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Mason District Community,
This issue of the Mason District School Board newsletter is to primarily provide information on the proposed elementary AAP Center at North Springfield ES and present the results of the Boundary Transportation vote that occurred last week. However, while I typically do not directly address statements made by other School Board members in their newsletters, I feel compelled to provide corrections to comments in the recent newsletter issued by a colleague who also serves as a representative to the Mason District.
Since my start on the Fairfax County School Board in January 2020, I have worked diligently to conduct my activities with transparency and integrity and I have approached my advocacy with candor. To that end I cannot allow for those efforts to be sullied by misinformation. To be clear, the Transportation motion (shared in my February 24, 2026 newsletter) which I presented to the School Board last Thursday did not occur at the 11th hour. It was within the guidelines and timeline of the School Board’s processes, and I will not accept commentary claiming otherwise.
The Superintendent’s recommendation regarding transportation for students impacted by the boundary adjustment was posted for the Board’s review on BoardDocs on the evening of Friday, February 20. Ms. Meren and I circulated our motion to the School Board on Monday, February 23. As stated in the Board’s Governance Manual, motions are due to the Board Clerk 48 hours in advance of the meeting, which would have created a deadline of Tuesday, February 24 at 7 p.m.
While I am able to accept – although deeply disappointed – that the motion was not agreed to by a majority of the School Board, I do not accept nor understand the false and unnecessary commentary about its timeliness.
Lastly, I must point out that had the Superintendent’s proposal been provided earlier or the Board’s vote postponed to the next School Board meeting, allowing the customary two-week public notice period, this matter would be moot.
I deeply value the relationship I have built in the Mason District and hold dear the reputation I have garnered with its families over the past six years as their representative and look forward to continuing advocacy on their behalf.
In other news, as the sole Black member of the Fairfax County School Board, I was so pleased that two wonderful school ensembles were able to perform Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing at the two February Board meetings in honor of Black History Month, with one of those schools being Mason District’s very own Justice HS Chamber Choir, under the direction of Miranda Lansberry. Hear their beautiful rendition of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing as performed at the February 26, 2026 School Board meeting.
Mason Moments
School Communicator Awards
Nine schools received awards at the Office of Communications’ third annual School Communicators Conference held on January 30. The awards celebrate the creation of excellent websites, newsletters, and social media content that inform and engage readers.
Congratulations to the two Mason District schools recognized as outstanding communicators:
Falls Church High School - Social Media Award
Westlawn Elementary School (Alanna Dushok) - Best in Show, recognized for excelling in web, newsletter, and social media communications!
Read more about the winners and their extraordinary communications efforts.
Justice High School Wind Ensemble
The School Board recognized the Justice High School Wind Ensemble at the February 12, 2026 School Board meeting. The ensemble was chosen to perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association (VMEA) Conference in Norfolk, VA. Congratulations to the ensemble and their band director, Mr. Thomas.
All Ages Read Together
This morning, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate as a guest reader at the All Ages Read Together preschool class at the Lincolnia Community Center featuring the book, What to do with a Box.
All Ages Read Together (AART) is a nonprofit free preschool/kindergarten readiness program that provides quality instruction twice a week to four- and five-year-old children who do not qualify for publicly funded early education programs and are unable to afford private preschool. Each class is taught by a qualified lead teacher supported by a bilingual assistant teacher.
This program includes 13 Fairfax County-funded classrooms serving students in Franconia, Mason, Mount Vernon, Providence, Springfield, and Sully districts and over the past three program years, AART has served more than 400 preschool-aged children, strengthening kindergarten readiness across Fairfax County communities.
Interested families should contact the location nearest them or complete the online interest form.
Elementary AAP Center Proposal
On December 18, 2025, the Board directed the Superintendent to explore opening a full-time elementary AAP center in the Annandale Pyramid in an effort to retain students within the Annandale pyramid and provide more consistent transitions as peer cohorts progress toward middle school.
The Superintendent’s proposal to establish a new Full-Time Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Center at North Springfield Elementary for the 2026-2027 school year had been posted on February 26, 2026 to allow time for public review and feedback. The recommendation identifies the following schools from which eligible AAP students will be routed to North Springfield Elementary.
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Annandale Terrace, Braddock, and North Springfield elementary schools. This will eliminate routing eligible students to Canterbury Woods which is situated outside of the Annandale pyramid and does not align with the grade 6-8 configuration at their assigned middle school (Poe).
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Columbia, Mason Crest, and Weyanoke elementary schools. This would foster more intact student cohorts. General education and AAP center-based students from these schools are assigned to Poe or Holmes middle schools.
Next Steps
Community feedback is vital to this process and families and guardians are encouraged to share their comments with the Board at the upcoming public hearing scheduled for March 19, 2026 at 6:45 p.m. Registration for speakers will be available from 8:00 a.m. on March 9 until 4:30 p.m. on March 17. The link for registration will be available on the Community Participation webpage.
The School Board is scheduled to vote on the proposal at the March 26, 2026 School Board Meeting and upon approval, at the new North Springfield AAP Center will serve grade 3 in the 2026-27 school year, grades 3-4 in the 2027-28 school year and finally grades 3-5 in the 2028-29 school year.
Boundary Phasing Transportation
It is the responsibility of the School Board and FCPS to eliminate gaps and barriers to access and opportunity. This position is affirmed by the FCPS Equity Policy and various FCPS equity commitments. However, in lieu of allocating some of the School Board’s $8M Reserve Funding or reallocating $600,000 (set aside in FY 2026) and $412,000 (set aside in FY 2023) earmarked for School Board office expansions at Gatehouse and improvements to the School Board’s meeting space at Luther Jackson MS to cover the $3.1M transportation cost for all students, the Board voted on February 26, 2026 to provide transportation only for high school students electing to take advantage of the phasing option provided in Policy 8130.
While transportation for high school students is a valuable accommodation, it fails to address the transportation needs of middle school students and students in their last two years of elementary school hoping to access the provision of the boundary policy. Lastly, this is a concerning precedent to set for the system as the work of the Boundary review process continues and will likely impact more schools in the coming years.
While I concur that the current budget climate is challenging, and hard choices are required. I believe the Board missed the opportunity to prioritize students. Every budget is a reflection of values and priorities and I value equitable transportation for students over plans that will primarily benefit the School Board office.
In addition, the division should also realize efficiencies and savings from the boundary adjustments and the middle school AAP Centers that could be applied to offset transportation costs. My bottom line is that the funds could be found if this measure had been considered a priority - which clearly it is not for a majority of the Board.
Needless to say, I am disappointed in the outcome of the School Board’s vote last week. With a final vote of 7:4, the Board approved the Superintendent’s amended recommendation to provide transportation only for current high school students affected by the recent boundary adjustments who choose to remain at their current school.
The Superintendent's recommendation and Board comments can be viewed on YouTube - see the recording of the February 26, 2026 School Board meeting.
Note: This newsletter contains links to translated versions of the content for your convenience. These translations are generated by Google Translate and are not intended to be a substitute for professional translation services.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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