At the time of its creation, the Fairfax County public school system consisted of 41 schools, 28 white schools and 13 colored schools. In 1961, the FCPS began managing schools in the city of Fairfax. The Supreme Court's judgment in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ordered an end to racial segregation.
In response, the State of Virginia immediately enacted a law to stop the desegregation process, took control of all schools in Virginia, and resorted to shutting down school systems in an attempt to desegregate. When Arlington County announced an early attempt to develop a desegregation plan, the State Board of Education dismissed its school board. In 1955, the Fairfax County School Board changed the name of a Segregation Committee to the Segregation Committee after a petition and litigation thread from a civic group called the Citizens Committee for Better Schools in Virginia. The Virginia statutes and the Virginia Board of Education mandate the Fairfax County School Board to establish general school policy and establish guidelines that ensure the proper administration and operation of the FCPS.
Transportation is divided into several different offices. Area 1, Area 2, Area 3 and Area 4 are regional offices that serve different regions of the county. Area 1 serves the southern end, Area 2 serves the South Center, Area 3 serves the North Center, and Area 4 serves the northernmost region. A central office oversees all the lower offices and a training center.
The last office is Routing and Planning, which creates bus routes. Routing and Planning, also known as Area 7, maintains its own fleet of vehicles. Area 7's white vans and cars transport students with special needs to special public and private schools across the county. Reston VA is located in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). FCPS is one of the largest school districts in Virginia with over 188 schools serving more than 187,000 students.
Reston VA is served by several elementary schools including Aldrin Elementary School, Armstrong Elementary School, Dogwood Elementary School, Forest Edge Elementary School, Hunters Woods Elementary School, Lake Anne Elementary School, Sunrise Valley Elementary School and Terraset Elementary School. Middle schools include Carson Middle School, Herndon Middle School, Hughes Middle School, Langston Hughes Middle School and Rachel Carson Middle School. High schools include Herndon High School, South Lakes High School and Oakton High School. FCPS offers a variety of educational programs for students including Advanced Placement (AP) courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) programs and career-technical education programs. The district also offers a variety of extracurricular activities such as sports teams, clubs and after-school programs.
