Blue Ridge Middle School

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is a branch of the Loudoun County, Virginia, United States government, and administers public schools in the county. LCPS's headquarters is located at 21000 Education Court in Ashburn, an unincorporated section of the county.

Due to rapid growth in the region, LCPS is one of the fastest-growing school divisions in Virginia and the third largest school division in the state. For the 2022–2023 school year, LCPS educated approximately 82,233 students

History

The Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) system was formally established in 1870, following the Virginia General Assembly's mandate to provide public education for all children in the state. Prior to this, education in Loudoun County was primarily conducted through private means or informal community efforts. By the fall of 1870, LCPS operated 55 schools, and within three years, an additional 55 schools were constructed, reflecting the community's commitment to education. Many of these early institutions were one-room schoolhouses serving all grade levels.

During the Reconstruction era, African American communities in Loudoun County, with assistance from the Freedmen's Bureau and northern philanthropic organizations, established schools to educate Black children. Despite these efforts, the state of Virginia implemented a segregated public school system, and African American students often attended underfunded and inferior schools compared to their white counterparts.

LCPS was among the last school districts in the United States to desegregate, initiating the process only in 1967, more than a decade after the Supreme Court's decision in ''Brown v. Board of Education''. In 2020, LCPS issued a formal apology to the Black community for its prolonged resistance to desegregation and the systemic inequities that persisted during that period. The apology acknowledged the hardships endured by Black students and families due to the district's actions.

The latter half of the 20th century brought significant demographic changes to Loudoun County, particularly following the opening of Washington Dulles International Airport in 1962. This development spurred rapid suburbanization, transforming the county from a predominantly rural area into a burgeoning suburban community. Between 2000 and 2020, LCPS responded to the county's population growth by opening 51 new schools, including 28 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 11 high schools, and one educational center.

As of the 2022–2023 academic year, LCPS operates 98 schools and serves approximately 82,000 students, making it the third-largest school division in Virginia. The district continues to adapt to the evolving needs of its diverse student population, emphasizing equity, inclusion, and academic excellence.

Administration

The LCPS system, while operated on a day-to-day basis by the Superintendent (Dr. Aaron C. Spence), is managed under the direction and authority of the Loudoun County School Board, a nine-member panel elected by citizens in the county. Eight of the nine board positions are divided among voting districts that represent communities throughout the county, while the ninth seat is elected at-large by the entire county. The voting districts correspond to those used for Loudoun County Board of Supervisors elections. Unlike the Board of Supervisors, the chairmanship of the School Board is elected annually by its members, while the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is always the at-large seat. While the School Board makes decisions relating to school policy and curriculum, it receives funding through the Board of Supervisors.

School Board

School Board Members History

Demographics

As of the 2023-24 school year Loudoun County Public Schools Demographics are as follows:

* 40.4% White
* 26.0% Asian
* 19.5% Hispanic
* 7.3% Black
* 5.9% Mixed Races
* 0.7% American Indian

Controversies

2021 sexual assaults

Sexual assaults and charges

On May 28, 2021, a male teenager was accused of sexually assaulting a female student in a girls' restroom at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn. The two had agreed to meet in the restroom, where they had previously engaged in consensual sexual encounters. School officials immediately reported the assault to law enforcement. Following a weeks-long investigation by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, a 14-year-old male was arrested on July 8, 2021, and charged with two counts of forcible sodomy. The suspect spent time in a juvenile detention facility before being released and placed on electronic monitoring. He was transferred to Broad Run High School in Ashburn.

On October 6, 2021, the same male teenager, aged 15 at the time, was accused of sexually assaulting a female student in an empty classroom at Broad Run High School. The male student was arrested the following day and charged with sexual battery and abduction of a fellow student. He was again held in a juvenile detention facility.

On October 25, 2021, the suspect was found guilty on all charges for the May 28 assault. On November 15, 2021, the suspect pleaded no contest to a felony charge of abduction and a misdemeanor count of sexual battery for the October 6 assault. He was set to be sentenced on December 13, 2021, but sentencing was delayed until January 2022 in order for the court to perform a psychology evaluation on him and explore residential treatment facility options. In January 2022, the suspect was found guilty on all four charges and was sentenced to complete a "residential program in a locked-down facility" and placed on supervised probation until he turned 18, and ordered to register as a sex offender in Virginia. Loudoun County Juvenile Judge Court Judge Pamela L. Brooks said she had never previously ordered a minor to register as a sex offender, stating, "You scare me. What I read in those reports scared me and should scare families and scare society. You need a lot of help." The perpetrator apologized to the two victims in court. Judge Brooks said that there was a third victim who had not come forward to press charges.
Later that month, Brooks decided against placing the perpetrator on the sex offender registry, due to the offender's young age and data indicating that teenagers placed on the registry go on to have higher recidivism rates.

In October 2023, one of the victims filed a lawsuit against the school district for $30 million, alleging that school officials failed to heed warning signs about her attacker and attempted to cover up her sexual assault.

Policy 8040 and responses

Policy 8040, which was passed in August 2021, a few months after the first assault occurred, allows students to use locker rooms and bathrooms corresponding to their "consistently asserted gender identity"; the policy was adopted to comply with a state mandate. The parents of the Stone Bridge victim have said the perpetrator of their daughter's assault identified as gender fluid. While discussing a draft of Policy 8040 at a school board meeting on June 22, 2021, superintendent Scott Ziegler stated that, to his knowledge, there were no reports of any assaults occurring in the school system's restrooms and that a "predator transgender student or person simply does not exist". The father of the Stone Bridge victim stated he was angered by Ziegler's comments due to his daughter's assault, and was arrested at the meeting after getting into an argument with a fellow attendee; he was found guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest on August 17, 2021. The parents of the Stone Bridge victim accused the school system of covering up the assault to push Policy 8040. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office stated they were immediately made aware by school officials of the assault on May 28. Authorities have not commented on the parents' "gender fluid" characterization of the perpetrator, but have said he was wearing a skirt at the time of the assault. On October 15, 2021, Ziegler said he "wrongly interpreted" questions posed to him at that meeting and apologized, calling his comments "misleading". Later that month, the perpetrator's lawyer disputed the characterization of his then-client as gender fluid or transgender.

At a school board meeting on October 12, 2021, parents criticized the handling of the assaults, expressing fear for their children's safety in Loudoun County Public Schools and calling for the school board, and superintendent Ziegler, to resign. During an October 15, 2021 press conference, Ziegler acknowledged that the school system had "failed to provide the safe, welcoming, and affirming environment" they aspired to. He went on to state that federal policy contained in Title IX had required a full investigation of the assaults before certain disciplinary actions were allowed to be taken and that he would lobby for changes to this part of Title IX. He also proposed local policy changes that he said would "place greater emphasis on victim rights". These local changes, Ziegler said, would ensure the future separation of "alleged offenders from the general student body" and allow disciplinary actions to begin before the end of any future investigations of assault.

A September 29, 2021 letter from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to President Joe Biden characterized parents from various school board meetings as "domestic terrorists", including the father of the Stone Bridge victim, citing his arrest at the June 22 meeting. In October 2021, the father demanded an apology and retraction from the NSBA. His attorneys said that the NSBA released an apology to other NSBA members on October 22 but "did not include any specific apology" to him or other parents.

School students across Loudoun County, including students at Stone Bridge High School and Broad Run High School, performed walkout protests on October 26, 2021, in support of the victims.

During his successful campaign for governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin responded to the assaults by arguing for an increased police presence in the state's schools. On his first day in office, January 15, 2022, Youngkin signed an executive order requesting that the Virginia Attorney General, Jason Miyares, conduct an investigation into the school system's handling of the assaults.

The assaults coincided with vocal opposition among some parents towards the Loudoun County school system's COVID-19 prevention strategies and racial equity programs. Amid these controversies, several members of the Loudoun County School Board were harassed and received death threats. ''The New York Times'' noted that conservative media coverage of the assaults "zeroed in on the transgender angle", and Youngkin's Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, argued that conservatives were exploiting the issue as a "transphobic dog whistle". ''The New York Times'' further noted that early media coverage of the assaults failed to report that the victim and assailant "had an ongoing sexual relationship" before the assault occurred "and had arranged to meet in the bathroom."

On March 8, 2022, the Loudoun County School Board voted to adopt an overhaul of the school's Title IX policies that had been in development since the beginning of 2020. Under the reformed policy, a Title IX coordinator is charged with ensuring an immediate investigation and response to instances of "sex discrimination, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct". The reformed policy also states, "If appropriate and regardless of whether a criminal or regulatory investigation regarding the alleged conduct is pending, the school division shall promptly take interim action to maintain a safe and secure learning environment for all students."

Dismissal and criminal conviction of Superintendent Ziegler

On December 6, 2022, Superintendent of LCPS Scott Ziegler was fired with immediate effect by a unanimous vote after a closed session school board meeting. He was fired due to the school district's response to the 2021 sexual assault cases. Specifically, a grand jury report had concluded that Ziegler was informed about the assault on the day that it happened but he later lied about his knowledge of the event during a school board meeting the following month. Glenn Youngkin reacted on December 7, 2022, by tweeting "The special grand jury’s report on the horrific sexual assaults in Loudoun has exposed wrongdoing, prompted disciplinary actions, & provided families with the truth. I will continue to empower parents & push for accountability on behalf of our students." Ziegler's removal was faced with positive statements from people in Loudoun County. According to a source, because he was dismissed "without cause", Ziegler will continue to receive full benefits and his $323,000 annual salary for the next year. Three criminal charges against Zeigler were made public days later, on December 12, following a judicial order to unseal the grand jury indictments against him and a district employee.

On 29 September 2023, a jury found Ziegler guilty of retaliating against a teacher in a separate case. The teacher had reported repeated sexual assaults from a student and that Ziegler had retaliated after she went public about her treatment and lack of a response from school administrators. In March, 2024, Judge Joseph Fleming, citing a legal error, set aside the guilty verdict. A move which Courthouse News Service called a "victory" for Ziegler.

Fentanyl overdoses

In September and October 2023, 19 students at Loudoun schools overdosed on fentanyl. At least four of the overdoses took place on school property at Park View High School, with medical personnel administering Narcan in three cases and CPR twice. LCPS officials delayed informing other parents in the school community of the overdoses for almost three weeks, prompting Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin to issue an executive order mandating public schools notify all parents within a school division of a school-related overdose occurring within 24 hours.

Racism

On April 5, 2025, a student from Eagle Ridge Middle School in Ashburn, under Loudoun County Public Schools, recorded and shared a video of himself bullying and yelling racial slurs at a 5-year-old Chinese American boy as he was crying for mercy and help. The video went viral and received considerable backlash. School spokesman Dan Adams condemned the incident, and said that they are offering the 5-year-old boy counseling and the middle school student restorative practices. Loudoun County Sheriff's Office confirmed that they received a report of the incident, but they did not clarify what actions they will take.

Title IX

Loudoun County Public Schools has been heavily criticized by parents, and the Attorney General of Virginia, Jason Miyares, for "weaponizing" their Title IX policy.

Around October 2024, Loudoun County Public Schools opened a Title IX investigation against three boys, who attended Stone Bridge High School, for voicing concerns to each other about a female student using the boy's locker room. One of the students, who was Christian, told his PE teacher, Hunter Manspile, about his objection to sharing a locker room with a female student, and was told not to mention anything about the situation. On May 6, 2025, the Attorney General of Virginia, Jason Miyares, launched an investigation into Loudoun County Public Schools for retaliation against the three boys. Loudoun County Public Schools was found "weaponizing" their Title IX policy during Attorney General Miyares' investigation into LCPS.

In June 2025, Loudoun County Public Schools accused a 9-year-old boy of attempting to sexually assault a girl at Round Hill Elementary School in Round Hill. The Title IX investigation conducted by LCPS was heavily criticized by several parents for continuing to claim that the boy sexually assaulted the girl, even though the girl took back that claim.

Schools

High schools

As of the 2024–2025 academic year, Loudoun County Public Schools operates 17 high schools serving grades 9–12. The division continues to expand to accommodate the county’s growing population.

The high schools vary in architectural design and student capacity:

Early High Schools

* Loudoun County High School (1954) – Approximate capacity: 1,370 students.
* Loudoun Valley High School (1962) and Broad Run High School (1969) – Built with similar designs; each can accommodate around 1,390–1,410 students.
* Park View High School (1976) – Approximate capacity: 1,370 students.

Potomac Falls Design Template

* Potomac Falls High School (1997) introduced a design with a larger auditorium and expanded classroom space. This template was used for:
** Stone Bridge High School (2000)
** Heritage High School (2002)
** Dominion High School (2003)
** Briar Woods High School (2005)
** Freedom High School (2005)
** Woodgrove High School (2010)
* These schools typically have a capacity of around 1,600 students.

Expanded Capacity Schools

* Tuscarora High School (2010) and John Champe High School (2012) – Follow the Potomac Falls design but with a larger capacity of approximately 1,800 students.

Adjusted Capacity Schools

* Rock Ridge High School (2014) and Riverside High School (2015) – Built with a 1,600-student capacity due to projected lower enrollment growth in the Ashburn area.

New Design Implementations

* Independence High School (2019) – Introduced a refreshed version of the Potomac Falls layout.
* Lightridge High School (2020) – Debuted an entirely new design concept to alleviate overcrowding at John Champe High School.

''All Loudoun County high schools serve grades 9–12.'' The current high schools are:

* Briar Woods High School, Ashburn
* Broad Run High School, Ashburn
* Dominion High School, Sterling
* Freedom High School, South Riding
* Heritage High School, Leesburg
* Independence High School, Ashburn
* John Champe High School, Aldie
* Lightridge High School, Aldie
* Loudoun County High School, Leesburg
* Loudoun Valley High School, Purcellville
* Park View High School, Sterling
* Potomac Falls High School, Sterling
* Riverside High School, Leesburg
* Rock Ridge High School, Ashburn
* Stone Bridge High School, Ashburn
* Tuscarora High School, Leesburg
* Woodgrove High School, Purcellville

Intermediate schools

''Serves grades 8–9.''

LCPS previously had two intermediate schools

* Harmony Intermediate School, now Harmony Middle School in the western part of the county which served 8th and 9th graders. This was only a temporary concept to relieve crowding at Blue Ridge Middle School and Loudoun Valley High School which ended after Woodgrove High School opened in fall 2010.
* Willard Intermediate School, now Willard Middle School in Aldie also served 8th and 9th graders. This was only a temporary concept to relieve crowding at Mercer Middle School and John Champe High School which ended after Lightridge High School opened in fall 2020

Middle schools

Loudoun County currently has 18 middle schools, most of which typically feed into one high school currently, or in the near future. Older middle schools such as Simpson, Blue Ridge, Sterling, and Seneca Ridge originally were able to carry about 1,000 students, but have all gone or are going through expansion projects that will allow them to carry 1,200 students once the projects are complete. The older schools are also trying to modernize the building by placing ornamental designs throughout the school. Newer middle schools built since 1995, when Farmwell Station opened, typically have capacities of 1,200 to 1,350 students depending on the age of the building and how fast growth was around the particular school when the school opened. Since the opening of J. Michael Lunsford, all middle schools are built with a two-story design that can carry 1,350 students.

''Serves grades 6–8.''

*Belmont Ridge Middle School, Leesburg
*Blue Ridge Middle School, Purcellville
*Brambleton Middle School, Ashburn
*Eagle Ridge Middle School, Ashburn
*Farmwell Station Middle School, Ashburn
*Harmony Middle School (Formerly Harmony Intermediate School), Hamilton
*Harper Park Middle School, Leesburg
*J. Lupton Simpson Middle School, Leesburg
*J. Michael Lunsford Middle School, Chantilly
*Mercer Middle School, Aldie
*River Bend Middle School, Sterling
*Seneca Ridge Middle School, Sterling
*Smarts Mill Middle School, Leesburg
*Sterling Middle School, Sterling
*Stone Hill Middle School, Ashburn
*Trailside Middle School, Ashburn
*Watson Mountain Middle School, Leesburg
*Willard Middle School (Formerly Willard Intermediate School), Aldie

Elementary schools

LCPS currently has 52 elementary schools, which are nearly all community based, with over half of them opening in the last 10 years. Newer elementary schools throughout the county can carry approximately 800 to 875 students. Older elementary schools in the eastern part of the county can carry anywhere from 400–600 students. There are some rural elementary schools in Loudoun County as well, nearly all of them in the western part of the county. They are much smaller in size and are much older facilities, typically holding enrollments of about 100–150 students. Since the opening of Buffalo Trail Elementary School, all elementary schools are built with a two-story design that can carry 875 students.

Another elementary school, Henrietta Lacks Elementary School, is under construction between Lightridge High School and Hovatter Elementary School, with an expected opening in time for the 2024-2025 school year.

''Serves grades K–5.''

*Aldie Elementary School, Aldie
*Algonkian Elementary School, Sterling
*Arcola Elementary School, Aldie
*Ashburn Elementary School, Ashburn
*Ball's Bluff Elementary School, Leesburg
*Banneker Elementary School, Saint Louis
*Belmont Station Elementary School, Ashburn
*Buffalo Trail Elementary School, Aldie
*Cardinal Ridge Elementary School, Centreville
*Catoctin Elementary School, Leesburg
*Cedar Lane Elementary School, Ashburn
*Cool Spring Elementary School, Leesburg
*Countryside Elementary School, Sterling
*Creighton's Corner Elementary School, Ashburn
*Discovery Elementary School, Ashburn
*Dominion Trail Elementary School, Ashburn
*Elaine E. Thompson Elementary School, Arcola
*Emerick Elementary School, Purcellville
*Evergreen Mill Elementary School, Leesburg
*Forest Grove Elementary School, Sterling
*Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, Leesburg
*Frederick Douglass Elementary School, Leesburg
*Goshen Post Elementary School, Aldie
*Guilford Elementary School, Sterling
*Hamilton Elementary School, Hamilton
*Henrietta Lacks Elementary School (grades PreK-2), Aldie
*Hillsboro Charter Academy (formerly Hillsboro Elementary School), Purcellville
*Hillside Elementary School, Ashburn
*Horizon Elementary School, Sterling
*Hovatter Elementary School (grades 3-5), Aldie
*Hutchison Farm Elementary School, South Riding
*John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary School, Leesburg
*Kenneth Culbert Elementary School, Hamilton
*Leesburg Elementary School, Leesburg
*Legacy Elementary School, Ashburn
*Liberty Elementary School, South Riding
*Lincoln Elementary School, Purcellville
*Little River Elementary School, South Riding
*Lovettsville Elementary School, Lovettsville
*Lowes Island Elementary School, Sterling
*Lucketts Elementary School, Leesburg
*Madison's Trust Elementary School, Ashburn
*Meadowland Elementary School, Sterling
*Middleburg Community Charter School (formerly Middleburg Elementary School), Middleburg
*Mill Run Elementary School, Ashburn
*Moorefield Station Elementary School, Ashburn
*Mountain View Elementary School, Purcellville
*Newton-Lee Elementary School, Ashburn
*Pinebrook Elementary School, Aldie
*Potowmack Elementary School, Sterling
*Rolling Ridge Elementary School, Sterling
*Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School, Ashburn
*Round Hill Elementary School, Round Hill
*Sanders Corner Elementary School, Ashburn
*Seldens Landing Elementary School, Lansdowne
*Sterling Elementary School, Sterling
*Steuart W. Weller Elementary School, Ashburn
*Sugarland Elementary School, Sterling
*Sully Elementary School, Sterling
*Sycolin Creek Elementary School, Leesburg
*Waterford Elementary School, Waterford
*Waxpool Elementary School, Ashburn

Instructional centers

In addition to its traditional high schools, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) operates several specialized instructional centers that offer advanced academics, technical education, and alternative learning pathways.

Academies of Loudoun, Leesburg

Opened in 2018, the Academies of Loudoun is a centralized, state-of-the-art facility that combines three advanced academic programs for students across the county:

* Monroe Advanced Technical Academy (MATA) – Offers career and technical education (CTE) programs in fields such as automotive technology, nursing, welding, cybersecurity, and culinary arts. MATA partners with local industry and post-secondary institutions to prepare students for direct employment or further training.

* Academy of Science (AOS) – Provides a rigorous, research-based science and math curriculum for academically gifted students. AOS emphasizes inquiry-based learning and has received national recognition for its science fair success.

* Academy of Engineering & Technology (AET) – Focuses on engineering, computer science, and applied mathematics through hands-on learning. Students complete capstone projects and are prepared for STEM careers and competitive university programs.

The North Star School (formerly Douglass School), Leesburg

The North Star School serves as LCPS’s primary alternative education center. It provides nontraditional academic pathways for students who benefit from flexible schedules, smaller class sizes, and additional behavioral or social-emotional supports. The school offers credit recovery, individualized instruction, and intervention services. It was renamed in 2021 to reflect its mission to guide students toward personal and academic success.

These instructional centers reflect LCPS’s commitment to providing diverse educational opportunities that support both college readiness and workforce preparation across Loudoun County.

Special Programs

Dual Language Immersion (DLI)

In 2023, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) launched a Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program at two elementary schools: Potowmack Elementary School and Sanders Corner Elementary School. The program began with approximately 100 kindergarten students—50 at each site—and represents the division’s first large-scale initiative to offer bilingual instruction in Spanish and English.

The DLI model implemented in LCPS follows a 50/50 instructional split. Students spend half of each school day learning math, science, language arts, and computer science in Spanish, and the other half studying social studies and English language arts in English. The approach is rooted in immersion pedagogy, which aims to develop biliteracy, bilingualism, and cross-cultural competencies while meeting the same academic standards as traditional English-only programs.

The program is open to all kindergarten students in the district, regardless of home language background, and enrollment is determined through a lottery system when demand exceeds capacity. The cohort of students is scheduled to advance through the grade levels together, with the program expanding each year until it reaches fifth grade by the 2028–2029 school year.

LCPS’s DLI initiative aligns with broader educational goals outlined in the division’s equity and multilingual learner frameworks. It also mirrors successful models used in other Virginia school divisions such as Fairfax County and Arlington Public Schools, where immersion programs have been linked to improved cognitive flexibility, academic performance, and long-term language retention.

Future expansion may include opening additional immersion sites in other regions of the county, as well as the possibility of developing middle school DLI continuation tracks for students who complete the elementary program. LCPS officials have noted that community interest, staffing availability, and facility planning will all factor into long-term implementation.

See also

*List of school divisions in Virginia

Notes

References

External links

*

LCPS
at '' U.S. News & World Report''s Best High Schools

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School divisions in Virginia
Education in Loudoun County, Virginia
Northern Virginia
1870 establishments in Virginia
Government in Loudoun County, Virginia