High School Boundary Refinements

High School Boundary Changes took effect in Sept. 2017.

On December 1, the School Board approved high school boundary refinements to balance enrollment among the three APS comprehensive high schools by the 2020-21 school year.

The Board selected High School Boundary Refinement Option #4, which will move the following High School Planning Unit numbers:

Planning Unit Numbers # 1302, 1303, 1304, 2312, 2313 and 2314 will move from the current Washington-Lee High School boundary to the Yorktown High School boundary zone.
Planning Unit Numbers # 4611, 4612, 4614, 4815, 4816, 4818, 4828 and 4829 will move from the current Washington-Lee High School boundary to the Wakefield High School boundary zone.

The School Board’s decision is aligned with School Board Policy 30-2.2 Boundaries which states, “…recommended boundary changes… shall include, but not limited to, consideration of the following criteria :efficiency, proximity, stability, alignment, demographics, and contiguity.”

The full presentation on refinement options is available in BoardDocs and a video of the meeting is available here. The online Boundary Locator Tool on the APS website will be updated and updated boundary information will also be available to families at High School Information Night, scheduled on Mon, Dec. 12 from 7-9 p.m. at Washington-Lee High School.

Who Will be Impacted

These high school refinement changes will apply to the incoming freshman class in September 2017 and to all subsequent freshman cohorts. These changes will also apply to all high school students who are newly-enrolled in the Arlington Public Schools beginning in September 2017, regardless of their grade level.

Changes to high school boundaries will not affect students currently enrolled in the three APS comprehensive high schools. Additionally, students who will have older siblings who will be enrolled concurrently in Washington-Lee High School over the next four years will be allowed to transfer to Washington-Lee. APS transportation will be provided for those siblings who live in neighborhoods that qualify for transportation. This sibling transfer option will be available to eligible freshman students for the 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.

High School Boundary Change Data Analysis

This summary estimates the future demographics at the three Arlington Public Schools neighborhood high schools based on the School Board’s actions on December 1, 2016.High School Boundary Change Data Analysis Updated 1/11/17 with additional clarifying information

High School boundary refinements are needed as a result of continued enrollment growth at APS. The purpose of boundary refinements is to balance enrollment among the three comprehensive high schools and better utilize available instructional space. A refinement is not a county-wide boundary change.

This refinement process will follow School Board Policy 30-2.2 Boundaries which states, “…recommended boundary changes… shall include, but not limited to, consideration of the following criteria:efficiency, proximity, stability, alignment, demographics, and contiguity.”

Boundary recommendations will:

Take effect beginning September 2017 (next fall)
Apply to current grade 8 students (the incoming freshman class of 2017-18) and to subsequent freshmen students in the same planning units
NOT apply to students who are already enrolled in high school
Include options for siblings of current high school students
Be communicated at High School Information Night on December 12, 2016

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