Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid laid out priorities for the second half of the FCPS 2023–30 Strategic Plan at a roundtable with 27 student journalists on Friday, Oct. 23.

Math access for multilingual learners, support for military-connected families and student mental health dominated the conversation at the Gatehouse Administration Center, according to a Fairfax County Public Schools account of the event. Students from nearly all FCPS high schools and secondary schools attended. It was the third such roundtable since the series began in spring 2025.

Math access for multilingual learners

Reid said the division had been "really intentional" about opening higher-level math classes to multilingual students, according to the FCPS account. She pointed to a Spanish-language Algebra I class offered to eighth graders at Glasgow Middle School.

Getting every student through Algebra I by eighth grade is a benchmark of the strategic plan's Goal 3, focused on academic growth. The division's math Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rate has climbed 19 percentage points since 2021, reaching 80% in 2026, as we reported Oct. 26. Reid has also highlighted sixth graders taking algebra in elementary schools, according to a June 2026 FCPS newsletter.

Purple Star and military families

The roundtable came two weeks after FCPS was named the largest Purple Star Division in Virginia. The state designation recognizes schools that support military-connected students. Every FCPS school now meets the standard, up from 69 of more than 200 when Reid set the goal in September 2024.

McLean High School earned its own Purple Star designation this fall. The designation requires a trained staff point of contact for military families, training for at least 70% of staff and a student-led transition program.

The number of military-connected students in FCPS varies by source. An October FCPS announcement put the figure at more than 12,600, while Reid said "almost 14,000" at a September welcome barbecue for military families, according to a separate FCPS article.

Reid told the student journalists that the Purple Star effort means every school now has ambassadors and supports for military-connected students, according to the FCPS roundtable account. She added that she wants to build online landing pages where incoming students can get virtual school tours before they arrive.

Student mental health

Reid said recent youth surveys show student mental health is improving and that efforts to address the fentanyl crisis have been successful, though the challenge remains constant.

"I do worry about our strongest students and most active athletes or actors or musicians because I feel like they can mask symptoms longer and then it becomes a really serious issue," Reid said, according to the FCPS account.

FCPS high school students have access to no-cost virtual therapy through Hazel Health, covering concerns such as anxiety, academic stress and grief, according to district information published in June.

The roundtable also touched on safe commutes, universal pre-K and scholarship opportunities, though the FCPS account did not detail Reid's responses on those topics. A second student journalist roundtable is planned for spring 2027.