Article Text

Fairfax County schools closed out another busy spring week with academic honors, construction progress, budget action and encouraging results from several student programs as graduation season approached.

The school division also began highlighting campus success stories through a new video series featuring strategies that school leaders say are improving student experiences.

Justice High School Principal Sean Rolon described how the school’s CORE framework — community, opportunity, rigor and empowerment — is shaping its culture. The approach includes broader access to rigorous courses such as the International Baccalaureate program, along with AVID and peer mentoring. Justice also recorded a 17-point improvement on Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework.

At West Potomac High School, Principal Jessica Statz and resource teachers Scherrie Dalton and Brian Bishop outlined efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism after rates reached as high as 27%. The school used personalized outreach, attendance report cards and the Wolverines Recovering Attendance Program, known as WRAP, to address barriers and build stronger connections with students. School officials reported sustained reductions in absenteeism.

Students earn international science honors

Nine students received awards at the recent International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix.

Langley High School students Bennett Huang and Jason Pan won the European Union Contest for Young Scientists Award, one of the fair’s top 10 honors. They will have an opportunity to travel to Germany and compete in the 2026 European Contest for Young Scientists.

Marshall High School student Polina Anfilofyev received an Outstanding Award from the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications for “Optimizing Alzheimer’s Treatment: A Spatiotemporal Agent-Based Model of Combination Therapy in the Hippocampus.”

Her award includes a cash prize, a complimentary one-year consortium membership and free entry into one of three mathematical modeling competitions.

The Fairfax County Council of PTAs also honored students and community members during a ceremony at the Gatehouse Administration Center. Recognition included 2026 senior scholarships, Shining Stars awards, Virginia PTA honors and National PTA grants.

At a subsequent McLean Citizens Association meeting, participants discussed the Dunn Loring Elementary School Project and other capital improvement and budget issues. The Dunn Loring building has served students, employees and families since 1939. A community event honoring its history was scheduled for Saturday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Dunn Loring Center.

Classroom visits showcase debate, literature and math

During a Tuesday visit to Thoreau Middle School with Principal Teresa Khuluki, seventh-grade history students in Julia Brimage’s class debated whether Japanese Americans exercised meaningful agency during World War II or whether government injustice constrained their choices.

Students had previously explored the meaning of agency and considered how people can express themselves, influence their lives and help others while confronting discriminatory laws or difficult circumstances.

In an English class for multilingual learners taught by Michelle Adams and Maria Stavrogianni, students discussed Alan Gratz’s novel “Refugee.” The book follows three young people escaping persecution or upheaval: a Jewish boy fleeing Nazi Germany, a Cuban girl traveling toward Florida on a raft and a Syrian boy displaced during civil war.

Two Algebra 1 classes were preparing for Standards of Learning exams scheduled for the following day. Students in Margaret Schuck’s honors course and a general education class co-taught by Katie Bitner and Jodi Griffith worked collaboratively on their final reviews.

One activity, called the Graffiti Wall Brain Dump, sent groups through 10 rounds at chart-paper stations covering major topics from the year. Students first recorded vocabulary, formulas and notation, then added graphs, tables and different problem-solving methods.

Montessori space and student programs take shape

At Great Falls Elementary School, Principal Sara Harper provided a look at space being prepared for a Montessori program scheduled to begin during the next school year. The expansion is part of the division’s focus on early childhood education.

Students in a Japanese immersion classroom led by Lili Kennington, Cynthia Rinehart and Ayaka Monheim were also rehearsing Japanese songs for a spring play.

The school’s Tae Kwon Do program currently serves 26 students. Andrew Bellino, owner of Lead by Example Tae Kwon Do in Great Falls, leads the program, while school counselor Courtney Barber coordinates participation, mentoring and family permissions. Counselor Emma Litch helps monitor and support the effort.

At Herndon Elementary School, Principal Monika Vereb and her administrative team led visits to several early-grade classrooms. Brittany Portugal’s kindergarten students were learning about weather through a song set to the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

First graders in Rachel Barranco’s classroom practiced letter sounds with support from Alaina Bear. Third graders taught by Anisha Goveas-Foti and Lyida Gough studied nouns and worked on writing, while students in Pamela Galyean’s class received small-group reading instruction with reading specialist Ashley Tingler.

The visit also included a tour of Herndon Elementary’s major renovation with Design and Construction Director Scott Eschbach, Vereb and other members of the project team.

Plans call for modernization of the existing building, upgrades to its mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and an expansion of approximately 51,000 square feet. The project includes a two-story addition, new library, larger cafeteria and kitchen, expanded administrative suite, new main entrance vestibule and other site improvements. The addition is scheduled to open to students in fall 2026.

Later that day, retired educators gathered for the Fairfax Education Association’s annual luncheon at the Fairfax Elks Lodge. Delegate Marcus Simon discussed work in Richmond and the role of education spending in the upcoming budget.

Sixth graders post near-perfect advanced math results

Wednesday began with a meeting involving Fairfax County faith leaders at the Gatehouse Administration Center. Discussion focused on artificial intelligence and the treatment of religious holidays on the school calendar.

At Haycock Elementary School, Principal Liz Beaty and Assistant Principal Krystal Styles hosted a visit to Clark Levine’s Algebra I Honors class. Haycock is in the first year of an elementary Algebra I pilot that offers sixth graders an accelerated mathematics pathway.

Students were creating digital games designed to teach algebra concepts to classmates. The completed games were expected to become resources for the following year’s Algebra I students.

All 58 Haycock students enrolled in Algebra I passed the course’s SOL exam. Of those, 57 earned pass-advanced scores, and 20 received a perfect score of 600.

Students credited Levine with making difficult material engaging and creating an environment where they felt comfortable asking questions and making mistakes.

That evening, families and community members met at West Springfield High School to discuss possible boundary changes affecting the middle and high schools attended by Rolling Valley Elementary students from Student Planning Area 8922.

The meeting also covered the Keene Mill Elementary attendance island and nearby schools, including Cardinal Forest and White Oaks elementary schools.

School Board approves fiscal 2027 budget

At its Thursday meeting, the School Board approved the division’s fiscal year 2027 budget amid continuing financial challenges and uncertainty. The spending plan was developed to preserve educational programs while emphasizing efficiency and reviewing priorities across the school system.

The board also received an update on efforts to improve equitable access to literacy instruction and intervention in middle and high schools.

Division data indicated that more students in grades seven through 11 were reading at or near grade level compared with the previous year, while the number classified as at risk had fallen. Current strategies include professional development for teachers and administrators, individualized reading plans for students receiving intervention, and expanded support for multilingual learners and students with disabilities.

Among the results presented:

• The share of 12th graders performing below expectations on Measure of Academic Progress Growth was 12.8% lower in fall 2026 than in fall 2025.

• Among high school students identified as at risk on the fall MAP Growth assessment because they scored below the 50th percentile, 26% achieved more than 100% of their expected annual growth in one semester.

• The inclusive 10th-grade Advanced Placement Seminar offered as English 10 recorded a 99% overall exam pass rate last spring. Students with disabilities had a 100% pass rate.

Secondary teachers also described a shift toward more rigorous literacy lessons using complex texts and advanced instructional strategies.

The meeting included recognition of several accomplishments. The Office of Communications received two Capital Emmy Award nominations, one for work featuring girls flag football and another about the history and renovation of Louise Archer Elementary School.

Herndon Middle School family liaison Fannie Salazar Lasky received a Distinguished Service Award at the Herndon Mayor’s Volunteer Appreciation Reception.

Mount Vernon High School Orchestra Director Alberto Rodriguez was named a quarterfinalist for the 2027 Grammy Music Educator Award. Other recognition went to school musical productions, Edison Academy students who won state skilled-trades championships and a football coaches showcase at Robinson Secondary School that brought together hundreds of student-athletes and coaches.

Music caps the week

The Lees Corner Elementary School Orff Ensemble gave the final student performance of the year at the Gatehouse Administration Center on Friday morning.

Music teacher Leah Kmetz said the ensemble includes students in grades four through six as well as school staff. The group performs music written by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman, adapting the pieces to incorporate singing, instrumental performance and movement. This year’s program centered on a visit to the fictional Blizzard Bakery.

Friday evening brought another student music event at West Potomac High School, where Luke Pierce’s Music Technology class held an album-release concert.

Students in the class produce, write, engineer, record and perform a full-length album each school year. The concert offered the public an advance performance of songs before their release on streaming platforms.

The week concluded with a Memorial Day message honoring those commemorated by the holiday and recognizing the significance of their service to families across the country.