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 Welcome Back for the 2026-2027 School Year!
I’m Ryan McElveen, your at-large School Board Member, and I’m excited to welcome you back for another remarkable school year.
The first day of school is this coming Monday, August 24, and there is much to look forward to across Fairfax County Public Schools. Here’s a look at what’s new in FCPS for 2026-27.
🎓 Skyview High School Opens Its Doors
- This fall, FCPS opens the doors of its newest high school in the shadow of Dulles Airport. Skyview High School takes flight with an innovative aviation and aerospace curriculum pathway, creating new opportunities for students to explore careers and coursework connected to one of our region’s most important industries.
- In the years ahead, we plan to expand aerospace academies throughout Fairfax County, giving more students access to these opportunities closer to home.
- The School Board has also approved new attendance boundaries for Skyview and the western pyramids, which will take effect in 2027-28 and help address overcrowding across western Fairfax County. Skyview will grow in phases, adding 11th grade in 2027-28 and becoming a full four-year high school in 2028-29.
🤖 Advanced Learning Starts Earlier
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Robotics is coming to elementary school. We’re developing programming to expand hands-on robotics opportunities to all elementary schools so students can advance their engineering, problem-solving, collaboration, and computational-thinking skills.
- We’re also expanding access to Algebra 1 to every elementary school, creating opportunities for students who are ready for advanced mathematics to pursue it regardless of where they attend school. Additionally, students in courses from Math 6 through Algebra 2 will have new instructional resources this year.
- These efforts complement our broader work to strengthen the mathematics pipeline. FCPS has set a goal of ensuring students successfully complete Algebra 1 by the end of eighth grade, putting more students on a pathway to advanced math and STEM coursework in high school.
🎶 Expanding Music and the Arts
- For the first time, all elementary schools will provide extracurricular music opportunities, allowing programs like All-County Chorus to live up to their name. These experiences – supported by stipends for music and fine arts teachers – allow students to develop their talents, perform alongside peers from across Fairfax County, and connect with music beyond the regular school day.
- FCPS was once again recognized in 2026 as one of the nation’s Best Communities for Music Education, and that distinction will now translate into meaningful opportunities for students in every part of the county.
🏐 Volleyball Comes to Middle School
- As part of a multi-year effort to expand after-school opportunities for middle school students, FCPS is adding volleyball as a new sport between December and February. Sports under consideration for rollout in future years include soccer and flag football.
- Volleyball builds on the successful rollout of track and cross country, giving middle school students another way to develop their sense of belonging, teamwork, confidence, and stronger connections to school during a pivotal period in their lives.
📱 Going Phone-Free and Waiting Until 8th Grade for Smartphones
- FCPS will now be phone-free from bell to bell at every grade level. Cellphones, connected accessories, and other smart devices must be off and personally stored throughout the school day.
- Through the Wait Until 8th Initiative, we’re encouraging families to wait until after eighth grade to give children smartphones. Helping students develop healthier relationships with technology requires schools and families working together.
💻 Implementing Healthy Guardrails Around Student Technology
- This summer FCPS launched a dedicated Educational Technology Review Committee to guide the responsible, safe, equitable, and age-appropriate use of technology, including AI, student devices, digital literacy, and family engagement.
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PreK and kindergarten students will no longer use FCPS-issued laptops and tablets, except when needed for testing, accommodations, translation, or multilingual education support.
- FCPS is reducing unnecessary device use and distractions by limiting personal electronic devices during the instructional day and developing a plan to keep FCPS-issued devices stored at school when they are not needed for instruction.
- Student access to FCPS-provided generative AI tools is prohibited until the School Board adopts a formal policy governing their use.
🗺️ Ongoing Work on Boundaries, School Calendar, and Later Middle School Start Times
- With the countywide boundary change process concluded, we are now working toward the Board goal of later middle school start times, moving schools to start at 8 a.m. or later.
🚌 More Changes Families Should Know About
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New student bus IDs: Students who ride FCPS buses will receive identification cards to tap when boarding and exiting. The new system is designed to improve transportation operations and provide families more information about their students’ bus trips.
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Expanded virtual mental health services: No-cost virtual mental health services through Hazel Health are being expanded beyond high school to middle school students.
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A new ParentVUE app: An updated ParentVUE experience with enhanced security is being rolled out.
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MealViewer: A new school meal platform provides families with menus, nutritional information, allergen information, and meal notifications.
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Varsity football security: Weapons screening and a standardized bag policy is being implemented for varsity football games.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026!
 Clockwise from upper left: Celebrating the Class of 2026 at Madison, Chantilly, Fairfax, South County, Marshall, Westfield, Lake Braddock, Centreville, Annandale, and McLean high school graduations
This graduation season, I was pleased to attend 29 of our high school graduation ceremonies as we celebrated 14,758 FCPS graduates. It has been an honor to watch these students learn and grow through our school system over the past 13 years, and I’m incredibly proud of all they have accomplished. As they begin their next chapters — whether in higher education, the workforce, the armed forces, or other pursuits — we look forward to seeing the many ways they will lead, serve, and make all of us in FCPS proud in the years ahead. Congratulations!
Celebrating a Year of Global Leadership
 Clockwise from upper right: Leadership experiences at George Washington’s Mount Vernon; Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain; the year-end closing celebration; Jianchuan, Yunnan, China; and with Superintendent Michelle Reid and Annandale High School class of 1959 alum and former U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
Through the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program, graduating seniors spent the past year learning from leaders across a variety of fields, developing projects that address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in our own community, and participating in leadership workshops and experiences around the world — from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. These experiences are helping students develop the global perspective, leadership skills, and sense of purpose to make a difference both here in Fairfax County and beyond.
Applications are now open for rising seniors interested in becoming Fellows in the Global Leaders of Fairfax County program for the 2026–2027 school year.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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