Arlington Public Schools

Dr. Francisco Duran

Dr. Francisco Durán is an adept educational leader with a proven track record in primary and secondary education. He is skilled in advocacy, community engagement, and educational consulting and holds a doctoral degree in Urban Education Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Drawing on his years of experience, Durán has dedicated his career to sharing invaluable knowledge that meets each student by name, strength, and need.

Leading Through Experience

Education has been a transformative force throughout my journey. It is truly an honor to have over three decades of experience in this sector, where I have had the opportunity to serve in various roles. Since the beginning of my career as an educational assistant in a special education classroom, exposure to teaching has profoundly shaped my approach to education. I have served as a teacher, principal, regional superintendent, and chief academic officer at different levels of educational organizations. This comprehensive background has been invaluable in meeting the needs of diverse, disadvantaged, and underserved student populations.

My goal is to help students realize the opportunities available to them and expose them to pathways that lead to thriving, high-quality, and supportive schools. This commitment has empowered me to succeed and rise to a position where I now serve a school system with thousands of students.

At Arlington Public Schools, my role as superintendent allows me to effect positive change for students of different backgrounds and abilities and contributes to transforming traditional norms of education into a more progressive platform for future generations. I am fortunate to have found a determined team that strives for the same.

Navigating Public Education

I believe public education is the heart of the community. It is essential to recognize the unique strengths and challenges of every student and provide them with access to an equitable curriculum. As a superintendent, it is my responsibility to defend public education and rally support to ensure our schools have the resources they need to succeed. The challenges we face in today’s public education sector are very different from those in the past, making it crucial to stay connected to current realities.

One of the biggest challenges we face at Arlington Public Schools is supporting students academically, while also addressing their growing mental health concerns, such as anxiety and stress. In a time filled with uncertainty and constant change, navigating these challenges is no easy task.

“I believe that public education is the heart of the community. It is essential to recognize the unique strengths and challenges of every student and provide them with access to an equitable curriculum.”

Our school system employs approximately 8,000 staff, including over 3,000 teachers, serving a culturally rich community of over 28,000 students from over 146 nations who speak more than 107 languages. We embrace our diversity as a core strength and strive to provide resources, services, and opportunities that meet the strengths and needs of every student. Managing such a vibrant community is a formidable mission, and we have embraced it by adopting a new strategic plan, developed over the course of a year through extensive feedback from parents, students, community members, and educators. This process helped us identify key priorities and align our success metrics with student progress.

This dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion remains a cornerstone of our mission. We ensure that all necessary policies are in place to protect students, with the ultimate goal of achieving positive outcomes from every effort we make.

Key Initiatives

Our schools aim to unify all operational efforts in service to our students. Whether it’s teaching, facility planning, administration, or curriculum development, our staff ensures that every decision is centered on student growth and wellbeing. To guide decisions and build trust with the community, we have strengthened family and community engagement through strategic outreach, two-way engagement, surveys, and regular consultation with community partners. This partnership is essential to uniting everyone around a shared vision for our schools.

We have also made significant strides by shifting our literacy instruction to align with the science of reading and looking at individual student growth rather than proficiency alone. Beginning at the elementary level and now extending into secondary education, we continue to revamp our curriculum and resources and are encouraged by the progress our schools are making for all student groups.

Guiding the Future

We have developed a dedicated website that outlines our goals, activities, and key performance indicators, aligned with our 2024-30 Strategic Plan. Each year, we report these metrics to track expected outcomes and share results with the public, highlighting both achievements and areas for growth. To promote equal access to counseling services, vocational education, and extracurricular activities, our staff leads professional development workshops focused on collaborative learning. These efforts help shape the future of public education through new partnerships with leading experts dedicated to educational advancement.

Throughout this journey, I have learned that effective leadership is about bringing people together, actively listening, and remaining flexible enough to make changes based on feedback. It is essential for every member of our community to feel heard and understand that they play a role in shaping the direction of our work. In the context of public education, students, parents, and teachers all play vital roles in reforming society. But it is we, the leaders, who must stand beside them.