Blue Star Welcome Week
Blue Star Welcome Week is an annual initiative organized by Blue Star Families that designates the week beginning the second-to-last Saturday in September (concluding eight days afterward) to welcome and connect active duty, transitioning, and veteran military families with their local civilian communities.
Daniels Run Elementary School is undergoing a major renovation project in the City of Fairfax. Key early steps included a Board-approved reallocation of CIP funds (April 7, 2025) to complete a vestibule security project, contingent on FCPS approval for the City to reimburse FCPS for executing the work.
- Oct 5, 2026School Board · item 2.02Student Representative Report
[2.02] Blue Star Welcome Week was hosted at Katherine Johnson Middle School on September 26 to connect military families with the local community.
- Sep 24, 2024City Council · item 4cProclamation acknowledging Blue Star Welcome Week
Mayor Read presented a proclamation acknowledging Blue Star Welcome Week in the City of Fairfax to Martha Houle, Executive Director of the National Capital Region Chapter of Blue Star Families.
In full
The effort responds to the reality that roughly 600,000 military families relocate each year — nearly half during the summer — and that only 41% of military family respondents to a 2023 survey reported feeling a sense of belonging to their local civilian community. In the City of Fairfax, the initiative has been recognized at both the city and school levels. On September 24, 2024, Mayor Catherine S.
Reed presented a formal proclamation designating September 21–29 as Blue Star Welcome Week in the City of Fairfax; the proclamation was received by Martha Houle, Executive Director of the National Capital Region Chapter of Blue Star Families. At the school level, Katherine Johnson Middle School has hosted or participated in Blue Star Welcome Week activities in at least three consecutive years: honoring military families during the week in 2025 (reported at the October 6, 2025 School Board meeting), and hosting a dedicated Blue Star Welcome Week event on September 26, 2026 to connect military families with the local community (reported by Student Representative Kevin Murray at the October 5, 2026 School Board meeting).