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Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid’s week took her from elementary classrooms and advisory meetings to a state gymnastics championship and a Read Across America celebration, while the division also outlined changes to Virginia’s school accountability system.

At Justice High School, students and staff marked International Mother Language Day with a video featuring tongue twisters, idioms, puns and facts about the 32 languages spoken at the school. The annual observance, recognized globally by UNESCO since 1999 and celebrated on February 21, honors Bengali protesters who fought to preserve their language and now also promotes endangered languages worldwide.

Reid also highlighted a December 2024 project from Falls Church High School’s SEL: Readers Theater Creative Workshop. Students created a “Get to Know Us” book designed to strengthen empathy, self-awareness, literacy and communication. Google’s Gemini was used to generate sentence frames and conversation starters that helped students tell their stories.

Classrooms explore technology, language and inclusion

At Fairhill Elementary School, fifth graders in Alexandra McKenrick’s class discussed themes in poetry. Students in Lynn Cook’s Chinese FLES class reviewed animal life cycles and seasons in Chinese, while Emily Santos and Karishma Parmar’s fourth graders considered technology’s positive and negative effects.

Reid also visited Fairhill’s Enhanced Autism Class, taught by Nuril Kingsley. Kingsley became an FCPS teacher after her own child attended the program. Before leaving, Reid viewed kindergarten artwork celebrating the 100th day of school.

At Union Mill Elementary School, third graders in Ashley Abrams’ class selected inventions and explained their importance, with flying cars drawing considerable interest. Erin Price’s students practiced using transition words, and Susan Jimmo’s sixth graders debated whether robots benefit society while developing communication and collaboration skills.

Greenbriar West Elementary School offered a look at the divisionwide Benchmark Advance literacy curriculum in Laura Howard’s third-grade class. Students worked on phonics, vocabulary, writing and comprehension, including reading a reimagined version of “Hansel and Gretel.”

A fifth-grade science class at the school demonstrated an inclusive model for a student receiving virtual homebound instruction. Classroom teacher Melanie Mayberry and special education teacher Katie Mazur use webcams, Zoom breakout rooms, Google products, Padlet and digital music programs to connect the student with classmates. During Reid’s visit, the student joined a real-time discussion about a graph showing energy consumption.

Principal Andrew Blount said the entire staff worked to remove barriers for the student, with administrative and financial support from Fairfax County and the School Board. Mazur credited teachers, support staff, administrators and the department chair with ensuring the student could participate alongside peers.

Reid also visited a Preschool Autism Class led by Kathy Cortez and Michelle McFarlane, where children sang and danced to “Wheels on the Bus.” Greenbriar West is expanding preschool programming focused on integration.

At Lees Corner Elementary School, librarian Leslie Dunbar read “Stick and Stone” to kindergarten students, who raised paper sticks and stones at cues in the story. First graders in Angela Lee’s class built marble runs and worked with blocks and playdough during “Tinker Day,” an activity intended to develop spatial reasoning, problem-solving skills and interest in mathematics.

Hailey Colman’s third graders studied paragraph structure and attention-grabbing opening sentences. Reid also visited Ellen Mead’s enhanced autism adapted art class and an intellectual disabilities classroom led by Elisabeth Lane and instructional assistant Blanca Aleman. Teachers later met to prepare Unit 6 of Benchmark Advance and identify possible barriers, including unfamiliar vocabulary.

Advisory groups tackle student needs and climate goals

The Military-Connected Youth Family Advisory Council discussed the division’s comprehensive boundary review, Advanced Academic Program, transfers for military families living at Fort Belvoir and a pilot program for storing students’ cellphones. The council works on challenges associated with military life, including deployments and frequent moves.

Families and community members in the Strategic Plan Advisory Group considered ways to help students build critical and creative thinking skills, meet or exceed academic standards and reach their academic potential.

At Cedar Lane School, Reid joined Principal Cheronda Farrish, students and staff for the annual Black History Brunch, which celebrates African American history, culture and contributions.

A meeting with the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions covered net-zero-energy buildings, solar panels, composting and expansion of the electric school bus fleet.

The 2e Superintendent’s Advisory Committee reviewed services for twice-exceptional students—those who qualify for Advanced Academic Program services and also have an Individualized Education Program or 504 Plan. Families, teachers, administrators and central-office employees examined how FCPS and Virginia define twice exceptionality, the division’s academic programming and data on access to advanced curricula.

Bus employees thanked as massive fleet keeps moving

At Falls Church High School, Reid joined Principal Ben Nowak and Traci Kubo-Carrera of the Office of Transportation Services to distribute umbrellas to drivers and attendants for Love the Bus Month.

FCPS operates one of the country’s largest school bus fleets, carrying nearly 130,000 students on more than 1,600 buses each day. Drivers and attendants are often the first and last school employees students encounter daily.

Student artists, athletes and readers take center stage

The Fairfax County Council of PTAs held its 2024-25 Reflections Art Awards ceremony Friday at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Students submitted original work in dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts under the theme “Accepting Imperfection.”

On Saturday, Reid attended a McLean Community Center workshop where residents offered feedback on a mural intended to become part of the community.

Later that day, Lake Braddock hosted the Virginia State Gymnastics Meet. Lake Braddock Secondary School captured its 13th state gymnastics championship.

Sunday’s National Education Association Read Across America kickoff combined literature, music and performance. The March 2 event marked the 10th anniversary of Kwame Alexander’s “The Crossover” winning the Newbery Medal.

Alexander and jazz bassist Amy Shook performed together. Student choir, orchestra and jazz groups also appeared, while Langston Hughes Middle School students presented poetry and theater students offered dramatic interpretations. The event launched a weeklong jazz-infused reading celebration centered on “The Crossover” and began a community poem with the words, “Deep inside us …”

Virginia adds a broader six-year graduation measure

FCPS also explained another component of the Virginia Department of Education’s 2024 accountability system.

A four-year Federal Graduation Indicator will account for 15% of a high school’s score in the School Performance and Support Framework. A separate expanded graduation indicator will represent 5% of the framework’s high school Readiness score.

The expanded measure will count students who graduate within six years of entering ninth grade, rather than only those finishing within four years. It will also recognize Applied Studies diplomas alongside Standard and Advanced Studies diplomas.

Those provisions could improve reported outcomes for multilingual learners and students with disabilities who receive additional time to graduate under state and federal law.

However, the six-year measure remains narrower than the Graduation and Completion Index used under Virginia’s former Standards of Accreditation. It does not give credit for certificates of completion, high school equivalency credentials such as the GED, or students who remain enrolled and continue working toward diplomas.

FCPS serves 3.3 million breakfasts

National School Breakfast Week spotlighted the approximately 30,000 breakfasts FCPS Food and Nutrition Services provides each day. The division had served 3.3 million breakfasts during the school year as of the March 3 update.

Student surveys, focus groups and an annual food show helped shape new menu choices. Breakfast sandwiches moved from English muffins to whole-grain-rich biscuits, and six fresh-baked items were introduced.

The additions include blueberry muffins; turkey sausage, turkey-and-cheese and egg-and-cheese biscuits; and apple-cinnamon and blueberry breads.