Assistant Principal Rachel Sweeney, Principal Peter Kownacki, and Assistant Principal Johnelle Hinkle deliver cheer with their holiday carts before winter break at Rocky Run Middle School.
🎉 Celebrating the Best of 2025 in FCPS
Take a look at some of the highlights of 2025 from around the school division!
👍 Be Inspired! Follow Us and #FCPSTeacherTuesday
Learn why our teachers join the profession and be inspired by their stories, including this one featuring Sara Eichmeier. Sara is a fifth grade teacher at Franklin Sherman Elementary School. Follow FCPS on Facebook and Instagram.
✨ Your FCPS Benefits in the New Year
As we begin the new year, remember that 2025 benefit elections are now in effect. Changes made during open enrollment became effective January 1. We recommend you review your January pay stub in UConnect to confirm your plan elections and deductions.
If you have questions about your benefits, please contact the Office of Benefit Services as soon as possible by calling 571-423-3200, option 2, or submit a ticket through StaffConnect.
New CareFirst Coverage Assistance
Visit the FCPS CareFirst website to find helpful plan information, resources, and forms, or to register for your new CareFirst member account. You can also access your CareFirst account on the go by visiting your app store to download the CareFirst app.
For 24/7 support for all your health care and benefit needs, call CareFirst Member Services at 800-296-0724 or Davis Vision at 800-783-5602. Learn more about registering your CareFirst account.
📱New Year, New Phone? Set Up Your MFA!
Getting a new smartphone is exciting. But before you get rid of your old device, don’t forget to install and set up your multi-factor authentication app on your new phone. Follow the tutorials below:
This will ensure you can seamlessly access all your FCPS apps!
Preparing Students to Lead Tomorrow’s Innovation
During the Strategic Plan Goal Report portion of the December 18 School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid presented on Goal 5: Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation. She discussed on-time graduation rates and postsecondary skills, plans, and outcomes. View the Goal 5 presentation and report.
Based on data from the FCPS Student Experience Survey for the 2024-25 school year, most students feel confident about their college or career plans. They say the content they’re learning in high school will prepare them for their postsecondary plans.
Most students in the class of 2024 indicated they planned to attend college and were enrolled in the fall; however, a gap remained between those who intended to attend (87%) and those who were actually enrolled (75%). Read more about the Goal 5 Report in Weekly Reflections.
Third Grade Teacher Inspires ‘Exemplary Human Beings’
FCPS CARES gives parents and caregivers, staff, and community members the opportunity to recognize employees for going above and beyond to help others. Among October’s CARES of the Month recipients is Catie Bartczak, a teacher at Haycock Elementary School, pictured above with her class.
“Parents have been calling with praise, saying their children are picking up trash or their dishes without being asked,” her nomination read. “Every week, Ms. Bartczak challenges her students to find a new way to be kind. Not only does Ms. Bartczak teach her students academically, but she teaches them to be exemplary human beings.”
Other FCPS CARES of the Month recipients include:
- Dani Khalife, Gatehouse Administrative Center.
- Meg Burnside, Maldonado Montecinos, and Mattie Edmonston; Cunningham Park Elementary School.
- Veronda Grimes, Mount Vernon High School.
- Mindy Cucci, Union Mill Elementary School.
- Daud Ahmed, Wakefield Forest Elementary School.
- Cass Hersh and Jennifer Cory, Annandale High School.
To recognize an employee with an FCPS CARES, please visit the submission page.
Helping Students Find Their Voice in a Second Language
In November 2025, several Hayfield Secondary School AP Japanese students participated in the J.LIVE Talk competition. J.LIVE Talk is a national TED Talk-style event that challenges students to present complex ideas entirely in Japanese.
At the center of these students’ success is their Japanese teacher and program sponsor, Kyoko Vaughan, a 2025 FCPS Individual Impact Award winner and a 20-year veteran of the school. Read about the students and their inspirational teacher.
New Year, New Skills
Great Beginnings Programs Support New-to-FCPS Educators
Are you new to FCPS and looking for opportunities to grow? The Great Beginnings program has professional development options in January and February:
If you missed any of the fall Foundations sessions, make-up options are also available on the Great Beginnings After-School Program Google site. If you attended a module and would like to attend it again as a refresher, please email GreatBeginnings@fcps.edu to be registered.
🤏🏼 Adobe Express in the Classroom and Beyond
EdTech Lunch Bytes monthly sessions are designed to fit a busy schedule. Attend a 30-minute, workshop-oriented session for practical ways to integrate educational technology with FCPS-approved tools.
This month, learn how to create classrooms, quickly assign activities, and create galleries in Adobe Express. This program is great not only for academic classrooms, but also for community building and brainstorming amongst teams. Sessions will take place on:
- Tuesday, January 13, at 10:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., and 12:45 p.m.
- Tuesday, January 20, at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.
Register for EdTech Lunch Bytes in MyPDE.
Apply to Present at the 2026 Special Education Family Conference
The 2026 Special Education Family Conference, Stronger Together: Connecting Families and Schools, will take place on Saturday, March 21, at Marshall High School.
FCPS staff are invited to facilitate two one-hour breakout sessions on topics of interest to FCPS families. Presenters should plan to offer their presentation at 1:20 and 2:25 p.m. MyPDE credit will be awarded to presenters.
Interested staff should complete the 2026 Special Education Family Conference Presentation Proposal Form by Wednesday, January 14. The conference presentation review committee will send confirmation of accepted proposals to the email provided in the proposal form.
Visit the FCPS 2026 Special Education Family Conference webpage for updates and more details.
Academic Matters: School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF) Outcomes
At the December 18 regular School Board meeting, Dr. Reid shared strong results from the first year of Virginia’s new School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF).
Under this updated accountability model, 100% of FCPS schools are Fully Accredited for the 2025-26 school year. In a previous issue of Weekly Reflections, Dr. Reid emphasized the importance of funding to maintain this excellence.
Visit the Budget Story webpage to learn more about the FCPS budget and the funding challenges that schools across Virginia, including FCPS, face due to outdated state funding formulas.
📣 Make Your Voice Heard!
Encourage your neighbors, friends, and community members to follow the budget process and look for opportunities to share your ideas about funding public education. Several key decision dates and engagement opportunities are coming up in the next few weeks:
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Wednesday, January 7, beginning at 10 a.m., there will be virtual regional public hearings on the governor’s proposed 2026-28 biennial state budget.
- The Fairfax County delegation to the General Assembly will hold a public hearing regarding the upcoming 2026 session on Saturday, January 10, at 9 a.m., in the Board Auditorium at the Fairfax County Government Center. Fairfax County residents can sign up in advance to speak at the hearing online or contact the Department of Clerk Services at 703-324-3151, TTY 711, by Thursday, January 8, at noon.
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Thursday, January 22, Dr. Reid will present the proposed budget to the School Board.
Visit our budget webpage for more information.
School Board Meeting to Include Boundaries, Capital Improvement Program, and New Western High School
The School Board will hold its next regular business meeting on Thursday, January 8, at 7 p.m. Among the agenda items, Dr. Reid will recommend proposed boundary changes, present recommendations for the name of the new western high school, and propose the Fiscal Year 2027-31 Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
View the complete agenda. Find out how to watch and participate in School Board meetings.
Public Hearing on Recommended Changes to School Boundaries
The School Board welcomes public comment on the superintendent’s recommended changes to school boundaries at a public hearing in the Luther Jackson Middle School auditorium on Saturday, January 10, at 10 a.m. (snow date Saturday, January 17, at 10 a.m.). If needed, individuals will be assigned to a Tuesday, January 13, overflow public hearing at 6 p.m.
Register to speak at the school boundaries public hearing by Wednesday, January 7, at 4:30 p.m. (only live testimony in person or via Zoom permitted).
The School Board is scheduled to take final action on the proposed school boundary adjustments at its meeting on Thursday, January 22.
Public Hearing on Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 CIP
The School Board welcomes public comment on the FY 2027-31 CIP at a public hearing in the Luther Jackson Middle School auditorium on Tuesday, January 13, at 6 p.m.
Register to speak at the CIP public hearing (only live testimony in person or via Zoom permitted) by Friday, January 9, at 4:30 p.m. View the proposed FY 2027-31 Capital Improvement Program.
On Tuesday, January 13, the School Board will hold a work session on the proposed FY 2027-31 CIP. At the Thursday, February 12, regular School Board meeting, the board is scheduled to take final action to adopt the FY 2027-31 CIP.
Read information on speaking at School Board meetings. Any questions, written statements, and copies of testimony may be submitted to CommunityParticipation@fcps.edu.
🗓️ Calendar Reminder: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Holiday)
Schools and offices will be closed on Monday, January 19, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
See the complete school year calendar and employee calendar.
☎️ See Something, Say Something: Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline
FCPS provides a way for employees and the general public to report any suspected wrongdoing related to FCPS’ assets and resources. Reporting will help ensure taxpayers’ money is spent appropriately — on our students’ education. It can also help improve employees’ work environment.
Reports can be made in person, by phone, by email, or online. All reports are taken seriously, and every effort will be made to investigate reports according to the applicable laws, codes, policies, or regulations. Employees can assist with investigations by providing as much information as possible. Please visit the Office of the Auditor General webpage to learn more.
Staff Staples
Note: Some links in this email require a connection to the FCPS network. If you have any questions, please visit the FCPS Tech Support Portal to search for self help articles or submit a ticket.
Submit an Employee News request. Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. Thank you!
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