BACK TO SCHOOL Stafford County
Superintendent Daniel Smith on goals for the year, plus key dates and important links.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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When the buses roll next week in Stafford County, expectations are that things will go a lot smoother than last year.
That’s thanks in part to new Superintendent Daniel Smith, who was hired last December.
Smith said that in examining what happened last year, they discovered existing delays in arrival and dismissal times. The problem was a bottleneck at the elementary level.
“We go to high schools first,” he said, “then you go to 17 elementary” schools and “it just bottlenecks.”
To address that, Stafford will this year split start times for the elementary schools. Nine schools will start at 8:15, eight will begin at 8:45. (For a list of elementary schools by tier and their new start times, visit 2025-2026 Elementary Start Times.)
Another change is having people opt-in to bus transportation.
In the past, the district routed every child and then figured out who wasn’t getting on the bus. This year families were able to opt-in to bus service. “We have over 5,000 or 6,000” that chose not to opt-in, Smith said. The district won’t be routing those students. This should help improve efficiency beginning the first day of school.
Finally, the transportation team is fully staffed this year. Drivers will begin practicing their routes next week, and families already have access to bus routes. This is two weeks prior to the first day of school—the earliest that’s occurred.
Once children arrive at school, they will face teachers who are focusing anew on delivering high-quality instruction.
As teachers return, Smith is working to help refine what good instructions looks like in the classroom. His message will focus on three points:
First is “being clear with kids around what they should be learning, and why.”
Second are assessments and making sure that every kid is understanding what is happening before moving on.
The third, and final, piece is engagement. “How do I engage [students] in a real, meaningful way, so that they are actively thinking.”
There are also new Chromebooks coming to students, along with new training on how to deal with them, and a new requirement that parents understand and sign-off on their responsibilities should the computer be damaged.
While there are other initiatives on the table, none of these are as important to Smith as getting back to basics.
“There’s a lot of initiatives … [and] we want to continue to improve,” he said, referencing technology and transportation.
“But,” he continued, “for me, and my message to our teachers is, build relationships with your kids, know who your kids are, take the time to get to know who they are, what they like, what they dislike.”
And there’s a second message to teachers: “communicate and partner with our families. We want to work alongside of our families … so we welcome them in.”
He then said, “That sounds like just back-to-the-basics, but that’s really what it’s about.”
And finally — “it’s also about high quality instruction.” Knowing what good instruction looks like.
“But honestly,” he concluded, “it comes down to, it’s about relationships; it’s about communication; it’s about high-quality instruction.
See the Advance’s longer story about the district as it prepares to start the 2025-2026 school year.
Key Dates
Transition Day (for kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grade students)—August 11
First Day of School—August 12
Thanksgiving Break—November 26-28
Winter Holiday—December 22-January 6 (January 5 is a staff workday and January 6 is a professional development day for teachers)
Spring Break—March 30-April 6
Last Day of School—May 28 (May 25 for seniors)
Important websites
Back to School information (Bell schedule, bus routes, open house dates, class size, schedules, school supply lists)
Updated at 7:02 a.m. to correct how families opt-in to school bus transportation.
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
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