When Jordan Short started working with Fairfax County Public Schools in 2021, he noticed Armstrong Elementary School was in the queue to be renovated.

Short grew up near and attended the Reston, Virginia, school, but at that point, the project was in the design phase. He wasn’t assigned to the project, because at the time, he was a construction manager. That meant he focused on any of the other projects that were in construction.

But now, with construction ongoing, Short has been overseeing the renovation of the familiar campus. And because two of his sons are current students there, they are among the kids who could expect to benefit.

“It’s been a really full circle moment,” Short said. “I’ve probably said that a million times now, but it’s the only best way to say it. You get to come here, get the education, and then give back in that sort of sense. It’s just been a delight, very proud as well.”

Short’s father worked for Turner Construction for over four decades, and it’s the reason his family relocated from San Antonio, Texas, to Northern Virginia in 1990. His brother also works in construction, which Short described as “kind of in our genes.”

What’s left of the existing Armstrong Elementary School building is largely familiar to him. But as the project progresses and new parts get built, workers have to follow “strict guidelines” for how classrooms are laid out and what size they are.

“Where we can get creative is with our finishes in the spaces, and making them feel maybe different than some of the other schools,” Short said. “Having a whole new library wing will be something that people will be like, ‘Wow, this is something great, new and exciting.’”

The typical elementary school renovation takes 28 to 30 months, Short said, often extending through three summers. The Armstrong work is scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2027.

In the meantime, Principal James Quinn said students get excited when they hear drills during lunchtime outside. As they’re playing on the blacktop or playground, they can watch construction of the new library. They can monitor progress on walls and steel structures from recess.

Quinn said the project is the first renovation he has been part of as a school administrator.