D.C. area schools to open with new leadership, facilities

Arlington, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties are ready for the start of the school year with new facilities, new leadership and a focus on safety and health.

On Tuesday, Cintia Johnson will start her first day as interim superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, replacing Patrick Murphy, who announced his retirement at the beginning of the summer.

“I am truly honored to serve APS as your Interim Superintendent and thank you for the genuine support you have extended to me as I transition to my new role,” Ms. Johnson said in a press release. “As an educator for more than 30 years — most of that time spent in Arlington as a teacher, principal and administrator — I have a deep commitment to continue to strengthen the educational opportunities we provide all students.”

The Arlington School Board is hiring a firm to conduct an internal and national search for the next superintendent and a candidate should be chosen in the next six months, said schools spokesman Frank Bellavia.

Meanwhile, Ms. Johnson is going to focus on implementing the district’s strategic plan to close the achievement gap and help students feel supported in school.

Five new schools are opening — one of which, Alice West Fleet Elementary School, is a “net-zero” facility, meaning it produces the same amount of energy as it uses.

It is the “largest net-zero school building in the country,” Mr. Bellavia said, adding that it uses solar and geo-thermal energy for electricity.

To improve safety, Arlington Public Schools officials are introducing a visitor management system to log all visitors at all schools and verify they aren’t on the state’s sex offender registry.

APS officials estimate about 28,500 students are enrolled for the upcoming academic year.

Meanwhile, Maryland’s largest county is preparing for a record number of students on Tuesday.

“We are excited to welcome back more than 164,000 students to our schools — a record number for our district,” said Gboyinde Onijala, spokeswoman for Montgomery County Public Schools. “Our core purpose as a school system is preparing all students to thrive in their futures.”

The school system’s Be Well 365 initiative, launched in May, takes a holistic approach to improve students’ mental and physical health and develop their character and social relationships, officials said. It includes personal body safety lessons to help students identify and report abuse.

And the Restorative Justice Student Leadership Coalition is a team of students empowered to facilitate conflict resolution circles and self-care among their peers.

“Student learning is our purpose, and we know that students perform better academically when they are healthy in body, mind and spirit,” schools Superintendent Jack Smith said on the Be Well 365 website. “The two go hand in hand to produce young people who are successful in school and in life.”

The school system also updated its gender identity student guideline so students feel supported in expressing their gender identity in school. It includes making sure that students are referred to with their chosen pronouns and name, and access to gendered spaces like bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

Montgomery County Public Schools also made several updates with regard to school safety, officials said. All schools’ emergency plans have been updated, and each school has a resource officer who has undergone mandatory training.

All visitors are screened, and all middle and high schools have video surveillance and soon the elementary schools will too.

Prince George’s County Public Schools will welcome more than 132,000 students on Tuesday with a new chief executive officer and 22 new principals.

County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks in June appointed Monica Goldson as full-time chief executive of the public schools system. She had served a year as interim CEO.

“I am excited about the possibilities this school year brings to improve our students’ experience in every classroom and every school,” Ms. Goldson said in a press release.