News

After losing a brother who experienced homelessness, Carter G. Woodson High School student Minn Vo became aware on a personal level of how vulnerable people without shelter can be — and how often they’re overlooked by society.

That was a call to action for Vo, who founded the nonprofit Hands in Hope to organize service projects and fundraise to benefit individuals experiencing homelessness in Fairfax County.


News

A West Potomac High School senior is representing Sudan at the inaugural World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships this month in Nairobi, Kenya.

Yousif Abdelrahman is a team captain at Yoo’s Martial Arts in Hybla Valley, and the 18-year-old grew up in Northern Virginia. He is among 682 participating fighters, and will compete on tomorrow (Thursday) in the men’s 63 kilogram division.


Countywide

Fairfax County school leaders see signs of improving mental health, but also some ongoing red flags, in the county’s most recent youth survey.

“This is always a bittersweet report to read,” at-large Fairfax County School Board member Kyle McDaniel said after Superintendent Michelle Reid detailed the report’s findings at the board meeting last Thursday (Oct. 23).


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 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.


News

A West Springfield High School student died earlier this week from a drug overdose, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) officials have confirmed.

FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid announced the death in a letter on Wednesday (Sept. 3), sharing guidance for parents, students and community members.


Countywide

The new student representative to the Fairfax County School Board is urging school leaders to enforce consistent standards, now that new restrictions on student phone use are being rolled out countywide.

Starting with the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, Fairfax County Public Schools will prohibit students in all grades from using their cell phones at any point during the day — with the exception of high school students during lunch. Teachers can also no longer incorporate phones into instructional activities.


News

She’s not yet in high school, but Caroline Tso already is being heralded as an accomplished historical researcher.

Tso, who will enter Carter G. Woodson High School as a ninth-grader in August, created the exhibition “The Family Tea House: Where Culture and Cuisine Met in Arlington” as part of a project for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.


Countywide

A Fairfax County School Board committee has pushed off considering any changes to an existing policy on optional school uniforms.

“It should just rest for now. There’s no rush,” Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren said at the May 27 meeting of the board’s governance committee.


Countywide

Members of a Fairfax County School Board committee have postponed consideration of what restrictions, if any, should be placed on student mortarboards during graduation ceremonies.

“We’ll come back to it,” Hunter Mill District School Board member Melanie Meren said at the May 27 meeting of the board’s governance committee.


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