Prince William County Public Schools

Features

Back-to-School Community Event Returns Aug. 2 to Gar-Field High School

By Potomac Local News
A back-to-school festival held at Unity Reed High School near Manassas. [Photo: Prince William County Community Foundation]

The free event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and aims to provide students with the tools they need to start the year strong—offering school supplies, vaccinations, community resources, and entertainment for the entire family.

“This year’s Back-To-School event will be here before you know it, so we encourage families to put it on their calendar,” said Dr. Vanessa M. Gattis, president and CEO of PWCCF. “Our goal is to put students in the best position to succeed, and with I-66 EMP as a Silver Sponsor, this event is ready to do exactly that.”

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Prince William

Feds Find Prince William Schools in Violation of Title IX Over Gender Identity Policies

By Uriah Kiser
The Prince William County School Board 2024 to 2027. Top left to right: Erica Tredinnick, Justin Wilk, Dr. Babur Lateef, Lisa Zarapur, Tracy Blake. Bottom row: Jennifer Wall, Richard Jessie, Loree Williams. [Photo: Prince William County Public Schools]

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has determined that Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is among five Northern Virginia school divisions found to be in violation of Title IX, a federal civil rights law, due to policies allowing students to access restrooms and participate in sports based on gender identity.

In a press release, Youngkin said the school divisions—Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington, Prince William, and the City of Alexandria—“have been violating federal law, deliberately neglecting their responsibility to protect students’ safety, privacy and dignity, and ignoring parents’ rights.”

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Prince William

VEA Imposes Emergency Trusteeship on Prince William Education Association

By Potomac Local News
[Photo: Prince William Education Association Facebook page]

In a letter sent July 21 to PWEA members, VEA President Carol Bauer wrote that the state union had found “gross financial mismanagement,” including altered board minutes meant to obscure the absence of authorized spending controls. VEA claimed PWEA officers ignored financial rules, failed to document expenditures properly, and reimbursed each other without proper oversight.

“You deserve the truth,” Bauer told members in the letter, promising to rebuild PWEA into “the strong, honest union you deserve.”

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Prince William

Prince William County Kids Learn Coding and Robotics at Summer LEGO Camp

By Potomac Local News

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – A group of curious and creative 10-year-olds is spending the summer building robots, learning to code, and discovering new passions at a hands-on STEM camp in Prince William County.

Held this at Mullen Elementary School near Manassas, the First LEGO League Camp gives rising fourth and fifth-graders a chance to build and program robots while learning valuable skills like teamwork, problem-solving, and perseverance.

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Health

Future Healthcare Workers Get Hands-On Experience at Sentara Summer Camp

By Uriah Kiser

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – At first glance, it looked like a typical hospital simulation: blinking mannequins, beeping monitors, and focused students practicing CPR and drawing blood. But for 14-year-old students like those in the room at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, it was a first glimpse into what a future career in medicine might look like.

Sixteen rising 8th and 9th graders from Prince William County Public Schools spent a week at the hospital as part of the Sentara Healthcare Career Camp, a free summer program designed to expose youth to the wide array of healthcare professions beyond just doctors and nurses.

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Prince William

Forest Park High Earns National Green Flag for Environmental Leadership

By Jazbia Chaudhry

The National Wildlife Federation and EcoSchools U.S. awarded Forest Park High School the Green Flag, making it the first school in Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) to receive this prestigious recognition. The award highlights the school’s commitment to sustainability education and promoting positive environmental change within the community.

For Ashley Tayon, the school’s sustainability coordinator, and her students, the Green Flag was the main goal for the year. “It was truly an honor to be part of the new sustainability movement within PWCS,” Tayon stated in a press release, adding that the achievement was a collaborative effort among students, staff, and community partners. Their initiatives included collecting data, developing action plans, and diverting 1,600 pounds of waste from landfills.

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Prince William

Prince William Schools Urge Families to Update Bus Plans for 2025–26 to Improve Service

By Potomac Local News

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Prince William County Public Schools is asking families to notify the division whether their students will require bus transportation for the upcoming 2025–26 school year, a move aimed at improving routing efficiency and service reliability.

While some families may see this as an “opt-in” process similar to what neighboring Stafford County implemented earlier this year, PWCS says that is not the case.

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Prince William

Smaller, Later, Still Ambitious: PWCS to Share New Plans for 14th High School

By Potomac Local News

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – A long-delayed and now dramatically scaled-down high school project will take center stage at Wednesday night’s Prince William County School Board meeting, as division officials present updated plans for the county’s 14th high school.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. on June 4, 2025, at the Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center, 14715 Bristow Road in Independent Hill.

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Prince William

Covington-Harper’s First Students Return for Senior Walk

By Potomac Local News

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. – Covington-Harper Elementary School marked a special milestone this spring as its very first students returned—this time as high school seniors.

The school, which opened in 2017, welcomed back its original group of students for a celebratory “senior walk.” The event, shared by Prince William County Public Schools on Facebook, gave graduating 12th graders a chance to visit their former elementary teachers and inspire younger students.

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Breaking News

Got Union Dues? PWEA Under Fire for Financial Troubles

By Potomac Local News
Photo from PWEA Facebook page

Updated at 4 p.m.

MANASSAS, Va. – The Virginia Education Association (VEA) is calling for stronger financial controls at the Prince William Education Association (PWEA) following a sharp drop in the local union’s cash reserves—from $1.4 million to just $63,000 in two years.

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