A kindergarten student works to get seeds from a pumpkin at McNair Elementary School. After gathering them, the students counted the seeds and practiced math skills.
📱 Reid Reflects: The FCPS Mobile App
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In her Weekly Reflections, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid shared an update on the FCPS mobile app. It provides a custom district-branded platform for iOS and Android that helps keep families connected and informed from their smartphones.
Families can access essential information, including news, live updates, calendars, district and school-specific notices, cafeteria menus, and more, all in one place. Users can access updates and content without having to sign in, making it easy for everyone to stay informed.
Learn more about the new mobile app, and hear from parents TeAndra Nelson and Roy Dykes.
Download the Fairfax County Public Schools mobile app by going to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and searching for “FCPS.” Read more in Dr. Reid’s Weekly Reflections.
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🗳️ School Bond Referendum on November 4 Ballot
The 2025 Bond Referendum will be on the ballot next week.
New and renovated schools provide optimal spaces for teaching and learning — and the entire community benefits too. Our school construction and renovation programs help provide space for our students and educators. Our buildings also serve the community as gathering spaces, recreation sites, polling places, places of worship, civic meeting spaces, and more.
Vote on Tuesday, November 4. Learn more about how bonds help build strong communities.
Family Academy Offers Opportunities to Support Parents and Guardians
The Family Academy offers resources and in-person and virtual classes, workshops, webinars, and programs for families. The following webinars and workshops will take place in November:
- ABA Family Training: Prioritizing Skills to Teach at Home
- Co-Parenting: Two Parents, Two Homes (in Spanish)
- Supporting Your Military-Connected Student in Secondary School
- Moving on to Life in the Community
There will also be Family Resource Center webinars on topics including communication with twice exceptional children, family engagement in the special education process, restorative justice practices in schools and at home, and improving routines.
Visit the Family Academy Catalog to explore these and other resources.
Impact of Federal Shutdown on Local Community
Fairfax County is home to around 80,000 federal employees and thousands of federal contractors. The county’s Federal Workforce Resource Hub is intended to help navigate current and future challenges for residents, government employees, active military or veterans, contractors, nonprofits, and businesses that may be affected by actions, changes, or disruptions to federal services or employment.
Community Resources for Families in Need
Through partnerships with community-based organizations and other Fairfax County agencies, Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning (CSP) provides information, referrals, and advocacy to help individuals connect with services, including: basic needs (food, shelter, clothing), financial assistance, health care services, and referrals to other services and resources.
Visit the CSP website or call 703-222-0880 for assistance.
How to Access or Donate Food to Those in Need
Use the Emergency Food Access Providers website to find out where to access food or donate to your local food bank. Our community is strongest when we support each other!
🐶 Key Center School Brings Imaginary Pets to Life Using AI
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It’s not every day a Dazzle-Winged Octo-Poodle strolls through the halls of a school, but at Key Center School, imagination got a powerful high-tech assist. Speech-language pathologists completed a school-wide, innovative, and engaging project that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform student choice-making into tangible, exciting learning experiences.
Each class collaboratively designed their ideal — and completely fictional — class pet. The project was designed to enhance communication, expand vocabulary, and give students a powerful voice in their learning. Read more about the creative pets students created.
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A Future-Ready FCPS — AI and Education
Join FCPS leadership and community members for Meeting the Moment: FCPS Forward — AI and The Future of Learning on Monday, November 3, from 6 to 8 p.m., at West Springfield High School.
Enjoy an interactive expo and explore partnerships with major AI innovators. Then sit back for thought-provoking discussions and keynotes on how we will shape the future of innovation together at FCPS. Register to attend.
Ranked Globally, Loved Locally: Local Baton Twirler Dazzles at Home
During the day, school administrators describe South County High School junior Mary Moore as a quiet, academically-focused student. But at night, she dons a sparkling costume and unleashes dazzling baton twirling routines on the sidelines at South County football games. Read about Mary’s talent.
📝 Holmes Middle School Cursive Club Makes a Lost Art a Life Skill
Students learn how to write in the classic handwriting style during cursive club at Holmes Middle School. Once a staple in schools, these students say there is still value in cursive: it helps them in class and prepares them for life in the real world. Read more about the positive impact Cursive Club is making at Holmes.
🍰 Paola Finds Support, Encouragement, and a Recipe for Success
Paola, an FCPS graduate who is autistic, is a powerful illustration of how a personalized, passion-driven project — a cookbook — served as a catalyst for academic, personal, and career growth. Her success is a testament to the collaborative efforts of her family, teachers, and school system. Read more about Paola’s journey.
Moving on to Life in the Community
Each fall, FCPS, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, and the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services sponsor a resource fair to help students with disabilities and their families plan for life after high school. This year, the event will take place on Thursday, November 6, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the Robinson Secondary School cafeteria.
Register to attend and learn about supported employment options, day support programs, recreation/leisure activities, residential living options, advocacy, and funding.
✨ Supported and successful transitions leading to high school graduation and postsecondary opportunities are a measure of Strategic Plan Goal 5: Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation.
✅ Please Return Your Federal Impact Aid Survey
FCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. The form is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets, which is in the upper right corner of the screen after logging in. Please complete it as soon as possible.
Schools will provide paper forms to families who have not completed the survey in ParentVUE starting Wednesday, November 12. For more information, please visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page.
Register for ParentVUE
Learn how to activate your SISParentVUE account, so you can easily submit your survey and have access to other helpful information about your child.
💚 Instructional Assistant Provides Unparalleled Support
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FCPS CARES allows parents and caregivers, staff, and community members to recognize employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care.
Among the CARES of the Month recipients for summer is Massogbe Sangare, an instructional assistant from Hayfield Secondary School.
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“Ms. Massogbe embodies the absolute best that special education has to offer in FCPS,” her nominator said. “The genuine love and care she shows for our most vulnerable students is obvious in everything she does and says, and she goes above and beyond to support each and every student, teacher, and administrator with whom she comes in contact.”
Other FCPS CARES of the Month recipients include:
- Jim Bailey from Sideburn Support Center
- Elizabeth Baxter from Herndon Elementary School
- Jackie Garcia and Melissa Lopez from Woodburn Elementary School
- Marie Sauer from Fort Hunt Elementary School
- Ken Wheeler from Keene Mill Elementary School
- Gisele Gray from Fairfax High School
Read about all the recipients.
🍳 Reconnect Through a Shared Experience
As children get older, we naturally get less of their time and attention. That’s why it’s important for parents and caregivers to find fun, creative ways to stay connected.
Shared experiences can strengthen bonds and create lasting memories, and taking a class together is a great place to start.
With the holidays approaching, try something new with your teen: learn a craft like knitting or woodworking, bake a classic Bûche de Noël (a classic French Christmas cake), or master artisan Neapolitan pizza and focaccia for family dinners. Planning a future trip abroad? Take a world language class together and start practicing at home.
FCPS Adult & Community Education (ACE) offers affordable, flexible classes you and your teen or young adult can enjoy together. Choose a class and sign up or give a gift card to lock in your time together.
✔️ Understanding the Annual Youth Survey
In the Academic Matters portion of last Thursday’s School Board meeting, Dr. Reid discussed the 2024-25 Fairfax County Youth Survey, which found that the mental health of FCPS students is improving. The annual survey is comprehensive, anonymous, and voluntary, and asks questions about behaviors, experiences, and risk and protective factors.
As part of the presentation, Dr. Reid shared this testimonial video featuring FCPS staff.
📍 Final October Community Boundary Review Meeting
The final October community boundary review meeting will take place on Thursday, October 30, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., in the Chantilly High School cafeteria. The consultant will present the latest draft map (Scenario 4) and changes specific to the Westfield and Chantilly pyramids. Participants will also be invited to ask questions.
Click in person or virtual to register based on how you would like to participate.
If participating in person, you may come to the event 30 minutes early to explore the latest draft map in the Boundary Explorer Tool. A limited number of FCPS laptops will be available, and staff will be on site to assist you in using the tool. Virtual participants may log on 30 minutes early, and a staff member will be able to show how to use the tool.
Visit the Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage for more information.
⏰ K-12 School Start Times Project Update
At its last meeting, the School Board voted to direct the superintendent to postpone any divisionwide implementation of changes to school start times until no earlier than the 2027-28 school year.
🏫 New Western High School Also Discussed
Dr. Reid also presented information to the School Board regarding the new western high school. Visit FCPS' website for more information on the new school.
🗓️ Calendar Reminders
Quarter End
Friday, October 31, is the last day of the first quarter and a two-hour early release for students.
The Gradebook in SIS ParentVUE and StudentVUE will be closed for the end of the first quarter from Friday, October 31, at 4 p.m. to Monday, November 10, at 6 a.m. Activate your ParentVUE account to easily access grade reports.
Daylight Saving Time Ends (Fall Back)
On Sunday, November 2, at 2 a.m., daylight saving time will end. Don’t forget to move your clocks back one hour!
School Planning and Teacher Workdays
Schools are closed for students on Monday, November 3, for a school planning day, and Tuesday, November 4, for a teacher workday.
Veterans Day
Tuesday, November 11, is a holiday for Veterans Day. All schools and offices are closed.
See the complete school year calendar.
Services for Hearing-Impaired and Visually-Impaired Students
Students with sensory disabilities require special services and support to access instruction that is typically presented auditorily (by means of hearing) and visually. FCPS provides educational services to students who are deaf, hearing-impaired, or visually impaired. They are supported in various settings, including at their school site or through itinerant specialists who travel to different schools to work with students, rather than being based in a single school. Learn more about Services for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Services for Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.
The Virginia Department of Education also provides information about Additional Resources for Serving Students with Sensory Disabilities.
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