The Prince William County School Board approved Potomac Shores Elementary School as the name of the division’s newest elementary school at its October 21 meeting.
Opening for the 2027-28 school year, the school at 1720 Thoroughgood Drive in Dumfries will serve about 1,050 students. It is a three-story LEED Silver-certified facility with classrooms, a gymnasium, STEAM and art classrooms, a media center, learning stairs, and rooftop photovoltaic panels.
There is no school for students on Monday, Oct. 12, Prince William County Public Schools said.
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Brentsville District High School’s agriculture program will install a 30-by-30-foot hoop house with a $5,000 Sprouts Farmers Market grant, Prince William County Public Schools said.
“I am so excited to get it up and have a different type of greenhouse for all of the students to see. All of our students can use it and learn things that are useful for them to feed themselves and their families. This is such a blessing to have, thank you Sprout Farmers Market,” agriculture teacher Amy Beard said. The school page spells it Sprout in that sentence.
Forest Park High School’s FCCLA chapter received an $8,000 Lead4Change grant to expand Roots of a Bruin, its mentoring partnership with Ashland Elementary, Prince William County Public Schools said.
“Our partnership with Ashland Elementary started two years ago. Helping young students build confidence, teamwork, and communication skills through fun, hands-on experiences like Cupcake Wars inspired us to expand the branches of Roots of a Bruin, which ultimately led to receiving the Lead4Change grant,” Susan Gonzalez, the family and consumer sciences teacher at Forest Park, said.
Stafford County voters will decide Nov. 3 whether the county may levy an additional local retail sales-and-use tax of up to 1 percent, to be used only for construction of new schools or major renovations of schools serving Stafford.
The official ballot question reads: “Shall Stafford County, Virginia levy a local retail sales tax not to exceed one percent (1%) to provide revenue that can only be used for construction of new schools or major renovation of schools serving Stafford County, with such tax ending (1) upon repayment of any bonds or loans issued for the projects, or (2) if the projects are not funded by bonds or loans, on June 30, 2046?”
Candis King would have turned a year older this month.
The Colgan High School 10th-grader died Oct. 4, 2025, of complications of sickle cell disease. Prince William County Public Schools confirmed her death the next day. Principal Tim Healey told Colgan families in a letter that counseling would be available that week. Potomac Local reported the death Oct. 5, 2025.
Prince William County Schools cut the ribbon Wednesday evening on the new Woodbridge Elementary School, a three-story K–5 on Prince William Parkway that opened Aug. 24 for the 2026–27 year.
The school sits at 1550 Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge, next to Fred Lynn Middle School near Route 1. Coverage of the project has put the cost at about $60 million, with a design capacity of about 775 students and roughly 129,900 square feet. Staff expected about 570 students when doors opened Aug. 24, according to a PWCS-provided preview published before the first day.
Patriot High School Principal David Van Gelder told families and staff Saturday that one of the Nokesville school’s students was killed Friday night in the shooting at First Friday in Old Town Manassas.
“It is with profound sadness that I share that one of our students lost her life during the tragic shooting that occurred Friday evening at the First Friday event in Old Town Manassas,” Van Gelder wrote. “We are working with her family to provide any needed support, and my thoughts and deepest condolences are with all those who knew and cared for her.”
