News

The Centreville High School teacher who alleged that a social worker had helped students obtain abortions in 2021 is now on paid leave.

Fairfax County Public Schools Director of Employee Relations William Fulton notified Zenaida Perez on Monday (Oct. 20) that she has been placed on paid administrative leave, effective immediately, after investigators released a report last week challenging the veracity of her claims.


News

As Fairfax County Public Schools leaders consider a policy to guide the usage of artificial intelligence in classrooms, a lab program from Virginia Tech is already preparing some students to be at the forefront of technological change.

Bucknell Elementary School in Groveton is the new home of the Thinkabit Lab Innovation Space, a tactile learning hub developed by the wireless technology manufacturer Qualcomm that’s designed to pique students’ interests in science and prepare them for careers in technology.


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools officials want to make sure students are using artificial intelligence as a tool rather than a crutch.

FCPS doesn’t have a comprehensive policy governing the use of AI, but officials are working on one. Superintendent Michelle Reid told the Fairfax County School Board at a work session this month (Oct. 7) that it’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page because AI is such a broad topic.


News

Claims that a social worker at Centreville High School pressured students into obtaining abortions without informing their guardians appear to be baseless, attorneys hired by Fairfax County Public Schools say.

A preliminary investigation found not only that the teacher who made the allegations may have withheld and fabricated evidence, but that state officials might have been made aware of the allegations well before they were publicly reported, King & Spalding partner Sean Royall said in statements sent yesterday (Thursday) to the U.S. Department of Education and Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Senate education committee.


News

No special election is on the calendar, but that hasn’t stopped a former PTA president from seeking a potential seat on the Fairfax County School Board.

Tom Dannan, a Democrat from Burke, is the first declared candidate looking to succeed Rachna Sizemore Heizer as the school board’s Braddock District representative, he announced yesterday (Wednesday).


News

Fairfax County Public Schools officials are planning to use a traditional model for the division’s first new high school to open in 20 years.

The county school board discussed the latest updates in planning for a new high school on the western end of the county during a work session last week (Oct. 7).


Countywide

Fairfax County supervisors are not sold on a staff proposal to revamp the Middle School After-School (MSAS) program, which would impose a new fee on parents of participants to offset taxpayer costs.

Though expressing support for the effort’s intent, the elected officials raised questions about its relative effectiveness, and why it attracts many more students at some schools than at others.


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools is asking an appeals court to accelerate proceedings in its lawsuit over the U.S. Education Department cutting it off from federal funds.

The request filed last Thursday (Oct. 2) came a day after a three-judge panel with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously denied the school system’s bid to stop the federal government from freezing or canceling any more funds while the case is in court.


News

A planned renovation of Willow Springs Elementary School is still on track, as Fairfax County officials extend a review period for the project.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted last Tuesday (Sept. 30) to extend the deadline for county review of the proposal to May 27, 2026. The board approved the extension as part of its administrative items with no discussion.


Countywide

Half a decade after Fairfax County launched a solar panel initiative touted as the largest in Virginia to date, the first major installation at a public school is nearing completion.

Rooftop solar panels have been under construction at Olde Creek Elementary School (9524 Old Creek Drive) since Aug. 1 and are on track to become fully operational by Oct. 13, according to Fairfax County Public Schools.


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