LEESBURG, Va. — Loudoun County Public Schools students are heading back to class, and some of them will be learning in a brand new school.
The district opened its 100th school Thursday -- Watson Mountain Middle School.
Principal Lenny Compton said this first year, they're starting with only sixth graders -- to reduce overpacking at Brambleton Middle School.
"Brambleton had 1800 kids, and they're supposed to only have 1400. So, we're taking their sixth graders this year. Our sixth graders will stay with us next year as seventh graders. Then, they'll go back to Brambleton for eighth grade, and we'll have that iteration for the next four years," Compton said.
Eventually, he said there will also be an elementary and high school on this same campus with Watson Mountain Middle.
Watson Mountain Middle is also sporting a brand new mascot and logo -- the Yetis.
Compton said students selected and designed both.
"They had about 78 options to choose from. We went to the Academies of Loudoun, and they helped to design this, so students from Loudoun County took the students' ideas. We had a shark tank style competition, and it came out to be Watson Mountain Yetis," Compton said.
Two of the students who helped to design the logo are Thomas Mazeika and Meghan Bush. Mazeika is starting his senior year at the Academies of Loudoun and Bush has since graduated and gone on to college.
"My contribution was the idea of the Yeti. The idea of the Yeti I felt was fun and unique to any school in general," Mazeika said.
Bush contributed more to the logo itself.
"My contribution was actually the WM in the logo. As soon as I heard Watson Mountain, I knew I wanted to do something with the symmetrical logo," Bush said. So, she added it to the Yeti's ski glasses.
For Graphic Communications teacher Deborah Tripp
"It was great live work for the students to meet with the principal and hear their ideas and take those ideas and wonderful fun colors and create the Yeti and all the different pieces to it, and now they've gotten to see their own logos and their own work at the school here, which is an awesome job and awesome opportunity."
Both Bush and Mazeika are excited to see this year's first class of "Yetis" rock their logo moving forward.
The new school opening is just part of the excitement for superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. The 2024-25 school year marks his second year at the helm of LCPS.
"The first day of school is the most exciting day of the year for educators. It's better than any holiday," Dr. Spence said.
Dr. Spence has six kids of his own -- two of whom are now students at LCPS.
"I've always really loved having the kids, my kids in the system that I'm working in, because it's an opportunity to kind of see the impact of our work and really talk to them at home and ask them about what they think about, maybe a new policy, or, you know, how their experience is going, because that gives me a sense of what's happening and how our other parents are feeling," he said. "I think it also gives me a lot of empathy for the experiences that our parents have inside of our school system, and it makes me more motivated to make sure that that's a great experience every day."
For the past few years, however, LCPS has faced its fair share of scandal and criticism.
From controversy surrounding rules about transgender students to sexual assault scandals and overdose issues, Dr. Spence has had a lot to overcome when he took the new job.
He said he's working hard to reestablish that positive relationship with parents and the community.
"It's been a wonderful year working with a new school board, and I really feel like we have worked very hard to be open and communicative again. We were out listening all last year to our community ," he said. "We continue to be thinking about their needs and finding new ways to communicate. We've created a new communications department. We have a new Family and Community Engagement Office that's opening this summer. So a lot of things that we're doing to make sure that our parents know they have ways to access us, our families know they have ways to access us and partner with us and with their schools and their teachers, so that their kids have those great experiences."
He said his biggest priority for this school year is to make sure that every day there is a culture where kids feel a sense of belonging and educators feel excited to come to work.
"As we look at that, that means we're looking at our curriculum, making sure that it's really a powerful curriculum. We're making sure that we're thinking about the pathways that we have for our students to really pursue the things that they're passionate about, get them ready for life after they leave our schools. So, you know, it's a big school division, a lot of moving parts and a lot of priorities, but at the center of it all is our kids," Dr. Spence said.