The Fairfax County School Board is working to create a plan for the new high school the county acquired earlier this year. Fairfax County Public Schools purchased the shuttered King Abdullah Academy in Herndon. It plans to open the new school for the 2026–2027 school year.
FCPS approved the purchase of the building in June for about $150 million. It was acquired in part to help reduce overcrowding at nearby Centreville and Chantilly high schools.
Built in 2006, the school includes facilities like gyms, a pool, a theater, robotics and science laboratories, and athletic fields. Its anticipated student capacity is about 2,000 students.
Plans for a New Model
School officials have been working to determine if the new site would follow a traditional model or serve as a magnet school like Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
At an October 23 school board meeting, FCPS superintendent Michelle Reid issued a recommendation that the school have a comprehensive curriculum like most other schools, with a traditional geographic boundary. Her recommendation also included the possibility for special programming pathways, which would be open to some students from outside the designated school boundary.
This model would be similar to ones currently in place at Edison and Lewis high schools. Potential special programming topics could include AI, aerospace, and humanities. The school board will vote to finalize a programming model on November 13.
Moving Forward
According to Reid, the school would be able to accommodate up to about 1,000 students in its first year. One possible model would be for the school to open to only ninth and tenth graders for its first year. An additional class each year would then be added as those students age up.
An open house at the school, located at 2949 Education Dr., Herndon, is planned for October 25 at noon.
Meetings to discuss potential names for the new school are scheduled for October 27. One will be held at noon on Zoom, and the other will be at 6:30 p.m. at Carson Middle School. The board will officially meet on December 18 to discuss the name, then make a final decision on January 8.
Feature image of former King Abdullah Academy by Mike Ramm
