News: Loudoun Public Schools Open Today to 68,170 Students

(Aug. 27, 2012) - The 82 public schools of Loudoun County will open this morning, August 27th, welcoming an estimated 68,170 students for the 2012-13 school year. This year, students again start before Labor Day. The earlier start will allow schools to close on June 6th. This year, LCPS will welcome the addition of one new high school and one new elementary school. The new schools are:

John Champe High School

41535 Sacred Mountain Street

Aldie, VA 20105

(703) 722-2680

John G. Gabriel, Principal

Frederick Douglass Elementary

510 Principal Drummond Way, SE

Leesburg, VA 20175

(703) 252-1920

Timothy J. Martino, Principal

13 New Principals

There will be 13 Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) principals new to their schools for 2012-2013:

Belmont Station Elementary: Lori A. Mercer

John Champe High School: John G. Gabriel

Creighton’s Corner Elementary: Christopher L. Knott

Frederick Douglass Elementary: Timothy J. Martino

Emerick Elementary: Dawn E. Haddock

Forest Grove Elementary: Monique X. Martin

Freedom High School: Douglas B. Fulton

Harper Park Middle School: Elizabeth A. Robinson

Hillside Elementary: Garett E. Brazina

Liberty Elementary: Paul A. Pack

Pinebrook Elementary: Paul G. Thiessen Jr.

Sycolin Creek Elementary: Derek A. Racino

Woodgrove High School: William S. Shipp

LCPS Wins 2012 EPA Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence

In March, Loudoun County Public Schools received the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, the highest honor presented by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Department of Energy.

LCPS was named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2010 and 2011.The district undertook a comprehensive energy management program in 1993. Since that time LCPS has documented savings of more than $46 million in energy costs.

Student Enrollment Continues to Increase

The largest elementary school class will be the fourth grade with 5,802 students. The largest middle school class will be 5,325 students in the sixth grade. The largest high school class is the freshmen class with 5,050 members. 

The Class of 2013 is composed of 4,646 seniors enrolled in 12 of the county’s 13 high schools (John Champe High School will not have a senior class in 2013) compared to the 2,700 members of this class who entered the first day of kindergarten in 2000. In 2000, LCPS enrollment was 31,804.

854 School Buses on the Road by 6:30 a.m.

As early as 6:30 a.m. on the first day of school, LCPS’ 854 school buses will begin traveling the county’s roads and highways delivering nearly 68,000 students to school. During the 2012-13 school year, these buses are expected to travel more than 9 million miles. LCPS Transportation Supervisor Alvin E. Hampton IV reminds drivers to watch for school buses picking up children and to be aware of children walking or biking to school. Virginia law requires that all vehicles stop for schools buses loading and unloading students

508 New Teachers Join Instructional Team

LCPS hired more than 500 new teachers and licensed personnel for the 2012-13 school year. Principals and administrative staff reported for in-service training on August 1st. New teachers reported for orientation on August 8th. All instructional staff reported for work on August 15th for staff development and to complete opening day preparations.

New for 2012-13: CLARITY

This year all LCPS parents will be able to check their student’s grades and assignments online through a parent portal using the CLARITY system.

The application, found on the webpage for each LCPS school, allows parents to view their student’s grades and attendance in secondary schools.

This system will be fully operational for grades three through 12 during the first quarter of the 2012-13 school year. Kindergarten- through- second-grade will have their parent portals opened during the second semester.

Requirements for updating grade books, adding new assignments and responding to parent e-mails will be handled on a school-by-school basis.

School Attendance Boundaries Under Review in 2012-13

Two new elementary schools will be opening at the start of the 2013-14 school year: Discovery Elementary School (ES-22), which will be located at 44020 Grace Bridge Drive in Ashburn and Moorefield Station Elementary School (ES-16), which will be located at 22325 Mooreview Parkway in Ashburn. In establishing attendance zones for the two new schools, the current attendance boundaries for Ashburn, Belmont Station, Cedar Lane, Creighton’s Corner, Dominion Trail, Hillside, Legacy, Mill Run, Newton-Lee, Rosa Lee Carter, Sanders Corner, Seldens Landing, and Steuart W. Weller Elementary Schools will be reviewed.

The Loudoun County School Board has scheduled a series of meetings to facilitate the necessary attendance zone changes for the greater Ashburn area elementary schools. All of the meetings will be open to the public.

A full schedule of the boundary hearings can be found under the Planning & Legislative Services button under Quick Link on the LCPS website, www.lcps.org.

LCPS Extends Reach to Community through Social Media

Loudoun County Public Schools has extended its communications reach to students, families, employees and its community through the use of social media tools Facebook and Twitter. Users of these social media get up-to-date LCPS information and announcements, including weather delays and school closings.

Families can add the Official Loudoun County Public Schools to their Facebook account’s newsfeed by clicking “like” at www.facebook.com/LCPSofficial. Twitter users can follow LCPS news via @LCPSofficial. These sites may also be accessed by clicking on the Facebook and Twitter icons found on thewww.lcps.org website.

Public Invited to School Board Meetings

The School Board meets twice monthly in open session in the School Board Meeting Room at the LCPS Administrative Offices, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn 20148. Meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays with the exception of December, July and August when no fourth Tuesday meetings are planned. Loudoun residents are encouraged to attend and participate in meetings. Agendas are available on the LCPS website:www.lcps.org through Board Docs, which is found under the School Board tab. Those who wish to speak at a School Board Meeting may call (571) 252-1020 to have their names placed on the speakers’ list in advance of the meeting. They also may add their names to the list at the time of the meeting.

LCPS-TV broadcasts on Comcast Channel 18, Verizon FIOS Channel 43 and Channel 42 on Open Band in Lansdowne, providing live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of scheduled School Board meetings. Meetings can be viewed live and on-demand via webcasts on the LCPS website at www.lcps.org.