
Arlington Public Schools
UTILIZATION AND OCCUPANCY ANALYSIS
Maintaining educational quality and meeting capacity for a growing student population
Arlington Public Schools is a diverse and dynamic school division located across the Potomac River from Washington DC. Of Virginia’s 132 school divisions, APS operates the 13th largest (in terms of student population), but is physically among the smallest. Over the past decade, APS has experienced substantial student population growth, requiring the construction of three new high schools, and using all of the districtʻs developable land. In anticipation of future growth, MKThink conducted a quantitative analysis of all the high schools and all the middle schools to assess capacity and utilization and identify opportunities to grow capacity without building new facilities. Informed by facilities and programming data, MKThink developed strategies to address future growth and support decision-making related to utilization improvements and alterations to the district’s real estate portfolio.