More partnerships with civic and business leaders could be coming to Arlington Public Schools as the school system seeks to rebuild relationships that suffered during the pandemic.

Superintendent Francisco Durán spotlighted a work-based readiness program at a meeting with School Board members earlier this month. He said that enhancing the program is one of the primary goals of a partnership improvement plan.

The readiness program includes student opportunities ranging from adult mentors and job shadowing to full-blown internships and apprenticeships.

A working group on the topic has met six times, with plans to launch a pilot program in the 2025-26 school year.

The goal is to provide “new tools and resources for how we can better support and partner with our community,” Durán said in acknowledging existing shortcomings.

“More work can be done and needs to be done,” he told elected officials.

Kate Bates, president/CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, said her organization stands ready to help.

“We are confident that this new framework, introduced under Dr. Durán’s leadership, will strengthen opportunities like these and expand the pipeline of meaningful, student-centered partnerships that support both academic and career success,” she told ARLnow.

The new approach “will create a more streamlined, accessible, and effective pathway for building strong collaborations between APS and the business, nonprofit and higher-education communities,” Bates said, adding:

“The Chamber was proud to serve as a stakeholder in the APS Partnerships Working Group, which developed and recommended this framework. One of the group’s key recommendations is the creation of a dedicated staff role to manage partnership requests. This position would help ensure that incoming proposals are efficiently evaluated and connected to the right APS staff, ultimately fostering more productive and timely partnerships.”

Over the past year, 64 students participated with 15 businesses during the Chamber’s Job Shadow Day, Bates said.

At the June 12 meeting, Durán reported that there are now just under 11,800 approved, active volunteers in schools. During the 2024-25 school year, about 5,350 volunteer applications were submitted and about 3,770 approved.

In the coming school year, “we’re going to see a new campaign to recruit even more volunteers,” the superintendent said.

To be accepted as volunteers, prospective volunteers must complete an online training program which lasts about 35 minutes.

Sandy Bushue, president of the Inter-Service Club Council of Arlington, said placing more emphasis on volunteer opportunities is a welcome development.

“For many service clubs, APS is a part of their mission, and for decades, they have worked closely with teachers and administrators to fulfill the mission,” she told ARLnow.

The expansion effort, she said, “should be embraced — kudos to the superintendent.”

Others, though, believe that some ground needs to be made up and relationships need to be resuscitated.

One leader in the service-club world told ARLnow that collaboration between the school system and those wanting to support it has seen a “real deterioration” in recent years.

“APS makes it very difficult for service organizations to work with teachers, and teachers are reluctant to cooperate as they have indicated administrators do not support the effort,” said the insider, who asked not to be identified to preserve existing relationships. “As a result, student participation in these programs have decreased or the programs are not implemented at all.”

Still, some relationships seem to be blossoming.

Randolph Elementary School this spring held an evening science fair in conjunction with the Northern Virginia Science Center. Support from local community organizations and their volunteers aided the event, which drew more than 400 students and parents to the school for hands-on learning activities.

Similar efforts, such as rebuilding the Key Club at Arlington Community High School after it went dormant during Covid, also are ongoing.