Dear Rosa Parks Elementary Families,

On behalf of the staff at Rosa Parks Elementary School (RPES), we would like to welcome you to the 2024-2025 school year. We are incredibly excited for a year filled with many opportunities for our students to explore, learn, and grow.

A core value of RPES is fostering a strong school and home partnership. Only through strong communication and collaboration between families and the school can all students be successful. Together, we will create a year of excellence for our children as we focus on three key areas: high-quality instruction, maintaining a positive climate and culture, and increasing student and family engagement and involvement. We look forward to partnering with you this year!

We’d like to take a moment to welcome all our new families. Whether you are joining us in Pre-K or Kindergarten or relocating from another school in the district, city, state, country, or internationally, we are happy you are here. We believe that you will soon feel, as we do, that Rosa Parks Elementary School is a special place for all children.

This summer, the RPES staff have been busy ensuring a strong start to the school year. They have engaged in professional development around the new Virginia Literacy Act, analyzed the new Math standards, reviewed data, and worked collaboratively to plan rigorous and engaging instruction. Our staff is eager to meet their students and begin this year’s journey with them.

We hope that all families can attend our Open House on August 15th to meet their teacher, see the school, and drop off any school supplies. Kindergarten families are welcome for Open House at 9:00-10:00am and our 1st thru 5th Grade students at 10:30-11:30am.

We look forward to a very positive and productive year together! Please enjoy the remaining days of summer as we eagerly anticipate another fulfilling year of learning and experiences for our children. This will be an amazing year!

Your Partners in Education,

Kathryn Ngo, Principal
Maria Menjivar, Assistant Principal

RPES school hours will be from 9:20 AM to 4:00 PM, Doors will open at 9:05 AM to allow students to get breakfast and walk to their classrooms. The late bell is 9:20am, at which time classroom instruction will begin.

Families are kindly asked not to drop off their children before 9:05 AM as there will be no staff available to supervise them. Students will not be permitted to wait in the office before the bell. If you arrive before 9:05 AM and a car rider, please park in a designated spot instead of waiting/parking in the Kiss N’ Ride line so that that line can continue to move for families that wish to drop off students before arrival officially begins.

Dismissal will begin at approximately 3:45 PM, starting with kindergarten students. Please note that kindergarten students must be picked up by an approved adult if they are walkers or met by an approved adult at their bus stop if they are riding the bus. All adults must present a photo ID to pick up a kindergarten student.

Many families have called asking for information regarding their student’s teacher or bus stops. This information will be available in ParentVue; however, families will only have access to this information after their annual Back to School Packet is complete in ParentVue. Teacher assignments should be posted by August 11th. The annual Back to School packet will be available starting on August 6th. This packet helps provide the school with vital up to date emergency contact information.

If you do not have an active ParentVUE account, please call our office at 703-580-9665 for assistance.

Did You Know? Research shows that missing 10% of the school year, or about 18 days, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days each month. Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the school year. Half of the students who miss 2-4 days in September go on to miss nearly a month of school.

To learn more about PWCS attendance, please click this link. The link provides information regarding excused and unexcused absences. Additionally, the image to the right is a PWCS document outlining when a student should stay home.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, regardless of the reason. Students can be chronically absent with both excused and unexcused absences. Chronic absenteeism focuses on time in school missed by a student. PWCS and RPES goal is to minimize chronic absenteeism as it can have a large impact on student success. Chronic absenteeism is also part of a school’s accreditation criteria.

This school year, all students in KG through 5th grades at Rosa Parks Elementary can receive free breakfast and lunch during the 2024-2025 school year as part of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Program. While breakfast and lunch will be free of charge, students will still need to use their individual student ID number in the cafeteria. A la carte items will be available for an additional fee.

Meals are available for free for eligible students in Prince William County Public Schools. In order to receive these benefits, you must apply for meal assistance every year. Applications filed last year are only good for the first few days of school. Children from households that meet Federal Income Guidelines are eligible for free meals.

Read Federal Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions – English

Read Federal Guidelines and Frequently Asked Spanish - Spanish

The fastest way to apply for free meal benefits for your child is to apply online:

Application in English

Application in Spanish

Online applications are typically processed within 48 hours of submission.

Households receiving SNAP or TANF for their children or who have foster children may not have to fill out an application. School officials will notify those households of children who do not need to apply. If you do not receive notification by August 12th, 2024, you must contact the Food and Nutrition Department, or submit an application.

The Rosa Parks Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) works closely to support our school community. RPES PTO helps build relationships between teachers and families, in addition to improving the effectiveness of the school's educational program.

The PTO hosts our annual Boohoo/Yahoo breakfast for parents on the first day of school, August 19th, from 9:30-10:00am. After dropping your student off, you may check in with the front office for a visitor's badge and join the PTO for coffee, pastries, and camaraderie.

Membership in the PTO is free! If you are interested in becoming a member, go to the link: https://rosaparks.ptboard.com/formvw?store=5251&form=1

(the form asks for your child and child’s teacher – if you do not know, you can type “unsure”)

August 11 - Class teacher assignments in ParentVue

August 15 - Kindergarten Orientation @ 9:00-10:00am

August 15 - 1st thru 5th Grades Open House/Meet Your Teacher @ 10:30-11:30am

August 16 - Preschool Orientation for AM Program @ 9:00-10:00am

August 16 - Preschool Orientation for PM Program @ 10:00-11:00am

August 19 - First Day of School; Doors Open at 9:05am, Late Bell 9:20am; Dismissal @ 3:45pm

August 23 - PTO Spirit Night @ Frostie Moose, 12-9pm

August 29 - PTO Fun Run Pep Rally

August 30 - No School - Labor Day Weekend

September 2 - No School - Labor Day Holiday

September 26 - Back to School Night