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LCPS Starts 2022-23 School Year Today
Loudoun County’s 98 public schools will begin classes today, August 25, welcoming more than 82,000 students for the 2022-23 school year. The last day of school will be Thursday, June 8.
New Schools Opening in 2022-23:
This school year, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) will open one new elementary school, Elaine E. Thompson Elementary School. This is LCPS’ first three-story elementary school. It has already received an award from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Decarbonize Your Design Challenge that recognizes new construction projects for superior energy efficiency and preventing carbon dioxide emissions. Elaine E. Thompson Elementary is only one of four schools nationwide to achieve this honor. (Another LCPS school, Hovatter Elementary, also received this award.)
Elaine E. Thompson Elementary School is located at 24200 Pissaro Drive Sterling, VA 20166.
Six New Principals for 2022-2023:
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Neil Kraus, Horizon Elementary School
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Dr. Gregory Mihalik, Sugarland Elementary School
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Brendan Quigley, Creighton’s Corner Elementary School
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Timothy Sparbanie, Elaine E. Thompson Elementary School
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Rolando Tillman, Guilford Elementary School
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Rohini Tohan, Stone Hill Middle School
Students Resume Paying for Meals in 2022-23
For the 2022-23 school year, universal free meals are no longer occurring. Meal prices will be the same as pre-COVID. Breakfast costs $2.10, lunch at the k-5 level costs $3.05 or $3.15 at the 6-12 grade levels. A la carte items meeting Smart Snack Standards will be available for purchase during the lunch period. Families may prepay for meals using our meal payment tool.
Students who may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals should look for the free and reduced-price meal form available to parents and guardians on our First Day Information website. Schools with more than 50% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals will provide free breakfast and lunch to the entire school. One snack or one supper daily will also be provided at schools that have an after-school enrichment program and more than 50% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals.
COVID Protocols for 2022-23
Students and visitors are not required to wear a mask in schools or on LCPS property. According to federal regulations, Head Start preschool programs will continue to require masks in the classroom and on school buses. We encourage all families to talk to their students about their mask decisions. Find answers to frequently asked questions.
School Board Adopts New Strategic Plan
The School Board has adopted One LCPS: 2027 Strategic Plan for Excellence to provide high-level direction for the school division during the next five years. The plan, developed over many months in collaboration with the School Board, school-division leadership, community stakeholders and students, was voted on by the board on June 28, 2022, at its final meeting of the school year.
One LCPS: 2027 Strategic Plan for Excellence articulates a shared set of core beliefs; establishes common goals; prioritizes and aligns LCPS’ work; and, holds the division accountable to all LCPS students.
Bus Transportation
LCPS has 740 buses in its fleet, covering 514 routes. The school division's buses log about 8 million miles transporting students annually.
Families are encouraged to check ParentVUE for updates to their child’s bus schedule.
Families who are eligible for transportation service, but who will be transporting their children to school this year, should visit ParentVUE to opt their children out of bus service. This information will help the Transportation Department consolidate routes and operate with greater efficiency.
LCPS also announces the launch of Stopfinder, a new app that replaces the Here Comes the Bus (HCTB) service, giving families the ability to see a student’s transportation schedule and set up GeoAlert notifications to track their student’s bus.
Stopfinder is invitation-based. The LCPS Transportation department will send invitations to all parents/guardians on August 19, with information on how to subscribe for the service. LCPS will continue to send invitations and reminders throughout the school year to parents/guardians who have not yet signed up.
More than 450 New Licensed Personnel to Join Instructional Team
As of Monday, August 8, Loudoun County Public Schools has hired 462 new teachers for the 2022-23 school year. 61.5 percent (or 284 teachers) of these new teachers hold master’s degrees and 2.4 percent (11 teachers) hold doctoral degrees.
As of August 17, 2022, LCPS has a 98 percent fill rate of all School-Based Licensed positions. This compares to, or is slightly better than, typical fill rates at this time during previous years. It is important to recognize that staffing is constantly evolving with separations and new hires changing almost daily, so this is a snapshot of our staffing.
This success has been driven by recruiting (continuing efforts via social media and candidate contacts to promote vacancies), Site Assigned Substitute Initiative – Continuing for 2022-23 school year, working with principals to hire long-term substitutes to fill vacancies and absences and a growing substitute pool fueled by onboarding new substitutes this summer and onboarding student teachers concurrently as substitutes.
As of August 3, 2022, there were 152 School-Based Licensed vacancies, 139 of which (91%) were Teachers. 58 of the 152 (38%) vacancies had a candidate in process, meaning that they were pending a reference check, job offer, or attending a new hire session to be cleared to begin working.
School Bond Vote on November 8, 2022
Bond funding for school construction will be up for voter approval in the November 8, 2022, election.
School capital projects on the referendum this year would finance, in whole or in part, the design, construction, equipping and other costs of HS-14, a high school in the Dulles North area; School Security Improvements; Valley Service Center Traffic Signal; Park View High School Renovation/Replacement; and LCPS Facility Renewals and Alterations. The maximum amount in capital improvement bonds this referendum would authorize is $268,224,000.
This is not a referendum on whether these school projects should be executed. This referendum seeks the authority to issue general obligation bonds to fund these projects.
LCPS Extends Reach to Community through Social Media
Loudoun County Public Schools extends its communications outreach to students, families, employees and the greater community through the use of popular social-media tools. Users of these social media platforms get up-to-date LCPS information and announcements, including weather delays and school closings.
Follow LCPS on Twitter via @LCPSofficial, on Facebook by clicking "like" at www.facebook.com/LCPSofficial, on Instagram at @officialLCPS, and on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loudoun-county-public-schools.
These sites can also be accessed by clicking on icons found on the www.lcps.org home page.
Public Invited to View School Board Meetings
The public is invited to participate in School Board meetings held in open session at LCPS’ Administrative Offices, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, VA 20148. Second Tuesday meetings typically are scheduled to convene at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; fourth Tuesday meetings typically are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.; however, the School Board Chair has the ability to set different start times for meetings in anticipation of a long agenda.
LCPS-TV provides live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of scheduled School Board meetings. Closed captioning is also provided for the live broadcasts. Meetings are webcast at www.lcps.org.
The most current information about the School Board’s meeting schedule and meeting format is always available through the division calendar.
The School Board welcomes comments from the public and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. For more information on how to sign up to speak and the various forms of comment available at School Board meetings, please visit the Citizen Participation webpage.
The School Board also is open to receiving comments outside of School Board meetings as an alternative means of public participation. Contact the School Board or call 571-252-2411. Please see Policy 2520 for full details.
Published August 25, 2022