Wednesday is a big day! It's the first day of the 2022-23 school year for multiple school districts across the DMV.
Students in the following districts will be back in the classrooms:
This year's back-to-school feeling will be a lot more normal Wednesday for the more than 7,000 students at nine schools in Manassas City. The school system is launching its new five-year strategic plan focusing on how it can best meet the needs of the students and staff, especially coming off of a very disruptive couple of years.
“These are all of our kids, regardless whether you teach kindergarten or whether you teach 12th grade, whether you are a bus driver or whether you are a custodian. These are all of our kids and we all have an important role to play in their lives," said Executive Director of Student Achievement Craig Gfeller.
Spotsylvania County Public Schools welcomed students back for the first day of school Wednesday.
There's been a lot of renovations over the summer, including air filtration systems and water fountains with bottle fillers for better COVID-19 safe practices. This 2022-2023 school year, students will only quarantine if they test positive.
Enrollment is up, but staffing has been challenging. Teachers got a 5% raise plus other incentives. Even with that, there are more than 100 openings. The district did add 60 positions at the end of last year, including spots that would help deal with learning loss- like reading and math specialists.
Fauquier County school officials welcomed back students and staff on Wednesday. They kicked off the school year with a new learning management system (LMS). Schoology replaces Blackboard, which had been the school division’s LMS for nearly fifteen years.
“We made a change to a new learning management system to meet the needs of all members of our community,” Educational Technology Leader Tina Ference said. “We are excited that our teachers, staff, students and families can utilize this new platform to enhance their learning experience.”
School officials said they will provide student and parent training in the use of Schoology beginning this week.
Culpeper County Public Schools' first day of school was Wednesday. As multiple schools across the DMV and the nation face a staffing shortage, the school district will be holding a job fair on Aug. 20. To register, go here.
"We are looking forward to welcoming our students back to school for a safe and successful first day," the school district tweeted.
As you get your kids ready, we want to see your back-to-school photos. Send them here.
See our complete Back to School coverage here!