FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid toured summer learning sites at Oakton High School and Dogwood Elementary School on Friday, finding students from eight high schools and seven middle schools working through algebra prep, credit recovery and reading groups ahead of the Monday, August 24 school start.

Reid detailed the visits in her weekly reflections published Sunday, describing programs she said are building confidence and preparing students for a successful year.

Oakton: Credit Recovery and Algebra Power Up

The Credit Recovery Academy allows students in grades 7-12 to recover one high school course credit over the summer. Algebra Power Up targets rising eighth graders preparing for Algebra I, along with students in Geometry and Algebra 2.

Teacher Lena Zein's class focuses on the rising eighth graders. Caroline England teaches Algebra 2, and Nadia Akram leads Geometry. A biology class taught by Michael Jeffry had students learning about genetics.

Reid highlighted a student named Amar who told her he signed himself up for Algebra Power Up so he'd be ready for Algebra I next year.

"He is a perfect example of what happens when we provide students with the opportunities they need to succeed academically," Reid wrote in her Sunday reflections.

Summer Learning Principal Malicia Braxton and Assistant Summer Learning Principal Rashawn Luckman are leading the Oakton site. Senior Manager of Summer Learning Levi Folly, who has spent 40 years in FCPS, greeted Reid at the school and will retire at the end of the summer.

Dogwood: SOAR and Young Scholars

At Dogwood Elementary in Herndon, the SOAR program (Summer Olympians Aspire and Reach) uses small-group instruction to build reading skills for students in grades K-6, supporting the district's goal of getting all students reading on grade level by the end of third grade. The Young Scholars program targets students with high academic potential from groups historically underrepresented in advanced academics.

Students from both Herndon Elementary and Dogwood Elementary are attending the Dogwood site.

Reid was greeted by student ambassadors Sophia, Dylan and Maddie, along with Principal Kate Beckner and Summer Learning Principal Kim Seck. In teacher Rachel Barranco's first-grade SOAR classroom, students were reading and writing. Down the hall in Brittany Linovitz's fifth-grade math class, students were bowling as part of a fractions lesson.

The first day of the 2026-27 school year is Monday, August 24.