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Fairfax County Public Schools marked the completion of a major Frost Middle School renovation while confronting a proposed county budget that leaves the division $150 million short of its request.
The Frost project, celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 11, added 63,487 square feet to the school. Improvements include a two-story classroom wing, additions for the library and music programs, new administrative and classroom space, and an expanded gymnasium.
The existing building also received new doors, windows, roofing, finishes, food-service equipment, and classroom equipment. Crews upgraded its mechanical, plumbing, electrical, lighting, communications, data, fire-alarm, and security systems, installed sprinklers, and made accessibility improvements.
Students performed during the ceremony, which included employees who worked on the project. Voter-approved bonds from 2015, 2017, and 2019 funded its construction and planning.
Students press superintendent on budget
Two dozen student journalists met with Superintendent Michelle Reid on April 9 to discuss the fiscal year 2026 advertised budget. Nearly every FCPS high school was represented.
Students asked how potential cuts could affect teacher recruitment and retention, school safety and security, early-childhood education, and other long-term investments. FCPS says the advertised county budget underfunds the school system by $150 million.
Community members were encouraged to respond to the county budget survey or register to speak at a public hearing by April 24.
Budget constraints also surfaced during an April 8 Community Conversation at Greenbriar West Elementary School. Participants discussed overcrowding, transportation, curriculum changes, and the county support needed to sustain after-school programs and athletics.
A Family Vision Group meeting at Springfield Estates Elementary School addressed the budget, the comprehensive boundary review, and the goal of having every student complete Algebra I by eighth grade.
Additional Community Conversations were scheduled for April 21 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Mount Eagle Elementary School and April 23 at the same time at Mason Crest Elementary School. Registration was preferred but not required.
The Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee also met April 11 to examine the review process and proposed updates under Scenario 1, which focuses on attendance islands across the county.
Science and music students earn statewide honors
Six students behind four FCPS projects received grand prizes at the Virginia State Science Fair in Charlottesville. They were among 62 FCPS participants.
Sarah Park of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was honored for research using artificial intelligence and infrared spectroscopy for noninvasive blood-glucose monitoring.
Marshall High School student Alina Albeik won for studying the effects of resveratrol on memory retention in Dugesia tigrina.
Thomas Jefferson students Nikhil Krishna and Nived Nandakumar developed a three-model machine-learning framework to identify space debris, predict its orbit, and evaluate collision risks.
Fellow Thomas Jefferson students Anush Devkar and Ansh Malhotra created BrailleSense, a modular and lower-cost accessible Braille display.
The six students became eligible for the International Science and Engineering Festival in Columbus, Ohio, scheduled for May 11-16.
Another 182 FCPS students were selected for the 2025 All-Virginia Band, Chorus, and Orchestra event, set for April 24-26 at the Richmond Convention Center. Students earned their places through a competitive statewide audition process and were expected to rehearse with nationally recognized conductors. Public concerts were scheduled between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on April 24.
FCPS expands support for military families
FCPS observed April as the Month of the Military Child, including Purple Up! Day, when community members wore purple to recognize military-connected students. Reid joined Fort Belvoir Garrison Commander Colonel David Stewart to open the celebration.
The division aims to secure Purple Star designation for every FCPS school and become a Purple Star Division by the 2026-27 school year. Virginia grants that status when all schools in a division earn or maintain the designation.
FCPS had fewer than 20 Purple Star schools in 2018. It now has 96, with more than 50 additional schools expected to apply for the first time in September and 40 preparing to renew. Every school must earn the designation by September 2026.
The program is intended to welcome military-connected students, connect families with resources and peers, build trust, develop student ambassadors, and strengthen students’ sense of belonging. Military-connected children may relocate six to nine times between kindergarten and 12th grade.
Soccer program ties attendance to playing time
At West Potomac High School, a soccer initiative called La Liga is giving 160 students a chance to play during the school day while encouraging regular attendance.
The program began at Lewis High School and expanded to West Potomac, where many participating students cannot join after-school activities. Multilingual-learner teacher Katherine Lodge and other staff members sought to make the sport more accessible during school hours.
Players are randomly assigned to eight teams, helping students from different cultures and social circles form new connections. Lodge checks attendance weekly, and any participant who misses a class must sit out for one week.
Principal Jessica Statz, administrators, and school employees support the program, whose student-created motto is “La Liga Doesn’t Close Doors.”
Teachers and family resources recognized
The School Board recognized 23 teachers who earned or renewed certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
More than 500 FCPS teachers have obtained the credential since the division’s certification program began more than two decades ago. More than 300 active National Board-certified teachers currently serve FCPS schools, and 75% work directly with students. Others have entered leadership positions.
FCPS ranks among Virginia’s top five divisions for newly certified teachers and current certification candidates. It is also among the nation’s top 30 school districts in the number of National Board-certified teachers.
The board also received an update on the FCPS Family Academy, launched in August 2024. The program serves as a central location for classes, workshops, webinars, and other resources designed to help families navigate the school system and support learning at home and in school.
Partnerships, training, and community events
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency officers conducted K-9 exercises at the Forte Center warehouse. Handlers and dogs trained to detect explosives practiced throughout the facility as part of operational-readiness work. The warehouse has previously hosted similar exercises for the agency and other organizations.
Reid met with the Support Services Employees’ Advisory Council at the Gatehouse Administration Center to discuss advisory committees as FCPS transitions to collective bargaining.
She also attended an EduTutorVA gala honoring James Dyke Jr., a former Virginia secretary of education, for his lifetime contributions to education. The event recognized the tutors, founders, and supporters involved in the program.
Other visits included boys’ and girls’ outdoor track competition at South Lakes High School and the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association’s National Math and Science Competition awards ceremony. The association’s annual contest encourages young people interested in science, engineering, technology, and leadership.
The superintendent’s weekly report also noted the Transportation Road-eo, student theater productions at Edison and Justice high schools, a sixth-grade choral festival, Hunt Valley Elementary School’s STEAM Night, a Woodson High School track meet, and a lacrosse tournament at Fairfax High School and Robinson Secondary School.