Fairfax County Public Schools

Countywide

Kiss-and-ride congestion a growing safety concern at Fairfax County schools, report finds

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Cars line up in a parking lot around a grassy circular island with a yellow curb, under a blue sky with clouds and power lines above.
Vehicle traffic at Oakton High School during dismissal (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The “kiss and ride” pick-up and drop-off sections at many Fairfax County Public Schools are overextended to the point of becoming the school system’s “most significant operational concern districtwide,” a new staff report found.

The results of a Safe Routes to Schools assessment conducted over the past year and a half were presented to the Fairfax County School Board yesterday (Sept. 8) as part of a discussion of pedestrian and traffic safety around schools, just one week after a student was hit by a car while walking to South Lakes High School in Reston.

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West Springfield community equips school crosswalk with new safety tools

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
People installing a bucket near a stone sign that reads West Springfield High School, Home of the Spartans, with orange flags nearby in a grassy area.
West Springfield High School parent Tamara O'Neil holds a bucket still as Steve Ingraham, also a parent of a West Springfield student, installs it at Rolling Road and Grigsby Drive (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

When students walked to West Springfield High School on Monday morning (Aug. 31), they found a new tool to get the attention of rush-hour commuters along Rolling Road and Grigsby Drive, thanks to concerned community members.

On Sunday, Aug. 30, a small group of West Springfield parents and students had gathered to install small buckets on traffic signs. Those buckets hold large orange flags that pedestrians can carry while crossing Rolling Road.

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Countywide

UPDATED: Crossing guards temporarily restored to some Fairfax County high schools

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Pedestrians crossing a multi-lane street at a crosswalk while cars wait at a suburban intersection in daylight.
Oakton High School students crossing Sutton Road amid traffic on Aug. 27, 2026 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Crossing guard services at 10 Fairfax County public high schools will be temporarily reinstated as the county supervisors assess solutions for pedestrian safety issues, the Fairfax County Police Department says.

“In the interim, Fairfax County Police officers and crossing guards will provide traffic and crossing support at 11 high school crossing locations previously staffed,” a spokesperson for the FCPD wrote to FFXnow this morning (Wednesday) in an email.

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UPDATED: Teen hit in crash at South Lakes HS, as criticism of crossing guard changes mounts

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A concrete sign that reads "South Lakes High School" surrounded by brick casing.
South Lakes High School (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

South Lakes High School parents’ worst fears around the well-documented traffic problems at the Reston school came true this morning (Sept. 1) after a teen was struck by a car.

Around 7:54 a.m., parents called 911 to report the crash. According to social media posts from multiple witnesses, the force of the collision sent the youth into the air before he landed. Scanner traffic indicates his foot may have been injured.

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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

Fairfax County’s discontinuation of high school crossing guards draws criticism

By Mary Stachyra Lopez and Angela Woolsey
Image of a crosswalk with students visible in the distance walking across the road. A brick high school building is visible in the background.
Students from Rocky Run Middle School cross Stringfellow Road in front of Chantilly High School just before the school's dismissal time on the first day of school. (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

As many Fairfax County high school students drive or walk to school this fall, they’re arriving at a building without a dedicated crossing guard — and, only a few days into the new academic year, several elected officials say that absence is already creating problems.

This past spring, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors eliminated funding for crossing guards at all public high schools, a move that was expected to save the county about $1.89 million in police staffing costs.

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Countywide

FCPS starts new school year with full cellphone ban, fewer crossing guards and other changes

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County Public Schools starts classes on Aug. 24, 2026, as shown on a sign for Cunningham Park Elementary School in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County Public Schools students are heading back to the classroom today (Monday), a familiar sight that might inspire nostalgia and stress among even non-parent residents.

However, in recent months, Fairfax County and the school system have adopted a number of changes to policies and services that are taking effect during the new school year, particularly around the use of technology in the classroom.

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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

UPDATED: SUV crashes into gas line on Ox Road, prompting evacuations

By Angela Woolsey and Mary Stachyra Lopez
SUV perched on a street curb/green post with a group of rescue workers around it
Workers try to extract the vehicle that hit a gas line on Ox Road Wednesday (Staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

An SUV driving the wrong way crashed this morning (Wednesday) into a Washington Gas regulation station on Ox Road (Route 123) near Burke Centre Parkway in Fairfax Station, resulting in a gas leak that forced evacuations of a nearby school, day care and church.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) responded at around 10:57 a.m. to the intersection, where it was immediately clear that there was a leak, said Deputy Chief Dave Barlow.

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Countywide

FCPS leaders seek compromise to keep middle school after-school program alive

By Scott McCaffrey
Glasgow Middle School students learn cooking skills in an after-school program (via FCPS/YouTube)

A middle ground may be emerging in what has become a tug-of-war between the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and School Board over funding after-school programming at all 27 public middle schools.

The potential compromise: Rather than charging participation fees to families, the school system could seek voluntary donations and public-private partnerships to cover some of the enrichment program’s annual $11 million operating costs.

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