Loudoun County’s 98 public schools will begin classes on Thursday, August 24, welcoming more than 83,000 students for the 2023-24 school year. The last day of school will be Thursday, June 8. Calendars for the 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 school year are available on the LCPS website. 

 

PERSONNEL

 

New Superintendent

Dr. Aaron Spence will become Loudoun County Public Schools’ new superintendent on September 1. He has served as superintendent of Virginia Beach City Public Schools since 2014. Prior to that role, he was the Superintendent of Moore County Schools in North Carolina for two years. A recognized leader at the state and national level, Dr. Spence was named 2018 Virginia Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS). He was also named the EmpowerED Digital Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators and serves as a mentor and teacher for new superintendents across the country. 

 

“Together, we have an incredible opportunity to shape the lives of our young people, empower our teachers, and create a lasting impact on our community,” Dr. Spence stated at the August 8 School Board meeting. “I believe in the power of education to transform lives, and I am committed to ensuring that every child in Loudoun County has access to an exemplary education that prepares them for success in an ever-changing world.”

 

Community Listening Sessions

Dr. Spence will hold staff and community listening sessions, one in each high school cluster, beginning in September. For an updated schedule visit www.lcps.org/suptcls. 

 

*Date to be Announced 

 

New Principals for 2023-2024:

• Leigh Boyd, Henrietta Lacks Elementary School (Opening 2024) 

• Michael Burd, Rolling Ridge Elementary School

• Lenny Compton, Watson Mountain Middle School (Opening 2024) 

• Dr. Frank “Tripp” DiNicola, J. Lupton Simpson Middle School

• Fitzroy Frew, Sterling Middle School 

• Laura Ganley, Lucketts Elementary School

• Colleen O’Neill, Round Hill Elementary School

• Amanda Hudson, J. Michael Lunsford Middle School

 

More than 600 New Licensed Personnel to Join Instructional Team
As of Thursday, August 10, Loudoun County Public Schools has hired 638 new teachers for the 2023-24 school year. 60.8 percent (or 388 teachers) of these new teachers hold master’s degrees and 3.3 percent (21 teachers) hold doctoral degrees.

As of August 17, 2023, LCPS has an over 97 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 2023-24 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 16, 2023, there were 195 School-Based Licensed vacancies, 175 of which (90%) were Teachers. 39 of the 195 (20%) 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.

 

PROGRAMS

 

Dual Language Immersion at Two Elementary Schools

LCPS begins its new Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program at Potowmack and Sanders Corner elementary schools. The Dual Language Immersion program will be implemented in Kindergarten classrooms using a 50/50 model with Spanish as the partner language. The program will include classes with 50 percent native English speakers and 50 percent native Spanish speakers; half of their day being taught in Spanish, the other half in English. The goal of the DLI is to develop a child’s proficiency in English and Spanish through reading, writing, speaking and listening.   

 

STUDENT AND PARENT INFORMATION 

 

Student Meals in 2023-24
For the 2023-24 school year, USDA waivers providing, universal free meals are no longer occurring. Student breakfast costs $2.10 elementary and secondary. Lunch at the K-5 level costs $3.05 and at the 6-12 grade levels, $3.15. A la carte items meeting Smart Snack Standards will be available for purchase during all meal service periods. Families may prepay for meals using our LINQ Connect* meal payment tool.

 

Families who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals should look for the free and reduced-price meal application available to parents and guardians on our First Day Information website. Schools that qualify for Community Eligibility (CEP) will provide free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students. One snack or one supper daily will also be provided at no cost, at schools that have an after-school enrichment program and more than 50% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals.

 

*Please note: TITAN Family Portal is now called LINQ Connect.

 

Bus Transportation

LCPS has 750 buses in its fleet, covering more than 500 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. 

 

Stopfinder, an app that replaced the Here Comes the Bus (HCTB) in 2022/2023, provides 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. During the week of August 14, the LCPS Transportation Division sent invitations to parents/guardians who had not yet activated their account. Invitations include 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.

 

SchooLinks College and Career Readiness Platform

LCPS partners with SchooLinks, a college and career readiness platform, to support students as they explore and develop their plans for the future. Through engaging activities and college and career profiles, SchooLinks helps students discover their interests and strengths and create an individualized academic, college and career plan that best reflects their post-secondary goals. Middle and high school students gained access to SchooLinks in May 2023. 

 

Over the summer, more than 5,000 students logged on to learn more about the platform and to take the Find Your Path Quiz. This month, seniors will have access to the College Management Portal as they begin the process of applying to colleges. Within SchooLinks, students can visit the career center, to explore opportunities for scholarships, employment, resume building and more. In the coming school year, teachers and counselors will continue to review the platform’s features with middle and high school students. Parents and guardians also have the opportunity to join their students in the SchooLinks platform to engage in the career and college exploration process. SchooLinks will be available to elementary school students and parents in October. 

 

Contact LCPS

Families, staff and Loudoun County residents are encouraged to share their ideas, comments and feedback via a new LCPS feedback form. 

To provide feedback on policies, visit www.lcps.org/policyreview.  

To reach the IT support for school-issued Chromebooks: contact your school.

To reach Transportation with bus route questions: Transportation Concern Registry. 

Follow LCPS on X (formally Twitter) via @LCPSofficial, on Facebook by clicking "like” at 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 www.lcps.org home page.

 

Lightspeed Parent Portal

LCPS is offering a new, optional and free service for families called Lightspeed Parent Portal. This service allows parents/guardians to view a list of websites their student(s) are accessing when using their LCPS-issued Chromebook or laptop. Families who elect to use this service will receive weekly reports by email.

 

In addition, families can elect to temporarily suspend Internet access for their student(s) devices when they are not connected to the LCPS network (home, bus, etc.). Internet access cannot be suspended when a student is at school.

 

Families can sign up for Lightspeed Parent Portal via ParentVUE. 

ELECTIONS, BOND AND SCHOOL BOARD INFORMATION

 

School Board Elections November 7, 2023 

All nine School Board seats will be up for election on Tuesday, November 7. 

 

This election will be different from past School Board elections. In order to stagger terms, five magisterial districts (Algonkian, Broad Run, Dulles, Leesburg and Sterling) will elect their members to two-year terms. 

 

Voter registration deadlines are:

• Online - Monday, October 16, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. vote.virginia.gov.

• In-person - Monday, October 16, 2023, at 5 p.m.

• By-Mail - Postmarked no later than Monday, October 16, 2023, at 5 p.m.

Voters may register through Election Day and vote using a provisional ballot.

 

Early & Absentee Voting:

• Early voting opens - Friday, September 22, 2023

• Last day to request a ballot be mailed to you - Friday, October 27, 2023, at 5 p.m.

• Last day to Vote Early in-person - Saturday, November 4, 2023

 

School Bond Vote on November 7, 2023

Bond funding for school construction will be up for voter approval in the November 7, 2023, election. 

 

On the referendum this year are the costs to design, construct and equip HS-14 Dulles North; Park View High School Replacement; Banneker Elementary School Renovation/Addition; Waterford Elementary School Renovation/Addition; School Security Improvements; and the design, construction, and improvement of LCPS Facility Renewals and Alterations and the costs of other public school facilities as requested by the Loudoun County School Board. 

 

The maximum amount in capital improvement bonds this referendum would authorize is $362,711,000.

 

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.

 

School Board Meetings

The public is invited to participate in School Board meetings held in open session at the LCPS Administrative Offices, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, VA 20148. Second Tuesday meetings typically are scheduled to convene at 4 p.m.; fourth Tuesday meetings typically are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.; however, the School Board Chair may adjust start times for meetings. 

 

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 on Vimeo.

 

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 at School Board meetings, please visit the Citizen Participation webpage.

 

The School Board also is open to receiving comments outside of School Board meetings.  Contact the School Board or call 571-252-2411. Please see Policy 2520 for full details.

 

Published Friday, August 18