Fairfax County Public Schools has managed to significantly reduce its bus driver vacancies, which in turn is bumping up on-time rates.
As part of her “Opening of Schools” report, Superintendent Michelle Reid reported last Thursday (Sept. 25) that 96% of bus routes were completed on time to start the current school year — a figure that astounded some School Board members.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent (FCPS) Michelle Reid sent a message to the school community explaining more about the ongoing legal fight with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Alexandria dismissed a lawsuit the Fairfax and Arlington school boards filed against the DOE after the federal department froze their funding. The DOE put the schools on “high risk” status and restricted their access to federal funds after they refused to rescind policies allowing students to use bathrooms and other facilities that match their gender identity.
With friction growing between the public and school leaders over policy decisions, Fairfax County Public Schools is in the process of hiring security for its superintendent due to the need for additional protection over safety concerns.
The move has left legislative leaders curious if similar proposals could occur at other school divisions around the region and beyond, as school leaders continue to be challenged by the public and face investigations for their decisions.
Fairfax County Public Schools is joining its counterparts across Northern Virginia in rejecting the Trump administration’s demands that it rescind policies supporting transgender and gender-nonconforming students.
In a message to FCPS staff and families, Superintendent Michelle Reid says she has sent a response to the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) defending the school system’s policies as consistent with existing state and federal law, requesting that the federal government pause any further action until the issue is “clarified” by the courts.
Nobody disputes that Parklawn Elementary School in Lincolnia and Coates Elementary School in the McNair area south of Herndon are severely overcrowded.
But whether to address the issue through individual boundary adjustments at the two schools this year — as proposed in a capital improvement program (CIP) approved last year — or wait for a countywide redistricting effort in 2026 is causing a fissure among Fairfax County School Board members.
A recent online operation conducted by child exploitation detectives resulted in seven arrests, including that of a Falls Church High School teacher, the Fairfax County Police Department announced this morning (Tuesday).
Richard Berkowitz, a health and physical education teacher at the school in West Falls Church, was arrested on Jan. 29, two days into the operation, but Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid was asked to hold off on notifying the community so the operation could continue, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference.
The Trump administration’s plan to freeze federal spending could’ve disrupted free and reduced-price meals for thousands of students if it had taken effect, according to Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid.
The directive, issued Monday (Jan. 27), ordered federal agencies to halt grants, loans, and other aid and review federal financial assistance programs to ensure they align with President Donald Trump’s policy agenda, which has prioritized cutting government spending and scaling back diversity and equity efforts, among other goals.
Fairfax County Public Schools will be back in session tomorrow (Friday).
After four straight snow days that extended a two-week winter break, FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid announced this afternoon that schools will open on a two-hour delay.
At its final meeting of 2024, the Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved a policy revision that it hopes will lead to more consistent grading policies countywide.
The measure represents “a huge improvement from what was there before,” according to Mason District School Board Representative Ricardy Anderson.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid outlined a timeline on Thursday (Dec. 19) for revising policies related to student athletics following a controversy over alleged football-recruiting irregularities at Hayfield Secondary School.
Engaged in ongoing damage control, the superintendent told the Fairfax County School Board at its last meeting of the year that “clear, bright-line rules and regulations” will be rolled out in coming months.
