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Fairfax County Public Schools entered the final days of September with new work underway on classroom innovation, student priorities and school boundaries, alongside events celebrating robotics, music and Hispanic heritage.
The division began the third year of its Lighthouse Schools program Sept. 22 at South County Middle School. Participating schools test teaching practices and technologies, evaluate the results and share successful approaches across FCPS.
During the program’s first two years, Lemon Road Elementary used journey mapping to understand families’ experiences and improve feedback collection. Centre Ridge Elementary developed technology-based career portfolios to encourage career exploration and student confidence.
McLean High School redesigned Advanced Placement courses, created externship opportunities and transformed laboratory spaces to make learning more active and relevant. The projects are tailored to the needs of individual school communities rather than based on a single model.
Later that morning, students representing every FCPS high school gathered at Woodson High School for the annual kickoff of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council.
The council discussed initiatives for the 2025-26 school year and received updates on the school division’s response to recommendations from the previous year. Those proposals addressed attendance, literacy, multilingual learner programs, inclusion, extracurricular accessibility, and college and career planning.
The council’s work supports the “Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered” goal in the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan.
New boundary map coming in October
The Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee met Wednesday as FCPS continued its review of school attendance boundaries. Two additional September community meetings were scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30.
In the spring, residents commented on three draft scenarios focused on neighborhood connectivity and attendance islands, cohort continuity and split feeder patterns, and comprehensive balance and overcrowding.
A fourth scenario is now being developed using community feedback, priorities identified by the advisory committee and work by the division’s consultant. The new draft map is expected to be presented for public feedback during October meetings and added to the Boundary Explorer Tool.
The maps currently available in that tool are the versions shown during the spring meetings.
$460 million school bond heads to voters
Superintendent Michelle Reid addressed the Tysons Rotary Club at the Tower Club in Vienna on Thursday. Her presentation covered the FCPS strategic plan, priorities for the 2025-26 school year, and ongoing budget and funding challenges.
She also discussed the 2025 School Bond Referendum. Fairfax County voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to approve $460 million for school renovations, construction, planning and design.
FCPS recently completed renovations at Wakefield Forest Elementary, while several other projects remain underway around the county. School buildings and grounds also accommodate approximately 500,000 community events annually, including activities involving homeowners associations, scouts, civic organizations and athletic groups.
At Thursday’s School Board meeting, Reid outlined the division’s approach to preparing students for life after graduation. The effort falls under the strategic plan’s “Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation” goal.
FCPS defines future-ready students as those who build lasting Portrait of a Graduate skills, understand and communicate their strengths, advocate for themselves, make informed life and financial decisions, and participate in learning that creates future opportunities.
Examples begin in elementary school, where students encounter workplace concepts through simulated classroom jobs, applications and résumés. Middle school students practice budgeting, saving and other financial decisions at Finance Park.
At the high school level, the Instruction to Industry: A Future Ready Conference connects students with local employers. Thousands of interactions at the conference have led to internships, jobs and other career opportunities.
Reid also presented the annual Opening of Schools Report, reviewing the first day of classes and previewing the 2025-26 academic year. Her School Board remarks additionally highlighted the fall sports season, including the launch of girls flag football, as well as school and library visits, community and employee conversations, and the fourth annual Educate Fairfax Alumni Hall of Fame.
Heritage, robotics and marching bands
Woodburn Elementary held its first Hispanic Heritage Festival on Friday evening as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The PTA-hosted celebration brought students, relatives and employees together for music, food and crafts.
Reid later attended the varsity football game between West Springfield and South County high schools.
On Saturday morning, Hayfield Secondary School hosted the Chesapeake Robotics Icebreaker competition. Thirty-two regional teams, including Hayfield’s Night Hawks, tested their machines, corrected problems and gained drive-team experience under competition conditions before the regular season.
Hayfield has hosted five FIRST Robotics Competition events since 2018. The international competition was founded in 1989, while the longest-running FCPS team has operated at Herndon High School since 1996.
The robotics program gives students opportunities to apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics while strengthening communication, teamwork and critical-thinking skills.
Reid’s next stop was the Parents of Autistic Children of Northern Virginia’s annual back-to-school meeting in Springfield. Families and employees from the FCPS Department of Special Services discussed differentiated literacy instruction, inclusion, staffing and budget developments.
The weekend concluded at Herndon High School with the 2025 Showcase of Bands. The annual event, held at the school since 1998, featured more than 30 high school marching bands from across the region and marked the opening of the band competition season.