School Board

APS enrollment drops by 1.1%, leading to staffing tweaks at numerous schools

By Scott McCaffrey

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.

The figure represents the total number of enrolled students as of Sept. 30, and was submitted to the Virginia Department of Education. By grade level, the data reflects the following fluctuations:

  • Pre-kindergarten enrollment was up 4.9% to 914
  • K-5 enrollment declined 2.6% to 12,270
  • Enrollment in grades 6-8 was up 2% to 6,205
  • Enrollment in grades 9-12 was down 1.8% to 8,200

The lower enrollment allowed the school system to reduce overall staffing by a net 17.5 full-time-equivalent positions for a savings of about $2 million compared to the adopted fiscal 2026 budget plan. Durán’s presentation did not suggest any current staff had to be laid off to accomplish the reductions.

Decisions on staffing changes were made over the summer and during the early weeks of the school year. Durán said his staff looked at class sizes on a “case-by-case, school-by-school” basis in determining where tweaks were needed, and attempted to make sure staffing levels were appropriate without the cuts being draconian.

“We wanted to leave some room” for potential student-population increases during the year, the superintendent said. “We didn’t want it to be too tight.”

While overall enrollment was down, some schools experienced increases, and in those cases, additional staffing was brought in to lower class sizes.

During the discussion, School Board member Miranda Turner praised the nimbleness of the effort, but said she hoped the process would be standardized in future years so the Board and community understand how staffing decisions are being made.

“We’re working on” more standardization, Durán said.

Budget rollout will revert to a two-step process: Having a single budget proposal from both Superintendent Durán and the School Board appears to have been a one-year experiment that is not being repeated.

As a result, the fiscal year 2027 budget process will follow earlier practices, with Durán proposing his budget in late February 2026 and the School Board following with its own budget proposal “a little bit later in the spring,” School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton said at the Oct. 9 School Board meeting.

“We all look forward to working closely together throughout the budget process,” she said.

For the $845 million FY 2026 budget that was adopted in the spring, a single budget combining input from staff and Board members was presented to the public. It represented a change to longstanding practice, which traditionally saw the superintendent propose a staff budget, followed by public input, then the School Board budget proposal with more public input before final adoption.

At the Oct. 9 meeting, Board members also voted 5-0 to provide budget direction to Durán and staff for the upcoming year.

Board members also took a first look at the school system’s proposed 2026 General Assembly priority package, which seeks a variety of budget-related actions in Richmond.

The legislative package will be adopted in coming weeks. The 2026 General Assembly session is slated to start Jan. 14 and run 60 days.

Schools receive state funding for security upgrades: APS will receive $96,349 in funding as part of a $12 million statewide initiative bringing upgrades in school-security equipment to 433 schools across 99 divisions.

Funding was announced Oct. 9 by the Virginia Department of Education.

State criteria give priority to schools most in need of modern security equipment, schools with relatively high numbers of offenses, schools with equipment needs identified by a security audit, and schools in divisions least able to afford security upgrades.

Arlington schools receiving funding are:

  • Abingdon Elementary
  • Alice West Fleet Elementary
  • Arlington Science Focus School
  • Arlington Traditional
  • Barcroft Elementary
  • Barrett Elementary
  • Campbell Elementary
  • Carlin Springs Elementary
  • Escuela Key Elementary
  • Gunston Middle
  • Hoffman-Boston Elementary
  • Innovation Elementary
  • Jamestown Elementary
  • Kenmore Middle
  • Montessori Public School of Arlington
  • Tuckahoe Elementary and Wakefield High

APS staff hope new “adopt-a-school” model will improve local partnerships

By Scott McCaffrey

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.

Partnerships “benefit above and beyond the work we can do within our four walls,” Superintendent Francisco Durán told School Board members.

“We need support, and we’re getting that support,” he said.

There is always room for improvement, school officials acknowledged.

“The majority of schools … reported they would benefit from dedicated partners to support school facilities needs, beautification and mentoring or after-school programming, particularly for low-income students and families,” school officials learned in a survey of principals presented to School Board members.

About 60% of respondents reported being “very interested” in the adopt-a-school initiative.

Currently, businesses, nonprofits, civic groups, faith-based organizations and institutions of higher learning work with individual schools, sometimes on an ad hoc basis. The new effort aims to formalize the partnership process.

At the School Board meeting, Board member Miranda Turner said she hopes new partnerships and volunteers will also spur creative thinking to “help us take ideas and see if they are worth running with, and then running with them more quickly.”

“We certainly have lots of highly educated people who want to contribute,” she said of the local community.

The adopt-a-school effort is among several proposals coming out of a working group set up by APS in October 2024, addressing concerns that not enough is being done to connect schools with those wanting to offer support.

According to school leadership, some of the concerns raised by members of the working group were:

  • Unclear definitions on how to engage and who to contact
  • Inconsistent screening requirements for volunteers and partners
  • A lack of clarity on how to donate money or supplies
  • The need for a standardized process and agreement forms
  • Needing improvement on school and system-wide needs to guide potential donors/partners
  • The lack of a clear measurement process and rubric for gauging partnerships’ success

Nearly all APS schools — 95% — have successfully recruited volunteers that support students and teachers, according to county data.

A survey of 38 schools found that 89% use volunteers to support events; 68% for beautification and facilities upgrades; 49% for classroom support; and 32% for mentoring and tutoring.

Currently, the school system has more than 11,700 active volunteers in its database, with more than 4,000 volunteer applications approved during the 2024-25 school year. Of those in the database, only about 15% volunteer on a recurring basis, based on sign-ins to the APS volunteer-management software.

“That’s the big gap we are working toward” closing, said Catherine Ashby, the school system’s director of school and community relations.

Ashby said restructuring the school system’s administration of volunteer programs will assist efforts.

“Our team is really excited about this work,” she said.

Volunteers seem eager to help when called upon for specific initiatives. More than 190 signed up in two weeks after the school system announced a new pilot program — called Readers Rise — being launched at Barrett, Long Branch and Hoffman-Boston elementary schools.

At the meeting, School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton praised all volunteer efforts as benefiting the overall learning environment.

“We’re grateful for all of the volunteers and all of the partners and all that goes into enriching student learning,” she said.

David Priddy won’t seek re-election, as new School Board candidate emerges

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington School Board Vice Chair David Priddy during the Jan. 3, 2024 meeting (via Arlington Democrats)

Arlington School Board Vice Chair David Priddy says he will not be seeking another term.

He was elected in 2020 along with Cristina Diaz-Torres, who currently serves as the School Board Chair and last month announced that she too would step down after one term. Both of their terms expire at the end of this year, meaning two seats are up for election this year.

“Although I’m making this announcement tonight, there is still one year left on my term,” Priddy told Arlington Democrats during the party’s reorganization meeting last night (Wednesday). “So I will continue to stand on the pillars that you put me in office to enact. Thank you for allowing me to serve the Arlington community.”

Priddy said he would not repeat the “litany of accomplishments and the progress that we have made on the School Board” that Diaz-Torres mentioned in her farewell speech. Instead, he rallied Democrats around the presidential election year ahead.

“The Arlington Democrats are truly a force to be reckoned with,” he said, pointing to the work local Democrats have done, in Arlington and beyond, to promote the values of the Democratic Party. “I bring this up because this year is a presidential election year, which means it’s time to mobilize and elect the right people for office.”

Priddy noted School Board hopefuls have until Feb. 16 to file with Arlington Democrats. The party cannot officially nominate a candidate but it can opt to endorse candidates who pledge to be a Democrat.

The party decided to hold an in-person caucus if at least three candidates emerge, according to the 2024 caucus rules discussed last night. The caucus would be canceled if only two emerge and the party would decide whether to endorse those candidates in March.

Nabbing the party endorsement carries significant weight in Arlington and, though some have criticized this process for tipping the scales in favor of well-connected establishment candidates, it remains popular among party members.

After Priddy’s announcement, Chen Ling announced his candidacy for School Board. He introduced himself as the parent of a third grader at Ashlawn Elementary School and the director of engineering at a Fortune 500 company.

He said the School Board needs a “culture of transparency, respect and trust.”

“Some of the actions taken by the School Board in the last few years instead caused confusion and discontentment between parents and teachers,” he said, noting “seemingly suboptimal proposals” that created an “antagonistic relationship between the community and School Board.”

New School Board candidate Chen Ling during the Jan. 3, 2024 Arlington Democrats meeting (via Arlington Democrats)

“That is a real shame because I’ve watched the School Board work and these are some really caring, thoughtful people and they are trying their best,” he said. “What I think they lack is tools to make the best decisions, they lack the tools to provide transparency and build trust.”

The School Board should share with parents all the proposals they consider, as well as their trade-offs and reasoning behind a decision, Ling said.

“It’s okay if the final proposal is somehow detrimental to my child if I know that it serves for the community and the school system at large. That’s something that I haven’t seen at that level,” he said. “It’s not enough to provide an answer, even if it’s the correct answer. We need to show our work.”

Ling said he would like to see fewer curriculum changes, as well as more automation of mandated state and federal reporting, so teachers can focus on students. Lastly, he would like to see class size reductions, too.

During the meeting, Arlington County Board candidate Natalie Roy made her pitch to Arlington Democrats. She, and opponent Julie Farnam, both seek the party’s nomination this June in the County Board race to fill the seat occupied by Chair Libby Garvey. Garvey has not yet announced if she will seek reelection.

“I believe the County Board needs a voice like mine, advocating for transparency and responsiveness, I am committed to common sense leadership that brings us all together,” Roy said.

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School Board Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres is not running for reelection

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington School Board Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres during the Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 (via Cristina Diaz-Torres/YouTube)

(Updated at 2:50 p.m.) Arlington School Board Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres will not be seeking re-election.

Diaz-Torres, who became chair this July, announced the decision last night (Wednesday) at the Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting, to a chorus of dismay from some meeting attendees.

Her term on the School Board ends on Dec. 31, 2024. She is the second sitting member to announce this year a decision not to seek reelection, following Reid Goldstein, whose term ends this month.

Diaz-Torres ran in 2020, securing the endorsement of Arlington Democrats in June and a place on the School Board that November.

She was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2021, amid “truly wild uncertainty,” when schools were still shut down and a vaccine was not yet widely available, she told local Democrats.

“Just three years later, our world looks a lot brighter,” she said, per a recording of her speech she posted on social media.

“As a part of this job, I spend a lot of time talking to staff, especially school leaders, and the sentiment I hear over and over again is how different this year feels,” she continued. “It’s not a return to the before times we were all longing for, but to the after times: something new, something different, something that we were longing for all those months.”

Diaz-Torres reflected on several changes APS made during her tenure — many of which garnered applause from meeting attendees — and credited staff, Superintendent Francisco Durán and his cabinet and the School Board for this work.

The school system changed its approach to reading instruction, one she says has narrowed Arlington’s achievement gap and identified more students for extra help, she said.

She added that the School Board removed School Resource Officers from school grounds, reintroduced collective bargaining for employees and increased teacher compensation across pay scales.

“I am proud of the initiatives we have undertaken, I am proud of the policies we have implemented, and I am proud of the positive changes we have brought to our schools,” she said on social media. “We have strived to create an APS that serves ALL students by name, strength, and need.”

That work must continue, her statement continued, but under new leadership.

“This chapter will forever hold a special place in my heart and will be among the most significant and impactful work I’ve ever done,” she said. “This next chapter will look a little different but I look forward to bearing witness to the continued success of @APSVirginia.”

Her next chapter includes taking on the role of being “mom to a future APS grad in the class of 2042,” she told Democrats. The outgoing School Board chair announced her pregnancy on social media last month.

https://twitter.com/cdiaztorres240/status/1727794404310610413

Anonymous commenting on new APS feedback platform divides some Arlington School Board members

By Jo DeVoe
The ThoughtExchange platform Arlington Public Schools has debuted (via APS)

Arlington Public Schools has a new internal social media platform for families but its anonymous commenting policy prompted a tense discussion among some School Board members.

This year, the school system launched ThoughtExchange, which allows people to comment on topics or proposals administrators bring to the community for public comment. Users can also rank the comments others make 1-5 stars.

ThoughtExchange is intended to be a simpler and faster alternative to answering surveys and writing emails. APS has used it to gauge reception of its proposed school calendar and its plans to turn Nottingham Elementary School into a “swing space” and relocate the Spanish immersion program from Gunston to Kenmore Middle School.

“The goal of ThoughtExchange was for us to get more comprehensive feedback from our community,” APS Director of Strategic Outreach Daryl Johnson said in a work session last week. “One of the biggest requests that we continually receive from the community is transparency, and so people are actually able to see the thoughts of others in real time.”

But the platform’s anonymous commenting function raised red flags for School Board member Reid Goldstein.

“In the 10 or 15 years that social media has been around, I have yet to hear anybody, worldwide, say, ‘Boy, this social media is the greatest thing since sliced bread,'” Goldstein said. “I’m curious as to what thought we were going to achieve by creating another social media conduit and allowing commenters to sign up anonymously.”

Johnson said APS allows anonymous feedback so people speak up without worrying their opinions will blow back in their face at, for instance, the next Parent-Teacher Association meeting.

“So yes, sometimes it may go to the other end of the spectrum where it allows someone to say something that may not be the most favorable or the most constructive feedback, but however, it allows people to actually give that honest feedback without the retaliation,” he said.

Goldstein asked Johnson if staff expect “unfavorable” comments to increase, how much time they devote to content moderation and whether the communications team will request a future full-time moderator position.

Johnson noted that staff spend significant time moderating comments and responding to those “spreading misinformation.” He said a full-time moderator is unnecessary because ThoughtExchange uses AI to flag words and notify staff and participants can also report comments.

“We also are able to comment and respond to what people are saying,” he said.

Responding to Goldstein, School Board Chair Cristina Diaz-Torres said anonymous negative comments already exist on other platforms and, with ThoughtExchange, APS at least can moderate.

“These are comments that were happening already in different venues. If you’ve seen an ARLnow comment, if you’ve seen DC Urban Moms and Dads, Arlington Education Matters, these comments have been happening,” she said.

“The reality is that these comments were being made,” she continued. “A lot of these comments are incredibly disrespectful and are incredibly unkind and are incredibly inappropriate, however, here is an area where we can in fact do that moderation, using the tools that Mr. Johnson just mentioned.”

Goldstein agreed these comments have always existed but stressed with the new platform, “we are giving a platform to them and rewarding bad behavior that we have historically…”

“We’re not, though, if we’re taking them away,” Diaz-Torres interjected.

“…historically spent too much time [rewarding],” Goldstein continued, reprising his comment.

Diaz-Torres, who added that she appreciates the ability to rank comments, concluded the discussion with a message to the community “to be kind.”

“This is a new piece of software. And yes, you can be a keyboard warrior to your heart’s content, behind your keyboard, in the privacy of your own home, but remember, that there are humans on the receiving end of this,” she said.

APS to pause middle school boundary process for one year

By Jo DeVoe
Teachers and staff at Gunston Middle School greet students on the first day of school (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

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.

Now, administrators say enrollment needs are not pressing enough to warrant these changes just yet. The Arlington School Board endorsed a plan Tuesday to postpone the process for one year. The changes would now affect students going into grades 6 and 9 in the fall of 2026.

“As of last week at each middle school, only one school exceeds capacity: Gunston has two students beyond its design capacity,” Dept. of Planning and Evaluation Executive Director Lisa Stengle told the board on Tuesday. “Every middle school fits right now. So the urgency that we had to change middle school boundaries may not be as urgent as it was when we started this process.”

She attributed this to the home address confirmation process this summer, when APS changed how it verifies students living in Arlington and unenrolled non-resident fifth and eighth graders.

While this effort was underway, several families were voicing their opposition to the proposed boundary changes. Most vocal were Hamm families opposed to plans to bus students to Williamsburg, who said their children would forfeit the option to walk to school.

School Board members opined that walkability becomes the sticking point of most boundary processes and these efforts prioritize walkability — above other priorities, such as demographic diversity — as a result.

“The knottiest problem here… is the dichotomy between walkability and demographics because they both can’t be achieved at the same time,” School Board member Reid Goldstein said.

“We’ve heard, in the past, that when staff goes out to the community and talks about potential boundary changes, they hear ‘Well, we like walkability,’ and then we we just lean in the direction of walkability, which of course does not enhance demographics at all,” he continued.

APS may still, one day, move the immersion program from Gunston to Kenmore, in an effort to get more secondary students to stick with the program, says Director of Strategic Planning Iliana Gonzales.

Most immersion students live within the boundaries of Kenmore and Thomas Jefferson middle schools and may discontinue the program because of travel distance to Gunston, she said. Last year, a task force convened to develop a vision for the dual-language immersion program recommended moving the program to a more centrally located middle school — a change afforded by the then-forthcoming boundary process.

But School Board members and administrators are also concerned about where to put the program because it may impact the balance of native English and Spanish speakers. Only about a third of immersion students in elementary and middle school were classified as English learners, according to a 2022 report.

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Arlington students made gains in math and science last year, prompting APS to focus on reading and writing

By Jo DeVoe
Students arrive to Gunston Middle School on the first day of school (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Public Schools is kicking off the new school year with a bit of good news related to academic performance.

Last school year, students as a whole made gains in math, social studies and science, and in almost all areas, generally exceeded statewide scores, per new testing data.

Between the 2022 and 2023 school years, the percentage of students passing state tests increased by 4 points for math, 7 points for social studies and 1 point for science, according to a presentation to the School Board on Thursday. Reading remained flat and writing dropped 2 percentage points.

Black and Hispanic students, students with disabilities and those learning English, in particular, demonstrated progress. APS highlighted math pass rates that increased by 8 and 11 percentage points for Hispanic and English-language learning students, respectively.

Administrators says the data demonstrates that students are gaining ground after pandemic-era learning loss. It may also indicate long standing achievement gaps based on race, English proficiency, ability and socioeconomic status are narrowing.

Crediting teachers and new academic tools for that progress, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Gerald Mann, Jr. told the School Board on Thursday APS has its work cut out for them.

“We are seeing the work that our team is doing starting to pay dividends and recover some of the loss from the pandemic,” he said. “We’ve come a long way but we’ve got more work to do.”

Future focus areas include reading — where pass rates remained flat over last year, at 80% — and writing, which fell 2 percentage points.

Facing what one committee described a “literacy crisis,” APS overhauled how it teaches reading to elementary school students. Like other schools nationwide, APS is working to reverse years of reading instruction that critics say glossed over the basics, such as phonics, and disadvantaged students for whom reading did not come naturally.

That effort is starting to bear fruit, according to Superintendent Francisco Durán, who noted that this fall, some 91% of kindergarteners could meet benchmarks such as recognizing rhymes, words and letter sounds, up from 81% last year.

“[That] is building them up for bigger success later,” Durán said.

But this leaves a group of students, fifth grade and up, who were taught to read before these changes were made, and might still be struggling today. This year, APS is turning its attention to them.

“Our hope is that the work that we’re doing for secondary literacy this year also pays dividends in the future,” Mann said.

When School Board members asked about falling writing scores, Durán emphasized that the state test measures one type of writing: responding to a social studies or science text.

“We want students to be writers across all different types, and genres and ways,” he said. “I just want to make sure we all are aware of that because, I think long term, it could be misunderstood if we’re just speaking about writing, generically.”

Writing, more broadly, may still be a concern.

A 2019 survey of APS graduates found many graduates wished they had been better prepared for collegiate writing. School Board watchdog group Arlington Parents for Education, which recapped last week’s meeting, previously highlighted the survey, saying students were “practically begging for more… ‘writing assignments.’”

Even as the number of assigned essays increased, Mann said teachers already feel they cannot give adequate feedback on assignments.

“The biggest barrier that I’ve also heard is that ‘I just don’t have the time. I will assign it, but then I can’t give [them] appropriate feedback,'” he said.

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Nottingham ‘swing space’ proposal puts cart before horse, says county-wide PTA

By Jo DeVoe
CCPTA President Claire Noakes speaks at the School Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 (via Arlington Public Schools)

(Updated at 2:30 p.m.) The Arlington County Council of PTAs is criticizing plans to close Nottingham Elementary School and make it a “swing space” where students go when their school is being renovated.

In suggesting this change, the coalition of PTAs, or CCPTA, says Arlington Public Schools has not considered how little money it has in the next decade to spend on sorely needed renovations. It adds the move would disadvantage low-income, diverse neighborhoods that rely on schools for county and community-based services.

This spring, APS proposed closing Nottingham, in the Williamsburg neighborhood at 5900 Little Falls Road, and making it a swing space as early as 2026. It was part of a suite of proposed changes to solve for projected capacity imbalances: several schools below Langston Blvd are over-full while their counterparts north of the highway have many empty seats.

Nottingham was chosen because it would cost the least to retrofit — $5 million to expand its ability to receive buses — compared to other schools, county facilities or commercial buildings. APS also argued it would be more fiscally responsible to use the under-capacity buildings it currently has, rather than build a new school.

This proposal quickly rankled current and future Nottingham parents, some of whom argue APS made the decision on faulty projections of falling enrollment. The CCPTA joined their chorus during the School Board meeting last Thursday.

“Recent spending decisions and currently proposed spending projects have monopolized our bond issuance capacity until at least FY 2032, leaving insufficient funding for a major renovation,” CCPTA President Claire Noakes said in a statement released after the meeting.

She notes 17 of 37 school buildings have not had a major renovation in at least 20 years and are in need of upgrades, creating “a backlog of need.”

“The lack of available funds for a major renovation will cause the swing space to stay empty for six years, while other identified needs that could have been paid for with that $5 million will go unmet,” she continued.

The CCPTA illustrated its argument in a chart that shows how much money APS estimates it can issue in bonds for major renovations over the next decade.

It estimates a major renovation would exceed $25 million, based on estimates for one such project down the pike. The CCPTA say that APS would have to accumulate a few years of bond capacity, from Arlington County, to embark on a major renovation.

This squeeze is due to projects APS already has in the queue, including the new, forthcoming $180 million Arlington Career Center building and related plans to retrofit the current Career Center for the Montessori program now housed in the former Patrick Henry Elementary School. This building is set to be demolished and turned into a green space.

(Note: The chart below lists $7.5 million for the Career Center because this was tacked onto the project’s costs after APS approved the project via the previous Capital Improvement Plan.)

A chart from the CCPTA arguing APS will deliver a “swing space” at Nottingham at least six years before having the money to start a major renovation project (via CCPTA)

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Independent School Board candidate James ‘Vell’ Rives drops out

By Jo DeVoe
Independent School Board candidate James ‘Vell’ Rives IV (courtesy photo)

An independent candidate for the Arlington School Board is bowing out of the race.

On Monday, four months ahead of the general election in November, James “Vell” Rives announced in an email that he was suspending his campaign. His announcement hinted that he may run again for School Board in a later election cycle.

“For various reasons, I am suspending my 2023 campaign and am instead working on a future run for Arlington County School Board,” he said in the email. “Thank you for your encouragement and support this year! For now, please stay involved in our schools, and help out where you can.”

Rives was running for the second time as an independent after a failed challenge to Democratic-endorsed candidate Bethany Zecher Sutton last year.

The psychiatrist and a member of the School Health Advisory Board — a citizen committee advising Arlington Public Schools — has campaigned on student health, improving academic performance and reducing technology use.

His opponent, Miranda Turner, who has the endorsement of the Arlington County Democratic Committee after its May caucus, will be running unopposed.

This is also Turner’s second School Board bid, losing two years ago in the Democratic endorsement caucus to now-School Board member Mary Kadera.

This year, Turner bested political newcomer Angelo Cocchiaro, who had the endorsement of outgoing School Board Chair Reid Goldstein and that of the local teachers union, the Arlington Education Association.

Ahead of the Nov. 7 general election, the first day of in-person early voting will begin on Sept. 22. The last day to apply for a mail ballot is Oct. 27.

Plans to turn Nottingham Elementary into ‘swing space’ prompt swift backlash

By Jo DeVoe
Nottingham Elementary School (via Google Maps)

A new proposal from Arlington Public Schools (APS) would send Nottingham Elementary students to other schools and use the building to house other students temporarily displaced by school renovations.

Parents of students at Nottingham were notified of the proposal yesterday (Thursday) by APS, ahead of a School Board work session discussing the proposal last night.

Within 24 hours, some current and prospective parents mobilized and formed a group, Neighbors for Nottingham, to learn more about the proposal and formulate next steps before a potential School Board vote a year from now.

The school system says it needs a “swing space” to prepare for renovation projects and balance enrollment in North Arlington, where there are more seats than students. APS staff are currently developing a timeline and list of schools to be renovated for the 2025-2034 Capital Improvement Plan, which will be approved next June.

“By serving as swing space, our school will continue to play a vital role in supporting education in our community while other schools undergo necessary improvements,” planning staff told parents in an email, shared with ARLnow.

Elementary capacity by zone in Arlington (via Arlington Public Schools)

APS considered 61 sites before settling on the Williamsburg neighborhood school at 5900 Little Falls Road, eliminating options based on size, location and cost needed to prepare the building for young students. It says Nottingham works because enrollment is low and stable, and nearby schools can absorb many of the 413 displaced students — though APS noted that receiving schools may need to add some capacity.

If the CIP is approved next year, Nottingham could be repurposed as early as the 2026-27 school year. Students would be transferred to surrounding elementary schools such as Discovery, Jamestown, Taylor, and Tuckahoe, and staff would begin to be reassigned in the spring of 2026.

Ways to create a swing space and potential costs (via Arlington Public Schools)

Would-be parent Coco Price says she and her neighbors are devastated.

“We have been so looking forward to sending our now-toddler-age children there when they reach elementary-age in a few short years and would be sincerely crushed to see them reassigned to another Arlington school — one that is potentially either not within walking distance or not as highly-rated as Nottingham,” Price said.

The proposal could disrupt educational plans for new homeowners, like Price.

“Should the motion pass, it would… potentially drive us to consider moving to a more stable school district outside of Arlington,” she said. “We also worry how this decision would impact our home’s resale values down the line.”

Others questioned the need for this work and criticized APS for not evaluating alternatives to a “swing space” in its 272-page report.

“We didn’t see any serious discussion about options such as portable learning trailers for schools going under renovations or for temporarily displacing just the students at schools that were under renovations for the limited time period of those renovations,” would-be parent Jeff Heuwinkel told ARLnow.

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Miranda Turner captures Democratic endorsement for Arlington School Board

By ARLnow.com
Arlington School Board candidate Miranda Turner at Alcova Heights Park in 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

School Board candidate Miranda Turner has found success on her second go-round.

Following a three-day caucus process, Turner has captured the Democratic endorsement for Arlington School Board, with 1,004 votes to 332 for Angelo Cocchiaro. Turner will face at least one independent candidate in the November general election: James “Vell” Rives, who is also running for the second time.

Cocchiaro appeared to be considering dropping out of the race in April, but ultimately stayed in and picked up some key endorsements, including from outgoing School Board Chair Reid Goldstein. Cocchiaro’s promise to be “a prizefighter for our teachers and school staff” also helped to win him the endorsement of the political action committee of the local teachers union.

Following the release of the caucus results, the 22-year-old youth organizer said in a statement that “Arlington Democrats have made their voices heard, and I am proud to give my full-throated and unequivocal endorsement to Miranda Turner.”

“It is critical that Arlingtonians elect a candidate this November who will uphold, defend, and advance the progress achieved by this School Board, and who will advocate for every student,” he continued. “Miranda Turner is that candidate.”

Turner notably advocated for a swifter return to in-person school at Arlington Public Schools in the fall of 2020, at a time when concerns about the health impacts of such a move were heightened. Her campaign this year has focused on classroom instruction and support for teachers and students.

“The need for high-quality instruction, appropriate intervention, and the use of data to support our students is more urgent than ever,” her website says. “If elected, I will ensure a laser focus on instruction and providing an excellent education for all students.”

Turner is a Brown- and UVA-educated attorney, focused on insurance litigation, and a partner at a prominent D.C. law firm. On her website, she highlights her pro bono work and representation of Planned Parenthood.

Turner’s website notes, additionally, that she has been an APS parent since 2015 and has been active in her elementary school’s PTA and in the Green Valley Civic Association.

More on the caucus results, below, from an Arlington County Democratic Committee press release.

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