A first grade student smiles at Fort Hunt Elementary School.

School Board Votes to Adopt Fiscal Year 2025 Approved Budget

The Fairfax County School Board voted last week to adopt Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Approved Budget. The FY 2025 Approved Budget totals $3.7 billion — a net increase of $233.2 million or 6.6% over the previous year. 

The FY 2025 Approved Budget focuses on providing educational excellence for all students and ensuring that employees’ hard work and dedication are acknowledged through competitive compensation. Both of these efforts fully align with the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan.

Nearly 86% of the Approved Budget is targeted at instruction. Key budget highlights include funding for a 4% compensation increase for all employees; maintaining existing class size formulas and providing necessary support to all students; and expanding athletics offerings, additional athletic trainers, and enhanced stipends for fine and performing arts.

Read the approved budget news release.

Seniors Help Student With Disabilities Return to Class

With days to go before graduation, seniors at Chantilly Academy scrambled to finish an important final project. Engineering, and Physical and Occupational Therapy students have been collaborating for a year on a mobile, adjustable, and customizable medical bed. Last year, they finally met the student who will be using the bed. 

Liam is an eighth grader at Rocky Run Middle School who has Nemaline myopathy, a type of muscular dystrophy that leaves him nearly paralyzed. Liam has previously been able to attend school with the help of a nurse, but her retirement meant that this year he received homebound instruction. 

Next year, Liam plans to attend Chantilly High School with a personally designed bed to allow him to stay in a lying position for classes. Learn more about this special project. 

🧪 Students Compete and Win at International Science and Engineering Fair

Thirteen students from Fairfax County Public Schools won awards at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. More than 1,700 students represented 67 countries, regions, and territories across the world and competed for approximately $9 million in awards and scholarships. See the list of FCPS students who won awards. 

Website and Updates Coming Soon!

As mentioned last fall, FCPS is redesigning our central website, fcps.edu, and preparing for the redesign of school websites. Our primary purpose for this work is to improve user experience — helping families quickly find the tools, information, and resources they need. 

We plan to launch the redesigned central site in July. School sites will be rolled out in phases at a later date. Details on how to provide feedback on the new site design will be coming soon. 

Learn more about FCPS' web redesign project.

Online Campus Summer Registration Deadline

Registration for summer classes with FCPS’ Online Campus will close on Friday, June 7. Email [email protected] or call 703-503-7781 with any questions. 

Other Summer Learning Opportunities

Chantilly Academy will host an AFA CyberCamp Monday, June 24, to Friday, June 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. This camp would be a great fit for rising fifth through eighth graders of all skill levels interested in learning more about the importance of cybersecurity and gaining skills to protect themselves and others from cyber threats. Discounts are available for students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Visit the camp website for more information.

Registration is also still available for the Institute for the Arts (IFTA) and Elementary-IFTA (E-IFTA) arts camps, and Credit Recovery Academy.

☎️ Family Information Phone Lines Available in Eight Languages

Parents/caregivers who speak Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, or Vietnamese may call our Family Information Phone Lines for general information about the school division. View the list of phone numbers. 

Family Life Education Materials Available for Review

The recommended Family Life Education instructional materials are available for community review through Monday, June 10, at 4:30 p.m. View details and a feedback form. 

💻 Inspiring Students to Explore Technology and Coding

Congratulations to Kathleen Fugle, STEAM resource teacher at Sleepy Hollow Elementary School. The Virginia Department of Education announced her as their 2024 Computer Science Educator of the Year! 

Kathleen was recognized for her passion for computer science and her proactive involvement in promoting it at Sleepy Hollow. Her efforts are appreciated by both her students and the wider school community. Read about Kathleen and this award. Watch how she inspires her students. 

🍎 Become a Teacher! 

Interested in becoming a teacher? Learn about opportunities on Saturday, June 8, 9 a.m.-noon, at Oakton High School. Registration is required to attend. 

Digital SAT Replaces Paper in 2024-25

This October, the SAT School Day will be administered in a digital format nationwide. Some testing accommodations are administered differently for digital tests than for paper/pencil tests. See information about accommodations for students with disabilities. 

SAT School Day and PSAT/NMSQT

SAT School Day and PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) exams will be held at each high school on Wednesday, October 9, at no cost to families. The digital SAT School Day exam is offered to 12th grade students, and the digital PSAT/NMSQT exam is provided to 10th and 11th grade students. 

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities and Multilingual Learner Supports

Because these exams are operated by the College Board, students do not automatically receive testing accommodations or supports. If you have a student with disabilities entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade; or have a multilingual student entering 12th grade; please review the accommodations request process and/or EL support request process and return forms to your high school by Monday, August 5.

Find out more about SAT and PSAT assessments in FCPS.

Ms. Vivi’s Principal Steps in on a Sick Day

In the sixth episode of the My First Year video series, Ms. Vivi takes a sick day. Watch how her principal steps in to support her and builds community at Shrevewood Elementary School. Read more about her sick day and Principal Josh DeSmyter. 

💪 Let's Finish the School Year Strong! 

Student attendance at school is important all year long, up to the last day of school. 

Attendance has an effect on student performance and on school accreditation. See how to:

• Check your child’s attendance record.
• Help your student stay engaged at school.
• Report future absences.
• Understand the FCPS school calendar.

Learn more about attendance resources. 

🚌 Shift Gears Into a New Career at the FCPS Bus Driver Job Fair

The Office of Transportation Services will host a bus driver job fair Friday, June 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Stonecroft Transportation Center. Driving for FCPS is a great opportunity for stay-at-home parents, retirees, college students, and career switchers to earn income with benefits. No registration is needed. Apply today! Questions? Call 571-423-3000 or email [email protected].

🤠 FCPS Rounds Up Bus Drivers and Attendants for Road-eo Competition 

The Office of Transportation Services recently hosted its annual Bus Road-eo competition. Competitors included drivers of big and small buses and attendants. Participants took a written test, then a driving challenge that included maneuvering through nine difficult stations. 

Read more about the event and see a list of the winners of the Road-eo. 

🎓 Share Graduation or Promotion Ceremony Photos!

Graduation season is almost here! FCPS families, students, and staff are invited to share their favorite pictures from this year’s graduation and promotion ceremonies on Facebook, Instagram, or X (Twitter) by tagging FCPS and their school, and using the hashtag #FCPSgrad24.

View the FCPS high school graduation schedule.

Calling All Alumni and Friends!

Educate Fairfax is proud to introduce FCPS Alumni & Friends, an online network of alumni, teachers, parents/caregivers, and community members with ties to Fairfax County Public Schools. This network will celebrate our alumni and friends of FCPS through stories, news and events, reunions, homecoming, and other activities. Join FCPS Alumni & Friends today!

📊 Academic Matters: New SOL Growth Reports

In the Academic Matters segment of last week’s School Board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid presented information on the Virginia Department of Education’s new Standards of Learning (SOL) Growth Reports for families of students in grades 3-8.

These new reports are designed to give a yearlong look at student performance by combining information from earlier Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) results with SOL results. Dr. Reid also discussed how FCPS’ reporting plan for spring assessment results was created with accessibility in mind. Watch the video of the Academic Matters presentation or view the slide presentation. 

Learn how to understand your student’s grade 3-8 SOL results.

🥳 Looking Ahead: Early Dismissal June 12, Last Day of School

As a reminder, the last day of the 2023-24 school year is Wednesday, June 12. Students will be dismissed early. 

The first day of school for 2024-25 will be Monday, August 19. See the complete school year calendar for 2023-24 or 2024-25. 

📰 Last Issue of FCPS This Week for the 2023-24 School Year

The last scheduled weekly issue of FCPS This Week will be Wednesday, June 12.