information on how, and for how long, their children are using school-distributed devices.
In November, APS will move from an opt-in to an opt-out model for the Lightspeed Parent Portal, which provides families with weekly summaries of web-browsing activities for students in grades 2 to 12.
The Arlington School Board is once again seeking state authorization to administer standardized tests in languages other than English.
The School Board’s 2026 General Assembly legislative package, which went to a vote yesterday (Thursday), carries over the Board’s request from the 2025 legislative session.
A decline in year-over-year student enrollment at Arlington Public Schools has resulted in staffing adjustments at some schools.
The official APS 2025-26 student count of 27,589 is down 311 students — or 1.1% — from a year before, Superintendent Francisco Durán reported to School Board on Thursday.
Arlington Public Schools leaders hope that a new “adopt-a-school” partnership model will increase schools’ formal partnerships with business and civic groups.
Noting that 30% of Arlington’s public schools have no such partnerships, APS staff outlined plans to increase opportunities for volunteerism at a School Board meeting yesterday (Thursday). They focused primarily on relationships with the business community.
School Board candidates are at odds on numerous current practices at Arlington Public Schools, including how stringent the school system’s rules on grading and homework should be.
Candidates Monique “Moe” Bryant and James “Vell” Rives IV squared off at a debate hosted online Monday night by Arlington Parents for Education, an advocacy group.
Arlington Public Schools was near the top of the pack in both the state and in Northern Virginia in its test scores for the 2024-25 school year.
APS trailed the Loudoun school system in the five broad Standards of Learning categories last school year, but outperformed Fairfax and Prince William counties and the city of Alexandria. It topped the averages statewide in each category.
Arlington Public Schools is implementing a modernized bullying-prevention curriculum beginning next month.
The curriculum, which rolls out on Oct. 1, will include the following lesson topics.
Should Arlington Public Schools bring back school resource officers? Candidates running for School Board have starkly different opinions.
School Board candidate James “Vell” Rives IV used the Sept. 2 Arlington County Civic Federation candidate forum to press for a return of resource officers, known as SROs, which were removed from county schools four years ago.
An Arlington School Board member is cautioning Democrats against arguing with voters about the school system’s policies on transgender students this election season.
“Please don’t engage — you don’t need to get into a debate,” School Board member Zuraya Tapia-Hadley told attendees at an Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting on Wednesday.
Candidates seeking an open School Board seat are focusing on student achievement, the school system’s budget and the impact of the Trump administration.
“We deserve to get our money’s worth” from funds that support schools, said James “Vell” Rives IV at a Tuesday candidate forum sponsored by the Arlington County Civic Federation.
A new report from Arlington Public Schools’ internal auditor is raising concerns about how the school system handles student and staff tech equipment.
Inventory control is “unsatisfactory and requires improvement,” the report, detailed to School Board members on Aug. 21, says.
