Due to continued extreme temperatures and unsafe walking routes to schools and bus stops, many of which remain uncleared of snow and ice, schools will remain closed to students on Friday, January 30, 2026. All after-school activities are also canceled. Friday will be a work day for Exempt Licensed staff, and buildings and administrative offices will open on time. Employees who need to work remotely should notify their supervisors.

On Friday, January 30, we will be providing free meals distributed at five schools. Families of students up to 18* years of age are eligible to pick up breakfasts and lunches for each child. Loudoun Education Foundation is also providing weekend meal kits on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.

Pick up Available: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon

Locations:

Sugarland Elementary School - Sterling (will also provide breakfasts and lunches for the weekend)
Park View High School - Sterling (will also provide breakfasts and lunches for the weekend)
Cool Spring Elementary School - Leesburg (will also provide breakfasts and lunches for the weekend)
Leesburg Elementary School - Leesburg
Dominion Trail Elementary School - Ashburn

For families who may need additional assistance with necessities, contact your school’s office. For additional food assistance, contact www.loudounfeeds.org.

*Along with children ages 18 years and younger, regulations also define children as persons over 18 years of age who are determined by the State or local educational agency or a local public education agency as having a mental or physical disability and who participate during the school year in a public-school program established for the mentally or physically disabled.

Saturday and Sunday activities:

Weekend activities will continue as scheduled. The all-district band event scheduled for Friday and Saturday will now be held on Saturday only. Participants should expect to receive more information from their band directors regarding transportation and other logistics.

Some weekend activities will extend into the evening hours. We encourage families to use their best judgment when deciding whether their child should travel after dark.

Students who are unable to attend weekend activities due to weather conditions will not be penalized.

Plans for Monday, Feb. 2:

We are doing our best to assess walkways and bus stops daily to keep students safe while balancing the need to get kids back into their classrooms, back to learning, back to routines, and to provide them with warm meals and buildings.

We are acutely aware that, for some of our students, school is the primary source of nutrition and consistency, and we know all too well that some in our community are suffering while we are out of school.

With that in mind, we are hopeful that we will be able to open on Monday, but we will continue to monitor conditions through the weekend. Should we make a decision to open schools on Monday, we anticipate that parents may need to assist their students as they travel safely to school and bus stops, especially if they reside in areas still affected by snow and ice. We ask that families use the weekend to make a plan to get to bus stops and use walking paths safely.

If we cannot open for students on Monday, LCPS will offer a virtual learning option in order to ensure instruction continues. Learning will be asynchronous, meaning students would visit Schoology to find their assignments and complete them on their own time. Students would not be required to attend live sessions, and there would be flexibility regarding due dates for students who experience access issues. To be clear, no decision has been made about this yet.

We will monitor conditions over the weekend and will communicate with you as early as possible on Sunday about Monday’s schedule.

We thank our staff who have shoveled out, made hundreds of buses roadworthy, and worked diligently to clear our school campuses. We thank our families, teachers and other school personnel for your grace and flexibility as we work to make the best decisions possible for our students.

To learn more about how we make weather-related decisions and for optional learning resources, please visit the Inclement Weather webpage.

Gum Spring Middle School

Gum Spring Middle School

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