All Fairfax County Public Schools High Schools made the Washington Post’s annual list of the nation’s top high schools.

Education reporter Jay Mathews analyzes data and issues the list, which this year included 1,900 schools.

Mathews’ Challenge Index measures schools’ ability to challenge their students. A school’s ranking is determined by dividing the number of college-level tests given by a school to all its students by the number of graduates for that year. The index is designed to identify schools that challenge average students. Factors such as students living in poverty are included in the formula.

Nationally, Herndon High School was No. 254 and South Lakes High School was No. 407.

Among D.C.-area schools, Herndon was No. 29, rising two spots from No. 31 the last two years. South Lakes was No. 47, falling seven spots from 2013. See the entire local list.

Oakton was ranked the top FCPS High School, coming in at No. 12 in local ratings and 144th nationally. Thomas Jefferson’s High School for Science and Technology is not included on the list because of its status as a magnet school with extremely high SAT scores and and a high concentration of select students, Mathews says.

Read about how Mathews determines the rankings in The Washington Post.

How do you feel about your local high school? Tell us in the comments.

Fairfax County Public School students will already be in school until June 24 in order to make up snow days.

But the FCPS calendar only builds in makeup plans for 10 snow days, so that is as far as the calendar goes for now.

The winter of 2013-14 will go in the books as the snowiest winter since the 2009-10 “Snowmageddeon,” which shut down the system for more than a week straight.

Monday’s 11-inch storm — a rarity for Northern Virginia in March — was No. 11 for FCPS students this year.

Virginia law requires public schools to provide at least 180 days or 990 hours of instructional time annually. But it also allows the state Board of Education to waive the requirement if districts shut down in the aftermath of a state of emergency declared by the governor. A state of emergency has been declared twice this winter, including during the snow storm on March 3.

FCPS was last granted a waiver from the requirement in 2010 following the nearly two feet of snow that fell in back-to-back February storms.  The district needed to schedule five make-up days, but only found time for four in the spring calendar. The board waived the requirement for the fifth make up day.

FCPS spokesman John Torre said the system is looking at a variety of options but no decisions have been made.

“Several options could be considered including adding another day at the end of the year, adding minutes to the school day or seeking a waiver from the state,” he said.  “No decision has been made yet as to which option will be pursued.”

Students will also attend school on April 7, which was a previously scheduled teacher workday. It will be a full day for elementary students, who otherwise usually have early release on Mondays.

Fairfax County Public Schools will be closed on Monday, March 17 as three to six inches of snow are expected to fall in Northern Virginia Sunday night and Monday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning in effect from 6 p.m. Sunday to 2 p.m. Monday. Snow began falling in Reston about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Monday’s cancellation makes 11 snow days for students this school year. The school system recently announced there will be school on June 23 and 24 to make up previous snow days, as well as on April 7, which was previously a scheduled teacher work day.

From FCPS:

All Fairfax County public schools and offices will be closed on Monday, March 17, 2014. The following activities in schools and on school grounds are canceled:

· extracurricular activities
· interscholastic contests
· team practices
· field trips
· middle school after-school programs
· professional learning and training courses
· all adult and community education classes
· recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS

With school likely to be in session on Wednesday, Fairfax County Public Schools are asking for some help from area homeowners: If you live near a school, help shovel the walking route so the kids can get there safely.

After the mid-February storm, many Reston residents were among those who complained that children were walking in the street to get to school.

FCPS had its ninth and tenth snow days of the 2013-14 school year Monday and Tuesday, after 3-7 inches fell in most of the county.

Meanwhile, a safe walking route after snow was also a big topic at the Reston Association Board of Directors’ meeting on Thursday.

From FCPS:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

When classes resume, we hope you will keep in mind the thousands of FCPS students who walk to and from school or bus stops each day. Snow and ice-covered sidewalks can make that a treacherous journey. Neither the Virginia Department of Transportation nor the county clears snow and ice from public walkways. In addition, neither the state nor the county has any legal requirement for property owners to clear public walkways. However, while not legally obligated, residents and businesses are asked to help keep walkways safe for the community – we need your help! When possible, please clear snow off the sidewalks in front of or next to your property so that FCPS students can have a safe path to their schools.

Thank you!

Fairfax County public schools will be closed on Tuesday, March 4 as the area continues to dig out from Monday’s snowfall. Offices will be open with an unscheduled leave policy in effect.

This is the tenth snow day this school year, and the FCPS school calendar will likely be extended to June 24 (three extra days), according to the school board.

The following activities in schools and on school grounds are canceled:

• extracurricular activities
• interscholastic contests
• team practices
• field trips
• middle school after-school programs
• professional learning and training courses
• all adult and community education classes
• recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS

School Age Child Care (SACC) centers are closed.

Welcome to Snow Day No. 9 and, most likely tomorrow, No. 10 for Fairfax County Public Schools students.

By any measurement, it has been a rough winter in Fairfax County, with the most snow days taken since the “snowpocalypse” season of 2009-10.

To make up snow days, FCPS students have already given up Presidents Day and will attend school on April 7, a scheduled teacher workday.

According to the school year calendar, two of the snow days will be added to the end of the school year (June 23 and 24), though the school board must formally adopt the plan.

The good news? If Tuesday is a snow day, that one gets a free pass and won’t have to be made up. But if there are 11 or more this season, those days will also be added to the end of the year or possibly added in as extra time in the school day, says FCPS calendar info.

Virginia law requires public schools to provide at least 180 days or 990 hours of instructional time annually. But it also allows the state Board of Education to waive the requirement if districts shut down in the aftermath of a state of emergency declared by the governor.

Monday’s snowstorm was a state of emergency in the commonwealth. The snowstorm in mid-February was also a statewide state of emergency.

School board at-large member Ryan McElveen says a waiver request will likely be in the works.

“The school board hasn’t formally talked about requesting a waiver yet, but I think it would be wise to do so,” he said on Monday. ” I’m sure we’ll have that discussion in the coming weeks. Both this storm and the previous storm were ‘states of emergency,’ so these days could all be considered for the waiver.”

FCPS was last granted a waiver from the requirement in 2010 following the nearly two-feet of snow that fell in back-to-back February storms.  The district needed to schedule five make-up days, but only found time for four in the spring calendar. The board waived the requirement for the fifth make up day.

Last week’s snow is slowly melting in Reston, but not fast enough for sidewalks to be fully clear as students walk to school.

FCPS was in session Monday (and in session with a two-hour delay Tuesday), and dozens of students could be seen making the walk to school such as South Lakes High School, Terraset Elementary and Langston Hughes Middle School, through the snow on unshoveled sidewalks as well as in the street.

All three of those schools are located along Ridge Heights Road, where there are high snowbanks and cars parked along the road, making for a narrow passage. Sidewalks are shoveled in stops and starts. For instance, they are cleared right in front of Hughes and South Lakes, likely shoveled by the school staff, but more than a foot of snow blocks the path in the immediate areas leading to the schools.

The problem seems to be the same at most Reston schools. One Lake Anne Elementary parent calls the situation in front of that school “a nightmare.”

“Our principal was out today, you can tell he was very concerned,” said Shaughessy Pierce, the mother of a second grader. “It is genuinely not safe. There are kids walking from the neighborhoods and the Kiss-and-Ride space is not big enough, so people often park their cars and walk kids in. And it seems none of the Fairway [Apartments] sidewalks were plowed. It is a mess.”

The walking routes are a bit of a hot potato around here. In Reston, Reston Association is responsible for clearing paths. Homeowners Associations are responsible for clearing snow from their neighborhood sidewalks. Most neighborhood associations also pay private contractors to

The problem is, main roads in Reston are neither RA nor homeowners association property. Technically, they are Virginia Department of Transportation streets. And VDOT sticks to clearing roads for vehicles, not sidewalks for walkers.

Says RA:

Reston Association attempts to remove snow from pathways and sidewalks owned by RA within a reasonable time after a snowfall.  Please note that sidewalks and pathways not on RA property, including many found along Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) roads and rights-of-way, are not the responsibility of RA to maintain. Public streets and public rights-of-way are VDOT’s responsibility, but it is RA’s understanding that neither VDOT nor Fairfax County remove snow from public sidewalks.

Please contact VDOT directly for information related to their standards of maintenance and snow removal or to report roads that have been missed (Highway Helpline at 1-800-367-7623).

Private streets not on RA property, such as those located within condominium associations, cluster associations and/or apartment complexes, are generally the responsibility of the applicable owner, condominium association or cluster association. Residents of those facilities should contact their association or property management company.

RA encourages all owners who may have public sidewalks adjacent to their properties to clear these for the safe passage of pedestrians, including school children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

Meanwhile, FCPS is asking that homeowners pitch in to make the walk to school safer.

“While not legally obligated, residents and businesses are asked to help keep walkways safe for the community – we need your help!,” FCPS said on its Facebook page. “When possible, please clear snow off the sidewalks in front of or next to your property so that pedestrians may walk more safely.”

Does this concern you? Take our poll and offer a solution in the comments.

All Fairfax County public schools will open two hours late Tuesday, February 18. Offices will open on time.

From FCPS:

Morning preschool (special education) classes are canceled.

Afternoon preschool (special education) classes start on their regular schedule.

Full-day preschool (special education) and Family and Early Childhood Education Program/Head Start classes start two hours later than the regular schedule.

Morning field trips are canceled.

SACC centers will be open by 7:15 a.m.

Morning transportation for high school academy classes is canceled. Afternoon academy transportation will be provided.

Adult and community education classes will start on time.

Even though a few flakes to a few inches are predicted to fall Thursday evening, most of the precipitation in Reston turned to intermittent sleet and cold rain throughout the day.

Fairfax County Public Schools  announced at 4 p.m. there would be an additional snow day on Friday as residents continued to dig out.

So how bad was it? National Weather Service trained spotters (and a few unofficial residents with rulers) put the snowfall at about 13.5 inches, give or take a little drifting.

That makes the Wednesday night-Thursday night storm pretty bad, but not the worst one-day total we have seen around here.  It was, however, the most that fell in one day since Dec. 19, 2009, when 15 inches fell at Dulles. The “Snowmaggedeon” storm of February 2010 dumped 32 inches at Dulles, but that was over a three-day period.

The 13.5 inches ranks this storm No. 6 in one-day totals as measured at Dulles.

An additional one-to-three inches of snow may fall Thursday night. The Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 1 a.m. Friday.

Many people heeded officials’ warnings to stay off the roads, but some ventured out. Virginia State Police reported 78 traffic crashes, 172 disabled vehicles and 510 calls for service through noon on Thursday.

There was one death reported, when a Virginia Department of Transportation contractor was hit by another truck in Ashburn.

Others just had fun. There were dogs playing, snowmen sprouting — and this guy “waterskiing” down Ridge Heights Road.

Many Reston businesses were closed Thursday as crews still had not plowed some streets. Want to know when your street might be plowed? Visit www.vdotplows.org.

FCPS has already used seven snow days, and Friday will be the eighth. Makeup days will be held Feb. 17 and April 7. According to the school calendar, the school year may be extended a day to June 23 in exchange for today’s snow day, though FCPS has not made an official announcement. Friday’s snow day may not need to be made up.

Check out a gallery of great Reston snow photos here.

Photo of Reston Town Center Thursday morning by Ed Scheudel vis Twitter.

Fairfax County Public Schools have canceled classes on Thursday, Feb. 13 due to the impending snow.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 8 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday evening, and as much as 10 inches have been predicted for Reston and nearby areas.

From FCPS:

All Fairfax County public schools and offices will be closed on Thursday, Feb. 13.  The following activities in schools and on school grounds are canceled:

• extracurricular activities
• interscholastic contests
• team practices
• field trips
• middle school after-school programs
• professional learning and training courses
• all adult and community education classes
• recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS

School Age Child Care (SACC) centers are closed.

Fairfax County Public Schools is planning to put aside money to help high schools start later in Fiscal Year 2015.

When FCPS adopted its $2.5 billion FY 2015 Advertised Budget on Friday — a record amount that includes a net increase of 2.4 percent, or $59.4 million, from the FY 2014 Approved Budget — the school board also passed a motion for Superintendent Karen Garza to identify savings from the annual bus route review.

The money saved, possibly from condensing some transportation routes, would be earmarked to offset costs of implementing a later start time, FCPS said in a news release.

Parents have been advocating for later start times for Fairfax County high schools for several years. Fairfax County high schools begin at 7:20 a.m. — which means some students are on the bus as early as 5:45 a.m. The local advocacy group Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal (SLEEP) has been very vocal, saying that 72 out of 95 Virginia counties now start at high school 8 a.m. or later.

The FCPS School Board, after hearing commissioned study results from Children’s National Medical Center, said last month that more time was needed to study the sleep issue and that it won’t likely be implemented in 2014-15.

As for the rest of the budget, it will now go before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the public for discussion and changes before being approved in May.

“This is a responsible, needs-based budget that addresses rising enrollment while protecting programs for our students,” said Fairfax County School Board Chair Ilryong Moon. “We are faced with an increase in health insurance rates and we are required to fund an increase in the required contributions to the Virginia Retirement System. Superintendent Garza and members of the Board spent many hours working with stakeholders to develop this budget, which uses a shared approach of reducing expenditures along with requesting additional revenue.”

The budget includes reductions of $96.5 million. Garza said last month that she hoped most of the staff reductions would come through attrition, but she could not rule out layoffs.

The school system will also request an additional $98.1 million from Fairfax County to to offset the growing expenses.

Since FY 2010, student enrollment has grown by 15,603 students and is projected to reach 187,994 students for FY 2015. The projected enrollment growth for next year, and the changing demographics associated with it, will require an additional $25.8 million in school-based resources, FCPS said.

Increases in retirement rate costs are estimated to be $38.9 million and increases in health insurance rates are estimated to be $23.9 million. The FY 2015 Advertised Budget also includes a step increase for eligible employees.

“Retention of our outstanding employees must be a top priority. Employees have only received one step increase in the past five years and FCPS is losing ground competitively with our neighboring jurisdictions. Therefore, we must give our employees a step increase,” says Garza.

FCPS is encouraging county residents to participate in the budget process by attending an upcoming public hearing, work session, or school board meeting. Complete information is available on FCPS’ website.

Freezing rain is impacting Northern Virginia roads Wednesday morning, so Fairfax County Public Schools are on a two-hour delay. From FCPS:

All Fairfax County public schools will open two hours late on Wednesday, February 5. Offices will open on time.

Morning preschool (special education) classes are canceled.

Afternoon preschool (special education) classes start on their regular schedule.

Full-day preschool (special education) and Family and Early Childhood Education Program/Head Start classes start two hours later than the regular schedule.

Morning field trips are canceled.

SACC centers will be open by 7:15 a.m.

Morning transportation for high school academy classes is canceled. Afternoon academy transportation will be provided.

Adult and community education classes will start on time.

Fairfax County Public Schools will be on a two-hour delay Wednesday morning due to Tuesday night;s snowfall.

From FCPS:

All Fairfax County public schools will open two hours late on Wednesday, January 29.

Morning preschool (special education) classes are canceled.

Afternoon preschool (special education) classes start on their regular schedule.

Full-day preschool (special education) and Family and Early Childhood Education Program/Head Start classes start two hours later than the regular schedule.

Morning field trips are canceled.

SACC centers will be open by 7:15 a.m.

Morning transportation for high school academy classes is canceled. Afternoon academy transportation will be provided.

Adult and community education classes will start on time.

Rising enrollment and aging facilities have led Fairfax County Public Schools to approve an $866 million, five-year Capital Improvement Program.

The FCPS school board says it will also try and speed up plans to renovate Langley, Herndon and Oakton High Schools, three aging “Legacy Schools” in the system that have not received major upgrades since being built in the 1960s.

The school board voted on the plan late last week. While $416 million of the money is already in place, the school system will require a special bond referendum in 2015 and later years.

The CIP comes at a time when the system is seeking a record increase of $59.4 million to its $2 billion budget for Fiscal year 2015. Superintendent Karen Garza said earlier this month that rising enrollment and aging facilities have led to an increased need for FCPS funding. She also said more than 700 positions may need to be eliminated.

FCPS said that enrollment has grown by nearly 20,000 students since 2006.

“Membership is projected to continue increasing over the 5-year CIP horizon, reaching approximately 199,000 students by school year 2018-19,” the report says. “The CIP proposes capacity enhancements to both Herndon and Oakton High Schools as part of their renovations and an addition at South Lakes High School to expand that school’s capacity.”

The CIP is also proposing five new elementary schools, including one in the Northwest county area to address current overcrowding as well as projected enrollment growth from the Metrorail expansion along the new Silver Line.

Some highlights for Reston-area residents from the CIP:

• New elementary school in Northwest area of county — $24 million
• South Lakes High School — $14.6 million addition (already funded from previous CIP)
• Terraset Elementary School — $22 million renovation (already underway and previously funded)
• Sunrise Valley Elementary School — $14 million renovation (already underway and previously funded)
• Langston Hughes Middle School — $41.6 million renovation
• Herndon High School — $97 million renovation
• Oakton High School — $96 million renovation
• Langley High School — $75 million renovation

The board will direct the Department of Facilities and Transportation Services to identify methods by which renovations could be completed sooner at Oakton, Herndon and Langley. They have been asked to give the board options by July.

“The Board is aware of the great need for updated facilities at the five legacy high schools,”  School Board Chair Ilryong Moon said in a news release. “We felt it was important to explore options that could enable us to speed up the renovations at those schools.”

“As school membership continues to grow, we face a critical shortage of available classrooms and facilities,” Moon said.  “We see approximately 3,000 new students each year, and are looking at continued enrollment growth over the next five years.  Over the past five years, this growth has required an additional 130 classrooms annually to keep pace with enrollment growth.  However, we have not been able to meet those needs and have added only 74 classrooms per year.”

To see the entire CIP report and see enrollment projections and renovation proposals for your individual school, visit the FCPS website.

Fairfax County Public Schools has discovered it mistakenly hired seven convicted felons — and did not notice the error until years later.

Schools superintendent Karen Garza who joined FCPS in July, told The Washington Post that human error contributed to the hirings, which were discovered when a James Madison High School special education teacher inquired whether her past conviction for heroin smuggling would hamper her shot at a promotion.

“The hirings all occurred before 2009, when Fairfax schools switched to an online application,” Garza said in a statement. “The new system automatically disqualifies potential employees who disclose felonies on their application. Human error played a part in these hirings and we deeply regret this mistake.”

None of the felonies were crimes against children, the school system says. However, Virginia school law bans school systems from hiring felons.

Still, Deilia Butler was hired by FCPS 2006 — after serving nearly four years in prison. She says she stated she was a convicted felon on her application. So did the other six employees, school officials said.

All seven of the employees have been relieved of their jobs, school officials said. Four, including Butler, were placed on administrative leave after school officials uncovered the error. Three others left the school system. School officials have not identified the other employees, specified what jobs they held or the nature of their crimes.

FCPS now has an online application system that automatically disqualifies an applicant if he or she states they have been convicted of a felony. All applicants go through background searches that are supposed to include checking FBI, police and child abuse databases, says FCPS.

The hirings of the felons all occurred before 2009, before the online system was in place.

The Post reports that Butler is fighting FCPS’ efforts to fire her, saying that Virginia law did not prevent the school system from hiring her. Butler was among dozens charged in a 34-count federal indictment of conspiring to import more than a kilogram of heroin into the United States. She served 42 months in prison, then earned her teacher’s license and later joined Fairfax schools,  according to court records.

Do potential felons in the school system concern you? Are you confident FCPS has new security checks in place? Tell us in the comments.