My family’s bus stop was at a busy intersection for many years. This crossroads brought together not just two roads of traffic but dozens of FCCPS students and their families. These families represented almost every house within a block in each direction. While the time spent at the bus stop was usually brief — just 10 minutes once or twice a day—over the years, it added up to hundreds of hours spent building the kind of community I believe is the Secret Sauce of FCCPS.

On most mornings, the bus stop did not look like a collection of kids in backpacks holding their parent’s hands or chatting with a friend. Instead, it was two large adjoining front lawns with brightly colored backpacks strewn on the grass and two dozen elementary-aged kids (and their toddling younger siblings) sprinting, leaping, zigzagging, and dodging each other in an epic game of old-fashioned tag. The tired parents sipped their coffee, smiled at their kids’ energy and joy, and held their breath, waiting for the inevitable injury from so many kids running full speed on a hill. I never worried too much because we were at an ER doctor’s house, and he was usually standing right there with us, but miraculously, we never saw more than a few skinned knees. On the occasional morning when it was too rainy for tag, we would show up at his house and a garage with the door open, waiting to shelter us all from the rain. When I was shuttling four kids under the age of six through a busy intersection on a rainy morning, the gesture of an open garage as refuge felt anything but small.

That busy intersection was a constant topic of conversation at the bus stop. Kids wanted the independence of crossing the busy street on their own, and parents were afraid to let them try, nervously watching the cars speed past. After enough close calls and too much communal fretting, the bus stop families finally rallied together to advocate for a crosswalk. Our students spoke at a City Council meeting to ask for a safer way to get to their bus stop, and it worked! A beautiful new crosswalk was installed that gave them autonomy and safety. Not only did they experience the civic process firsthand and learn the power of their collective voice, but they also got to celebrate the new crosswalk at a construction-themed party at the bus stop. And if that wasn’t enough, they also got their picture in the Falls Church News-Press.

This group’s advocacy didn’t stop there. We nominated one of our bus drivers for Support Staff of the Year the following year. I had been hearing praise for this bus driver since before my kids were in school, and once I had kids on her bus, it was clear she deserved her excellent reputation. After decades of driving buses for FCCPS, this woman still approached our bus stop every day with a warmth that made each student feel welcome and a confidence that made each parent trust that their child was safe. That was praiseworthy enough. But then came the year my new kindergartener wouldn’t get on the bus. Every day for a week, she clung to me, shaking and sobbing with desperation, and I did not know what to do. Thank goodness our beloved bus driver did – she was gentle, firm, and patient and got our family through that very tough week. Plenty of people at our bus stop had similar stories of appreciation for our bus driver, and when we nominated her as a show of gratitude, she won! It was a joy for us all.

We had plenty of other celebrations over the years, including welcoming new babies, Trick or Treating each year in a group of ten or more families, and sharing popsicles on the last day of school. Of course, there were hard times. The morning after some painful national news, I remember standing at the bus stop in stunned silence in the rain, feeling less alone as we all grieved together. One friend shared the news of her upcoming divorce as we stood waiting for the bus. Another family shared a cancer diagnosis, and we welcomed that friend when he could join us at the bus stop, wearing his portable treatment bag. (Thankfully, that tough news ended with a cancer-free celebration.) These challenging times were made more bearable because they were shared – the daily time together had built relationships we could lean on.

Every community has neighbors, and almost every school system has bus stops — but what makes attending the schools in Falls Church special is that nearly all the neighbors end up at a bus stop for the same schools. Five families on a block may send their kids to five schools in some communities. But in our neighborhood, almost every house for at least a block in every direction has had a student (or two, three, four – or even five!) at our bus stop. That consistent commitment to our local public schools builds a connected web of community that does not happen in most other places.

Those bus stop connections may have developed outside of the school buildings, but they impact what happens in our schools in countless ways. Five years after my son’s last game of bus stop tag, he partnered with a neighbor from a different grade on a group project with comfort and familiarity built on sunny mornings years ago. When the elementary PTA needed just the right person to join its board, I knew exactly who from the bus stop to ask, and she served in the role beautifully for several years. When I decided to run for School Board, my decision was rooted in knowing that the families from my bus stop would support my campaign and eventual service.

It is true that families who move to Falls Church do so because the schools are excellent. But the schools are excellent because the families move here for them. We are a community with sky-high support for and participation in our local public schools. That connects neighbors, fosters shared priorities, and creates a culture that puts schools first. In turn, that culture attracts and retains phenomenal teachers, maintains home values that support economic stability for the school district, and provides outstanding academics to FCCPS students. That common goal and the community it creates is the secret sauce of FCCPS. It can be found throughout Falls Church – in the classroom, playground, sports field, stage, or bus stop.

About Kathleen Tysse: The mother of four FCCPS students who has lived in Falls Church since 2012, Kathleen is a former elementary school teacher. She served as President of the Falls Church Elementary PTA in 2019-2020 and currently serves as Vice Chair of the FCCPS School Board. When she is not cuddling her puppy you can find her tending to her backyard chickens.