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Fairfax County Public Schools entered June with graduations approaching and a packed week of student achievements, scholarships, performances, athletics and community events.

The district’s latest elementary-school highlights included Bailey’s Upper Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences, which cut office referrals in half while maintaining a 96% attendance rate. Bull Run Elementary School continued building its culture around the Charger STRONG principles of safety, thoughtfulness, respect, ownership, neatness and generosity. At Columbia Elementary School, educators used artificial intelligence to save time, personalize instruction and improve student outcomes.

Chantilly High School senior Titus Er was named the 2026 Virginia School Board Association Board of Directors Regional Scholarship recipient for the association’s Northeastern Region. He will receive $5,000 toward his postsecondary education.

Er is an Eagle Scout and founder of Eagleyed.org. He has led service projects throughout the Washington region, mentored hundreds of students in music and debate, and organized programs for underserved young people. He also serves as his debate team’s head captain and is a Fairfax County Youth Leadership Program fellow.

Kent Gardens Elementary School students achieved another statewide distinction through the Virginia Council on Economic Education’s yearlong Stock Market Game. Sixth graders began with simulated portfolios of $100,000 and studied stocks, ticker symbols, mutual funds, bonds, risk and the effects of current events on financial markets.

Of the school’s 42 participating teams, 23 placed among Virginia’s top 100. One team won the statewide elementary division after growing its simulated portfolio to more than $200,000. It was the first elementary school to win the statewide competition since the 1980s. Students later attended an awards luncheon at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

South County High School’s Combined Drumline also reached a milestone in April, earning a bronze medal at the Winter Guard International World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. Its score of 91.538 secured the ensemble’s first medal at the competition and made it only the third FCPS ensemble to medal at the world championships.

The combined group includes students from South County, Hayfield Secondary School and West Potomac High School. Members had worked since shortly before Thanksgiving on “Redacted,” a production in which objects were progressively covered, obscured or removed.

Sixth Graders Sweep Advanced Algebra Exam

Superintendent Michelle Reid visited Lemon Road Elementary School on Thursday to recognize 24 sixth graders who all earned a “Pass Advanced” result on the Algebra 1 Standards of Learning exam. Several students received perfect scores.

Principal Ashley Castillo, fifth-grade student ambassadors and staff members Maria Mateus, Susan Thibaudeau and Emily Gray welcomed Reid before the group visited Gina Caccavale’s Algebra 1 Honors class.

Caccavale has taught in FCPS for 12 years, including 10 at Lemon Road. After receiving a call from Castillo in August, she accepted the challenge of teaching the in-person honors course to the 24 sixth graders while continuing her other classes.

Later Thursday, Reid attended Educate Fairfax’s Beyond the Tassel celebration at Lewis High School. The event brought together students, families, educators and community partners to recognize the Class of 2026.

Graduating seniors from 18 FCPS high schools received 47 scholarships totaling $91,500. The awards included the Imagine! Believe! Achieve! Scholarship, Fairfax Alliance of Black School Educators Scholarship, Irene Rosenbaum Memorial Scholarship, ITServe STEM College Scholarship, Lewis Leadership Program Scholarship, Juliana Kai Russell Memorial Scholarship, Love Like Adam Scholarship, REACH IN US Scholarship and Think Big Expect More Scholarship.

Community partners fully sponsored the scholarships, which honored academic performance as well as perseverance, resilience, leadership and service.

Students Turn Civics Lessons Into a Museum

Reid began Friday at Glasgow Middle School, where eighth graders transformed the library into an interactive civics museum. Students created artifacts from recyclable materials to connect classroom lessons with current events.

Research and evidence cards supported the exhibits, which incorporated the school’s International Baccalaureate framework and FCPS Portrait of a Graduate competencies.

Reid next attended the 40th-anniversary kickoff breakfast for George Mason University’s Early Identification Program. The multiyear college-preparation initiative serves middle and high school students who would be the first members of their families to attend college. FCPS, George Mason and several other local school districts collaborate on the program.

Friday evening brought the final meeting of the school year for the Superintendent’s Youth Environmental Council at the Gatehouse Administration Center. Students spent much of the session considering the council’s priorities for 2026-27.

Reid ended the day at Westfield High School, watching Westfield and Chantilly compete in the girls’ Northern Region lacrosse semifinals.

Athletics, Music and Culture Fill Saturday

Saturday began at Robinson Secondary School with the FCPS Middle School Track and Field Championships. Student-athletes competed with support from coaches, volunteers, families, athletic trainers, school administrators and central-office athletics staff.

Later that morning and into the afternoon, members of School Board advisory committees gathered at the Gatehouse Administration Center for a summit focused on their work supporting the school system.

Reid then visited Woodson High School for the Moldy Reed Bassoon Festival, featuring Jacob Kohut and numerous bassoon players who learned and performed during the event.

Her final stop was the Valluvan Tamil Academy’s 16th Annual Day at Oakton High School. The celebration included cultural programs, a graduation ceremony, teacher appreciation, volunteer recognition and a South Indian dinner.

The week’s public events followed a Tuesday meeting of the Boundary Advisory Core Committee at the Gatehouse Administration Center. The smaller group, drawn from the Superintendent’s Boundary Advisory Committee, reviewed revised scenarios for the Skyview High School and Western Pyramids Boundary Study before those options were presented at community meetings in late May.