City: Arlington, VA

Category: Education

Telephone: (703) 228-6000

Address: 1426 North Quincy Street

Description: Arlingtonians care deeply about education: 60 percent of residents age 25 and older are college graduates, and 31 percent have graduate or professional degrees. Diversity defines Arlington County Public Schools, where many of the 19,000 students hail from around the world and speak more than 90 languages, from Spanish and Vietnamese to Arabic and Farsi. Although the county is Virginia’s smallest geographically, it boasts the 15th largest of the state’s 144 school divisions. With 30 schools and several special programs, the district caters to all segments of its varied student population. Parents may choose to send their children to a neighborhood school or to an “alternative” school offering a unique learning environment. Some examples include the Claremont Early Childhood Center for grades kindergarten through second grade; Drew Model School, the county’s only public Montessori program for ages six to nine; Science Focus School, at which kindergartners through fifth graders incorporate science into all areas of learning; Kenmore Middle School, where arts and communications technology take center stage; and H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, in which sixth through twelfth graders control much of their educational experience. Other special programs include instruction for gifted students, English for speakers of other languages/high-intensity language training, extended day care, outreach for teenage parents, a Spanish partial-immersion program at all grade levels, high school advanced placement and International Baccalaureate courses, summer school, special education, and athletics and other extracurricular activities. Technology proves a high priority: All schools have Internet access, and the district boasts four “electronic classrooms.” Kindergartners attend school all day.The county’s comprehensive Adult Education Program offers high school equivalency studies, senior citizens’ activities, and an array of multicultural programs.