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Fairfax County Public Schools is preparing for major decisions on school boundaries, next year’s budget, student inclusion and state testing while celebrating achievements across classrooms, extracurricular programs and the wider community.
Superintendent Michelle Reid outlined those developments in her May 12 weekly update, which also highlighted a 25-year-old time capsule, robotics milestones, scholarships and employee honors.
FCPS recently discussed how predictive analytics could help educators identify students who may need additional support. One example would use historical data and spring NWEA MAP screening results from second grade to estimate how students might perform on the third-grade reading Standards of Learning test.
Technology architect Brendan Martin compared the concept to engineer Mark Rober’s automatic-bullseye dartboard. The system repeatedly recalculates a dart’s path while it is moving and shifts the board accordingly. In schools, continually updated data could similarly allow educators to adjust interventions and enrichment as students progress.
Reid also met with Oakton High School’s robotics team for an “Our Voices, Our Future” video about the students’ academic interests and career ambitions.
Oakton’s FTC teams 369 and 226 finished as finalists in their district events and collectively earned a dozen awards. After competing together as alliance partners, both advanced to the Chesapeake Championships. Team 369 then qualified for the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship, becoming one of six teams selected from more than 240 in the Chesapeake district. At the world event, it reached the finals as the captain of the eighth alliance.
A 25-year-old message from Waples Mill
On Monday morning, Reid joined the Waples Mill Elementary School community to open a time capsule created in 2000.
Former staff member Fran Jinarro helped preserve the capsule and opened it alongside Reid and fellow members of the 1999-2000 staff, Charlene Willess and Judy Keithley. Its contents included letters, photographs and handwritten messages expressing students’ hopes for the future.
Student Council President Adam Raines also spoke during the event. Principal Meishe Thirus, school employees, the PTA, students and families helped organize the gathering.
Later Monday, Reid attended a superintendents’ roundtable in Washington, D.C., where education leaders from the region and across the country discussed financial and operational challenges facing K-12 schools.
That evening, the Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee examined the review process, tested a new interactive tool and considered proposed boundary adjustments.
FCPS plans eight hybrid community meetings before summer break:
- May 15, 6:30-8 p.m., at Oakton High School
- May 16, 6:30-8 p.m., at Robinson Secondary School
- May 19, 6:30-8 p.m., at Herndon High School
- May 23, 7-8:30 p.m., at Lewis High School
- May 28, 7-8:30 p.m., at Annandale High School
- May 29, 6:30-8 p.m., at Whitman Middle School
- May 30, 6:30-8 p.m., at Chantilly High School
- June 6, 6:30-8 p.m., at Glasgow Middle School
Participants may attend in person or through Zoom. Childcare will be offered for in-person attendees, while interpretation and translation will be available as needed. Families, employees and community members will be able to examine initial scenarios with a customized Boundary Explorer Tool. Another series of meetings is planned for the fall.
Scholarships and expanded inclusion
On Tuesday evening, the Hispanic Leadership Alliance held its 20th annual Scholarship Banquet, recognizing 32 students, adult learners and leaders representing more than 13 schools and programs.
The scholarship recipients had an average GPA above 4.1 and planned to attend institutions including Princeton University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College. Their intended fields included nursing, engineering, education and law.
Crestwood Elementary School Principal Françoise Casablanca received the 2025 HLA Leadership Award. Students surprised her with video messages recognizing her compassionate and exemplary leadership.
At the final Employee Conversation of the school year Wednesday at Weyanoke Elementary School, staff discussed telework and returning to offices, the budget, curricula, access to new pay statements and inclusion for students with disabilities.
Beginning next school year, FCPS plans to increase general-education inclusion for students receiving special-education services as part of its Universal Design for Learning work. The division expects greater inclusion to give young learners more opportunities to build language skills alongside their peers. Reid said research involving 3- and 4-year-olds has associated inclusion with a 50% reduction in the number of students needing individualized education programs by kindergarten.
Employee Conversation sessions are expected to resume in the fall.
Budget, buses and early-release changes
Reid presented an amended fiscal 2026 budget to the School Board on Thursday. FCPS expects budget work to remain a priority as it finalizes financial plans for the coming year.
During the board meeting’s Academic Matters presentation, she highlighted the “Classroom on Wheels,” a collaboration between automotive technology and engineering students at Marshall Academy.
Students are converting a retired school bus into a mobile learning laboratory by removing rusted hardware and designing an adaptable classroom interior. When completed, the vehicle is intended to deliver extra academic assistance in students’ neighborhoods and improve connections between schools and families.
Reid also discussed this year’s limited early-release days, which were held on Mondays. The division plans to move them to Wednesdays next school year while maintaining the same services.
Student performances and an employee honor
Falls Church High School’s Jazzguars performed Friday morning at the Gatehouse Administration Center. The selective vocal-jazz ensemble performs jazz, musical-theater and popular music and has appeared with the George Mason Jazz Vocal Ensemble and the Fairfax Symphony.
Also Friday, Amanda Alsbaugh, special-education department chair at Oak View Elementary School, received the Spring CARES of the Quarter award. Educate Fairfax sponsors the recognition, and representatives from Cox Communications presented Alsbaugh with $500.
Her colleagues described her as an essential part of the school and a determined advocate for children whose needs might otherwise go unheard.
Later that day, 20 educators graduated from the Accelerated Certification Cohort. The one-year, noncredit program is operated with the University of Virginia and helps experienced FCPS teachers and central-office leaders pursue Virginia licenses in education administration. Licensure is awarded by the Virginia Department of Education after successful completion.
Student theater also filled the weekend. Reid attended West Springfield High School’s production of “Into the Woods” on Friday, followed Saturday by Woodson High School’s “Mamma Mia” and Falls Church High School’s “The Addams Family.” The Falls Church performance took place in the school’s newly renovated theater.
Summer learning and middle-school athletics
Families gathered Saturday morning at Woodson High School for the second annual Summer Extravaganza.
Students and caregivers tried STEM and robotics projects, participated in art activities, explored a school bus and fire truck, and watched student performances. The event also featured music, a moon bounce, puppies and information from community organizations and FCPS offices.
A new Student Program Marketplace allowed students to sell handmade products to raise money for clubs and activities. Educate Fairfax sponsored the event.
Later Saturday, more than 1,300 middle-school athletes participated in track meets at several locations across Fairfax County. Reid attended one of the meets at Mount Vernon High School, where the Sandburg Middle School girls’ team celebrated a relay victory.
The week’s activities followed School Communicators Day on Friday, which recognized employees responsible for newsletters, websites, social media and other communication with students, staff and families.
SOL results will carry greater weight
With students taking Standards of Learning exams near the end of the academic year, FCPS is also preparing for Virginia’s 2024 Accountability System and its School Performance and Support Framework.
SOL exams measure students’ command of the standards taught in their courses. At the individual level, the results can help educators and caregivers evaluate progress toward year-end expectations and identify strengths or unmet needs.
At the school level, reading, math and science SOL results will play a significant role in future accountability ratings. Those tests, along with a comparatively small number of Virginia Alternate Assessment Program exams for certain students with disabilities, are the only assessments included in the framework’s academic-performance indicators for mastery.
Those indicators account for:
- 40% of the framework score for secondary and high schools
- 50% for middle schools
- 55% for elementary schools
A school’s total framework score will initially place it in one of four categories: Distinguished, On Track, Off Track or Needs Intensive Support.
Under the scoring formula described by Reid, most unsuccessful test attempts provide a school with 0.75 points, proficient results receive one point and advanced scores receive 1.25 points.
Reid encouraged students and staff to approach the tests as an opportunity to demonstrate the learning taking place in classrooms. She also cautioned that Virginia’s strong reliance on standardized exams differs from the broader view of achievement in FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan.
That plan considers test performance but also recognizes students’ interests beyond the classroom and their preparation for college, careers or military service.