School news roundup – April 2026
More boundary reviews – When the Fairfax County School Board approved comprehensive districtwide school boundary changes in January, it agreed to hold off on some of the changes, pending additional community engagement.
The Bren Mar Park Elementary School community is invited to a meeting on potential boundary changes on Friday, April 24, 6-7 p.m., at Edison High School. Register here. To participate on Zoom, sign up here.
There will be another community meeting on potential boundary changes for Glasgow Middle School, Beech Tree Elementary School, and Belvedere Elementary School at the Falls Church High School cafeteria on April 28, 6:30-8 p.m. Register here. To participate on Zoom, sign up here.
Related story: School board approves boundary changes
Top journalist – Zoe Ligairi, co-editor-in-chief of Annandale High School’s student newspaper, The A-Blast, has been named the VHSL 2026 Virginia Student Journalist of the Year. The honor includes a $1,000 Col. Charles E. Savedge Scholarship for college.
This prestigious statewide honor recognizes students who have made sustained contributions to scholastic journalism and demonstrated outstanding leadership, writing skills, creativity, and character.
AHS yard sale – The Annandale High School PTSA invites the public to participate in a Community Yard Sale & Market on Saturday, May 2, in the parking lot in front of the school.
Artists, bakers, crafters, and entrepreneurs are encouraged to secure a vendor space. It’s $25 for a single space; $15 for FCPS students. Contact: [email protected].
A new education leader – Rhonda Honoré has been named the assistant superintendent for Region 6. She succeeds Interim Assistant Superintendent Frances Ivey.
Region 6 includes schools in the Annandale, Hayfield, and Lewis high school pyramids.
Honoré starts her new job on May 4. She currently serves as executive director of instruction at the Houston Independent School District.
Regional assistant superintendents provide leadership, direction, and accountability for principals by monitoring school effectiveness through testing data, staff and parent surveys, and feedback from the school community. They also evaluate principals and conduct searches for new principals.
Cursive comeback – Sherisse Kenerson, a multilingual learner specialist at Holmes Middle School, appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on April 14 to talk about the Cursive Club she founded.
While teaching summer school to rising sixth graders, Kenerson told Clarkson, she wrote the assignment on the board in cursive, and was blown away when the students said they couldn’t read it.
She launched an after-school club to teach students the dying art of writing faster in cursive. She says cursive stimulates the brain more than other writing or typing.
Clarkson announced that Minted, a company that produces small cards for handwritten personal notes, donated $5,000 to the club.
Spring Sprouts – Superintendent Michelle Reid visited several schools to see how students’ learning continues during spring break with the Spring Sprouts program.
The program is available at several Title 1 elementary schools, including Annandale Terrace and Sleepy Hollow in Mason District.
Students enrolled in the program work in small groups on hands-on learning aimed at strengthening core math and literacy skills.
At Sleepy Hollow, Reid observed students participating in a guided movement activity connected to a lesson about the life cycle of plants.
Feeling the music – Orchestra students at Woodson High School hosted an unusual “instrument petting zoo” at Canterbury Woods Elementary School last week.
Woodson partnered with a nonprofit called Music: Not Impossible to provide wearable harnesses to Canterbury Woods students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The harnesses transmit live waves of sound into a series of vibrations felt throughout the body, enabling the students to experience an authentic, multi-sensory ensemble experience. For some, it was their first time to “feel” a live performance.
Musical stars – Two students at Poe Middle School – Eleaonore Jorde and Zulekha Hussen – participated in the 2026 All-Virginia Middle School Mixed Choir. The chorus performed on April 17 in Richmond. Only 30 middle school students across Fairfax County were selected.
Ava Viktoria Raisinger of Holmes Middle School and Glasgow Middle School students Isla Cannon, Colette Dale, Leonidas Gregory, Helena Grubbs, and Mariyah Siddiqi were chosen for the All-Virginia Middle School Treble Choir.
Mason District students in the All-Virginia Chorus included:
- Annandale students Lina Abu-el-Hawa, Nathaniel Dosen, Tyler Miller, Nattha Poolchuay, Elisa Quesada-Sayler, and Joshua Vaughn, and
- Justice High School students Jason Gonzalez-Canales, Maxwell Hoffman, Rahel Kassa, and Saron Walelign.
Among the members selected for the All-Virginia Orchestra: Chloe Lee of Falls Church High School and Ella McCreery of Holmes Middle School.
The performances were hosted by the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association. Students throughout Virginia went through a rigorous audition process to compete for spots in those ensembles.
Resource center closing – FCPS is permanently closing the Dunn Loring Administrative Center on Gallows Road. The building will be renovated and restored as a school.
The Family Resource Center will close on May 4. The last day for student registration appointments will be May 8, and the last day for early childhood testing appointments will be May 15.
Services for families will be relocated to the Pimmit Hills Center in Falls Church, beginning on June 1.
Silent auction – Sleepy Hollow Preschool invites the community to participate in a fundraising silent auction through April 26. View and bid on a wide selection of products and services here.
Among the donated items available: Wizards and Nationals tickets; swimming and martial arts lessons; tickets to performance venues; two nights at Ocean City; brewery tastings; restaurant gift cards; family portrait sessions; and much more.
The preschool has been serving the community with play-based early childhood education for 75 years.
Related story: School news roundup – March 2026