Fairfax County Public Schools has applied to become a Purple Star Division, requiring every school to earn recognition for supporting military-connected families.

Three McLean-area schools already hold the designation. Langley High School and Churchill Road Elementary School earned the Purple Star Award for the 2025-26 school year. Cooper Middle School received it for 2024-25. The awards are granted by the Virginia Council on the Educational Opportunity for Military Children.

Superintendent Michelle Reid announced the division-wide goal in her Sunday, Sept. 13, weekly reflections, setting a deadline of the end of the 2026-27 school year. Ninety-six FCPS schools have earned the designation so far, and the district has submitted its application.

"That is why we are expanding our Purple Star Designation program," Reid wrote. "Our goal is for every school to earn it and for FCPS to become a Purple Star Division by the end of the 2026-27 school year."

More than 13,500 military-connected students attend FCPS schools, and nearly one-third of military families move into or out of the district each year, according to Reid. The Purple Star program recognizes schools that demonstrate a major commitment to military-connected families.

To qualify as a Purple Star Division, every school in the district must hold an active designation, according to Virginia program guidelines.

Reid, a former military child and the mother of a Marine, has made military family support a visible priority this fall. At the district's second annual Military Families Welcome BBQ on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Lake Braddock Secondary School, she encouraged families to engage with the FCPS Military-Connected Youth Advisory Council and the Military-Connected Family Advisory Council.

The push has been building for months. At a Mission Ready: Back to School Resource Fair on Aug. 1 at West Springfield High School, Katie Server, FCPS family partnerships specialist, said the district's work goes beyond logistics. "We're really committed to working on building relationships for our military families," Server said at the fair, according to an FCPS article about the event.

The Purple Star effort supports Goal 2 of the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan: students feeling safe, supported, included and empowered.

No School Board vote or formal timeline for the division-level application has been announced.