News

Fairfax County school officials will try again this month to win planning commission support for the proposed new Dunn Loring Elementary School.

“Clearly, we need to do a little more work — [to] get all the pieces right,” Providence District Planning Commissioner Jeremy Hancock said last Wednesday (Oct. 30) after more than two hours of presentations, discussion and public comment.


News

A new charge has been filed in connection to a teacher’s reported assaults of students at a Burke elementary school.

Dana Chen, an assistant principal at White Oaks Elementary School (6130 Shiplett Blvd), has been charged with failing to report assault allegations against special education teacher Elizabeth Yoshimi Nagagata, the Fairfax County Police Department announced yesterday (Wednesday).


Countywide

If current trends continue, a majority of Fairfax County Public Schools students could come from families defined as economically disadvantaged.

“That would be a fundamental shift in the paradigm of our education system,” Mount Vernon Representative Mateo Dunne said at the Fairfax County School Board meeting last Thursday (Oct. 24).


Countywide

Fairfax County residents may soon get to provide input on the public school system’s boundary review process.

After amending its boundary adjustment policy over the summer, Fairfax County Public Schools awarded a $546,953 contract in September to the Connecticut-based K-12 education consultancy firm Thru Consultants for a comprehensive review of its boundaries.


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools leaders don’t appear to be losing sleep over three of the district’s nearly 200 schools failing to meet full accreditation standards.

While 192 county schools have been fully accredited for this school year by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Justice High School in Lake Barcroft and Sandburg and Whitman middle schools in Fort Hunt and Hybla Valley, respectively, were rated “accredited with conditions” due to shortcomings in reported student achievement levels.


Countywide

With the 2024-2025 school year in full swing, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is still working to get thousands of students up to date on their required vaccinations.

FCPS officials reported last week that over 9,000 students — down from 29,000 in July — still need vaccinations against diseases like measles, polio and meningitis, potentially putting their enrollment at risk. The division has approximately 181,000 enrolled students for this year, as of September, according to FCPS data.


Countywide

Fairfax County police have determined that a threat on social media involving a potential shooting at Glasgow Middle School was unfounded, the latest in a growing trend that has families, schools and law enforcement nationwide on edge.

Glasgow administrators first alerted parents via text around 8:45 a.m. that a social media threat was being shared around the school, prompting them to call the police and other agencies for an investigation.


Countywide

The superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools is the second-most influential person in Northern Virginia — just behind occasional-FCPS-critic Gov. Glenn Youngkin, according to a new ranking.

Northern Virginia Magazine awarded Dr. Michelle Reid the no. 2 spot in its newly released list of the 50 Most Influential People in Northern Virginia, highlighting her efforts to guide the state’s largest public school system through the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Countywide

Fairfax County school officials fear Virginia’s new accreditation system could disproportionately harm schools with large populations of English learners and students with disabilities.

Adopted last month by the Virginia Board of Education, the School Performance and Support Framework places more weight on standardized test scores and graduation rates — a move state officials argue will hold schools to higher educational standards and improve accountability.


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