Civic association presidents along the Columbia Pike corridor are urging Arlington Public Schools to hold firm to development plans for the Arlington Career Center site.
In a letter to School Board members and Superintendent Francisco Durán, members of the Pike Presidents Group say they want APS to confirm its three-step plan for the parcel, located just north of the Pike along S. Walter Reed Drive:
"These projects fulfill longstanding commitments by the School Board and staff to residents and ensure the site will include only two school buildings, a maximum of 2,570 student seats, and restored public open space for community benefit," the letter to school leaders said.
It was signed by presidents of the Penrose Neighborhood Association, the Barcroft School & Civic League and the Arlington Heights, Columbia Heights, Alcova Heights, Columbia Forest, Arlington View and Arlington Mill civic associations.
"We strongly urge the School Board to stay the course and continue implementation of the existing, voter-approved capital improvement projects," the letter said. "Any deviation or delay would undermine years of planning, add unnecessary costs and disrupt community expectations."
One civic leader told ARLnow there are beginning to be rumors that the school system wants to move Montessori Public School of Arlington elsewhere, in order to use the current Career Center building as "swing space" as other schools across the county are renovated. There are also concerns that the existing, aging Montessori Public School of Arlington building could be retained rather than demolished for open space.
The letter to school leaders said making changes now would be unfair to the community, which worked hard to support bond referendums providing the funds for construction of the Grace Hopper Center.
"Using the Arlington Career Center site for temporary or swing-space purposes would create prolonged uncertainty," the letter said. "A permanent, well-planned move for the Montessori Public School of Arlington to the Arlington Career Center [building] provides clarity and stability for our county's youngest public school students and our neighborhood families alike across Columbia Pike."
School Board member Zuraya Tapia-Hadley acknowledged unease among leaders along the Pike. But, she said, no decisions have been made on any changes as part of the planned APS 2027-36 capital improvement plan, or CIP.
As of now, "we're in the process of shaping our CIP direction," Tapia-Hadley told ARLnow when queried at a Nov. 9 community event.
School Board members took a first look at those proposed directives to Durán and staff for crafting the document on Oct. 23. Once that direction is finalized, APS staff will spend six months refining the package before it comes back for approval in June 2026.
Legislator hopes to fund testing in languages other than English: A local state senator says she hasn't given up on helping school districts provide Standards of Learning exams to students in languages other than English.
Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40) patroned a $300,000 budget amendment designed to allow math and science SOLs to be administered in Spanish in early 2025, but she was unsuccessful in obtaining the funding.
During a Nov. 6 forum with constituents, Favola said she and other supporters would again push to support the concept in the 2026 session.
"It's really important to understand if the child knows the content," but has a hard time taking the test in English, Favola said.
Arlington School Board members have included the proposal for tests in languages other than English in recent General Assembly priorities packages. Favola said given the commonwealth's uncertain financial picture, success was not guaranteed in 2026.
"I'm looking at all avenues," she said. "I don't know where it's going to end up."
A bill directing the Virginia Department of Education to prioritize efforts to make state testing available in non-English languages made it out of the House of Delegates on a 51-47 vote during the 2025 session. But the measure, patroned by Del. Laura Jane Cohen of Fairfax, then died in a Senate committee.
In a fiscal analysis of Cohen's bill, the state Department of Education estimated an annual cost ranging from $3.7 million to $8.5 million to implement two additional testing languages across all Standards of Learning.
Proposed change to springtime calendar goes to vote: School Board members on Thursday, Nov. 13, are expected to vote on a small change to the springtime calendar.
Under the proposal brought forward from staff, March 13, which had been scheduled as a half day for elementary-school and middle-school students, would instead be a day off to allow for more time for parent-teacher conferences that day.
To make up the lost time, April 22, which had been scheduled as an early-release date for elementary-school and middle-school students, would become a full day of instruction.