Brabrand To Leave Fairfax Schools After Contract Ends

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Superintendent Scott Brabrand will leave Fairfax County Public Schools when his contract ends at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year.

The Fairfax County School Board will begin an immediate search for a replacement. Brabrand will stay on through June 2022 and work with the school board to ensure a smooth transition.

"I pledge to continue to serve with the same love and passion for FCPS that I had when I started," said Brabrand in a statement. "In the best of times and in the worst of times, I have always strived to lead with a steady hand and a full heart."

Brabrand became superintendent of FCPS, the state's largest school division, in 2017. In late 2020, his contract was extended by the school board through June 2022.

Brabrand started his career at FCPS as an intern, then social studies teacher in 1994. He went on to become an assistant principal at Herndon High School and an associate principal at Lake Braddock Secondary School before becoming principal at Fairfax High School in 2005. In 2009, he became a cluster assistant superintendent, overseeing 29 schools and more than 22,000 students. Before becoming superintendent at FCPS, he spent five years as superintendent of Lynchburg City Schools.

The superintendent oversaw the school division through the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with the governor's order requiring K-12 schools to close in March 2020. The 2020-2021 school year started virtually for all students, but select students, including English learners, students with disabilities and career tech students, were brought back in the fall for hybrid learning. Those students were moved back to virtual learning amid the late 2020 COVID-19 cases. Students who opted into hybrid learning returned to schools in phases during February and March. FCPS is planning for five days of in-person instruction per week in the fall with a limited virtual option for eligible students.

Brabrand also contributed to a change in the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a governor's school often rated top in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. The school board voted to admissions test and the $100 application fee and offer 550 spots, with the top 1.5 percent of eighth graders from each Fairfax County middle school being eligible. The changes drew an active federal lawsuit from parents who believe the new admissions policy discriminates against Asian American students.

Brabrand cited the TJ admissions changes as one of his accomplishments as superintendent.

"During my tenure as superintendent, I am proud of many things: an equity focus for all students that led to needed revisions in school discipline, advanced academics, and the admissions process at TJ; fully funded budgets prior to the pandemic, forged in an atmosphere of mutual respect and collaboration with the School Board and Board of Supervisors, that saw record investment in teacher salaries and FCPSOn technology; and the enhancement of a collaborative culture within our schools and departments to better engage and serve all of our students and families," he wrote in a letter to families.

The school board will contract with a search firm to recruit executive level school district leaders. Details of the selection process have not yet been announced, but members of the FCPS community will be encouraged to participate. Updates on the process, timeline, community engagement and more will be provided on the superintendent search web page.

"My colleagues and I are extremely grateful for Dr. Brabrand’s unwavering commitment to FCPS students, staff, and families," said School Board Chair Ricardy Anderson in a statement. "We look forward to our continued collaboration toward the goal of returning all students to school safely for five days in the fall and providing every child the instructional and social emotional services they need this coming school year."