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Fairfax County Public Schools highlighted rising reading performance, new career credentials and continued boundary-review work during a busy week that also included school visits, community celebrations and a job fair for federal workers and contractors.
Superintendent Michelle Reid joined Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay and other county leaders in the 2025 State of the County video, which reviews recent progress in education, safety, environmental work, affordable housing, economic development and equity, along with community goals for 2025 and beyond.
The school division also celebrated Dr. Herman Mizell, principal of Hughes Middle School, as a recipient of a 2025 Northern Virginia Leadership Award in education. Leadership Fairfax credited Mizell with improving staff morale, student engagement and safety after arriving at the school in 2023 with more than 16 years of administrative experience.
FCPS continued promoting its Become Unskippable campaign, which gives families practical guidance for discussing fentanyl, opioids and other difficult subjects with teenagers.
School visits spotlight instruction and student support
Reid began Tuesday at Burke School, a nontraditional program serving elementary and middle school students who receive special education services, primarily for emotional or behavioral needs.
She visited Essie Carter’s third-grade class during a Benchmark Advance literacy lesson on long vowel sounds. In Zoe Volz’s fourth-grade music class, students examined how music reflects its historical setting by playing medieval songs and analyzing melody. Reid also visited Richard Guertin’s eighth-grade civics class.
During the visit, Reid met instructional assistant Angelia Peoples, who joined FCPS as a school bus attendant in 2001. After six years in transportation, Peoples worked at several elementary schools before moving to Burke. She said the school’s family-like environment and commitment to students made it her professional home.
Peoples commutes from Washington, D.C., and said her own experiences help her connect with children and families facing difficult circumstances.
“It’s worth the drive and I relate to these kids. They need us,” she said.
Later Tuesday, Reid visited Kings Park Elementary School, led by Principal Dotty Lin and Assistant Principals Maura Donahue and Anna Kaplan. Kings Park is the only FCPS school serving children from preschool through third grade. Its students move to nearby Kings Glen Elementary for grades four through six.
Reid observed second-grade teachers planning a Benchmark Advance lesson, mathematics instruction in the third-grade classrooms of Olga Holliday, Jill Onorato and Maricel Estrera, and a reading lesson led by first-grade teacher Maureen Dougherty.
Job fair targets federal workers and contractors
On Wednesday afternoon, FCPS hosted a Job Information Fair at the Willow Oaks Administrative Center for federal employees and contractors considering a move into public education.
Chief Human Resources Officer William Solomon and the division’s human resources team explained how to apply for openings in teaching, finance, security, human resources, transportation, food service and facilities.
That evening, the Quad 4 FCPS Family Vision Group met at Springfield Estates Elementary School. Chief of Facilities and Capital Programs Janice Syzmanksi led a discussion of the comprehensive school boundary review, while Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services Noel Klimenko addressed reading intervention and efforts to strengthen elementary literacy.
Participants also discussed federal government downsizing, recent executive orders, immigration, middle school start times and FCPS instructional standards.
A separate Black History Month celebration took place Wednesday at Carter G. Woodson High School. Students read selections from Black Communities of Fairfax: A History, sharing accounts of local Black history that have often received limited public attention.
Chief Equity Officer Nardos King described the inaugural event as an evening of reflection, recognition and inspiration that honored Black contributions in Fairfax County while reinforcing the division’s commitment to equity and inclusion.
Academic targets take center stage
Thursday began with an all-county principals meeting at Willow Oaks focused largely on universal design for learning and inclusive practices.
Reid later visited Marshall High School, where students in Samantha Phelps’ World Geography class conducted a simulation of international climate negotiations. Each student represented a country studied throughout the year and advocated for its particular policies and needs during a live discussion.
The exercise was intended to strengthen students’ understanding of global perspectives, diplomacy and environmental challenges while developing critical and creative thinking skills.
At Thursday’s School Board meeting, Reid reported on three measures under the division’s Academic Growth and Excellence goal: reading on grade level by third grade, completing Algebra 1 by eighth grade and successfully finishing advanced high school coursework.
FCPS considers third-grade reading a crucial benchmark because students begin shifting from learning how to read toward using reading to acquire knowledge in other subjects. Grade-level literacy has also been associated with later participation in advanced courses, on-time graduation and college enrollment.
Completing Algebra 1 by eighth grade can give students greater access to advanced high school mathematics and science. It has also been linked to stronger mathematics and language arts test results and better middle school attendance.
Advanced options available to FCPS high school students include Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and dual-enrollment classes, courses carrying an additional 1.0 weight, and Career and Technical Education programs leading to completer status.
The meeting’s Academic Matters presentation focused on CTE offerings such as Teachers for Tomorrow, residential construction, student auto sales, firefighting, summer enrichment programs and online courses.
Other fields include business and information technology, family and consumer sciences, health and medical sciences, marketing, technology and engineering education, trade and industrial education, and JROTC.
FCPS students earned 14,323 industry credentials during the 2023-24 school year. The division valued those credentials at more than $740,000.
Reid also recognized custodians, bus drivers, bus attendants, food and nutrition employees, crossing guards and the FCPS weather team for their work during recent stretches of difficult winter weather.
Boundary committee reviews projections and public feedback
The Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee met Friday evening to review student enrollment projections, receive an overview of school programs and discuss feedback collected through recent virtual and in-person community meetings.
The committee includes parents, caregivers or community members from each of FCPS’ 24 high school pyramids. School administrators, division leaders, teachers, operational employees and other community representatives also participate.
The school division says that feedback will help shape a boundary-review process intended to be understandable, informed by the community and centered on students.
On Saturday morning, Reid attended the Fairfax County NAACP Black History Month Celebration and Gospel Explosion Concert at Harvest Assembly Baptist Church in Alexandria. Guest speaker Leslie Houston, president of the Fairfax Education Association, discussed education, advocacy and community empowerment.
Later that day, Falls Church High School held its Heritage Day Celebration, featuring food and performances representing the community’s diversity. A student named Margaret helped organize and present the event.
Lees Corner reports sharp rise in third-grade reading
Lees Corner Elementary School reported that 86% of its third graders were reading on or above grade level according to winter iReady data, up from 62% in the fall.
Principal VaRonica Sloan attributed the improvement to a sustained focus on foundational literacy, including explicit and systematic phonics instruction beginning in kindergarten. The school also reported an increase from the previous winter in the share of students who had already exceeded their annual typical-growth targets.
Teachers are using Benchmark Advance while adapting instruction to students’ needs and maintaining the curriculum’s core principles. Professional development has included work with the Science of Reading and training led by reading specialist Brittany Poole, who has experience with both LETRS and Orton-Gillingham approaches.
Lees Corner is also in its second year of providing a dedicated 30-minute literacy block in addition to regular language arts instruction. The block targets phonics, vocabulary and comprehension while allowing for intervention or enrichment.
Student groups are adjusted after each testing window through collaborative reviews of iReady, VALLSS and Lexia results. Poole, the school’s instructional team, and its general and special education teachers support the effort.
The week concluded with FCPS emphasizing community support amid broader local and national challenges, along with the role that employees, families and community partners play in helping students succeed.