F.C. Schools’ Enrollment Flat So Far, Dade Reports
At this Tuesday’s meeting of the Falls Church City Public Schools’ School Board, Superintendent Dr. Terry Dade reported that as of Monday, Sept. 8, student enrollment in the K-12 system is “essentially flat compared to the last school year,” an unexpected result.
Current enrollment is 2,716 students, Dade said. Last year the count was 2,714, as reported to the state on Sept. 30, 2024. Demography consultants for the schools predicted that a net of more than 150 new students would enter the City’s schools this year.
Dr. Dade said his staff would “take a closer look” at enrollment trends and report back to the School Board at its next meeting Oct. 7.
“We’ll dive deeper into this,” Dade said. “Are there any ‘ah-hahs’ we’re seeing, like ‘Oh, this [multi-family] complex did not yield as many students as we thought [it would].’”
Dade held out the prospect that late-registering students could surge enrollment by the time FCCPS gives its official headcount to the state on Sept. 30.
But that deadline is just three weeks away, prompting School Board Chair Tate Gould to express some doubt that very many late-entering students will arrive in such a short time.
Several Board members expressed keen interest in learning more about the enrollment conundrum at the Board’s Oct. 7 meeting.
City Council is expected to give the School Board and Superintendent guidance on spending for FY26-27 in early December. The number of students in the City system is cornerstone information in planning for the schools’ budget and staffing.
–Phil Duncan
Classy New Steakhouse Holds Grand Opening in F.C.
After a couple weeks of a “soft opening,” the classy new steakhouse, GrillMax Steakhouse and Raw Bar held a fancy grand opening event Monday hosted by the F.C. Chamber of Commerce that drew Mayor Letty Hardi and members of the Falls Church City Council, City Hall staff, and Economic Development Authority. In terms of class and quality, the restaurant immediately rises to among the top few prime dining establishments in the Little City.
Co-owner Andy Leach told the News-Press that the name of the restaurant, one of four now in the D.C. area (the other three in Maryland), was cooked up to get across a signature idea of steaks sporting an “x” on their grill markings. He and co-owner Jackie Baker, along with manager Amy Leach, were on hand Monday for the lavish spread of generous food samplings ranging from tasty appetizers to steak and rib portions to raw oysters and desserts.
With upstairs, private rooms and outdoor options, and bars on both levels, the restaurant at 455 S. Maple is the company’s third run in tandem with the development partners of the 455 at Tinner Hill residential units above the restaurant that include John Gudelsky, Jeremy Duffy and Joe Herton. Leach said he found working with the City getting the restaurant set up has been a “very cooperative experience.”
Equality Virginia Endorses 2 Dem Statewide Candidates
The Equality Virginia Advocates Board has voted to endorse State Senator Ghazala Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor and Jay Jones for Attorney General, it announced this week.
“Over the past two years, Virginia’s pro-equality legislature has served as a critical safeguard, stopping attempts to undermine LGBTQ+ rights and defeating anti-LGBTQ+ bills advanced by the governor. Virginia continues to stand out as the only Southern state with nondiscrimination protections written into law—a result of persistent advocacy,” the statement says. “At a moment when the federal government escalates attacks on LGBTQ+ people, these pro-equality leaders are committed to ensuring that Virginia remains a safe and welcoming place to live, work, and thrive.
Equality Virginia Advocates Executive Director Narissa Rahaman released the following statement: “As the LGBTQ+ community faces unprecedented attacks across the country from Donald Trump, we are clear-eyed about what is at stake for Virginia. In every election, the stakes for LGBTQ+ people become more personal. By endorsing Ghazala Hashmi for Lieutenant Governor and Jay Jones for Attorney General, we are sending a resounding message that we are choosing progress over the real threat of regression.”
In White House on 9/11, Speaker Set Next Tuesday
A 9/11/01 Anniversary Book Event at The Whittemore House in D.C.’s DuPont Circle, sponsored by the Woman’s National Democratic Club, will feature a conversation with a man who was actually in the White House bunker alongside Vice President Dick Cheney and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, as the attacks were occurring on that dreadful morning, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Robert Darling Jr.
Col. Darling (now retired from a long, distinguished military career) will bring that horrid day alive again, step by painful step, from his first-hand vantage point with Cheney and Rice in the cockpit of history. In his book and in vivid detail, Bob Darling retells the story in his own words, in conversation with career journalist David Hoffman.
Darling’s book is entitled, “24 Hours Inside the President’s Bunker, 9/11/01, The White House. A Personal Account of the Unprecedented Actions Taken to Defend America.”
“It’s the duty of Americans never to forget about that tragic morning — when people leapt to their deaths and buildings fell, and the Pentagon was struck, and heroic passengers aboard an airliner brought it down in Shanksville Pa. in an aircraft likely headed straight to a fiery collision with the US Capitol building while Congress was in session,” Hoffman said this week.
