LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — After an investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools regarding whether the district did or didn't share information about National Merit Awards information with students -- Loudoun County has come forward to share similar news.
The Superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) said that after receiving several questions about whether the students were notified about National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) commendations, a review was conducted. The district reviewed all 17 LCPS high school notification processes for NMSC Semifinalists and Commended Students.
The review found that three of their high schools had not distributed the notifications to the students. All three identified schools have reached out to all students and parents who were not notified in fall 2022 of their commendation, the superintendent said.
In addition, school counseling staff will or have already contacted the universities and colleges to which commended students have applied to ensure these schools are aware of the students’ achievements.
The district says going forward they will work to improve this process.
"As part of continuous process improvements across the division, and in recognition of the importance of these awards, the Office of Student Mental Health Services will create and implement a specific standard operating procedure for each high school administration and office of school counseling," the superintendent said.
The school district believes that creating that SOP will help ensure timely notification of Commended Students across LCPS. This resource will also be shared with high school principals and directors of school counseling at a joint meeting in January 2023.
The Office of School Counseling Services will review the procedure in the fall of each school year.