The mission of Arlington Elementary School is for all stakeholders to provide a safe, nurturing environment that equips all students with the skills essential to succeed academically and to become healthy, productive citizens in the community. Arlington Elementary School will distinguish itself as a leader in Achieving Educational Success by utilizing innovative methods and technology to create a community of global-minded leaders.

We will:

• Commit to an “every child belongs to everyone” philosophy to ensure each child’s educational, social, and emotional needs are addressed.
• Agree to a set of core standards and ensure that every child is given opportunities to reach them.
• Participate in ongoing multidisciplinary collaboration and staff development to guide instruction and assessment.
• Utilize common formative assessments and collaborative summative assessments to drive instruction and promote student achievement.
• Utilize innovative strategies and technology to meet the needs of a diverse student body.

Arlington Elementary is one of the oldest schools in Shelby County. In January 1884, the Methodist Church started the school as a subscription school. It was located on Chester Road in a beautiful two-story structure. In 1895, the school became a part of the Shelby County Public School system. It continued to operate as a high school, serving grades one through twelve. In 1930, the school became a first through eighth grade school. Airline-Arlington School for black children was closed in 1969, making Arlington Elementary School the only school in the community. During the 1973-1974 school year, a kindergarten class was added. The school moved in the fall of 1974 from Chester Road to its present building on Douglass Street. The school operated under a non-graded organizational pattern of instruction until 1977-1978. At this time, the organizational pattern was changed to self-contained classes in kindergarten through grade six and semi-departmentalized in grades seven and eight. In 1979-1980, the semi-departmentalized organizational pattern was extended to the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades to staff the music, art, and physical education programs.

The student population is composed of students residing in the Arlington community and the surrounding rural area. The Arlington community contains a number of industries, a developmental center for handicapped persons, a post office, and businesses usually found in a small town community.

The opening of school year 2000-2001 saw the opening of Arlington Middle School, which reorganized the elementary school to grades K-5. This reorganization followed the completion of major remodeling and additional new space for classrooms and other facilities.