LCPS Releases Data On School Performance, Staff And Program Changes As School Year Starts

ASHBURN, VA – When Loudoun County's roughly 80,000 public school students return to classes on Monday, they'll encounter new faces, new programs and, the school system says, an environment promoting higher academic achievement and social well-being.

New Faces At LCPS

According to Loudoun County Public Schools, the school system hired 523 new licensed personnel for the 2026-27 school year, including 232 brand new teachers. The school system says it has a record-breaking 99.36% fill rate for school-based licensed positions, the highest ever at this time of the year.

The school also reports having 25 bus driver vacancies; 31 bus drivers in training; 12 scheduled for future training, and 36 bus driver candidates in the onboarding process.

New Programs At LCPS

New at LCPS this year is the Academy of Global and Linguistic Studies (AGLS) at Dominion High School. LCPS says the program was developed to respond to growing interest in expanded world language and global studies opportunities. It offers Arabic and Chinese languages in leadership and humanities-focused specialty programming.

Returning for its second year is LCPS's R.I.S.E Academy, a specialized program designed to support high school students recovering from substance use disorders. The academy is located at The North Star School in Leesburg. In its second year, the academy hopes to expand family education sessions, increase collaboration with external therapists and treatment providers, increase its focus on college and career preparation, and broaden its community outreach.

New Achievements At LCPS

According to LCPS, the 2025-2026 Annual Family, Staff and Student survey showed improvement in school culture and climate across all levels.

• The percentage of high school students reporting a sense of belonging increased by 10 points to 93%.
• Ninety-two percent of elementary students, 83% of middle school students and 84% of high school students said, "I like this school.

• Ninety-two percent of high school students report having a trusted adult they can talk to if they need help.

Academic improvements include:

• Pass rates on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments increased by six percentage points across the board in mathematics, science, history and social science.

• Students with disabilities increased their average SAT scores by 36 points.
• English Learners increased their history and social science pass rates by 14 percentage points, their science pass rates by nine points and their math pass rates by eight points.

• Chronic absenteeism among English language learners and students with disabilities decreased.

Room For Improvement

• Twenty-six percent of high school students and middle school students disagreed with the statement, "Students treat other students with respect regardless of race or other differences."

• Twenty-seven percent of high school students and 27% of middle school students disagreed with the statement, "Staff discipline students the same way for the same behavior."

• Only 62% of elementary school students disagreed with the statement, "Bullying is a problem at this school."
• Nine percent of high school students reported being bullied.

For more on changes to LCPS school policies, including new dress code rules, click here.

For the LCPS school calendar, click here.