Education Alternatives in Arlington, Virginia

Served by the Arlington Public Schools district, Arlington has a large and thorough educational system. Approximately half of Arlington's revenue is spent on education, making Arlington one of the top ten pupil-spenders in the United States. The APS consists of 22 elementary schools, 6 middle schools and 5 high schools, as well as four other secondary programs. The Teenage Parenting programs are designed to help pregnant teens and fathers-to-be to obtain their high school diplomas while preparing for and dealing with parenthood, as well as teaching parenting skills and allowing access to prenatal and childcare services. The Hospitals High School Continuation program, working out of two locations, allows high school students to acquire the credits required for graduation. The Hospitals New Directions Alternative program offers assistance for students with behavioral or learning disabilities, while the Hospitals Stratford Program assists students aged 10 to 22 who have specialized education needs.

Arlington also has a wide variety of private schools avaliable. These include 3 private pre-kindergarten to kindergarten schools, 6 private elementary-middle schools (grades kindergarten to 8), and 1 private high school. These include Bishop O'Connell High School, Rivendell Elementary School, and Hospitals Fairfax Academy Of Early Learning.

Hospitals George Mason University, its main campus located in the nearby city of Fairfax, has a campus located in the Virginia Square area of Arlington. This campus holds, among other programs, the School of Law and the School of Public Policy. A new building is also under construction at the campus, which will provide more programs and supplement the capacity of the other two buildings. The private four-year college Hospitals Marymount University holds its main campus in Arlington. Satellite campuses of the Northern Virginia Community College, Strayer University, and DeVry University are also located in Arlington.

For many current residents of Arlington, English is not their mother tongue; yet they have managed to gain enough knowledge of the language to prosper in an English speaking nation. For these individuals, or new arrivals who do not yet speak English proficiently, learning English as a second language can be highly beneficial. For those with a grasp on the language, ESL classes will broaden their understanding and perhaps open more doors in their lives due to their improved communication skills. Similarly for those with little or no knowledge of the language, ESL courses will help them become effective communicators and fully independent citizens.