ARLINGTON, Va. — Arlington Public Schools has 421 fewer students than it did a year ago. But two of its middle schools are moving in opposite directions: Gunston gained 82 students, while Kenmore lost 75, according to a Zark News comparison of the district’s official September enrollment reports.
The contrast illustrates why a districtwide decline does not mean every school is experiencing the same change. The records show enrollment, not why families enrolled or left, and they do not by themselves establish whether any school is overcrowded or understaffed.
Enrollment fell overall, but not everywhere
The district counted 27,168 prekindergarten-through-12th-grade students in its September 30, 2026 membership report, down from 27,589 in the comparable 2025 report. That is 421 fewer students, a decline of about 1.5%.
Elementary kindergarten-through-fifth-grade enrollment fell by 425 students, from 12,270 to 11,845. Middle-school enrollment increased by 32, from 6,205 to 6,237. High-school enrollment fell by 51, from 8,200 to 8,149. Preschool enrollment rose by 23, from 914 to 937. Together, those changes reconcile to the districtwide decline of 421.
Two middle schools, two different trends
Gunston Middle School enrolled 1,168 students in the 2026 report, compared with 1,086 a year earlier — an increase of 82, or about 7.6%.
Kenmore Middle School went from 1,018 students to 943, a decrease of 75, or about 7.4%. Dorothy Hamm Middle School grew from 974 to 1,009 students, an increase of 35.
Other schools also saw changes. Wakefield High School’s reported enrollment declined from 2,098 to 1,960, while Washington-Liberty High School fell from 2,656 to 2,554. These figures compare the named schools in the two official tables; the reports list some high-school programs differently between years.
What the figures cannot tell us
The reports do not explain the reasons for changes at individual schools. They also do not provide a complete assessment of classroom capacity, staffing levels or the educational impact on students. Those questions require separate evidence.
For parents and school officials, the distinction matters: a systemwide total can decline while particular campuses grow. Whether staffing and facilities match those changes is a separate question worth examining.
Featured image: Illustrative stock photograph of school lockers by Laura Rivera / Unsplash. It does not depict an Arlington Public Schools campus.
How we checked the numbers
Zark News compared the district’s official September 30, 2025 and September 30, 2026 membership summaries, using their PreK–12 totals and the named school rows. We subtracted the 2025 counts from the 2026 counts and calculated percentage changes using 2025 as the base. Figures are snapshots of the district’s student information system, not annual average attendance.
Both reports exclude students attending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology from these membership totals. The 2025 report excludes 108 such students; the 2026 report excludes 106. Adult students are also excluded.
Primary sources: APS September 2025 membership summary and APS September 2026 membership summary.
