Carlin Springs Receives Virginia Community School Designation

Carlin Springs Elementary School has been officially designated as a Virginia Community School by the Virginia Department of Education

This designation recognizes schools that demonstrate excellence in leadership, intentional programming, and the development of strong partnerships with families and community organizations.

Community schools serve as neighborhood hubs that bring together educators, families, and community partners to support the academic success, well-being, and overall development of every student. Through coordinated services, expanded learning opportunities, family engagement, and access to community resources, community schools help ensure that students are fully supported both in and out of the classroom.

This designation reflects Carlin Springs’ ongoing commitment to fostering meaningful family partnerships, providing wraparound supports, and creating enriched opportunities that help every student thrive. The Virginia Community School designation is valid through June 30, 2028.

You can learn more about the Virginia Community School model and view all designated schools across the Commonwealth on the Virginia Department of Education website.

Carlin Springs Community School Description

Carlin Springs Elementary School Community School DescriptionCarlin Springs Elementary School is a long established Community School with more than twenty years of proven success connecting students and families to comprehensive academic, social, health, and enrichment supports. Located in Arlington, Virginia, Carlin Springs serves a uniquely high-need population. One hundred percent of students receive free breakfast and lunch, seventy-two percent are English Learners, and the majority come from immigrant families experiencing economic hardship and food insecurity. Although Carlin Springs is the neighborhood school for families living in the Arlington Mill and Columbia Pike corridor, the school building itself is not geographically located within the neighborhood, and most students are bus riders. As a result, the Community School model plays a vital role in bringing essential resources, programs, and experiences directly into the building and into the community, reducing transportation barriers and strengthening the connection between school and families. Despite the challenges our families experience, Carlin Springs remains a joyful, warm, and vibrant community where families, staff, and partners come together to create a uniquely welcoming culture and a strong sense of belonging for every student.

Carlin Springs was selected as the district’s pilot Community School site in 2003, and since then has continuously refined and expanded a model grounded in collaborative leadership, strong partnerships, and data driven decision making. In 2007, Carlin Springs received the National Award for Excellence from the Coalition for Community Schools, recognizing the school as a model for integrated student supports and effective high impact family engagement. In 2011, Arlington Public Schools codified its commitment by establishing a permanent, full time Community School Coordinator position. The 2025 APS budget reaffirmed this full time position, which reflects the essential role this position plays in coordinating services, managing partnerships, and ensuring alignment with the four pillars of the Community School framework.

The Community School Coordinator collaborates with a wide network of co-occurring leadership teams, including the School Leadership Team, the Attendance Team, the Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Action Team, and the Community School Steering Committee. The Coordinator also participates in county wide coalitions, such as, the Arlington Family Engagement Network (AFEN), a cross sector group advancing high quality caregiver engagement practices, and the Healthy Community Action Team (HCAT), a youth wellness and nutrition coalition funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. The Coordinator additionally works with the Arlington Food Security Coalition, which provides real time data on food security needs, best practices for client centered distribution models, and direct feedback from community focus groups. These groups offer shared resources, community wide insights, advocacy opportunities, and ongoing professional learning that strengthen the Community School model.

Carlin Springs uses multiple data sources: Arlington Public Schools Your Voice Matters survey, student Social Emotional Learning and wellness surveys, Arlington Food Security Coalition surveys, academic growth data, attendance trends, and 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) evaluation reports, all to identify emerging needs, map assets, and monitor progress toward its Action Plan goals.As a one-stop community hub, Carlin Springs provides a comprehensive set of student and family supports, including:

• Basic needs supports such as monthly Family Market distributions with the Capital Area Food Bank, a Clothing Closet, a Care Closet, winter gear distribution, emergency assistance from Alice’s Kids, AFAC nutrition supports, and the Animal Welfare League of Arlington pet pantry.
• Health and mental health supports including an embedded DHS clinician, on site Public Health nursing, dental and vision screenings, prevention programming, wellness education, and coordinated referrals to county human services.
• Expanded learning opportunities through its long standing 21st Century Community Learning Center (21CCLC) grant, with nearly three million dollars awarded since 2005. Carlin Springs serves as a co applicant with Aspire Afterschool Learning and Affordable Homes and Communities (AHC), both located in the heart of the Carlin Springs neighborhood. This structure enables fully integrated, well coordinated after school programming across both school and neighborhood settings. The 21CCLC program provides daily academic tutoring, homework assistance, SOL preparation, and enrichment experiences informed by real time student needs and teacher collaboration. The program is intentionally designed to reduce barriers by offering free access, snacks, and transportation, ensuring consistent, accessible, high quality supports for all students.
• High-impact family engagement, including monthly Family Chats, PTA and supported events, bilingual workshops, academic nights with meals and childcare (and transportation when events take place at the school), family literacy programs, newcomer supports, and culturally responsive communication in multiple languages.

The school’s goals remain aligned with the foundational goals of the Community School model: increasing academic achievement, improving attendance, expanding access to health and social services, strengthening family engagement, and creating enriching learning opportunities beyond the school day.Through strong leadership, deep community partnerships, robust co-occurring leadership teams, ongoing needs assessments, a data-aligned resource map, SMART goals, and a long-standing sustainability structure, Carlin Springs demonstrates the full set of core practices of a Community School. With its long history, national recognition, and stable infrastructure, Carlin Springs is uniquely positioned and fully deserving of designation as a Virginia Community School.