Article Text

Fairfax County Public Schools marked a packed week of student performances, employee discussions and staff recognition as Superintendent Michelle Reid warned that a $150 million funding gap could force significant cuts across the division.

The activities coincided with Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, when FCPS highlighted the work of educators and support employees throughout the school system.

At Parklawn Elementary School’s spring concert, fourth- and fifth-grade band and strings students performed traditional pieces including “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Hot Cross Buns” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” along with their own rendition of “We Will Rock You.” Band director Lynette Blacksten said the concert concluded with the Annandale/Justice March. Principal Rebecca Forgy invited Reid to the performance.

Reid also attended a commemoration marking 50 years since the arrival of the “Vietnamese Boat People,” who fled oppression and hardship after the Vietnam War between 1975 and 1992. Nearly 2 million people attempted the dangerous journey, with many captured or killed and others eventually resettled around the world.

Tori Huynh, a Mason Crest Elementary School teacher and president of both the FCPS Asian Educators Association and the Asian Leadership Alliance Scholarship Foundation, spoke about her family’s resettlement experience. The event also included a discussion about immigrants and refugees in the United States and elsewhere.

Reid returned to Parklawn on Tuesday to visit Campbell Weis’ kindergarten class. Weis previously worked at the school as an instructional assistant before becoming a teacher during the 2024-25 school year. She now works with kindergarten instructional assistant Yesenia Kennedy.

FCPS school bus drivers also found success in regional competition. At the Region IV School Bus Roadeo on April 26, Il Seon Kim, the division’s top special education driver, won first place overall against competitors from Prince William, Loudoun and Fauquier counties.

Kim and general education driver Juan Solari were selected to represent FCPS at the Virginia State Roadeo in Roanoke on May 18, 2025.

Reid held Employee Conversations at Providence Elementary School and Burke School, where staff raised questions and discussed potential solutions involving telework, the school calendar, Algebra I by eighth grade and boundary changes. The final conversation of the school year was scheduled for May 7 from 5 to 6 p.m. at Weyanoke Elementary School.

Food-service employees and retirees honored

Glasgow Middle School hosted a celebration for its Food and Nutrition Services team, one of 10 groups selected for recognition in connection with National School Lunch Hero Day on May 2.

Glasgow’s team, led by an FNS manager named Berta, has a combined 88 years of food-service experience. Berta has worked for FCPS for 11 years.

Teams were also recognized at Fort Belvoir Primary School; Franconia, Terraset, Silverbrook, Cub Run and Weyanoke elementary schools; and Marshall, Madison and Chantilly high schools.

FCPS also honored 180 retirees during its 2025 retirement ceremony at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Reid thanked employees who had served students and families in classrooms, buses, offices and other roles, and encouraged them to remain involved as substitutes, volunteers, mentors, advocates or business partners.

Student productions take center stage

Several high schools presented spring theater productions during the week.

Westfield High School staged “The Sound of Music” with students taking major creative and musical roles. Senior Sean Salas served as student conductor after he and senior Ameerah Byfield organized a student pit orchestra, restoring live student accompaniment after the theater program had used recorded tracks in recent years.

Salas and Byfield recruited musicians, developed the rehearsal schedule and led practices. Byfield also performed in the cast and helped sing vocal lines during orchestra rehearsals. Senior Annabelle DuBard and Westfield’s costuming team hand-sewed the production’s costumes. Christine Maxted directed the show.

South Lakes High School presented “Once Upon a Mattress,” while Herndon High School staged four performances of “Footloose” under veteran theater teacher Scott Pafumi.

Herndon’s production involved 40 student actors, 10 student musicians in the pit and 30 crew members working behind the scenes. The pit musicians performed alongside the school’s choir and band teacher.

Senior James Culatta played the lead role of Ren after recovering from a serious hiking accident in Utah the previous summer. Culatta suffered third-degree burns over 50% of his body, missed the first half of his senior year and underwent numerous operations for life-threatening injuries. He returned to perform as a lead dancer, singer and actor and planned to attend college in the fall.

Student artwork was also displayed during the Herndon Pyramid Art Show at Herndon United Methodist Church. The exhibition included pieces by students from Aldrin, Armstrong, Clearview, Herndon and Hutchison elementary schools, as well as Herndon middle and high schools.

Reid said arts programs help students develop creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, confidence and social-emotional skills. She noted that FCPS provides arts, athletics and instructional and support programs that exceed minimum state requirements.

Funding dispute puts programs under pressure

The celebration of FCPS programs came as the school system faced what Reid described as a financial crossroads.

FCPS has made more than $800 million in reductions, avoided costs and fee increases over the previous decade to operate within available funding. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was preparing to begin finalizing its budget May 6, with the advertised plan leaving FCPS $150 million short of its request.

Reid warned that the division would face substantial cuts without additional revenue. She cited a proposed meals tax, which she said would add approximately $2 to $3 to an average restaurant bill for a family of four, as one possible source of funding.

Athletics, inclusion and literacy highlighted

At Sandy Run Regional Park, several FCPS rowing teams competed in the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association state championship regatta against schools from Alexandria, Arlington and Prince William County. Reid described rowing as a significant scholarship opportunity for student-athletes and said it should be available at every FCPS high school.

The eighth annual Special Education Parent Teacher Association Excellence Awards honored educators, employees, schools and community members for supporting students with disabilities. The 2025 awards drew 200 nominations recognizing work in accessibility, inclusion, family-school partnerships, belonging and leadership.

Those efforts connect with the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan, including its goal of ensuring students are safe, supported, included and empowered, as well as its focus on responsive learning environments and strong community partnerships.

With FCPS entering the final full month of the 2024-25 academic year, the division also marked the near-completion of its first year using the Benchmark Advance literacy curriculum.

The program gives students access to a common curriculum and explicit reading instruction while offering additional resources for multilingual learners, students with learning challenges and children who need more support.

Second-grade teacher Jessi Brogan said the approach helps students grow while giving educators a clearer understanding of what instruction individual children need and when to provide it. Teachers and administrators at Annandale Terrace and Island Creek elementary schools contributed their experiences to an FCPS presentation about helping every child read by third grade.