Welcome to my webpage about Arlington’s school enrollment challenges. Note that this is not an official School Committee web page. In the last ten years (2009-2018), we have added 1,276 students to the Arlington public schools (a 27% increase); 946 of those students were added in the last seven years. At the elementary level, we have increased classes from 110 in the year 2000 to 147 today, while increasing elementary class sizes from 19.36 to 21.96 (state average is 19.9). In the next five years, we are projected to add an additional 500 students, though most of that growth will be at the middle and high school level.

Arlington’s school population is increasing because our town is a wonderful place to live with ten really fabulous schools. At the visioning meeting two years ago Arlingtonians told us that they valued our neighborhood schools, academic excellence, and economic and cultural diversity. On the town side participants spoke fondly about Arlington’s small-town feel, walkability, open spaces, arts and recreational programs, and restaurants.

Above are tabs with information on enrollment numbers and options that were discussed when we were trying to figure out what to do about middle school growth, as well as past email updates. I have tried to be fair in presenting this information. To the extent that there is bias or error, the failure is entirely mine. This is not an official School Committee webpage.

If you are interested in receiving updates about issues in the Arlington Public Schools please click on the link above titled “email list.”

Jennifer Susse