Oakton High School football and girls' volleyball players returned to their former elementary school Oct. 15 to read with kindergartners through third graders at Navy Elementary School.
The student-athletes spent the morning visiting classrooms and reading with small groups, according to a post by Navy Elementary on Instagram. The visit connects to a district priority: Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) Strategic Plan Goal 3 calls for all students to read on grade level by the end of third grade.
FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid joined the visit and read "Good Night Football" to the athletes themselves. In her weekly reflections blog, Reid wrote that the Oakton players were giving back to the school they once attended. The visit gave her a chance, she wrote, "to see firsthand why our FCPS students are truly world class."
Reid has made early literacy a centerpiece of the district's direction. When FCPS released its 2026 Standards of Learning (SOL) results in August, she pointed to the strategic plan she launched in 2023.
"We made a commitment to provide excellence, equity, and opportunity for each and every one of our students," Reid said in an FCPS statement accompanying the results. "We are now at the midpoint of this work and we continue to see that commitment come to life."
The district reported an 80% overall pass rate on the 2026 SOL exams, six percentage points above the Virginia state average of 74%.
The school board took another step on early reading this week. As we reported Oct. 20, the board approved the Lexia reading program for kindergartners, though members split on whether families could opt out.
Navy Elementary's Oct. 15 visit put that literacy push into practice at the classroom level. Reid's blog noted the event fell during Principal Appreciation Month, a week that also included an all-county principals meeting.
