Superintendent's Weekly Reflections

Hello Team FCPS!

Wow, it is so amazing to have the spring weather and the opportunity to be part of such an amazing season !!  I trust that each of you have taken the opportunity to get outside and revel in the sun and warmth; it is so renewing …

Quality, well-resourced public education is our best hope for the next generation, and the courage and conviction required by our teaching professionals and support staff to meet the education challenges we face go far beyond the classroom. If you have a moment, I invite you to take the time to reach out and thank a teacher you have had that made a difference in your life or the life of a family member. Thank you for all you do...

Each week, it’s my joy to share stories about the wonderful work happening across our division in  Weekly Reflections . I’m so inspired by the accomplishments of our talented students, the innovations of our staff, and the above-and-beyond dedication of our educators and support staff, this work matters.

These stories highlight the things — and most importantly, the  people — that make us a premier school division. And it’s Team FCPS that helps make these stories happen, whether you are in the classroom, on a school bus, in an office, or behind the scenes. You help give FCPS stories worth telling. As we celebrate  Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week , please be sure to  watch my special video message . Thank you for all that you do!

Monday evening, I attended Parklawn Elementary School’s spring concert. Fourth and fifth grade band and strings students performed traditional folk songs such as “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “Hot Cross Buns,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and even had their own version of “We Will Rock You.” The band Queen may have rocked Wembley Stadium ... but the Parklawn students rocked the school with equal intensity. It started as “We Will Rock You” … and ended as “We Did Rock You!” Mission accomplished, young rockstars! ;>) Lynette Blacksten, band director, also shared that the final song in the performance was the Annandale/Justice March. It is always fun to celebrate beginning musicians as they showcase their learning! Thanks to Principal Rebecca Forgy for inviting me. Go Panthers!!

I also attended the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the “Vietnamese Boat People” who risked their lives to flee oppression and hardship from 1975 to 1992 after the Vietnam War. Escaping by boat, many of these almost two million people were captured or did not survive the journey. Some found freedom in other countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines, while others were resettled in the United States, Canada, Italy, Australia, France, or the United Kingdom in refugee camps. I was proud that one of the speakers was Tori Huynh, a teacher at Mason Crest Elementary School and president of the FCPS Asian Educators Association and Asian Leadership Alliance Scholarship Foundation, who shared her family’s stories about the resettlement experience. I enjoyed hearing all the inspiring stories shared, along with the thoughtful conversation on the current state of immigrants and refugees around the world and in the U.S.                                                            

Tuesday afternoon, I was back at Parklawn Elementary School, where I spent time with some of our youngest Parklawn Panthers in Campbell Weis’s kindergarten class. I spoke with the young learners about how wonderful teachers and staff make learning so much fun — our educators are vital in helping our students develop the foundational academic skills, curiosity, and joy for learning that are central to our  2023-30 Strategic Plan Goal 1: Strong Start: Pre-K-12 . I learned that Campbell was once an instructional assistant at Parklawn and is now in the role of teacher this school year! She now has a great partnership with Yesenia Kennedy, kindergarten instructional assistant. It is wonderful to see how our FCPS staff can grow! Go Team FCPS!!

FCPS participated in the Region IV School Bus Roadeo on Saturday, April 26, alongside drivers from Prince William County, Loudoun County, and Fauquier County. We are proud to share that Il Seon Kim, our first-place special education driver from the FCPS Roadeo, earned overall 1st place in the regional competition! He and our general education driver, Juan Solari, will both advance to represent FCPS at the Virginia State Roadeo, which will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2025, in Roanoke, Virginia. Their performance reflects the strength of our training program and the professionalism of our drivers, and we look forward to supporting them as they compete at the state level. Good luck, Team FCPS!!

This week I hosted  Employee Conversations at Providence Elementary School and Burke School. We had two discussions where employees were able to ask questions, address challenges, and generate solutions. Thank you to the members of Team FCPS that were able to attend! Some of the topics included telework, the school year calendar, Algebra I by eighth grade, and boundary changes. The final Employee Conversation for this school year will be held on Wednesday, May 7, 5-6 p.m., at Weyanoke Elementary School. I hope to see you there! 

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending a special celebration at Glasgow Middle School to honor their exceptional Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) team. This team was one of ten selected by the Office of FNS in recognition of  National School Lunch Hero Day , which was celebrated on Friday, May 2. School Lunch Hero Day is a wonderful opportunity to express our gratitude for the amazing FNS staff who work tirelessly to provide nutritious and delicious meals for our students every day.

Apart from Glasgow, Fort Belvoir Primary, Franconia, Terraset, Silverbrook, Cub Run, and Weyanoke elementary schools, and Marshall, Madison, and Chantilly high schools were also recognized for their excellence. At Glasgow Middle School, FNS Manager Berta, who has proudly served Fairfax County Public Schools for 11 years, leads her team with dedication and heart. The team has 88 years of combined FNS experience and service. Celebrating School Lunch Hero Day emphasizes the vital role FNS teams play in supporting student well-being and academic success by ensuring that students are well-fueled and ready to learn. Cheers to all our School Lunch Heroes and go Team FCPS!!

Wednesday was our  2025 FCPS Retirement Ceremony , and I had the honor of thanking and congratulating 180 of our retirees in person at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Thank you to all our newly retired staff members for all the ways in which you’ve supported and empowered our students and families, each other, and our division over the years. Whether you were in the classroom, on a school bus, in an office or behind the scenes, you have been a steady force for good. You’ve offered support, shared wisdom, sparked curiosity, and brightened countless lives in our diverse community. While all of us are excited for this next chapter of your lives, you will always be welcome in Our House as substitutes, volunteers, business partners, mentors, or advocates. Go Team FCPS!! 

It’s theatre season, and we have so many incredible performances taking place across our division. I invite each of you to take the opportunity to watch our talented students in action!  This work is so integral to a world class education. 

Thursday evening I had the opportunity to attend the Westfield High School performance of “The Sound of Music.” It was a true showcase of student talent, featuring a student costume designer, student pit orchestra, and student conductor — wow!! Director Christine Maxted was kind enough to share more information with me about these impressive young thespians. 

She shared that “The student conductor is senior Sean Salas. He and senior Ameerah Byfield expressed interest in having a pit orchestra and took on the role of organizing a student orchestra. The past couple years, the theatre has used tracks rather than a student orchestra so there was a huge interest in bringing it back.” 

“They advertised, created the rehearsal schedule, and ran rehearsals. Ameerah, who is also in the cast, often would sing the vocal lines in the orchestra and I would sometimes join her. In 2022, I was in “Sound of Music” as Mother Abbess with Prince William Little Theatre, so it's been a huge joy to sing with the student orchestra. Costumes (you can see them  here ) were handsewn by senior Annabelle DuBard and the Westfield costuming team.” Thank you for sharing, Christine! Go Bulldogs!!

Friday evening, I attended the performance of “Once Upon a Mattress” at South Lakes High School. I continue to be so impressed by the talent and energy of our young people and the commitment and passion of our educators supporting this work. The actors were so talented and the story, even as old as time, was relevant today. I must say my heart was beating faster as one of the lead actors climbed on top of twenty mattresses “to rest.” Great show and well performed!! Go Seahawks!!

On Saturday, I caught a performance of “Footloose” at Herndon High School. Go Hornets!!  The spring musical production of “Footloose” at Herndon High School, directed by veteran theatre teacher Scott Pafumi, celebrated 4 amazing performances this past weekend. According to Scott, “There were 40 student actors on stage, 10 in the musical pit playing alongside the school’s choir and band teacher, and another 30 students on crew working behind the scenes. Perhaps the most successful story of this production is the miraculous recovery of the lead of the show, senior James Culatta, who played Ren. 

“Last summer, James suffered from a freak accident while hiking in Utah and received third degree burns over 50% of his body. He had to miss the first half of his senior year and went through many exhaustive medical surgeries to heal his life-threatening wounds. Through the power of modern medicine and a faith-based community surrounding him, he fully recovered to become the outstanding lead dancer, singer, and actor in this spring musical and is college bound in the fall. In every theatre production there are stories to be told and milestones to be reached, and this is just one of them.” These theatre programs and all those who support them are integral to a world class education, transforming lives for good for so many.  Thank you for all you do, this work matters.

Speaking of the arts, on Friday afternoon, I paid a visit to Herndon United Methodist Church for the Herndon Pyramid Art Show, which featured artwork created by students from Aldrin, Armstrong, Clearview, Herndon, and Hutchison elementary schools, as well as Herndon middle and high schools. The exhibit showcased the wealth of artistic talent found in the students of the Herndon community.

Arts education enriches student learning by fostering creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. It also supports social-emotional growth, helping students build confidence and to express themselves in meaningful ways. Studies show that students involved in the arts are more engaged and often perform better academically. By investing in the arts, we create more inclusive and inspiring learning environments across our schools. Well done!!

When it comes to many activities such as arts and athletics, as well as instructional and support programs, FCPS exceeds minimum state standards.

All of these and more are part of what makes FCPS excellent, and today our  Excellence is at a Crossroads .  We can no longer do more with less . Over the past 10 years, FCPS has implemented reductions, cost avoidances, and fee enhancements of more than $800 million to align with the funding levels provided. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will begin finalizing the budget on  Tuesday, May 6 . The current advertised budget underfunds FCPS by $150 million. Without new revenue, such as the meals tax (adding just $2–3 to an average dining bill for a family of four), FCPS will face significant cuts. I invite you to visit  FCPS.edu/crossroads to learn more about what’s at stake and how you can help. 

Early Saturday morning, I attended the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association’s (VASRA) state championship regatta at Sandy Run Regional Park. Several of our schools were competing, alongside teams from Alexandria, Arlington, and Prince William counties. I was so proud of the efforts of all our rowers, their coaches and fans. This sport is one of the most prolific scholarship sports for our student athletes and therefore is important to have available for all student athletes at every school in FCPS. 

On Saturday evening, I attended the 8th annual Special Education Parent Teacher Association’s (SEPTA) Excellence Awards ceremony. These awards celebrate the extraordinary efforts of FCPS educators, staff, schools, and community members who make a lasting impact on our students with disabilities. There were 200 nominations this year — wow! — and each nominee was recognized for their dedication to promoting accessibility and inclusion, strong family-school partnerships, and a culture of belonging and leadership for each and every one of our students. This is critical work which touches on many parts of  FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan , including Goal 2 (Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered), Pillar A (Differentiated and Culturally Responsive Learning Environments) and Pillar B (Vibrant Home, School, and Community Partnerships). Go Team FCPS!!

Now that we are in the last full month of the 2024-25 school year (time flies!!), for this week’s  Advancing Literacy segment I wanted to celebrate that we have completed almost one entire school year of Benchmark Advance here at FCPS! I’m so appreciative of the hard work that Team FCPS has put into training and implementation to get our new curriculum off the ground.  Our students are better for your efforts!!

As we saw in the  “Helping Every Child Read by Grade Three” video shared during one of our School Board meetings, part of what makes Benchmark effective is its inclusive approach to literacy. While it provides each and every one of our learners with access to the same rigorous curriculum and explicit instruction, the additional resources for multilingual learners, students with learning challenges, and those needing extra support help make sure that our teachers are empowered to meet individual instructional needs. As second grade teacher Jessi Brogan shared in the video above, this deliberate approach to reading “really supports the growth in the students and it really supports me as an educator because I know what my students need, I know how to give it to them, and I know when to give it to them.” Thank you to Jessi and the other teachers and administrators at Annandale Terrace and Island Creek elementary schools for their hard work and for sharing their perspectives! Go Team FCPS!!

Finally, I continue to be so grateful for all that we have here in FCPS and not to take for granted the special experience we have each and every day. It also reminds me to be mindful of so many places in the world today where education is not a basic human right. I am so proud to serve alongside each of you as together, we continue our journey into the future.  “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” -- Malala Yousafzai

Indeed, as we celebrate Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, we recognize that our teachers and staff are changing the world, one classroom, one student, one future at a time. Together all things are possible; let’s continue to reimagine the possibilities…

Take good care,

Michelle Reid, Ed.D.

Superintendent