Renowned for its specialized programs and commitment to personalized education, Davis Career Center empowers students with the skills and confidence to pursue their passions and achieve their goals.

From cutting-edge vocational training to supportive and inclusive classrooms, Davis Career Center fosters a community where every student is valued and supported. Whether they're developing workplace skills, exploring career pathways, or preparing for independent living, students at Davis Career Center gain the tools they need for a successful, fulfilling future.

Discover what makes Davis Career Center a standout choice in Fairfax County Public Schools—where opportunity, innovation, and student success come together.

Our Purpose

DCC is designed to serve students with disabilities ages 18-22 years, who are placed at DCC by their IEP team and require instruction through a curriculum focused on life and career skills. The purpose of our programming is based on the belief that all individuals have the right to live a self-determined life. Self-determination skills must be taught, practiced, and meaningfully applied for the adults who participate in this instruction to create opportunities for their own future productivity, success, and community contributions after public education is completed.

 Curriculum & Community Work Experiences

DCC offers a four-year, rotating curriculum focused on independent living skills and workplace readiness skills. The curriculum incorporates a focus on the Virginia Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education 21^st Century Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth as well as Portrait of a Graduate skills. In addition to classroom instruction, students are typically placed in one annual community work experience each year they are at DCC. The intended purpose is to build soft skills based on real-world experiences, extend learning for hard skills, expose students to new opportunities, and support a diverse resume of job experiences that students can present and speak to in their final year of school when considering what they will do after they leave DCC and FCPS. Numerous students also choose to continue pursuing their Standard Diploma during their time at DCC in preparation for opportunities and options after public school ends, e.g., college, trade certification, etc.

DCC Mission & Vision

Vision Statement: Driven to Achieve success in Vocation, Independence, and Self-determination. 

Mission Statement: Within safe and respectful classroom and community environments, we will prepare and empower our students to live self-determined lives by providing opportunities for growth and learning in life, social, and vocational skills.  

 40 Years Serving Our Community

DCC has been serving students with disabilities for over 40 years. The school, named for Dr. John Davis, former FCPS school superintendent and Virginia’s superintendent of schools in the 1980s, first opened its doors on the Marshall High School campus in 1983 under the leadership of principal David Temple, Jr.  According to Mr. Temple, “The school was founded upon rigor, respect, dignity, advocacy, and service learning.” These qualities are still going strong more than 40 years later. In June 2024, the Davis Career Center was featured in a video presented to the FCPS School Board in support of Goal 5 of the FCPS Strategic Plan. The video highlighted the work of our students and how our school community is part of the strategic plan working to support all students in becoming self-determined, contributing citizens once they leave public education. 

 DCC Student Stars of the Week

In alignment with our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) programming, nine students are selected each week to be recognized for their contributions to our S.I.R. model of Safety, Independence, and Respect. An announcement made on Fridays shares the names of the three student winners with the whole building. The students then have their photos taken and placed on a bulletin board in the main hallway, and an email is sent home to their families sharing the news.

Pre-Employment & Transition Services (Pre-ETS)

This initiative with the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) was piloted during the 2023-24 school year. It is continuing for the 2024-25 school year and is led by an instructor from Best Buddies - VA/DC. The service provides opportunities for selected DCC students to engage with DARS services, receive additional soft skills education in a small group, and focus on the following topics: self-determination, maintaining personal wellness, job exploration, workplace readiness, workplace expectations and communication, independent living, and work-based learning. This engagement also potentially sets students up for further opportunities with DARS, such as attending training and programs at the Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center.    

The Davis Family Partnership

The Davis Family Partnership (DFP) is a non-FCPS support group for Davis Career Center students and their families. The DFP works in collaboration with the Davis Center to support and sponsor various student and alumni events throughout the school year. Of these events, school dances are the most popular! The DFP partners with the school to provide four dances per year to current students and alumni: The Beach Dance, Halloween Dance, Winter Dance, and St. Patrick’s Day Dance are all very popular and enjoyed by the DCC community. Additionally, the school hosts a Spring Dance each May at the Tysons Corner Marriott that is a more formal affair. Students dress up to attend the event, which is supported by parents who show up to help chaperone the event. Each of the dances is open to current students and alumni. It is not unusual to see students who graduated 5, 10, or 15+ years ago returning to the dances annually.

DC Catering

A team of students and staff at our only in-house worksite regularly caters meals for groups of 200+ people and provides weekly desserts to the Fairfax County School Board meetings. The students actively utilize an Eddie – Edible Ink Printer to decorate cookies and other items. Additionally, the class has a 3-D printer and regularly creates customized cookie cutters for special orders. Students not only gain culinary skills, but they also have opportunities to learn 21st century tech skills that contribute to their knowledge of the culinary and hospitality industries. This type of technology allows for more customization of the orders and engages students in the process in new and creative ways. If you’re interested in learning more about our catering program or ordering food, please check out our website and menu!

Secondary Transition to Employment Program (STEP)

DCC STEP is one of four STEP classrooms in FCPS, and it is the only STEP classroom in a career center. STEP’s goal is to provide all students with numerous opportunities to build upon the soft skills and knowledge learned over the course of their K-12 education so that they may continue to receive: Real-world work experiences, community-based instructional opportunities, and classroom instruction in independent living skills and workplace readiness skills. Learn more about STEP.

Community Partnerships

The heart of DCC lies within our Northern Virginia business community. More than 35 different business partners in Tysons Corner and Falls Church provide real-world work experiences for DCC students. Options include group-supported experiences with staff and groups of 6-10 students working together; independent volunteer opportunities where students work with intermittent support of a teacher or paraprofessional; and paid work experiences where students remain connected to school and receive support from a teacher and/or paraprofessional. FCPS’ partnership with Metro supports student access to community based instructional trips.