education

Countywide

FCPS solidifies plan to expand advanced academic programs in all middle schools

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Front entrance of Poe Middle School with a beige porte-cochère and the sign 'POE MIDDLE SCHOOL 7000 CINDY LANE' above the doors, brick wall facade, sunny day.
Entrance to Poe Middle School in Annandale (courtesy FCPS)

Within the next few years, all middle school age students who qualify for advanced academic programs in Fairfax County Public Schools will have the opportunity to take those courses without leaving their neighborhood schools.

Under a plan approved by the school board on a 10-1 vote last Thursday (Aug. 27), FCPS will transition over several years from a model that let many students opt out of their assigned local school to join other students at one with an established advanced academic program, or AAP, center.

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Countywide

FCPS updates digital literacy lessons, but state law complicates kindergarten device limits

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Side view of a yellow school bus with its stop sign extended, showing bus number 835 and an 'Emergency Exit' label along the top edge of the window row.
A Fairfax County School bus (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

As Fairfax County Public Schools students prepare for their first day of school next Monday (Aug. 24), the Fairfax County School Board is making its own back-to-school to-do list. Near the top of the agenda: an updated digital literacy curriculum.

A work session on Tuesday (Aug. 18) provided a glimpse of the tasks ahead for the school board this year, and staff’s efforts over the summer to implement high-profile mandates around the curriculum, including updates related to artificial intelligence literacy.

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News

FCPS teacher’s son honors her memory through Star Wars and STEAM education

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A squad of battle droids (Courtesy Theresa Jacobs Foundation)

A Lake Braddock Secondary School art teacher spent 30 years sharing her passion for painting, photography, and pottery with students — a legacy that her family has carried on for nearly a decade through whimsical, often high-tech educational creations.

When Theresa Jacobs passed away from a fast-growing cancer in 2017, her son Eric Jacobs, a Fairfax County native, wanted to honor her love for learning and ignite that same spark in others.

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Countywide

FCPS adopts two new school year calendars, increasing number of five-day weeks

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Panel of officials seated at a long curved desk on a stage during a formal meeting, projector screen overhead, audience in foreground.
The Fairfax County School Board discusses new school year calendars on July 9, 2026 (screenshot via FCPS)

The Fairfax County School Board recently voted to confirm calendars for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years that emphasize full five-day instructional weeks, while preserving a full week of spring break and two full weeks of winter break.

Superintendent Michelle Reid proposed calendars last Thursday (July 9) that maintain the 180 instructional days required by Virginia law and follow extensive parameters passed by the board earlier this summer. The school board adopted the proposal on a 10-1 vote.

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Countywide

FCPS extends use of digital social studies materials after budget cuts slow print transition

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Fairfax County Public Schools (file photo)

Fairfax County’s school board recently passed a resolution supporting limitations on screen time and access to devices by grade level, as well as opt-out options for families.

On the same night, members voted to approve a one-year extension of a contract for a hybrid fourth-grade social studies curriculum, covering an electronic book text, the ability to replace print textbooks as needed, and supplemental materials that can be printed.

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Countywide

N. Va. gains authority to increase sales tax, but leaders wary of pursuing referendums

By Scott McCaffrey
Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Northern Virginia leaders are treading cautiously with newly granted power to increase the sales tax in local jurisdictions.

Under the biennial state budget adopted in Richmond late last month, Northern Virginia localities now have the power to hold voter referendums to increase sales taxes by up to 1%, with the extra funding going to transportation, education or a combination.

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Countywide

New FCPS calendar framework standardizes holidays, length of student breaks

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A Fairfax County Public Schools bus (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Fairfax County School Board voted last week to approve a new policy that prioritizes full five-day school weeks throughout the year, confirms the length of spring and winter breaks, and sets a framework for the calendar year going forward.

After a tense discussion, the school board voted 8-4 on June 11 to approve a motion by Providence District member Karl Frisch revising an earlier draft of the policy.

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News

FCPS: State police, Congress close investigations into Centreville HS abortion claims

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Centreville High School (file photo)

A Senate committee and Virginia State Police have concluded their separate investigations into a Centreville High School teacher’s claims that school staff facilitated abortions without parental consent, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said this week.

“Neither investigation found any evidence of wrongdoing or any need for further action,” Reid wrote in a letter to the school’s staff and families. “This situation has had a significant impact on all of those involved, and it reminds us of the responsibility we all share to act thoughtfully, with integrity, and compassionately as a caring, connected community.”

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News

NOVA’s Class of 2026 urged to be proud of their past, embrace the future

By Scott McCaffrey
Northern Virginia Community College 2026 commencement (screenshot via NOVA)

Seven years ago, Jonathan “Jack” Ham took his newly earned associate’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and stepped into the next phase of his life.

Then, on Monday morning (May 18), Dr. Ham — just 24 hours removed from having received his medical degree at the University of Virginia — stepped to the stage of EagleBank Arena in Fairfax to inspire NOVA’s Class of 2026.

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News

Different paths converge as Mason celebrates its over 12,000 spring graduates

By Scott McCaffrey
George Mason University 2026 commencement ceremony (screenshot via George Mason)

The night before freshman orientation at George Mason University, 17-year-old Saniya Dilip Darediya sat in her room and cried.

Having just arrived in the U.S. from India, she recalled, “I was scared and afraid I might not belong here.”

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