Schools Champions

Glebe Elementary is an important part of the North Glebe Road community between Lee Highway, Washington Boulevard, Fairfax Drive and North Quincy Street. Glebe students attend Spanish class three times a week and participate in the school’s S.M.Art (Science, Math, Art) Project. Glebe has a weekly Bike, Walk & Roll to School Day to encourage active, healthy lifestyles and several teachers bike to school daily. Glebe is aiming to be a Gold Champion in 2015-2016!

Kate Waller Barrett Elementary School has been educating students in the Ballston-Buckingham area since 1939. Barrett Elementary School is a hands-on, science-focused school with almost 50% of its diverse student body walking to school on a regular basis. Staff have also begun to embrace healthy commuting, with an increase in walking and transit ridership. Through Champions, Barrett aims to increase carpooling and make it fun for everyone to walk, bike, ride the bus and share the ride.

The northernmost Arlington middle school, Williamsburg Middle School has been around since 1954. The Williamsburg Wolves were recognized as one of 12 schools in Arlington that earned a 2014 Virginia Index of Performance (VIP) award for advanced learning and achievement. Along with its new neighbor, Discovery Elementary School, Williamsburg encourages biking, walking and carpooling for staff and students to help the environment and to be more active.

Arlington Career Center is a special program for Arlington Public School students offering a range of classes and education opportunities. Students experience hands-on learning while earning real-world certifications ranging from aviation technology to culinary arts and sciences. The staff embrace transportation options while encouraging students to expand their horizons the same way. The Career Center supports transit training and is creating a bike library during the 2017-2018 school year, complete with an app.

Ashlawn is a close-knit neighborhood school and has a well-deserved reputation for being a friendly, caring place where most of the families know each other by name. The diverse student population reflects the changing demographic in Arlington, with families from over 30 different countries and cultures. Located next to Bluemont Park, Bon Air Park and several convenient multiuse trails, Ashlawn has plenty of opportunity for biking and walking. Ashlawn staff and students take pride in taking care of the planet and understand the importance of sustainable transportation.

Claremont Immersion is Arlington’s second oldest dual language immersion elementary school. Students at Claremont spend half their day learning in Spanish and the other half in English. Many of the students travel to and from school on the school bus, but everyone at Claremont is engaged with walking and biking, especially on Walk and Bike to School Days. During its first year in Champions, Claremont plans to share information about the numerous transportation options available throughout Arlington County. As awareness grows, Claremont will be fluent not just in multiple languages, but in multimodal transportation as well.

The H-B Woodlawn Program is based on a proposal developed by Arlington students and teachers over forty years ago. The program is designed to give students more control over their education, and prizes self-motivation and self-discipline. Students, chosen by lottery from across the County, make choices in use of time and personal behavior; educational goals; and school governance. By participating in the Champions program, the H-B Woodlawn Program seeks to encourage different transportation choices for students and staff alike.

Key School/Escuela Key is a bilingual immersion school in Courthouse that teaches students in English and in Spanish, emphasizing cooperation, creativity and community. Through Champions, Key will expand its cooperation and community by educating staff and students about healthy and green transportation options. By the end of the year, everyone will be as fluent in transportation choices as they are in English and Spanish.

McKinley Elementary School, which opened in 1950, is a neighborhood school where staff, families and community members work collaboratively to provide a rich educational experience for students. McKinley students learn Spanish through the APS Foreign Language Elementary School Program (FLES). Other initiatives include the Children’s Theater, a highly acclaimed science fair and the Kaleidoscope project which focuses on integrating the arts throughout the curriculum. McKinley’s success is evident in its growing student body and its growing campus. A school expansion project prompted participation in Champions, as McKinley sought ways to share additional transportation information with its staff and families. Adding transportation links to its website, sharing benefit and amenities information with staff and being engaged with Arlington Transportation Partners has started McKinley on its multimodal journey.

Patrick Henry Elementary School was built in 1925, and in 1959 became the first integrated elementary school in Arlington County. Now the school has students and families from over 20 different countries, speaking as many different languages. Students already manage Walking Wednesdays, which encourages students to walk, bike or ride their scooters to school every Wednesday. With a large number of staff who also walk, bike, take transit or carpool, Henry students will expand their program to include staff, a perfect fit for Champions.

The Langston High School Continuation Program helps students achieve their high school diplomas through programs that encourage academics, self-reliance and support the ability to achieve all their goals. Because the school is conveniently located near several bus lines, students from all across Arlington County can travel to Langston on public transportation. Knowing how to use public transportation is a lifelong skill that leads to self-reliance and helps individuals achieve goals, which makes Langston a good Champions school. Through Champions, Langston staff and students have the opportunity to learn and achieve more.