ARLINGTON — During a joint meeting of the city, school district and hospital Feb. 29, Arlington schools superintendent Kris McDuffy reported a rise in hands-on and practical application education.

“Here at Arlington High School, we have the ‘Geometry In Construction’ program,” McDuffy said at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center. “Our students see the relevance of geometry by how it’s used in manufacturing and architecture.”

McDuffy boasted that students who enroll in the program need to demonstrate industrial-level standards in their output, enough to earn them the certifications to enter the work force directly after graduation, if they so choose.

She went on to praise Weston High School Principal Will Nelson for fostering similarly project-based learning, as well as Post Middle School for its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math pilot program this year.

“We have three teachers collaborating on teaching STEM this year, and the initial results are promising,” McDuffy said.

Arlington schools are seeking to target specific groups of students even as the district deals with record growth.

McDuffy explained that the number of staff exceeded 600 and the annual budget exceeded $60 million, both for the first time.

The district received more good news when its levy was passed by 60 percent, and its graduation rate has gone up enough that McDuffy has said, “We should celebrate it, but not be satisfied by it.”

Arlington’s graduation rate in just under 90 percent, but McDuffy pledged she wouldn’t be satisfied until it hit 100 percent.