Michelle Reid named Fairfax County schools superintendent
Virginia’s largest school system has picked its next superintendent.
The Fairfax County, Virginia, school board selected Michelle Reid during Thursday’s board meeting following a 9-3 vote. Reid will take over for Dr. Scott Brabrand, whose last day is June 30. Brabrand announced plans to step down last summer — he has been named the executive director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.
Reid comes to the D.C. region from the Northshore School District in Bothell, Washington, where she has served in the same capacity, overseeing the 24,000-student district.
She takes over at a time when Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has launched a search for “divisive concepts” taught in schools and urged parents to report teachers who introduce “divisive topics” in class to an email tip line.
She’ll also be tasked with helping students catch up after the pandemic forced schools to temporarily close, and arrives in the midst of a legal battle between students and parents over the admission policy at the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Reid’s appointment completes a months-long search that has been criticized in recent days. The Fairfax County NAACP released a six-page letter last weekend that included the names of two people thought to be finalists for the position — Reid and Cheryl Logan, superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, who has experience working in Prince George’s and Howard counties in Maryland.
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However, in an updated statement this week, the chapter said Logan withdrew her candidacy before being publicly named as a finalist. The statement prompted other organizations to express frustration with the hiring process, saying the board didn’t solicit enough feedback.
The county hired search firm GR Recruiting to lead its search, and it administered a survey to parents, students and staff and held a series of town hall meetings before screening candidates, it said.
Reid, who has been the leader of Northshore since 2016, had previously served as superintendent of the South Kitsap school system in Port Orchard, Washington. She was named the 2021 National Superintendent of the Year for her leadership during the early days of the pandemic.
After Reid’s candidacy was publicly disclosed, critics said the Northshore School District doesn’t resemble Fairfax County’s student population and questioned student progress under her leadership.
The Fairfax NAACP, it its letter, said that based on public data “We see no evidence of closing achievement gaps in Northshore despite the very small populations involved.”
It added: “We are very concerned about the likelihood of success for a new superintendent who has no professional experience in any capacity with a school district of the size and diversity of FCPS.”
The Fairfax County Parent Association has criticized the amount of time schools remained closed because of COVID-19 under Reid’s leadership.
Some students organized walk outs Thursday to protest the lack of student involvement in the process.
Atticus Gore, president of the county’s Superintendent Advisory Council, said the county has “strong and engaged candidates who want to be sharing their opinions.”
“When we described our concerns with Dr. Reid, we saw frustration and anger with some of our peers who were confused as to why Fairfax County was even considering a candidate with this track record and amount of experience,” Gore said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.