Arlington School Committee Approves Heterogeneous English Expansion to 10th Grade

ARLINGTON — December 18, 2025 — Arlington School Committee votes 5-1 to extend heterogeneous English grouping to 10th grade. The committee approved the full 2026-27 program of studies at its December 18 meeting, with Assistant Superintendent Matthew Janger citing a 26 percent increase in honors participation and a 94 percent AP exam pass rate for the first cohort to complete the four-year-old pilot in English 9. Member Dr. Kirsi Ellis-Lampi cast the lone dissenting vote, saying she was "still concerned about moving this into grade 10." The program of studies also launches the district's first DESE Innovation Career Pathways course — a healthcare seminar — and adds AP Precalculus. On the budget front, administrators told the committee the no-override scenario holds school spending flat at $103.6 million while a successful March override would fund approximately $108 million in level services; the committee asked for costed reduction scenarios ranging up to $4 million above the minimum $4.4 million cut target, to be presented January 8. Arlington High School was also announced as newly LEED Platinum certified, one of only five schools in Massachusetts with that designation.