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Fairfax County Public Schools began the 2025-26 school year with 97% of buses arriving on time by the third day, quickly resolved technology issues and new signs of academic progress.
Superintendent Michelle Reid highlighted those developments in her Sept. 2 reflections after visiting schools, attending Back to School Nights and joining a bus driver on an early-morning route.
On the first day of school, the Department of Information Technology received 344 Help Desk calls and resolved 104 within 15 minutes. Another 1,055 support tickets arrived through the online portal.
Internet use reached 23.74 gigabits per second at 9:10 a.m., representing 16.9% of the division’s 140 Gbps capacity. Minor morning problems involving Schoology rosters and student password synchronization were resolved quickly.
FCPS also opened the year by emphasizing health and physical education. Students and teachers participated in a fall in-service video about how those classes can develop relationships, community and lifelong wellness skills.
New technology reaches buses and families
During a Wednesday morning ride-along, bus driver and Robinson Secondary School alumnus Lucas Champion demonstrated the district’s new tablet navigation system. The technology offers real-time routing assistance and student tracking intended to improve safety and efficiency.
FCPS is operating the new system alongside its previous technology during the transition. Champion, a former Peace Corps teacher, now drives for schools he attended as a student.
The division is also conducting a soft launch of a new mobile app that combines school news, calendars, family resources and lunch menus. Families can select multiple favorite schools, save events to their calendars, call attendance lines and reach ParentVUE, Schoology and MySchoolBucks.
Back to School Nights fill the calendar
Reid attended Back to School events at Cedar Lane School and Rachel Carson Middle School on Monday; Forestville and Spring Hill elementary schools on Tuesday; and Cunningham Park and Stenwood elementary schools on Wednesday.
At Spring Hill, Principal Amy Briggs shared murals created as part of the school’s positive climate and its “leading in the light” theme.
A garden and math gains at Holmes
At Holmes Middle School, Principal Serena Giron and Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Michelle Riegel-Cruz showed how an outdoor garden has become part of classroom learning.
Art students taught by Robert Hawkins used the garden for creative inspiration. Seventh-grade science students observed monarch butterflies, caterpillars and chrysalises supplied by Riegel-Cruz.
Holmes has also recorded a 7% increase in math proficiency over three years. During visits to Algebra classes led by Eric Abbott and Janet Whitney, students worked on problem-solving skills and mathematical confidence.
Glasgow students demonstrate leadership
At Glasgow Middle School, Principal Lisa Barrow, Assistant Principal Jeremy Ferrara and eighth-grade ambassadors Owen and DeeAnnie led Reid through the school.
Sixth graders taking Algebra I in Laura Kearns’ classroom participated in a flexible instructional block covering standards and skills they had not previously learned. They also discussed how to recognize bias in questions.
In a seventh-grade Panther Time class led by Julie Day and Thomas Leahy, students reviewed Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Owen told Reid that, while attending Belvedere Elementary School, he wrote to her about installing metal detectors to discourage school violence. Weapons-detection systems are now operating in many FCPS schools.
He also worked with counselor Emily Wasserman and other students to create a “Panther Pride” sign from cups on a fence between Glasgow and its modular classrooms. DeeAnnie discussed playing the viola and the role music can have in developing discipline, patience, creativity, collaboration and confidence.
Algebra enrollment exceeds FCPS target
At Thursday’s School Board meeting, officials reviewed Algebra Power Up, a three-week summer program for students in grades seven and eight. The program reinforces foundational math and algebra concepts as FCPS works toward its goal of having every student complete Algebra I successfully by eighth grade.
Among rising eighth graders, 74.5% are enrolled in Algebra I or a more advanced course. That is 4.5 percentage points above the 2025 target of 70%.
FCPS also exceeds Virginia’s overall rate for eighth graders passing a high school mathematics Standards of Learning test. The division is expanding sixth-grade access to Algebra I during the 2025-26 school year.
The Virginia Department of Education’s 2025 SOL results showed year-over-year improvement among FCPS students in math, science and reading, with the division outperforming statewide averages. The gains came despite updated, more rigorous tests introduced between 2024 and 2025.
Flag football and military families get new opportunities
All FCPS high schools will pilot girls’ flag football in fall 2025 through a partnership with the Washington Commanders. The sport offers growing scholarship opportunities and is scheduled to make its Olympic debut in 2028.
The division also held its first Military Family Welcome Barbecue at Mount Vernon High School. The Military Family and Youth Advisory Councils organized the event with support from Educate Fairfax, Principal Cary Dimmick and local ROTC leaders.
Reid concluded the week by meeting with the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce board at the Reston Association Conference Center. The discussion covered FCPS progress toward its 2023-30 Strategic Plan, future career paths, workforce development and the upcoming bond referendum.