Teacher of the Year Asks Loudoun Board to Keep Madison's Trust Zones Intact

Colleen Sally, the 2025 Teacher of the Year at Madison's Trust Elementary School, addressed the Loudoun County School Board during its second Tuesday meeting on January 13, 2026. She asked the board to leave existing attendance zones unchanged. Sally has taught for 22 years and spent the most recent decade at Madison's Trust, where she joined as a member of the inaugural staff. She told board members that the proposed rezoning would displace more than 400 children and more than 30 staff members who form part of a high-performing school community.

Loudoun County continues to experience steady population growth that periodically requires the school division to review and adjust attendance boundaries. Madison's Trust Elementary, located in the Ashburn area, has drawn attention because of its academic results and community stability. Sally stated that the school’s test scores rank among the highest in the county and that the school stands eighth in the state of Virginia. She added that the school has been recognized as a distinguished school in Virginia for two consecutive years.

Academic Standing and Community Foundations

Sally attributed the school’s results to relationships, stability, and teamwork that exist within its walls. She explained that this level of community and success is not built overnight. It required years of intentional work, commitment, dedication, and collaboration among teachers, students, and families. She noted that staff members were not asked for their opinions on the boundary proposal even though they would live with the consequences of any change.

The Loudoun County School Board oversees boundary decisions for the division’s elementary, middle, and high schools. Current members of the Loudoun County School Board are Melinda Mansfield, April Chandler, Deana Griffiths, Cindy Morse, Kari LaBell, Sumera Rashid, Arben Istrefi, Lauren Shernoff, and Anne Donohue. These members represent the county’s election districts and the at-large seat. Public comment periods at regular meetings give parents, teachers, and residents an opportunity to present views before the board votes on boundary adjustments.

Potential Effects on Students and Staff

According to Sally’s remarks, more than 400 students would be moved to different schools under the plan under discussion. More than 30 staff members who have worked together at Madison’s Trust would also be affected. She asked the board to consider the human elements behind enrollment numbers. Behind every number, she said, is a child, a teacher, and a family who simply want to stay together. She urged the board not to dismantle what she described as a successful and loving school community.

Loudoun County Public Schools regularly examines capacity, enrollment projections, and facility utilization when drawing new attendance zones. Rapid residential development in eastern Loudoun has led to repeated boundary studies in recent years. Schools that open with strong inaugural staffs often develop distinctive cultures that families and educators value. Sally’s appearance highlighted the tension between system-wide capacity needs and the desire to preserve established school communities that have produced measurable academic gains.

Calls for Consideration of Stability

Sally closed her comments by asking board members to listen to educators and families and to see the people involved. She reiterated that the school’s ranking and distinguished status resulted from sustained effort rather than chance. Maintaining the current attendance zones, she argued, would allow the relationships and teamwork already in place to continue. The board customarily receives written and oral input from multiple schools whenever a boundary adjustment is proposed.

Parents and staff at other Loudoun elementary schools have raised similar concerns in past boundary processes when long-standing feeder patterns faced revision. Enrollment data, building capacity figures, and transportation routes form the technical basis for most recommendations that reach the board. Educators who have remained at one school for many years often emphasize continuity for students, especially in the elementary grades where consistent adult relationships support learning. Sally’s statement placed those continuity arguments alongside the school’s documented performance record.

Broader Context of Boundary Reviews

Boundary reviews in Loudoun County typically include community meetings, draft maps, and opportunities for public feedback before a final vote. The January 13, 2026, meeting provided one such forum for direct comment. Sally’s remarks focused exclusively on preserving the Madison’s Trust community rather than on criticizing any specific alternative map. She framed the request as an appeal to protect a school that has already demonstrated high achievement and recognition at the state level.

School officials have previously noted that no boundary change is without trade-offs. Some families gain shorter bus rides or relief from overcrowding while others leave familiar classrooms and teaching teams. The board must weigh those individual impacts against division-wide goals for balanced enrollment and efficient use of classrooms. Sally asked members to give substantial weight to the years of work already invested at Madison’s Trust and to the more than 400 children who would be reassigned.

As Loudoun County’s student population continues to shift with new housing, additional boundary studies remain likely in coming years. Schools that earn repeated state recognition often become focal points for retention arguments during those studies. Sally’s appearance as the 2025 Teacher of the Year added a prominent educator’s voice to the record of public comment on the current proposal. The board will consider all submitted testimony along with staff recommendations before taking any final action on attendance zones.

The discussion at the January meeting underscored the continuing challenge of managing growth while respecting the communities that have formed inside individual schools. Madison’s Trust Elementary remains one of the higher-ranked elementary schools in Virginia according to the figures cited during public comment. Whether existing zones stay in place or change will determine how many of the school’s current students and staff remain together in the next academic year. Board members now have the teacher’s detailed request before them as they deliberate.