Michelle Reid | FFXnow

Published January 30, 2025 at 9:00AM

Justice High School cafeteria staff prepare meals for distribution to students during a snow day (courtesy Donnie Biggs/FCPS)

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.

Countywide

JUST IN: FCPS to resume classes with two-hour delay on Friday

By Angela Woolsey

Published January 9, 2025 at 4:45PM

A Fairfax County school bus in the snow (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

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.

Countywide

School board approves policy to standardize grading across FCPS

By Scott McCaffrey

Published December 26, 2024 at 9:00AM

Fairfax County Public Schools (file photo)

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.

Countywide

Superintendent lays out timeline for revising FCPS athletic policies

By Scott McCaffrey

Published December 23, 2024 at 11:15AM

Superintendent Michelle Reid (staff file photo by James Jarvis)

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.

Countywide

‘I am sorry’: Superintendent works to make amends following uproar over Hayfield football

By Scott McCaffrey

Published December 9, 2024 at 1:15PM

Superintendent Michelle Reid (staff file photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County School Board members and Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid took formal steps last week to address the alleged athletic recruiting irregularities at Hayfield Secondary School that have roiled the entire community.

At the school board meeting on Thursday (Dec. 5), Reid offered her first public mea culpa for the crisis of confidence in Fairfax County Public Schools leadership sparked by its handling of the controversy around Hayfield’s football program.

Countywide

NEW: FCPS to review athletic protocols amid controversy over Hayfield transfers

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 21, 2024 at 9:00AM

Hayfield Secondary School (staff photo)

Fairfax County Public Schools will enlist an outside firm to conduct an independent investigation of all student-athlete transfers, as questions about Hayfield Secondary School’s football program continue to percolate.

Superintendent Michelle Reid announced last night (Wednesday) that the district will pursue a “comprehensive and external independent investigation” of its student transfer and eligibility practices after she met with six football coaches who reportedly planned to forfeit their scheduled games against Hayfield.

Countywide

FCPS superintendent secures early, 4-year contract extension

By Scott McCaffrey

Published November 15, 2024 at 1:15PM

Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid has had her contract extended (via Fairfax County Public Schools/YouTube)

Dr. Michelle Reid is going to stick around as superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools.

Though her existing contract was set to run through June 2026, the Fairfax County School Board voted yesterday (Thursday) to give Reid a new four-year contract that could bring her annual salary close to a half-million dollars by its conclusion.

News

Hayfield football team officially banned from postseason for two years

By David Fawcett / Inside NoVA

Published November 8, 2024 at 3:30PM | Updated November 17, 2024 at 5:37PM

A sign for Hayfield Secondary School in Franconia (via Google Maps)

Hayfield Secondary School has lost its final appeal to overturn a two-year postseason ban in football.

The final decision was made by a three-person Virginia High School League subcommittee, which heard from both Hayfield and the league Thursday via Zoom before rendering its decision.

Countywide

Number of kindergarten students from low-income families on the rise, FCPS says

By Scott McCaffrey

Published October 30, 2024 at 9:45AM

Mount Vernon District School Board Representative Mateo Dunne (via Fairfax County Public Schools/YouTube)

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

FCPS leaders see path to 100% accreditation for county schools

By Scott McCaffrey

Published October 16, 2024 at 3:45PM | Updated October 16, 2024 at 5:57PM

Superintendent Michelle Reid (staff file photo by James Jarvis)

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.