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An educator wearing a staff badge exchanges a high-five with a student in front of a display featuring the word “SHINE.” Several other students stand nearby, waiting their turn. A congratulatory balloon is visible in the background, and the indoor school setting is brightly lit.

Loudoun County Public Schools Starts 2026-27 School Year Monday, August 17

LCPS

August 13, 2026

 On Monday, August 17, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) welcomes approximately 80,000 students back to more than 100 campuses to meet their teachers. New programs include The Academy of Global and Linguistic Studies (AGLS), which will welcome students for the first time at Dominion High School. Developed in response to growing interest in expanded world language and global studies opportunities within LCPS, the program offers Arabic and Chinese languages in leadership and humanities-focused specialty programming. 

LCPS hired 523 new licensed personnel for the 2026-27 school year, including 232 brand-new teachers: 55.1 percent hold a master’s degree, and 3.6 percent hold doctoral degrees. As of August 12, 2026, LCPS had a fill rate of 99.36% of all school-based licensed positions, marking the highest fill rate at this time of year in recent history. 

As of August 11, 2026, LCPS has 25 bus driver vacancies; 31 bus drivers in training; 12 scheduled for future training, and 36 bus driver candidates in the onboarding process. This puts LCPS in a strong staffing position, as the transportation department drives students more than 8 million miles annually over 550 routes. 

Data from the 2025-2026 Annual Family, Staff and Student survey, released this week, shows improvement in school culture and climate across all levels. The percentage of high school students reporting a sense of belonging increased by 10 percentage points. 92% of elementary students and 84% of high school students proudly report, “I like this school,” and 92% of high school students report having a trusted adult they can talk to if they need help. 

In middle school, 97% of students surveyed agree or strongly agree with the statements “I have friends at this school” and “My teachers expect me to do my best.” Read the summarized survey results.

Academic accomplishments include Division-wide SOL Improvements with pass rates on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments increasing by six percentage points across the board in mathematics, science, history and social science. Students with disabilities achieved a remarkable 36-point gain in average SAT scores, along with 9-point gains in history and social science SOLs and 6-point gains in math and science. English Learners demonstrated significant academic improvements, including a 14-percentage-point increase in history and social science SOL pass rates, a 9-percentage-point increase in science SOL pass rates, and an 8-percentage-point increase in mathematics SOL pass rates. 

Beyond traditional academic metrics, the division also saw a decrease in chronic absenteeism among students with disabilities and English language learners. 

“We are so excited to welcome our families back to school next week,” Superintendent Dr. Spence shared, “All summer, we've been eager to have students and staff back in our buildings in what is sure to be an exceptional year. Students are at the center of everything we do. We believe the best learning happens when students know they are valued, respected and that they belong.” 

For detailed information on returning to school, including transportation, nutrition services and lunch payments, health and immunizations, and translation services, parents and families are encouraged to visit the LCPS first-day information webpage and download the LCPS app.  

The last day of school will be Friday, June 11, 2027. Calendars and graduation ceremony dates for the 2026-27 school year are posted on the LCPS website.

Families, staff and Loudoun County residents are encouraged to share their ideas, comments and feedback via the Let’s Talk LCPS feedback form. 

Follow LCPS on X @LCPSofficial, on Facebook like LCPSOfficial, on Instagram at @LCPSOfficial and on LinkedIn at Loudoun County Public Schools. These sites can also be accessed by clicking on icons found on the LCPS home page. Learn more about LCPS by listening to the LCPS podcast with new episodes dropping each Thursday starting in September.