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).
New Fairfax County Public Schools figures show ongoing declines in the percentages of students using alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and harder drugs.
But the results have led some to ask if they’re too good to be true.
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.
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.
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.
Fairfax County leaders want Gov. Glenn Youngkin to boost state funding for critical services, such as schools, transportation and health care.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday (Sept. 24) to send a letter to Youngkin arguing that chronic underfunding by the state has forced localities like Fairfax County to lean heavily on local tax revenue to maintain “core services” like public education, public safety and transportation infrastructure, straining local budgets and taxpayers.
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.
During the new school year, which kicks off Monday (Aug. 19), students at select Fairfax County middle and high schools will be required to hand in their phones in order to turn up their focus.
Starting Sept. 3, Fairfax County Public Schools will begin rolling out a new phone-free pilot program, requiring middle and high school students to secure their cell phones in magnetically sealed pouches or lockers during class to reduce distractions.
Boys’ volleyball has staged a comeback and girls’ wrestling will soon take to the mats in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
Thanks to new funding, Fairfax County Public Schools will offer both sports at the varsity level for the first time during the upcoming 2024-2025 school year, which starts classes next Monday (Aug. 19). Boys’ volleyball will start this fall, followed by girls’ wrestling in the winter.
After Fairfax County Public Schools got much less funding than it wanted for teacher pay raises and other investments, new budget chair Kyle McDaniel suggests it’s time for a change in strategy.
McDaniel, who was elected to the school board as an at-large member last year, worries growing divisions in the budget process between the school board and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors could strain relationships as the county tackles its own financial challenges.
