Fairfax County Special Education PTA - SEPTA

22/05/2026

Thank you, Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA), for your recognition of SEPTA as the Council's Local Unit Child Advocate of the Year! SEPTA President Michelle Cades and Advocacy Co-Chair Amanda Campbell attended the FCCPTA awards ceremony this past Monday to accept the award. From the program:

"When a proposed budget cut threatened elementary Special Education Department Chair positions, Fairfax County SEPTA quickly led a strategic, collaborative advocacy campaign. By uniting families, educators, and community partners—and empowering more than 200 speakers to raise their voices—they helped secure a funding compromise and protect critical supports for students. This campaign embodies PTA’s mission to make every child’s potential a reality through strong family and community engagement."

This year's budget fully restores centrally funded 1.0 positions for both Elementary Special Education Department Chairs and Advanced Academics Resource Teachers. Thank you to our community - staff, students, and families - for the advocacy you did last year. We continued that work this year, beginning conversations with the school board and board of supervisors about this restoration in Fall 2025 and we are thrilled to see this come to fruition!

Fairfax County Public Schools
Virginia PTA
National Parent Teacher Association

12/05/2026

06/05/2026

03/05/2026

Thank you to the over 360 people who attended the SEPTA Awards Ceremony this weekend! With more than 200 nominations received, we only wish we were able to present awards to everyone.

We proudly present the winners of this years' awards!

Thank you to Representative Rep. James Walkinshaw & District Aide, Myiesha Jones, and to Senator Mark Warner's Regional Director, Jaclyn Marmol, for attending and presenting us with congratulatory letters and copies of an entry into the Congressional Record!

We were delighted to be joined by FCPS School Board members and FCPS leadership: SB Vice Chair Robyn Lady, Tom Dannan, Kyle McDaniel, & Ryan McElveen, (wishing a speedy recovery to Sandy Anderson & Seema Dixit), Superintendent Michelle Reid, Chief of Staff Marty Smith, Chief of Schools Megan Vroman, Regional Assistant Superintendents Becky Baenig & Ray Lonnett, Assistant Superintendent for DSS Terri Edmunds-Heard, Director of Procedural Support Dawn Schaefer, Director of Special Ed Instruction Mike Bloom, Ombuds Dawn Clement & Kathy Murphy, & ABA & Special Ed Services Coordinator Tina Wilkerson.

Photos to come & recording will be posted on our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com//videos

[Alt text: Chart with list of awards, awardees, & schools. CATEGORY NAME-AWARDEE-SCHOOL Reflections:
Silver Award of Excellence-Avi Levy-PAC student;
Reflections: Bronze Award of Merit-Ben Smith-Edison HS;
Outstanding Student-Devansh Saraff-Navy ES; Abbie Bachmore Memorial Award: Student Most Supporting Inclusion-Reema Patel & Sheel Patel-Langley HS; Community Champion for Special Education-Hunters Woods SACC Team-Fairfax County Neighborhood & Community Services; Community Champion for Special Education-Scott Elliott-Music Instructor & SPUR Band; Outstanding Inclusive FCPS Program-Jenna Cook & Kathryn Guard: Experiential Autism Education Program-Glen Forest ES; Outstanding Elementary Administrator-Becky Timm-Hunters Woods ES; Outstanding Elementary Administrator-Eric Kopacz-Hunt Valley ES;
Outstanding Secondary Administrator-Jae Lee-Annandale HS;
Outstanding Support Staff-James Racine-Hunters Woods ES; Outstanding Central Office Staff-Evelyn Harocopos-Educational Specialist, Pimmit Hills ECC; Outstanding Co-Curricular Staff Cara Chaapel-Herndon ES; Outstanding Co-Curricular Staff-Anne Hollis-Union Mill ES; Outstanding Collaborative Team-Cathy Adames, Laura Cerda, & Anice Denton-Fox Mill ES; Outstanding Elementary General Educator-Courtney Kim-Hunters Woods ES;
Outstanding Elementary General Educator-Beth Beal-Laurel Ridge ES; Outstanding Secondary General Educator-Alina Jimenez Rosa-Chantilly HS; Outstanding Related Services Provider-Megan Pitts-Woodson HS; Outstanding Related Services Provider-Stephanie Schauder-Hunters Woods ES-Outstanding Instructional Support Staff-Kely Herrera-Rolling Valley ES; Outstanding Instructional Support Staff-Samina Butt-Irving MS; Outstanding Preschool Special Educator-Claire Soyeon Lee-Pimmit Hills ECC; Outstanding Preschool Special Educator- Malika Bougria-Pimmit Hills ECC;
Mark Stewart Memorial Award: Outstanding Elementary Special Educator-Patricia Rothweiler-Stratford Landing ES; Mark Stewart Memorial Award: Outstanding Elementary Special Educator-Larissa Miller Pullam-Silverbrook ES; Mark Stewart Memorial Award:
Outstanding Elementary Special Educator-Colleen O'Carroll-Rolling Valley ES; Mark Stewart Memorial Award: Outstanding Elementary Special Educator-Liz Smith-Aldrin ES; Outstanding Secondary Special Educator-Jason Collazo-Quander Road Center; Outstanding Secondary Special Educator-Jan Fisher-Out of School Support, Homebound-Preschool Educator of the Year-Liz Busch-Cardinal Forest ES; Elementary Educator of the Year-Katherine Charlotte “Casey" McLellan-Lees Corner ES; Secondary Educator of the Year Nia Ravenstahl-South Lakes HS; Volunteer of the Year-Stephanie Curb-Hunt Valley ES]

03/05/2026

Thank you, Rep. James Walkinshaw, for coming out to celebrate our award winners last night! We appreciate your support of our students, staff and community - not just in celebrations like this, but in your Congressional work as well!

Fairfax County Council PTA (FCCPTA)
Virginia PTA
National Parent Teacher Association
Fairfax County Public Schools

02/05/2026

The awards have begun!

30/04/2026

In collaboration with SCHEV's Level Up Virginia campaign, VCU's Center on Transition Innovations, and Reynolds Community College Parham Road Campus, we welcome you to join roughly 100 students, caregivers, and educators to a Statewide Transition Fair for students with disabilities on May 15, 2026 from 10 am -2 pm.

Attendees will have the opportunity to network with attending vendors and learn about their services as well as meet representatives from colleges and universities institutions of higher education and workforce training. There will be presentations on financial aid and college match and fit.

We hope to have current college students attend as well. Please complete this registration form if you're able to join us. We will not be providing lunch. Schools will need to provide lunch or have students pack a lunch.

22/04/2026

FCPS Family Resource Center at Dunn Loring will relocate to the Pimmit Hills Center on June 1, 2026, with continued support available throughout the transition.
Find more information here - https://www.fcps.edu/news/family-resource-center-student-registration-and-early-childhood-testing-moving-pimmit-hills

21/04/2026

2026-2027 Slate Announcement!!!
SEPTA Executive Board elections will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, during our final general membership meeting and event of the 2025-2026 school year. REGISTER TODAY! tinyurl.com/SEPTA2026MayGenMem

The Nominations Committee proudly presents the 2026-2027 SEPTA Executive Board slate as follows:

President: Lauren McCaughey (current vice president)

Vice President: Emily Sachdev (current secretary)

Secretary: Lily Sahda (current 2e chair)

Treasurer: Dena Sonneborn (current ACSD liaison)

Bios of slated candidates are available here: https://tinyurl.com/SEPTA2026Slate

At the meeting, the floor will be open to nominations of paid SEPTA members, per our bylaws.

[Image Description: black outline of a clipboard on goldenrod background with arrows in the corners. SEPTA logo in white on black clipboard hinge at top. Text reads SEPTA presents 2026-2027 Slate of Officers. President - Lauren McCaughey, Vice President - Emily Sachdev, Secretary - Lily Sadha, Treasurer - Dena Sonneborn. Per bylaws nominations will be accepted from the floor at the May General Membership Meeting.]

20/04/2026

Tomorow, Tuesday, May 19 at 7pm is SEPTA's final general membership meeting & workshop of this school year. We will elect our officers for next year & then jump into a conversation about transitions of all kinds -- pre-k to elementary, elementary to middle, middle to high, high to beyond! Bring your suggestions, ideas, & questions!

Register NOW: tinyurl.com/SEPTA2026MayGenMem

[attached image hs a picture of a computer with a video game and the text: Save the Date! Level Up! Year-to-year transition talk. Join our presentation to learn successful tips for a successful transition to the 2026-2027 school year and beyond! Includes discussion of "Level Up" transitions such as Prek-k, elementary-middle, middle-high school. Annual elections will also be held. Final meeting of the year - don't miss it! May 19, 2026, 7:00pm / Zoom. Registration: tinyurl.com/SEPTA2026MayGenMem ]