Already nearly at a record high, student enrollment in Falls Church City Public Schools is expected to grow consistently in coming decades.
With 2,711 students as of Sept. 30, the five-school district is currently just 10 students shy of its record 2,721 students in 2016, according to a recent report to the Virginia Department of Education. The report predicts enrollment will pass the 3,000 mark in 2027, before growing to about 3,250 in 2040 and 3,430 in 2050.
The figures count students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, and include the contingent (currently 12 students) from Falls Church attending Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County.
Just over 60% of Falls Church’s current student body comes from single-family neighborhoods, but future growth likely will come from new multi-family development.
“Single-family is playing a very small role” in coming growth, Keith Waters — of the Stephen S. Fuller Institute of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University — told School Board members last week.
Also making student-enrollment projections, through the 2035 timeframe, is the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia. “We are coming in notably higher” than those figures, Waters said of the Fuller Institute forecast.
Falls Church school leaders in the past have said that the system’s five existing schools have capacity to absorb future growth. The updated projections will be used to start planning for how many teachers must to be hired in upcoming years.
Draft Calendar Proposed for 2026-27 School Year: There are a few tweaks that may be on the way, but Falls Church School Board members seemed generally pleased with the draft 2026-27 school calendar received from staff on Nov. 12.
“It’s nice to see it so clear,” Board vice chair Kathleen Tysse said as the 180-day calendar proposal was put before them.
Perhaps the lone significant remaining question is whether schools will be open or closed on Election Day (Nov. 3, 2026).
Closure has been a request of Falls Church election authorities to accommodate voting that takes place at Oak Street Elementary School, as it would ease election logistics. Some parents also have voiced concern over having classes taking place during open voting.
Board member Amie Murphy said keeping schools open — which is part of the draft plan — would be fine. But “if we are able to accommodate [closure], we should at least give it a go,” she added.
Board members will circle back on that and other timing issues in December, when a final plan will be reviewed and adopted.
Between now and then, “we will look at giving you a few options,” Superintendent Peter Noonan told Board members.
Unlikely to change are these key dates:
- The school year would start Monday, Aug. 24, 2026
- Winter break would be Dec. 21 to Jan. 1
- Spring break would be March 29 to April 2, aligning with Fairfax County Public Schools and likely with Arlington Public Schools
- Graduation for members of the Class of 2026 would be Friday, May 28, which was seen as preferable to holding the commencement ceremony the day after Labor Day, as has been past practice
- The final day of classes would be June 11, 2027
Falls Church would start the 2026-27 school year the same day as Fairfax County. But because Falls Church has fewer holidays throughout the year, it would end classes earlier.
All Falls Church Public Schools Garner ‘Purple Star’ Designation: All five of Falls Church’s public schools have been designated Purple Star Schools for 2024, in recognition of efforts supporting military facilities.
Meridian High School, Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School, Mount Daniel and Oak Street elementary schools and Jessie Thackrey Preschool each received the honor, school officials said.
The awards were “a codification, if you will, of the work we’ve done” to support military families, Superintendent Peter Noonan said.
“They are always welcome” in city schools, he said of military families.
A total of 190 public and private schools across Virginia received the Purple Star honor for 2024. Virginia Department of Education officials said. For the year, Falls Church joined Gloucester County Public Schools and King George County Public Schools in having achieved “Purple Star division” status for having all schools earning the designation.
Chesapeake Public Schools, York County Public Schools and Stafford County Public Schools maintained their previous Purple Star division status for 2024.
New Marquee Signage Coming to Secondary-School Campus: Falls Church City School Board members on Nov. 12 voted to spend up to $100,000 for new marquee signage at the entrance to the school system’s secondary-school campus.
The signage will be placed at West Broad Street (Route 7) and Mustang Drive at the entrance to Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School and Meridian High School.
Newest School Board Member Takes Office: The Falls Church City School Board is back to full strength after new Board member Anne Sherwood was sworn into office Nov. 12 by Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson.
Sherwood had been the lone candidate in a special election to fill the remaining year of an expired term. Her victory was certified by the Falls Church Electoral Board the afternoon of Nov. 12, so she was able to participate in that night’s meeting.
