001Hello everyone. It is so great to see so many people. Uh I would also say it's so great that you all are not facing the sun and that's perfectly fine. I'm fine to face the sun especially on a beautiful day like today. I want to say good morning to everybody and welcome to Amazon's HQ2. A little applause. Right here we are. My name is Brian Kenner and I serve as a director of public policy at Amazon and I'm honored to be here with you all today uh to take part in this ceremonial groundbreaking to celebrate the milestone for the Arlington Community High School. Again, another round of applause. Here we are. This is an incredibly exciting day for Amazon and for the Arlington Community High School and for this neighborhood as we look forward to
002the community high schools opening next school year. This brand new high school will be right through the doors behind me and up to the elevators to the fourth floor where our construction is actually underway as we speak. Uh we have lots of really great speakers here uh to talk to you all today. I'm just a little bit of the amuse bouch, the little entree, little appetizer that's going to happen here. But some of the speakers that you're going to hear from today include the Arlington Community High School principal, Dr. Janette Allen, spotted lantern fly on here, the Arlington Public School Superintendent, uh, Duron, who is here with us, Amazon Vice President of Public Policy, Steve Hartell. Arlington County School Board Chair Sutton is here with us today. the Arlington County Board Chair Tacis Karen Tonis
003and we may also be visited by the advisory board member Patrick Brennan here today. >> To kick us off, I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Janette Allen to the podium. >> Good morning, everyone. >> Morning. Um, I'm so glad that we did walkthroughs because I'm normally not a sunglass wearer. If I didn't have sunglasses, I would be in trouble right now. But good morning again and welcome to this truly special day for Arlington Community High School. I would first like to extend a warm welcome to our honored guests, our Arlington County me board members and chair Takis, who told me I could use his first name, and chair uh vice chair Deerante. Our school board members, Chair Zucker Sutton, uh Vice Chair Turner, and Dr. Francisco Duran, superintendent of Arlington Public Schools, members of
004our APS cabinet, our ACS advisory board members, members of the Arlington Rotary Club, and representatives of Amazon, and my fellow high school partners, colleagues, and uh colleagues from the office of facilities and operations and office of academics, and most importantly, the great, strong, and proud students and staff at Arlington Community High School. [Applause] This moment would not have been possible without the dedication and support of so many people. I want to take a moment to thank Don Smith from APS School and Community Relations and the STR team. Don, you literally held my hand and squeezed it to make sure today would be a great day. and to Sammy Marshall and the Amazon team from the community activations office. Thank you for your support, guidance, and partnership. And thank you to their pro property ma manager
005Sasha and her team. Don and Sammy, you two pulled uh one amazing event and we are so grateful. As we stand here today, I'm reminded of our journey as a school. ACS has moved many times over the years. Since 2007, I personally have been part of three of the last four moves ACS has made. Each move tested our resilience. Each move challenged us to carry our miss mission forward no matter where we were planted. But today, today we can proudly say we have a home. Oh, there we go. Okay. This home is more than just a building. It's a place where our students can feel stability, belonging, and pride. It is a place where we can deepen our roots, strengthen our programs, and build lasting partnerships with Amazon and this amazing and thriving business and
006education community. Here in this home, our students can plant their dreams and watch them flourish. Arlington Community High School is not just surviving. We are thriving. And with all of you here today, we know that the seeds we plant together will grow into opportunities, possibilities, and futures for our students that our students deserve. Thank you for being here and thank you for your partnership and thank you for believing in ACS. And now I like to bring up Dr. Francisco. No, sorry. Maybe not. Yes. Yeah. >> Good morning everyone. >> Wenos das. >> It's truly an honor to be here as we celebrate a very historic moment and one that I want to pause and just recognize because we're also making history today. You may not know this, but this is the very first high school
007of its kind inside an Amazon building. So that is history to be made today. Give a round of applause for that. But why is that important? Because that statement alone, a high school building inside an Amazon building underscores something that I hope that we will continue to plant seeds for our students at Arlington Community High School, and that is innovation and partnership and the importance between those. I guess we have these bugs going to land on us all morning. All right. Um, this shows not only what can happen with regards to investing in public education, and I'm very proud to be the superintendent of a public school system in a moment in time when public education is being challenged, is being criticized, and is being attacked. And we all as a community here in partnership
008with Amazon are saying to the community and to the public, we believe in public education. We know it is the driving force that opens doors for all. It is one opportunity for no matter who you are, what language you speak, what neighborhood you come from, what income bracket you come from, who you love, no matter what, you're going to come and have an opportunity to learn and thrive. And in this moment, I just want to say thank you to Amazon for standing up in this moment and telling our community that public education matters. So, please give Amazon a round of applause for standing strong in this moment of time. Arlington Community High School has served such a diverse group of students, giving them hope and possibility about opportunities to pursue a degree quicker sometime a
009high school diploma quicker to sometimes help them understand their individual needs and now this opportunity to think about future careers. What makes Arlington Community High School is special is our diversity. The diversity of the students who come, the diversity of their needs. But what I love when I meet with anytime I go to Arlington Community High School and talk to students is the diversity of their goals and their desires and their strengths. And I hope that you get to meet one of our students and ask them what their goals are and ask them why Arlington Community High School has made their goals possible. For many of these students, I recall meeting a young man last spring who told me he didn't even think he had a future. He thought that he was done and he
010was fine and he would didn't know what he was going to do with his life. And then he came to Arlington Community High School and his door were opened. His eyes were opened, he told me. And he now saw a path forward for his future success. That is a story you're going to hear from each and every student that comes to Arlington High School. And I hope you'll get a chance to meet them. Oh, one in my shirt that one. All right. But in closing, I just want to give a special shout out and thank you to our county board and county manager Mark Schwarz, who also are strong, strong defenders of public education. This would not have happened if it was not for our county board working with Amazon and our county manager who
011said to me a few years ago, I remember talking with Mr. Schwarz, we're going to make this happen and we're going to make sure that Arlington Community High School has a permanent home. As Dr. Allen said, they have moved from various locations. We are proud that we're able to now make this your home, Dr. Allen, and to our students out in the audience. and to our parents who may be listening. Let this be a commitment from Arlington Public Schools to your future, to your success, and that we are a community in Arlington that loves our students, loves our community, and knows once again, and I'm going to say this a lot, that public education is the driving force for democracy, for success, for opportunity. And we all got to continue to say that. and not
012just say it, do things like we're doing today. Create actual opportunities for our students. Thank you, Amazon. Thank you, county board. Thank you to our school board. We're very excited about this opportunity. And we hope that all of you will come back next year and visit and talk to our students and see the actual investment that you've made. You are changing lives by what we're doing today. Students are going to make it better in this world and our community is going to be a better place. Thank you. Dr. Duran, thank you very much for those inspirational remarks. Um, my name is Steve Hartell. I'm vice president of public policy here at Amazon. And on behalf of our 8,500 employees that work right here in the buildings that you see in the backdrop, plus the 13
013retail businesses, small businesses that have chosen to uh partner with us here at these beautiful buildings. Welcome to HQ2. We invited a lot of other little friends uh to come too. Um uh but I just would like to say that um you know I I was reminiscing with uh with my friend Dan about the topping off uh ceremony here and even going back to the you the groundbreaking in 2018. Um, I've had the the privilege to be involved with a lot of events uh related to Amazon coming to HQ2, but I have to say that this one excites me more than any other. And you know, I I really, you know, when we when we were here in 2018 and we were having conversations with the county and we talked about ways that we could
014have a meaningful impact and how we would work together um in the community here to make a difference and the Arlington Community High School was one of the projects that was brought to our attention and immediately we felt like yes, this is something that we can work with the county on and yes, Dr. Duran, it is historic and I had the exact same thought you do, which is to say, where else has this been done? Uh, this is a model and I hope that this um raises the bar for others to see what true community partnership looks like. Um, and I would just say also that um, you know, to the students that that come to to school here every day, what a vibrant uh, you know, couple of street blocks. What a vibrant place
015to come to school every day. I hope you're invigorated. I hope that the um, you know, you grab a couple of bananas from the banana truck right on the other side of the of the park here. Open every day. Um, and we have lots of members of the community that come and and grab a banana. But I hope you're inspired to be here and I hope that when we actually do the ribbon cutting for the school that it's uh the energy is as high as it is right now. I really, you know, feel it here. And what I would say back to you is and I think this is unique to to Amazon is that we are going to be we're going to be gratified. It is going to uh be something that coming to
016work. it's going to be special about coming to work here when we go by the opening of this high school and we realize as employees of Amazon as Amazonians as we like to call ourselves that uh that we you know it's a reminder of the company's commitment to to Arlington. It's our commitment to the um the deep relationship that we have built with uh with not only Arlington County uh but you know with the with the DMV. So, it's something that um we're really excited about and I hope that energy is going to be um is going to be two ways. We recognize at Amazon that that our success brings responsibility and um and I hope that you know we look for ways uh to give back that that are equal to to the moment
017of of the high school. And I just want to say also um to the uh to the students and teachers, may this be a catalyst for learning, inspiration, and and opportunity. Uh, I'll I'll add my thanks to a long list of folks. Dr. Allen and Dr. Duran, Chair Sutton, um, County Board Chair Karen Tonus, uh, board member Spain, Deferranti, um, Cunningham, um, and you know, all of the, um, the the members of the ACS community that are with us today. Um, I would also be remiss if I didn't say uh much gracias to uh Jeppe here in Peruvian Brothers. What a wonderful partner. Is Jeppe here? He was just here. Um, please uh you know we we are Thank Jeppe. Thank you. We're proud to to be partnered with uh with real leaders in the
018community like Jeppe u and Peruvian Brothers. Um, I would just say in in closing, um, we can't wait welcome we can't wait to welcome uh, everyone to a new home and we are looking forward to the the completion of the buildout here. And with that, I would like to introduce uh, Bethany Zecker Sutton um, the Arlington Community High School board chair to share a few remarks. >> Thank you. Well, good morning. It's an honor to be here today to celebrate the unveiling of the new Arlington Community High School at the heart of Amazon's corporate headquarters. I'm Bethany Zephr Sutton. I serve as the chair of the school board for Arlington public schools. I would also like to recognize my fellow schoolboard member who is here uh today, Mary Cado, who is the past chair of
019uh the APS school board. Today is more than an unveiling of a new school location. Today is a reflection of our community's ongoing commitment to equity, opportunity, and innovation at Arlington Public Schools. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the students, families, and educators of Arlington Community High School whose voices and experience help experiences helped shape this project. A special thank you to our partners at Amazon, my colleagues at the Arlington County Board, and our exceptional APS staff uh for bringing this vision to life. Arlington Community High School has always been a place of opportunity, a welcoming community where students from all backgrounds and life experiences can come together to learn, grow, and reach their goals. With this new space, we are reaffirming our belief that every student deserves a learning environment that is
020designed to meet their needs. Our partnership with Amazon demonstrates the power of collaboration between business and education. Together, we are creating opportunities that extend beyond the classroom and connect learning to the community, linking students to internships, mentorships, and real world career pathways. With this project, we embody what's possible when public institutions, private partners, and community members work side by side for the success of our students. It's about building a stronger future also and that's a direct reflection of the goals outlined in our strategic plan. Supporting student well-being by creating a safe, supportive, and modern learning environment. fostering equity by by expanding access to highquality learning opportunities for historically underserved populations and promoting excellence and readiness by building connections with industry leaders like Amazon to prepare students for college careers and civic life. On behalf of
021the school board, I thank Amazon for your partnership, your vision, and your investment in our school school system. Together, we are not just opening a building. We are opening doors to opportunity, equity, and hope for generations to come. Ensuring that every student is engaged, challenged, and prepared for life after graduation. Thank you. Oh, chair Karen Thomas. >> The most exciting thing is that you all are here. Thank you for that. It is telling a lot about the community, about the locality, about its business community that you're out here. That's Arlington. I was thinking about that. I say well we you know this morning we we woke up uh you know this small news again the attention economy right. I said how nice is it it is to live in a place to be proud that
022we invest in a different economy in the education economy. For me this is the future of our country of our commonwealth and of our community. Dr. Dr. Allen, you're absolutely right. And Mr. Secret, you're absolutely right. This opens doors and this is all about the people who will be behind behind these doors who will take metro and bus will hang out at uh at Metmark here with tropical fruit included and discuss their next uh lecture in the next the next class that they will be taking here and we will understand. Oh, that's not a problem. We have to deal with nature too. uh part of our education is to learn to do that as well. So the uh and discuss in this lecture and and and figure out the many pathways that an economy of
023education opens not only to the people who are the beneficiaries of that which is our students everything we do but to everybody else. So Mr. Hartell yes absolutely there is a reason to be very happy to see these people and it's inspiring because all of this wouldn't be possible without massive investment in education. And if this educa if this investment is public then it's equitable. It's the best you can get for that money. I was really proud of my colleagues of the county manager of this county manager's team to have invested so much time and so much energy to work with an excellent corporate partner a corporate neighbor Amazon the kids to get this done and also I'm very grateful to our community to say look yeah of course we can do a high school
024a community high school in the middle of the There is no need to have a different building etc. Let's find the nooks and crannies and every place we can actually uh you know put the high school and make it work for people. So thank you so much for that. I know that Arling has been we had a conversation with u with my staff where whether uh the community high school is almost 100 year olds as a commitment. I mean 1929 they told me and I don't know if this is true but it is plausible to me because I'm proud that Arlington can host it here in the middle of the boom town in our community where we can show Thank you. we can show the results of that. So uh I'm very very happy for
025these partnerships. I think we can build on that more to come. Thank you so much for working on this. And here we go. >> Thank you very much, Dakus. Uh, and I'm going to welcome up Patrick Brennan, chair of the Arlington Community High School Advisory Board. >> I'm going to leave my sunglasses on. This is a little too bright. Um, so, uh, great to be here. My name is Patrick Brian. I'm with Communities and Schools. Um, I've been a part or I was invited to be a part of this Arlington Community High School community about 15 years ago by uh Dr. Barbara Thompson. So, I think that name has to be put out there. Um, she is a huge reason why we are all here. Uh, for those that don't know, Dr. Thompson uh was
026the one that brought this school to being uh from a program to a high school about 12 15 years ago. Uh, she is more than just a leader there. She was somebody who if I told her that one of the students uh I saw one of her students at Home Depot and she said, "Well, that guy hasn't showed up." So, she'd go buy a hose, sit in the cashier, wait for him, and then accidentally get in front of him and say, "Hey, I hadn't seen you in a while. Why don't you come on back and see me?" And she did that all the time. Um and so the permanence of the leadership and the staff and the people that generally care for the students of this community high school has been going on for a
027very long time. So, while the housing's been a bit unstable, right, four times in five years or 10 years, they've moved, the people that are in that building, the people are going to be in this building are are fantastic and they're going to serve this community and their and the students very very well. Um, so, um, really free cheers to Dr. Barbara Thompson for really making all this happen. [Applause] Uh, and the last thing I'd say is, um, you know, this is this is the fourth high school. This is the smallest by far, but it punches way above its weight. So, uh, beyond talking to students today, whether you know it or not, these students are all around our community. They are working in doctor's offices and restaurants andarmacies. They're probably working in Amazon. These
028are working students dedicated to the to picking up the promise of finishing their education, but they're also working and they're also commuting. They're also contributing to our community in really realistic ways. So, this school is really special and it's so exciting to see Barbara's work and all the work of the people that are here to bring this school here to show the students not just the people in the building but the community support them by giving them such a great uh location to continue their dreams. Um, so I thank you all very much and uh congratulations. >> Good morning. How is everyone doing today? Well, hello. Um, my name is Yasmin and I currently attend school at Arlington Community High School. I thank you. I had came to this school around last year and walked
029in only thinking the worst stuff of and about myself. But teachers and peers excelled in being able to make me feel comfortable yet confident in school and in my work. Coming here allowed me to flip my situation at the time around into a fresh start with lovely beginnings to later face me. The community and everything in this school is more than I could ever dream of. I once again want to mention my gratitude for being able to represent the students and AC a represent the students in ACS community. The opportunities displayed throughout the school are endless and not to mention great benefit with being a student. For students like us, this means real chances to connect with what we learn in school to what we want to do in life. It means internships that give
030us excellence before we even graduate. It means work-based learning opportunities that help us build our skills for the future. And maybe most importantly, it reminds us to not give up and that success is something far away. Isn't something far away. It's right outside our front door. We just have to reach for it. I also want to thank our Amazon Arlington public schools and every single one who made today possible. You didn't just give us a school, you gave us a place to dream. I am so extremely grateful and honored to be here today to celebrate the unveiling of our new home. Today is the finally the new day we have a place we can call home. And not to mention, it isn't any home. It's the home right here in the heart of National Landing.
031I'm looking forward for our new beginning to Arlington Community High School. And once again, thank you guys so much. >> Great. Well, that was wonderful. I'm a little emotional, so I'm going to try to get through this. Um, and if those spotted liners come and get in my hair, they're coming home with me because they're not going to be able to get it out. So, as we close, um, as we come to a close of today's celebration, I want us to pause and just take in what this moment really means. Today is more than an unveiling of a building, our future home. It is an unveiling of a new chapter in the story of Arlington Community High School. This chapter is not written in bricks or glass alone. It is written in resilience, in hope,
032and in the promise to our students. For so many years on ACS has been a school on the move. We've moved from place to place carrying with us pride, our spirit, and our determination. Each move tested us. Each move asked us to prove once again that no matter where we stood, our mission stayed strong. And every single time, our students and staff rose to the challenge. But today, for the first time, we are not moving away. This summer, we are moving in. Today, we can finally say we have a home. And this moment belongs to all of us. It belongs to our students, past, present, and future, who carry their dreams with courage. It belongs to our teachers and staff, past, present, who give so much of themselves every single day, creating classrooms and a
033school filled with possibilities. It belongs to our families, our community partners, and our supporters who remind us that education is never a journey taken alone. This home will give our students stability, belonging, and pride. With roots planted firmly here, we can grow stronger programs, build deeper partnerships, and most importantly, give our students the chance to plant their dreams and watch them flourish. So, as as we stand on the edge of this new chapter, I want to thank each and every one of you for believing in ACS, for believing in our students, and for believing in the promise of what education can do when we stand up and stand together. Together, we are planting seeds of opportunities for our deserving students, nurturing them with care and watching as it as we grow as they grow into
034a brighter future for all. Thank you for ensuring we continue our mission of making success possible for every student. Now, before we reveal the entrance of our new home, I want to share a little um inspiration with you. Many of you may remember the TV show Extreme Home Makeover. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Kim remembers. I see. At the end of every episode, after all the work, all the sweat, and all the waiting, there came a moment. The family would stand with the community gathered behind them, and a giant bus blocked the view of their brand new home. And then the crowd would chant with everything they had, move that bus. Right? That chant wasn't just noise. It was a community. It was excitement. It was the sound of a new beginning. And when the bus
035rolled away, the family's new life was revealed. Well, today, Arlington Community High School has had its own extreme makeover. Our bus may not have wheels, okay? But the excitement is real. And just like the show, we need your voices loud and proud >> and united to help us mark the start of a new era. Students, see the community. Well, I said behind you, but in front of you. See the community in front of you. Feel the support and the hopes for your future. Everyone, please stand. So, here's how this is going to work. I'll countd down from three. And when I say one, I need you to give it your all. Shout it like you mean it. Okay? Let's wake up everyone in the building. Uh shout it like you're calling out into the future.
036Shout it like you're welcoming AC home together. Let's scream in a new chapter for Arlington Community High School. Are you ready? >> I know. I'm going to say it again because that's not going to be that's not the noise level I'm looking for. Are you ready? >> Yeah. >> All right. So, three, two, one. Move that bus. [Music] Well, I want to thank everyone for being here. You have truly been uh an excellent support and so source of hope for Arlington Community High School and with the deepest gratitude. Thank you. [Applause]