Loudoun County Public Schools -

Loudoun County’s 100 public schools will begin classes on Thursday, August 22, welcoming more than 83,000 students for the 2024-25 school year. The last day of school will be Friday, June 13, 2025. Calendars for the school year can be found on the LCPS website. 

PERSONNEL

Superintendent

Dr. Aaron Spence returns as superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools for his second school year. Dr. Spence spent a considerable amount of time last school year visiting and listening around the division.

“With the new school year upon us, we are excited to welcome back all of our students and staff for another amazing year of learning and growth,” said Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. “Our focus remains on fostering a positive school culture where every student and staff member feels valued and engaged. Together, we will continue to build strong relationships, inspire hope, and create an environment where our students can thrive and reach their full potential."

LCPS Welcomes the Following New Principals for 2024-2025:

• Ashley Barkley, Aldie Elementary

• Dr. Shaun Mason, Alternative Education Program 

• Rebecca Pierce, Ashburn Elementary

• Jennifer Theissen, Evergreen Mill Elementary

• Nikole Mullen, Frances Hazel Reid Elementary

• Stacee Huffer, Harper Park Middle

• Leigh Boyd, Henrietta Lacks Elementary

• Melissa Sargeant, John Champe High

• Dan Lani, Lovettsville Elementary

• Uzma Askari, Rosa Lee Carter Elementary

• Daneesha Davis, Tolbert Elementary

• Lenny Compton, Watson Mountain Middle

More than 600 New Licensed Personnel to Join the Instructional Team

As of Wednesday, August 7, Loudoun County Public Schools had hired 615 new licensed personnel for the 2024-25 school year. 52.8 percent (or 325) of these new employees hold master’s degrees and 3.6 percent (22) hold doctoral degrees.

As of August 14, 2024, LCPS has an over 98% percent fill rate of all School-Based Licensed positions. This compares to typical fill rates at this time during previous years.

Focused on increasing the pool of exceptional talent, recruiting efforts included creating a new partnership with Participate Learning to welcome 40 international teachers to LCPS, starting and funding multiple alternate pathways to licensure for current and new LCPS employees to transition to a teacher role, and returning former LCPS students who participated in the Teacher Cadet program to LCPS classrooms after college as part of the “Grow Our Own” initiative. LCPS implemented signing bonuses for its new teachers with extra incentives for teachers in Special Education and Title I settings. Finally, LCPS enhanced its experiences for all prospective talent through innovative Zoom events, which provided a more efficient and personalized experience for employees to engage with LCPS staff in recruiting, hiring, and onboarding processes. These efforts were recently highlighted in Forbes Magazine, where LCPS was named one of America’s Best-in-State Employers for 2024.

Division of Family and Community Engagement

As part of its support for families across the division, LCPS has created the Division of Family and Community Engagement, which will consolidate family, community, and partner engagement. Staff heard extensive community feedback last school year that families need streamlined communications and a stronger way to engage with the division. The Division of Family and Community Engagement will provide a clearer focus on expanding our robust relationships with parents, local businesses, and community organizations. This new Division will be part of the Department of Communications and Community Engagement. 

PROGRAMS

Health and Medical Sciences Academy (HAMSci)

The Health and Medical Sciences (HAMSci) Academy connects student interests with workforce needs. In 2022, LCPS sent a survey to all parents in the division asking what areas of interest their children would be interested in studying; health and medical sciences had the greatest interest, with 44% of respondents indicating they were very interested. That same year, the Loudoun Education Foundation and LCPS began hosting round table events with health and medical industry leaders to understand how best to create student programming that aligned with their workforce needs. 

Through ongoing conversations, industry leaders worked alongside LCPS educators to help inform the curriculum and pathways offered at the HAMSci Academy. Industry partners also worked with LCPS to create a two-day, hands-on camp for middle school students to pique their interest in the health and medical fields. 

Alternative Education Program

LCPS has a new program to provide a structured, non-traditional learning environment for students in the disciplinary process in grades 6 to 12. The goals of the Alternative Program are to:

• Ensure students stay on track with their education and meet their academic goals.

• Foster positive behavioral changes and reduce disciplinary issues.

• Support students in developing essential life skills and achieving personal growth.

  
  

STUDENT AND PARENT INFORMATION

New LCPS Website

LCPS launched a redesigned website on July 19, 2024! LCPS staff has been working to develop and migrate Division information into a platform that better reflects community needs and program offerings, improves navigation for students, staff and families, and provides a revitalized "digital entrance" for new families interested in joining the Division.

New features include:

• Mobile phone responsive: The website information can adapt content based on the device used to view it.

• Updated navigation: The main menu and landing pages are organized to help find information efficiently. 

• Consistent school websites and pages: Clear and consistent school websites honor each school community's individuality while also ensuring a uniform look across sites.

• The new, user-friendly LCPS app provides a personalized window into what is happening across the Division and schools. Everything families want to know about their child's school experience can now be found at any time, like the Division's approved calendar, school board information and school lunch menus.  

Download the Loudoun County Public Schools app from Google Play or the App Stores. Additional information about the app is available on the LCPS website.

Bus Transportation

LCPS has more than 750 buses covering more than 500 routes. The school division's buses log about eight million miles transporting students annually. 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 is the easy-to-use, all-in-one parent engagement app that provides families with their child’s bus location and the most accurate information about their child’s bus schedule in the palm of their hand. To sign up for Stopfinder, visit Transportation’s webpage. Let's Talk is the platform that replaced IssueTrak on July 1, as the Transportation Division's Concern Registry. This is where parents/guardians or the general public can submit questions, compliments and any concerns regarding all things related to school transportation. Families are encouraged to check ParentVUE for updates to their child’s bus schedule.

Contact LCPS

Families, staff and Loudoun County residents are encouraged to share their ideas, comments and feedback via the Let’s Talk LCPS feedback form. 

To provide feedback on policies, visit the LCPS Policy and Regulations page.

To reach the IT support for school-issued Chromebooks, contact your student’s school.

To reach Transportation with bus route questions, visit the Transportation Concern Registry. 

Follow LCPS on X (formerly 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 LCPS home page.

BOND AND SCHOOL BOARD INFORMATION

School Bond Vote on November 5, 2024

Bond funding for school construction will be up for voter approval on November 5, 2024. 

On the referendum this year are the costs to design, construct and improve LCPS Capital Facility Renewals and Alterations and the costs of other public school facilities as requested by Loudoun County School Board. The maximum amount in capital improvement bonds this referendum would authorize is $10,000,000.

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 and fourth Tuesday meetings typically are scheduled to convene at 4:30 p.m.; however, the School Board Chair may adjust start times for meetings. 

LCPS-TV provides live 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 division. For more information on how to sign up to speak at School Board meetings, please visit the Citizen Participation webpage.