FCPS is opening a new high school for the first time in nearly 20 years. Formerly King Abdullah Academy, the county purchased the building on Aug. 15 and will begin opt-in enrollment on Dec. 19 for families with rising freshman and sophomores.

“It is an optional process,” interim principal of the new western high school Dave Jagels said. “Kids have the opportunity to opt in over the next four weeks and we’ll go from there. We’d like to open with 500 ninth-graders and 500 tenth-graders.”

Families will receive an opt-in form from the county where they will be able to say whether or not they would like their children to attend the new high school for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. Any FCPS student regardless of their location can fill out the opt-in form, but transportation will only be provided to those within the new high school’s boundary, which will not be defined until late spring 2026.

On Nov. 13, the school board voted that the new school would have traditional boundaries to address the overcrowding in the high schools in the western part of the county, such as CHS. The school will also include specialized career pathway options with potential offerings being aerospace, AI and advanced technology programs.

“The aerospace science [pathway] is pretty firm,” Jagels said. “The other two, the school board is still having discussions on. It’s our hope to build these out at this school and then potentially get them in other schools.”

According to FCPS, the new high school will not offer Virginia High School League activities during the first year; students attending can still play sports at their base school. The new high school is expected to offer standard freshman and sophomore courses as well as AP and DE courses.

“I’ve worked in or worked with all five [feeder high schools] and they’re fantastic schools,” Jagels said. “I don’t think that there’s a bad opportunity here. I think either one is going to be a great choice.”