Schools Mark Start of Year With a Number of Changes

Fairfax System Expands Full-Day Kindergarten, Elementary-Level Foreign Language Instruction

Fairfax County students said farewell to summer vacation this week and headed back to class Tuesday.

Fairfax County Public Schools, the 13th-largest system in the country, has about 165,000 students this year, more students in full-day kindergarten, and more elementary students studying a foreign language.

Superintendent Jack D. Dale visited several schools on opening day, greeting students, teachers and administrators. His first stop was South Lakes High School in Reston, where he toured the school's new library and arts wing.

Dale stopped to meet a group of juniors who are mentoring this year's freshmen. Each junior will be a personal contact for four or five freshmen, helping them navigate the buildings and the school's social scene.

He asked the juniors if they had met their charges.

"No, but we made friends with a lot of freshmen," said Yoshiko Spratley, 16. "We'll make friends with them; we're friendly people."

Spratley and other mentors said they remember when they were the newcomers and high school seemed overwhelming. They looked to their mentors for help in deciding which clubs or sports to join, asked them which teachers were the nicest and even sought advice on finding their way around.

No new schools opened in the county this fall, but some students are seeing changes this week.

With the addition of full-day kindergarten at 21 schools, about 70 percent of Fairfax County elementary schools now have it. Officials want to expand the full-day program to all schools in the coming years.

Schools are also working toward a goal of having every student able to communicate in more than one language by the time they graduate. Foreign language programs, in which students have an hour of instruction each week in another language, have started at 16 more elementary schools.

For the first time, elementary students may study Arabic in a program at Beech Tree Elementary School in Falls Church. Students in other schools will focus on Spanish, Chinese or another language.

Nine schools already offered such classes, and a handful of others have more intensive immersion programs. School officials hope to offer foreign language classes in all 137 elementary schools eventually.

Other changes this year may go unnoticed by students and teachers. The schools replaced windows and improved lighting, air-conditioning and heating systems in 100 buildings, changes they say will save about $2.4 million in energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.

In November, residents will vote on all 12 school board seats. Voters also will be asked to approve a $365 million bond referendum to pay for two elementary schools and the renovation of several other schools.

The school board is considering an overhaul of the district's transportation schedule. Officials hope changes ultimately will result in later start times -- and more sleep -- for high school students. Most high schools start about 7:30 a.m., and some students board buses much earlier.