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Fairfax County Public Schools will be among the first school divisions in the country to help shape the rollout of ChatGPT for Teachers, Superintendent Michelle Reid announced during the week of Nov. 24.
Through a partnership with OpenAI, FCPS schools will receive free access to the artificial intelligence tool through June 2027. Access will be limited to employees, who may use it for planning, communication, translation and other work.
The school system said OpenAI has agreed to its data privacy and contract requirements. The Department of Information Technology plans to provide access in the coming weeks, along with webinars, training resources and examples of potential uses.
ChatGPT will join Google’s Gemini among the AI tools available to FCPS employees. The initiative is part of the division’s “Meet the Moment with AI” effort to introduce the technology securely and responsibly.
Families and employees discuss FCPS priorities
At Oakton High School on Monday evening, families from quads 1 and 2 discussed expanding access to Algebra 1 by sixth grade. The conversation was led by Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Ellen Reilly and Ellen Mukai, director of Curriculum and Instruction–Academic Content.
Families also received information about planned school construction and renovations from Chief of Facilities Services and Capital Programs Erik Gordon, Design and Construction Services Director Scott Eschbach and project manager Holli McKinley.
On Tuesday, employees gathered at Greenbriar East Elementary School to raise questions and discuss challenges involving students with disabilities, parent partnerships and artificial intelligence. The last Employee Conversation of 2025 is scheduled for Dec. 10.
Reid later visited Centreville High School for a community update on its forthcoming renovation.
FCPS graduate returns as an astronaut
Students at several elementary schools heard from astronaut George C. Nield, who traveled to space aboard a Blue Origin mission in 2022.
Reid attended Nield’s Wednesday presentation at Riverside Elementary School, where he showed students photographs from his flight. Riverside student ambassadors James and Elizabeth also took part in the visit.
Nield spoke at North Springfield Elementary, where he attended second and third grades, and is an Annandale High School graduate. His appearances and additional planned visits were organized through a new partnership between FCPS and the Space Foundation.
Reid traveled Thursday to Williamsburg for the Virginia School Board Association’s annual convention, where board members gathered to discuss issues affecting education across the state.
That evening, she attended the fall Chamber Concert at Hunters Woods Elementary School. Band, strings and chorus students with varying levels of experience performed solos and works for small ensembles before an audience.
Student performers tackle grief and loss
At a Friday meeting of the American Association of University Women at the North County Government Center in Reston, Reid discussed FCPS challenges, the goals of its 2023-30 Strategic Plan, changes in the workforce and ways the organization could support public schools.
She later attended the FCPS premiere of A Monster Calls at South Lakes High School. The play follows 14-year-old Conor as he confronts his mother’s approaching death and explores denial, anger, acceptance and the uneven experience of grief.
Director Michael Viola said the story was personally meaningful to him and many others in the community. He praised the students for handling the sensitive material with maturity.
Reid began Saturday at Justice High School, watching coeducational wrestling scrimmages that included athletes from across FCPS. She highlighted the growth of girls wrestling in Virginia and recognized the employees who support school athletic events.
Later that morning, Reid attended the unveiling of Giving Machines in Tysons, an effort benefiting multiple nonprofit organizations with support from members of the faith community.
She was joined by Cunningham Park Elementary first-grade teacher Mallory Bonner and Bonner’s family. Bonner’s daughter, Mackenzie, serves as an ambassador for Children’s National Hospital after being diagnosed in summer 2024 with multiple low-grade gliomas affecting her brain and spine.
The tumors were discovered following a routine kindergarten hearing screening, despite Mackenzie showing no other symptoms. Bonner said her daughter has participated in a clinical trial and that the Cunningham Park community supported the family after Bonner joined the school the previous year.
Reid concluded Saturday at Rocky Run Middle School with a performance of The Lion King Jr. Director Meghan Pafumi said more chairs had to be added to accommodate the audience at Friday evening’s show.