APS News Release

APS to Pilot New Visitor Management System During Summer School

System to be Fully Implemented for Fall 2019

Arlington Public Schools will begin piloting a new Visitor Management System (VMS) to screen and log all visitors, volunteers, and contractors at five sites beginning this summer. The schools to pilot the VMS are Taylor, Barrett and Abingdon Elementary schools, Kenmore Middle School and Washington-Liberty High School.

Summer school parents, administrators, volunteers and other visitors will be provided instructions and additional information at these schools prior to summer school starting.

The VMS will check visitors against the Commonwealth of Virginia and Federal sex offender registries. Visitors will be required to provide a valid government-issued photo identification or approved alternative. As part of the process of checking in, visitors will be asked to identify the nature of their visit (e.g., parent-teacher conference). Individuals must produce one of the following forms of identification, containing full name, date of birth and photograph (listed below):

  • United States or foreign government issued driver’s license
  • United States or foreign government identification
  • United States or foreign military identification
  • State Department of Motor Vehicles’ photo identification card
  • United States or foreign government-issued passport
  • Permanent Resident Card (i.e., Green Card)
  • Re-entry Permit, or
  • APS Alternate Parent Identification Card*

The VMS will be implemented throughout APS at the start of the 2019-20 school year. For more information, visit https://aps2016.apsva.us/emergency-management/visiting-a-school/.

*Alternate Parent Identification is available for use with the Arlington Public Schools visitor management system only for parent(s) and legal guardian(s) who are listed on a student’s Synergy account. Parents and legal guardians may request to go through the alternate identification process at the school their student(s) are enrolled in. Individuals listed as emergency contacts are not eligible unless they are also the parent or legal guardian of an enrolled student.  For example, an aunt who is the emergency contact for an enrolled student who is not the parent or legal guardian would not be eligible).