Reston families will receive an email Friday from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) asking them to rank which school buildings need renovation first.

The district's facilities office is sending the survey on Friday, Oct. 16. It asks community members, families and employees to weigh in on building conditions, how facilities affect teaching and learning, and what should top the renovation list. The survey closes Saturday, Oct. 31, takes about 15 minutes and is voluntary. All responses will be kept confidential, according to the district.

The timing matters. FCPS is building a new renovation queue to replace the 2008 list that ranked 63 schools for upgrades. As of January 2026, 43 had completed renovations, eight were under construction and the rest were in various stages of planning or awaiting funding, according to FFXnow.

The district's maintenance backlog stood at $394.5 million at the start of this year and was projected to grow by $52.8 million in the next fiscal year. About 60% of the backlog involved heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Erik Gordon, FCPS chief of facilities services and capital programs, told the School Board in January that consulting firm AECOM had begun physical assessments of school buildings. The School Board allocated $5 million for the initial phases of a comprehensive facility condition assessment, according to the district's bond referendum page. That assessment will help shape the next renovation queue.

Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren, whose district includes Reston, pressed for urgency at the January meeting. "We don't need more reports. We need action steps," she said, as FFXnow reported.

Several Reston-area schools on the 2008 queue have already completed renovations, including Terraset Elementary School, Sunrise Valley Elementary School and Langston Hughes Middle School.

TJ application window closing

Eighth graders across Fairfax County have until Oct. 30 to apply to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST).

Applications must be started by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. The final submission deadline is 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. Students can apply online through the TJHSST admissions page.

TJHSST offers 550 seats in each freshman class through a holistic review. Applicants are evaluated on grade point average (GPA), a student portrait sheet, a problem-solving essay and experience factors such as economic disadvantage or English language learner status. There is no application fee.

Students at Langston Hughes Middle School and other Reston-area schools are eligible. The student must log in and complete the first page of the application before a parent can access it. A TJ liaison counselor at the student's school then verifies the math course, a step FCPS says takes 24 to 48 hours.

The survey closes Oct. 31. The TJ application submission deadline is 4 p.m. Oct. 30.