Superintendent's Weekly Reflections

Hello Team FCPS!

I want to start my notes today with a 'thank you for your service' to all Fairfax County Public School staff who are veterans and have served this amazing country. Secondly, I would like to thank those FCPS staff who are family members of veterans as I understand the sacrifice this entails.

I’d like to take a moment to reiterate what I shared in my recent message to the community and say thank you – on behalf of our educators and staff, our students, and the hundreds of thousands of community members who use FCPS schools and facilities each year – for supporting the 2025 Bond Referendum on Tuesday’s ballot. More than 7 in 10 Fairfax County voters approved the Bond Referendum, and we are so grateful for our community’s continued commitment to the power and promise of public education! Strong schools create strong communities, and bonds are one way that our community invests in FCPS. Bond funds support school buildings, athletic fields, and other capital improvements. Right now, our school renovation cycle is more than 40 years – twice the industry standard of 20-25 years. This latest bond referendum, worth $460 million, is helping FCPS move closer to what our renovation cycle should be and will help keep our facilities modern and well-equipped for our entire community. You can read my full Bond Referendum message on the FCPS website . Together, all things are possible!!

I’m pleased to announce that FCPS will be submitting an application for the Baldridge Award for Excellencethis week. The Baldrige Award is a national program that helps schools and organizations improve how they work, make better decisions, and focus on what matters most. Our application will be reviewed by experts from The Partnership for Excellence, who will study our systems and give us helpful feedback about what we’re doing well and where we can grow. This process builds on the progress we’ve already made — including winning the Spirit and Pioneer Awards earlier this year. Even though we’re proud of our strong performance, we know there’s always room to improve. 

The Baldrige process gives us a clear way to reflect on how we lead, how we serve our students and staff, and how we can get even better. It helps us focus on important goals like student success, using data to guide decisions, and being responsible with our resources. Writing the application has already taught us a lot about our strengths and areas where we can improve. In March, we’ll meet with Baldrige examiners to talk more about our work, and later in 2026 we’ll receive a feedback report with specific ideas for improvement. That information will help us make our systems stronger, work more efficiently, and continue offering the best education possible for our students. This work matters!!

Some good news to share this week, 187 FCPS students earned the Advanced Placement (AP) ® Capstone Diplomaand 22 students earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate™ during the 2024-25 school year. AP Capstone™ is a diploma program from the College Board based on two year-long AP courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. Both courses prepare students for college and career success through the development of critical thinking, academic research, collaboration, presentation, and time management skills. 

Throughout the AP Capstone program, students study a variety of topics across multiple disciplines and have the flexibility to choose topics of personal interest to show mastery of critical thinking, research, and presentation skills. Official AP Seminar and AP Research assessments include academic papers, multimedia presentations, and defense of findings. The availability of and enrollment in advanced, rigorous coursework and programs is part of the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan Goal 4: Equitable Access and Opportunity.

I’m also happy to share that 39 students representing 18 Fairfax County high schools and two elementary schools have been selected for the 2025 All-Virginia Orff Ensemble, the 2024 All-Virginia Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble, and the 2025 Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) Senior Honors Choir ! The students will rehearse and perform with other premier musicians from across the state Tuesday, November 18, through Saturday, November 22, in Norfolk. The performances are free and open to the public. Students throughout Virginia went through a rigorous audition process to audition for positions within these ensembles. Participants will rehearse with nationally recognized conductors and collaborate with fellow musicians during the event. Congratulations to all those who were chosen for this prestigious honor!! 

Congratulations to Woodson High School for earning the 2025 Science Olympiad Spirit Award! This week, Woodson Principal Kevin Greata shared that the Carter G. Woodson High School Science Olympiad team was awarded the 2025 Science Olympiad Spirit Awardat the National Tournament held at the University of Nebraska. This award is one of the highest honors in the Science Olympiad program and recognizes teams that exemplify positivity, teamwork, character, and citizenshipthroughout the competition. 

Out of 60 of the best teams in the nation, Woodson’s students stood out not only for their knowledge and skill, but for the way they supported one another and competitors from other schools. Their positive energy, collaboration, and passion for learning truly reflect the spirit of the Science Olympiad community. Go Cavaliers!!

What makes this recognition so meaningful is that it celebrates the qualities we most want to see in all our learners—collaboration, integrity, perseverance, and a genuine love of learning. I’m so proud of the students and staff at Carter G. Woodson High School for modeling these attributes on a national stage and representing Fairfax County Public Schools with such distinction. Thank you to the team’s sponsor, Ellen Babcock, for her tireless work in supporting this team and building a positive team culture, it matters.

Also, this fall, more than 8,000 FCPS students took part in athletics. There were 775 students who joined the new girls flag football program, sponsored by the Washington Commanders! Another 8,200 students participated in theater, showcasing their talents both on stage and behind the scenes. Together, these programs highlight the many ways FCPS students are finding connection, creativity, and confidence through teamwork and the arts, and is part of Goal 2 of the 2023-30 Strategic Plan : Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered. A big thank you to all those educators and volunteers who support these programs, it matters!!

As we prepare to celebrate Veterans Dayacross FCPS, I am proud to announce that 49 more schools have been named as Purple Star Schools for their efforts to support military-connected students and their families. We now have 145 schools – almost 75% of our district– that have achieved the Purple Star designation!Go Team FCPS!! FCPS is well on the way to achieving Purple Star Division status by 2026-27, which would mean 100% of our schools being designated as Purple Star Schools. Thank you to all our Veterans!!  Thank you also to all our school staff for supporting our military connected youth and families.  

FCPS is asking all families to fill out a Federal Impact Aid Survey. We receive federal Impact Aid grant money due to the significant federal employment and military presence within our community. Because federal property is not taxable, school divisions with  military installations, federal lands, or federally supported housing lose local tax revenue.  Federal Impact Aid helps local school districts offset the cost of educating students in areas affected by federal activity. These funds are added to the school division’s general operating budget and are essential to maintaining the high-quality education FCPS provides to all students by providing additional financial support for essential services such as:

• Staffing and classroom instruction
• School facilities and maintenance
• Student transportation

This year, FCPS expects to receive approximately  $4 million in Impact Aid funding. 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 or watch this video .

I want to thank everyone who came out for the October community meetings for the comprehensive boundary review. We held 12 community meetings, each focused on two pyramids. I appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from families and community members who know their neighborhoods best. This on-the-ground input is invaluable as we enter the final stages of this process.

I also want to express my ongoing appreciation for the time and commitment members of the Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee have dedicated to this work. Many advisory committee members attended the meetings to hear directly from their neighbors and community members and shared their insights on this process. The advisory committee continues to guide our work as we enter the final stages and will be making its recommendations to me later this month. 

I will review and consider their recommendations before presenting my final recommendations and a proposed implementation plan to the School Board. Board members will review the final proposal, hold a public hearing, and approve any boundary adjustments in January.

The upcoming work session will also include a discussion beginning at approximately 10 a.m. about FCPS’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget. We are still early in the process of developing the annual needs-based budget, so this work session will be a Budget Forecast. It’s an early look at FCPS’ finances and will help inform the proposed budget that I’ll be sharing with our community on January 22, 2026. During this work session:

• You will learn about our budget priorities. This includes increased compensation for our incredible teachers and staff.
• You may hear about some of the causes and impacts of chronic school underfunding, such as Virginia’s education funding formulas. This includes the Standards of Quality ,  or SOQs, and the Local Composite Index, or LCI formulas. It also includes unfunded and underfunded mandates, which are the programs and services that FCPS is required to provide but which we don’t receive full funding for.
• We’ll be discussing FCPS’ programs and services which currently go above and beyond what’s required by the state. 

The story of our students’ success begins with a strong budget — that’s how we provide the type of world-class educational experience that our students deserve, and our parents expect! Without full funding, we’ll have some tough decisions ahead of us about the type of education we want for Fairfax County’s young people. Strong communities begin with strong schools. 

Monday morning, I stopped by Aldrin Elementary School to help celebrate Shane Wolfe’s Virginia Principal of Distinction Awardfrom the Virginia Department of Education! As you may recall from a previous issue of Weekly Reflections , the program honors school leaders who demonstrate outstanding leadership, inspire excellence, and improve student outcomes. As a mom, it was also great to meet Shane’s mother and see her pride in her son and his work ;>)

This recognition is offered in partnership with the Virginia Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals. Shane recently participated in a professional development symposium in Richmond, alongside Annandale High School Principal Shawn DeRose, and South County High School Principal Kambar Khoshaba. Shawn, Kambar, and Shane are pictured together below. Congratulations again to these amazing leaders!

Monday evening, I attended Meeting the Moment: FCPS Forward – AI and The Future of Learningat West Springfield High School. This event underscored that we are facing our nation's current Sputnik moment with artificial intelligence, a critical time when we must choose to shape AI's future rather than let it shape us. The event began with an interactive expo where attendees explored innovative AI tools from trusted partners including Google and Playlab, setting the stage for a main stage conversation that included myself, FCPS Chief Information Technology Officer Gautam Sethi; Google's Director of Education for North America, Steven Butschi; and Playlab’s Strategic Partnerships Lead, Hilah Barbot. As I shared with our community, the landscape is changing dramatically: entry-level positions and the bottom rungs of career ladders are disappearing, particularly in white-collar jobs, and by 2030, nearly 40% of the skills required for work will have changed. 

Our kindergartners, the class of 2038, will enter a workforce that looks fundamentally different than today's. But we're not navigating this alone; our Department of Information Technology (DIT) team has created thoughtful partnerships with Google, Playlab (Amazon), and with the support of our engaged school board and community, we're moving forward collaboratively and deliberately. We're creating safe spaces for students to explore, iterate, and make mistakes as they learn to actively create with AI, not just passively consume it. I appreciate the thoughtful effort our DIT team put into this evening and the launch of our AI plans! Go Team FCPS!! Thank you to our sponsors for this event, Educate Fairfax and ITServe Alliance, and the hundreds of staff, students, and community members who attended and will be joining us in building for this new frontier. 

Tuesday afternoon, we had a meeting of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee for 2e ( Twice-Exceptional ) Programmingat Gatehouse Administration Center. I’m thankful for the teamwork and dedication that help us better support each and every student — it truly makes a positive impact! Student academic inclusion and engagement are part of the 2023-30 Strategic Plan’s Goal 2: Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered.

Wednesday morning, I joined the Rotary Club of West Springfield for its meeting at the Springfield Golf and Country Club. We had a chance to discuss data on progress towards our 2023-30 Strategic Plan , our upcoming budget planning, career paths of the future and the next generation of the workforce. The Rotary Club of West Springfield continues to make a meaningful impact in Fairfax County Public Schools through several long-standing partnerships. The club sponsors the Interact Club at West Springfield High School, where students take part in community and international service projects that build leadership and civic engagement. Rotary members also support WSHS seniors through a scholarship program for students planning to attend Northern Virginia Community College. Each recipient is paired with a Rotary mentor who provides guidance and encouragement throughout their studies. In addition, the Rotary Club partners with Irving Middle School to host the annual Four-Way Test Essay Contest, inviting students to reflect on Rotary’s core values — truth, fairness, goodwill, and benefit to all. Through these programs, the Rotary Club of West Springfield is helping FCPS students grow as leaders, thinkers, and community members. We are grateful to the Rotary Club of West Springfield for their ongoing partnership and dedication to supporting our students’ growth, leadership, and success!

On Wednesday evening, I had the honor of going to the American Association of School Administrators’ (AASA) National Superintendent of the Year Gala in Washington, D.C. It was a great opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the country and share current thinking on a number of different contemporary topics.

Finally, as this week we celebrate Veteran’s Day, I would ask each of you to pause sometime during the coming week to think about and thank those who have served our country so valiantly, and remember the many sacrifices made on our behalf. It is so true that we are free because of the brave. And from a former Commander in Chief, let's remember "We are of course a nation of differences. Those differences don’t make us weak. They’re the source of our strength." -- Jimmy Carter

Take good care,

Michelle Reid, Ed.D. Superintendent