Loudoun County Public School students head back to the classroom

LEESBURG, Va. - The damp weather didn't dampen the mood as around 82,000 Loudoun County Public School students returned to the classroom on Thursday, August 21st. 

Students welcomed with cheer

The youngest of the students were both surprised and excited to be welcomed by an upper-class band, cheerleaders and teachers waiving them inside at Evergreen Mill Elementary School in Leesburg. 

FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez was there and said LCPS school officials shared how the different elementary schools are focusing more on "connecting and belonging" this school year. For example, at Evergreen Mill, fifth graders can participate in a program called "Kindness Club," where the elementary school's "seniors" spend time during recess visiting and helping pre-schoolers with any needs they have. The program is said to help pre-schoolers build confidence and educate the fifth graders on how to work with students who have different needs. 

Focus on belonging

An LCPS spokeperson said that as of August 6th, the school system has hired 626 new licensed personnel, with nearly 240 of those teachers completely brand new to the profession, as the school system continues to grow. 

More information on the start of the year can be found online.

Evergreen Mill PTA members Janice Mottram and Debbie Greenberg tells FOX 5 they really appreciate how much their school's teachers love and want help their students grow. 

"We want to make sure that when they come into our schools, that they know this is a place that you are cared for, where we want you to be and that you are going to thrive," said LCPS Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. 

FOX 5 also asked the Superintendent about other serious matters:  the ongoing Stonebridge High School Title IX investigation and the threat to pull public funding from the Department of Education over LCPS' transgender and bathroom facility policies. 

The Superintendent wasn't willing to discuss more on the Stonebridge incident and investigation. Here's some of what he did discuss with FOX 5:

"You're talking about two different things. Title IX is a federal law, which we require students are not discriminated against. Our polices related now to student access to facilities and we confident that we're following the law," said Dr. Spence.