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Fairfax County Public Schools reported lower student absenteeism, completed its latest round of community boundary meetings and highlighted a busy slate of academic, arts and community events in a Nov. 3 update.
The share of students considered significantly absent stood at 9.9%, down from 12% at the same point during the previous school year. FCPS linked the improvement to several efforts, including in-person flexible instruction, a Virginia Department of Education initiative designed to help chronically absent students recover missed instructional time.
Schools have also received guidance on removing attendance barriers and communicating with families. Staff members are using the TalkingPoints app to share positive messages about attendance and student progress, while more than half of FCPS schools have made attendance a focus of their School Improvement and Innovation Plans.
Teacher honored for public art program
South Lakes High School art and design teacher Marco Rando received the 2025 ArtsFairfax Education Award for providing exceptional arts education opportunities.
Rando, who has taught at South Lakes since 2011, developed the STEAM Public Art Program with Public Art Reston and the Reston Association. The program guides students through the process of creating large-scale temporary sculptures for the Lake Thoreau spillway, from early concepts through installation.
Students follow a process modeled on professional public-art projects. They present designs for panel review, construct scale models and study how gravity, environmental conditions, engineering and fabrication affect their work.
Boundary review moves into scenario planning
FCPS held its final Community Boundary Review meetings at Irving Middle School and Fairfax, McLean and Chantilly high schools. The sessions addressed the review’s priorities, the advisory committee’s role, the Boundary Explorer Tool, previous public engagement and potential changes affecting individual school pyramids.
Each high school pyramid has a representative on the Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee. The committee will now help develop possible boundary scenarios and provide recommendations to Superintendent Michelle Reid. She will consider those proposals before submitting her own recommendations to the division’s elected governing body, which is expected to review and vote on any boundary adjustments in early 2026.
Over the past year, FCPS held 44 community meetings with 6,275 participants. Phase 1 involved 3,916 people, while 2,359 participated in Phase 2, Part 2.
A separate Saturday meeting focused on boundaries for the planned western high school and included families from western pyramids. Several options remain under consideration for phasing in students when the school opens.
State of Our Schools highlights student work
Hundreds of employees, students and community leaders attended the 2025 State of Our Schools event Tuesday morning.
The Chantilly High School Chamber Orchestra and Falls Church High School Guitar Ensemble opened the program. Sixth graders discussed their experiences in an Algebra 1 pilot, while middle school athletes described how a new track-and-field initiative is supporting teamwork and wellness.
Ryan, a high school student, also discussed creating an essay contest with the Embassy of Spain to honor Bernardo de Gálvez, an important but often overlooked historical figure.
The event included updates on the school system’s budget, Capital Improvement Program, bond referendum and plans for the western high school. FCPS also announced that its 2024 State of Our Schools program received a Chesapeake School Public Relations Association Award of Excellence in the Special Campaign category.
$460 million school bond goes before voters
A school bond referendum was scheduled for the Nov. 4 ballot, putting $460 million in proposed school improvements before voters.
FCPS maintains separate budgets for general operations and for school planning, design and construction. Voter-approved bonds support the latter category. The school division said its buildings receive major renovations about every 45 years, compared with a national average of 20 to 25 years.
Bond-funded projects can include modernized learning areas, added capacity where possible, stronger safety features, accessibility improvements, energy-efficiency upgrades, expanded technology access and improved outdoor spaces. Projects can also address parking, traffic flow, bus loops and student drop-off areas while reducing long-term operating costs.
During the previous year, FCPS facilities accommodated almost 500,000 events outside school hours and recorded more than 24 million visits.
AI forum draws hundreds of registrations
FCPS scheduled “Meeting the Moment: FCPS Forward — AI and the Future of Learning” for Nov. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. at West Springfield High School. About 450 people had registered by the time of the update.
The program was set to begin with an interactive expo featuring AI tools and organizations including Google, Playlab and Adobe Express. A discussion about artificial intelligence in education was to follow with Reid, FCPS Chief Information Technology Officer Gautam Sethi, Google North America education director Steven Butschi and Playlab CEO Yusuf Ahmad.
The event was intended to explore how FCPS is preparing students and employees for an increasingly AI-powered environment. Teachers who attended were eligible for two recertification points.
Military-connected student support expands
Reid met Monday with the Military-Connected Youth Advisory Council at the Gatehouse Administration Center. The group works to identify and address challenges facing students from military families, including frequent relocations and parental deployments.
FCPS aims to become a Purple Star Division by the 2026-27 school year. The Purple Star designation recognizes schools that demonstrate a commitment to supporting military-connected students and their families.
The division now has 145 Purple Star Schools, representing nearly 75% of its schools. The effort aligns with the positive-school-climate component of Goal 2 in the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan: “Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered.”
Community groups examine strategy and workforce needs
Reid attended the Hispanic Educators Association’s annual meeting and fall mixer Tuesday afternoon at the Willow Oaks Administrative Center.
On Thursday, she joined a Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce meeting focused on the connection between public education, local economies and community strength. The discussion covered progress under the 2023-30 Strategic Plan, future career paths, workforce development and the bond referendum.
Later that day, the Strategic Plan Advisory Group held its first meeting of the year at Gatehouse. The group of parents, employees and community members reviewed data related to Goal 1, “Strong Start, PreK-12,” and the Future-Ready Index. It provides feedback on implementation of the strategic plan and suggests potential partnerships with community organizations.
Theater and athletics round out the week
West Potomac High School presented Hadestown on Friday evening. Theater director Omar Cruz praised the students’ accomplishments and their commitment to raising the program’s standard of excellence.
Saturday began with a middle school cross-country meet at Herndon Middle School. Reid later attended the western high school boundary meeting and a regional cheer competition hosted by Centreville High School.
The week’s events concluded with Lake Braddock Secondary School’s contemporary interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Director John Tourtellotte said stories examining humanity’s darker and more complicated behavior can help people understand themselves and work toward a better world.