New LCPS Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence hosts first community listening session

ASHBURN, Va. - The new Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent held his first community listening session Tuesday at Broad Run High School in Ashburn. 

From 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. inside the cafeteria, Dr. Aaron Spence gave parents an opportunity to voice their concerns about safety and security, as well as the need for better communication from school officials. 

Afterward, there was a half-hour meet and greet with Dr. Spence, who started in his new role on Friday, Sept. 1.

He comes in amid an uproar from parents and constituents in Loudoun County regarding the lack of transparency and failure on behalf of the school district after two sexual assaults that happened at two different high schools by the same student back in 2021.

The situation placed Loudoun County at the center of controversy, and it even made national headlines.

According to LCPS, the goal of these listening sessions is to help facilitate the new superintendent in three key areas: Developing relationships with the community, accelerating the superintendent’s learning about LCPS, and building on success while making meaningful changes.

"I think the foundation of trust is consistency and relationships, so we need to be out building relationships with our parents, with our community, with our teachers, and being consistent; saying what we mean, doing what we say, and being really clear in our communication, and that we are committed to doing all of that," Dr. Spence told FOX 5. 

The feedback school administrators receive will be collected and considered for future recommendations and needed actions in the spring as part of the post-entry plan.

"In order to decide on the direction we need to be heading and to figure out where are the gaps and how we’re meeting the needs of our community, our kids, and our schools, you need to hear from people, you can’t just make assumptions," Dr. Spence explained. "The whole purpose of listening sessions is to give people an opportunity to tell us where they, first of all, think we’re doing well because we need to know that too. We need to build on those strengths, but also where are there opportunities for us to continue to improve."

The next listening session will be at Independence High School on Wednesday, October 4. The plan is to host at least one each month until the last session is held on April 4 at Briar Woods High School. 

Check out a schedule for the community listening sessions here.