FCPS Aims to Become Purple Star School Division
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid has established a goal for FCPS to become a Purple Star Division by the 2026-27 school year. Virginia school districts are awarded Purple Star Division status with 100% of their schools earning and/or maintaining their Purple Star Designation. Applications are reviewed annually each fall.
Virginia’s Purple Star Designation program recognizes schools for excelling in their support of military-connected students. “When a family member serves in the military, everyone in the family serves,” said Dr. Reid.
More than 13,500 military-connected students are enrolled in FCPS. The division currently has 69 Purple Star Schools and expects approximately 33 schools to earn or renew their Purple Star status this year.
To reach the goal of all 200+ schools earning the designation, the FCPS Office of Family and School Partnerships, which supports the work of this plan, will offer Purple Star Designation Region Cohort meetings virtually three times during the school year. Individual school support will continue. Region cohorts will also allow mentoring and support for Purple Star schools new to the application process and military culture.
Creating and maintaining Student Ambassador Programs will be a focus of one of the Purple Star Designation Region Cohort gatherings.
These school-based, student-led leadership programs bring together military and civilian peers to support all students’ transition and connection to school. They help create a welcoming environment at the school for all new students, military-connected or not. Research suggests that student transition programs are among the most impactful social-emotional supports for highly mobile students.
The Purple Star Designation is valid for three years. Some of the requirements schools must meet to earn or keep their designation include:
- The school must have a staff point of contact for military-connected students and families, and that staff person must have completed Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) training.
- A minimum of 70% of all school faculty and staff must engage in professional development every three years that informs staff of the unique needs of military-connected students and the support available.
- The school maintains a student-led transition program to provide peer support for newly enrolled and withdrawing students, including military-connected students. FCPS Student Ambassadors fulfill this role.
Although the Purple Star Designation was created for military families to be able to recognize schools with a welcoming culture, Dr. Reid hopes that all FCPS principals will take on this additional project.
“The Purple Star Designation supports an inclusive and welcoming school culture for all students and families,” she said. “Therefore, it is beneficial for ALL schools to have the designation, no matter what percentage of their student body are military-connected. At FCPS, one of our strengths is our wonderful diversity. We celebrate the unique qualities that each and every student brings to our community.”
A positive school climate is part of FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan Goal 2: Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered.
