Fairfax County Public Schools may have to consider extending the school year into the summer of 2021 to help students who have fallen behind while trying to learn virtually this year.
FCPS Assistant Superintendent of Finance Leigh Burden raised the possibility during a joint Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Fairfax County School Board meeting on Tuesday (Nov. 24) that focused on projections for the county and school system’s Fiscal Year 2022 budgets.
While some have managed to adapt to online education, a report released by FCPS this week confirmed fears that many students have struggled to learn during a year of uncertainty and disruptions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has largely kept school doors closed since March.
Conducted by the FCPS Office of Research and Strategic Improvement, the study found that failing grades increased by 83% from the first quarter of 2019-20 to the first quarter of the 2020-21 school year, making up 11% of all marks given to students since the year started on Sept. 8.
The uptick in “F” grades was especially pronounced for students with disabilities, who saw an 111% increase, and English-language learners, who saw a 106% increase.
“All groups showed increases in the percentage of F marks received during Q1 of the current year as compared to the prior year, indicating that more students were failing courses during the (primarily) virtual instruction period than had occurred when instruction was delivered in-person,” ORSI said in its report.
Members of both the school board and the Board of Supervisors expressed support for the idea of adding a fifth quarter to this school year to make up for lost learning, but given the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County, exactly when FCPS will be able to provide in-person instruction to all students again is difficult to predict.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck says he will be advocating for an extended school year for in-person learning.
“I think there’s no other way to make up for what our students have lost over the past year,” Storck said. “…We need that time to help them recover their learning, and the educational needs are unmet, particularly of our neediest students. That student-teacher bond, we need to help reaffirm and build that back.”
Karen Corbett Sanders, who represents the Mount Vernon District on the school board, agreed that this option should be discussed now so the costs can be taken into account as the county prepares its budget for the next fiscal year.
“We cannot continue to surprise our community with new initiatives on how we’re addressing this pandemic. It would be better for us to upfront address this,” Corbett Sanders said.
FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand is scheduled to release a proposed FY 2022 budget on Jan. 7, though the county and school board will not adopt final budgets until May.
The possibility of a summer school expansion is among several potential expenses not incorporated in the fiscal forecast presented on Tuesday.
Other unfunded expenditures on the FCPS side include $5 million for 50 additional English Learner teachers, $3.5 million to add technology support specialist positions at 51 elementary schools, and $2.8 million to cover the final year of a three-year plan to raise instructional assistant salaries.
Several school board members emphasized that mental health services, employee compensation, improvements in technology access, and supports for students with disabilities and English-language learners should be priorities for funding.
“Supporting our children with learning losses due to COVID-19 and looking at creative ways to measure what those losses are and creative ways to alleviate that is going to take staff time and resources,” Dranesville District School Board Member Elaine Tholen said. “So, we need to pay attention to that.”
Photo via Fairfax County government
Fairfax County Public Schools will host a community meeting to discuss a potential boundary adjustment for McLean High School at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, Dranesville District School Board Representative Elaine Tholen said in a newsletter sent out on Tuesday (Nov. 24).
The proposed boundary adjustment is intended to address overcrowding at McLean High School, which currently has 2,292 students in a building designed for 1,993 students, according to FCPS.
With enrollment at McLean High projected to increase over the next five years, FCPS has been exploring the possibility of moving the school’s boundary to instead send some students to Langley High School, which increased its capacity to 2,370 students after being renovated in 2018.
As of this October, Langley High School has 2,004 enrolled students.
Plans to adjust McLean High’s boundaries have been in the works since at least early 2019. FCPS even held two boundary scope community meetings last December, but the process was put on hold as the Fairfax County School Board’s focus shifted to challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tholen says FCPS staff will use the upcoming community meeting to present information and options for the boundary adjustment to community members, who will then give feedback that will be shared with the school board.
Public input from the previous meetings convinced the school board to expand the study’s scope to include the boundaries for Longfellow Middle School and Cooper Middle School as well as McLean and Langley High, according to Tholen.
“If we move forward with a boundary adjustment, the plan will be for students to move from their elementary school to Cooper and then to Langley, or to Longfellow and then to McLean,” Tholen said.
In the meantime, FCPS hopes to “increase the comfort and efficiency of educational spaces” at McLean High School by replacing trailers on the school’s tennis courts with a modular unit that has 12 classrooms and restroom facilities.
Tholen says the unit has been placed at the school and will be ready for use in late December, though whether any students will be allowed to use it at that point remains to be seen.
FCPS staff has also been working with staff from Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust’s office, Providence District staff, and members of the McLean Citizens Association “to enhance data analysis for Tyson’s area development and the impact on schools.”
“We are fortunate to have John Foust as a member of that work group,” Tholen said. “I will be working with these groups to look at our next steps for further capacity work at McLean High School and the surrounding areas.”
Photo via McLean High School PTSA
Tysons Partnership Celebrates Tysons Corner Metro Station Renaming — “This is an important step forward in the effort to unify the Tysons brand and foster a cohesive sense of place across our rapidly urbanizing neighborhoods…The new station name reflects our new urban, transit-oriented reality.” [Tysons Partnership]
Post Office Collection Box Thefts Reported in Vienna — “The incidents impacted collection boxes at Church Street and Lawyers Road, which is near the Vienna U.S. Postal Service location at 200 Lawyers Road NW. According to the police department, the most recent incident occurred overnight on Nov. 22 to 23.” [Patch]
Falls Church City Councilmember Participates in Vaccine Trial — “Falls Church City Council member David Snyder, who has served on the Council since 1994, announced last week that he participated in a trial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Tysons-based Alarm.com Concludes Virginia’s First Tech Apprenticeship Program — “Alarm.com recently wrapped up the first state-sponsored apprenticeship program for a tech company in Virginia. It included 10 weeks of technical instruction at Northern Virginia Community College, and nine months of on-the-job training.” [WTOP]
The mixed-use development that Elm Street Development has envisioned for the Dunn Loring Center remains on track for realization.
In a report released on Nov. 18, Fairfax County staff recommends that the county planning commission approve the developer’s application to rezone the two-acre site at 2722 Merrilee Drive for planned residential mixed-use zoning.
Located less than half a mile from the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station, 2722 Merrilee Drive is currently occupied by a three-story office building that was originally constructed in 1984. The site is zoned for an I-4 medium intensity industrial district.
Under the name Merrilee Ventures L.C., Elm Street Development first submitted a proposal for turning Dunn Loring Center into a mixed-use development to Fairfax County on Dec. 9. The application was accepted on Mar. 5.
The developer proposes transforming the existing office building into a seven-story, 85-foot building with 239 multifamily residential units across five floors.
The bottom two floors will consist of an above-grade parking structure with 294 parking spaces – 264 for residential use and 30 for retail use – as well as two loading spaces, a trash enclosure, and a bike storage room, according to the Fairfax County staff report.
Amenities proposed for the development include an expanded streetscape along Merrilee Drive, a retail plaza adjacent to the nearby mixed-use apartment building Halstead Square, public open and park spaces, a dog park for residents in the building’s northwest corner, and other private indoor and outdoor spaces for residents, such as a pool, grilling stations, and a fitness center.
The project will occupy 235,235 square feet total with a floor area ratio of 2.70.
“The proposed development would contribute to the revitalization and development of the Merrifield Suburban Center and Transit Station Area through the provision of high-quality design and pedestrian facilities that are appropriate to the ‘Main Street’ designation of Merrilee Drive,” county planning staff say in their report.
In addition to seeking to rezone the site, Elm Street has asked Fairfax County to approve the proposed reduction of 18% of the property’s existing parking.
“Fewer parking spaces than would be required in the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance will be necessary to accommodate future on-site parking demand because of the site’s proximity to the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro Station,” the engineering consultant Gorove Slade says in a parking reduction study prepared on May 19. “A parking reduction would not adversely affect the surrounding areas.”
Elm Street says on-street parking will be provided on Merrilee Drive and on a proposed private street that could eventually be extended to connect Merrilee with Dorr Avenue to the west.
Fairfax County staff say the planning commission should approve the parking reduction request “based on the proximity of the development to mass transit facilities.”
According to the report, Elm Street has committed to making 16.6% of the residential units in the new development workforce dwelling units. A third of those units will be priced at 80% of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area’s area median income, a third will be at the AMI, and the last third will be at 120% of the AMI.
Since the existing property has few existing trees, the developer has proposed adding about 8,962 square feet of tree canopy coverage, which Fairfax County staff says would exceed the county’s comprehensive plan requirements.
In another proffer, Elm Street has said it will contribute $12,262 to Fairfax County for each of the 27 new students that the Dunn Loring Center development is expected to add to the public school system. Children who live in the development will attend Shrevewood Elementary, Kilmer Middle, and Marshall High Schools.
The full staff report for the Merrilee proposal can be found through Fairfax County’s land development system.
A Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing on the Merrilee application has been set for 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on Jan. 26, 2021 at 3:30 p.m.
Photo courtesy Elm Street Development
The COVID-19 pandemic’s shake-up of the 2020 winter holiday season continues, disrupting traditions normally fueled by a spirit of sharing and togetherness.
The Woman’s Club of McLean, a nonprofit focused on community philanthropy, said on Sunday (Nov. 22) that its annual Holiday Homes Tour has now been canceled for the first time in 53 years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Holiday Homes Tour is the main fundraiser for the Woman’s Club of McLean, raising over $1 million for various causes since the club was founded in 1958 by local women looking to support their community through volunteering.
Charities currently supported by the club include the Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center, Second Story, the McLean Volunteer Fire Department, Friends of Pleasant Grove Church, the Vinson Hall transitional housing project, and Share Inc.
“It’s the only means of raising an adequate amount of money to meet the needs of the community,” Woman’s Club of McLean President Cecilia Glembocki said when asked about the importance of the Holiday Homes Tour.
The club has maintained much of its usual charitable support this year, but it has retained about 50% of the funds it raised with the 2019 Holiday Homes Tour so that it will have some money to donate in 2021.
The 2019 Holiday Homes Tour took place on Dec. 5 and opened four decorated homes in the McLean area to visitors. Tour visitors could also join the club for lunch and holiday shopping at a marketplace set up in the Trinity United Methodist Church on Route 123.
The Woman’s Club says it hopes to stage the Holiday Homes Tour or another major fundraising event next year.
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust voiced his support for the club and its homes tour.
“It’s a tradition in McLean,” Foust said.
Photo courtesy Women’s Club of McLean
A renovated Vaden Drive Bridge over Interstate 66 in Vienna will be open to vehicle traffic by Wednesday (Nov. 25) after being closed for more than a year for construction.
With the bridge reopening, vehicles on Vaden Drive will no longer have to detour onto Nutley Street, but pedestrians will still have to use the nearby Vienna Metro station’s pedestrian bridge until a planned shared-use path and sidewalk on the bridge is finished in December.
Other ongoing construction activities around the Vaden Drive Bridge involve:
- A redesign of the entrances from Vaden Drive to the Metro parking garages, which is expected to finish in December
- A new sidewalk on the bridge’s east side scheduled to open in summer 2021
- New ramps to and from the future I-66 Express Lanes
The Virginia Department of Transportation warns drivers to use caution as construction activities continue, and people adjust to new travel patterns.
The new Vaden Drive Bridge is part of VDOT’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which is widening the interstate with 22.5 miles of express lanes from I-495 in Idylwood to University Boulevard in Gainesville.
The part of the project around the Vienna Metro station also involved improvements to the Nutley and Saintsbury Drive intersection and the closure of the Saintsbury ramp to I-66 East.
VDOT says the rebuilt Vaden Drive Bridge “will improve access to the station for vehicles, commuter buses, cyclists, and pedestrians.”
As part of the Transform 66 project, VDOT is also rebuilding the Cedar Lane bridge over I-66 to accommodate the interstate’s expansion. The bridge was closed on May 15 for demolition, and the new one is expected to reopen in mid-December.
Photos via Google Maps, VDOT
Updated at 3:30 on 11/24/2020 — Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced today that plans to start in-person learning for more students, including kindergarteners, preschoolers, and special education students, on Dec. 1 have officially been put on hold.
“We understand that the pandemic’s disruption to your children’s education, to your jobs and incomes, and to your other caregiving responsibilities has been tremendous,” Brabrand said, stating that the school system will restart phasing students into in-person instruction again “as soon as our specific health metrics indicate that it is safe.”
Earlier — An ongoing local surge in COVID-19 cases has forced some Fairfax County Public Schools students to revert to online learning for the first time since FCPS started phasing in-person learning back in on Oct. 5.
FCPS announced on Monday (Nov. 23) that administrators had notified families that students in Group 4 would return to all-virtual instruction that day after Fairfax County’s health metrics surpassed the threshold that determines whether they should continue learning in person.
“The health metrics that guide our return to school in person reached a threshold yesterday that indicated we must dial back our Group 4 cohort in order to comply with the metrics we had stated to our community,” FCPS Director of News and Information Lucy Caldwell said in a statement.
Group 4 consists of 2,900 students, including elementary students at Burke School and students in specialized high school career preparatory programs. Affected classes range from culinary arts and musical theater to robotics, veterinary sciences, and the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC).
These students had been permitted to learn either virtually or through a hybrid model with two days of in-person instruction and two days of online instruction since Oct. 26.
Based on metrics recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FCPS determined that Group 4 could continue in-person learning as long as Fairfax County’s COVID-19 caseload did not exceed 200 cases per 100,000 people for seven consecutive days.
The county’s positivity rate for novel coronavirus testing also had to stay at or under 10%.
Fairfax County officially passed the 200-case threshold on Sunday (Nov. 22). At 289.8 cases per 100,000 people, Monday marked eight consecutive days of the county exceeding that limit.
The county’s cases-per-100,000-people and testing positivity rates must both fall under the established thresholds for seven consecutive days for students to resume in-person learning.
“As soon as these metrics indicate that it is safe to return to in-person instruction, Group 4 students will be phased back into schools,” FCPS said on Monday.
This is the second consecutive week that Fairfax County’s COVID-19 spread has required FCPS to revise its Return to School timeline.
Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced on Nov. 16 that FCPS would pause plans to welcome back an additional 6,800 kindergarten, preschool, and special education students that had been scheduled to return to classrooms on Nov. 17.
FCPS has set Dec. 1 as a possible new day for those students to start in-person learning, but with health experts anticipating the pandemic to worsen over Thanksgiving break, that date looks extremely tentative.
“As far as Group 5, we had indicated we would be communicating their in-person return closer to the December 1 date,” Caldwell said. “The numbers right now have not decreased as we have been hoping.”
With FCPS closed for the week starting on Wednesday, Caldwell says the school system will share more information on what Group 5 students can expect either today (Tuesday) or at the end of the break on Nov. 30.
Roughly 5,500 FCPS students are still attending in-person classes. Most of them are in special education, English Learners, career preparation, and other specialized programs.
Though their established thresholds are looser, those cohorts could potentially join Group 4 students in transitioning back to learning exclusively online.
“Given the COVID-19 infection rates in our community, we do anticipate that it may be necessary to dial up and dial back our in-person cohorts,” Caldwell said.
Photo via FCPS
Three occupants of a house in the 1000 block of Towlston Road in McLean have been displaced by a fire that occurred on Sunday (Nov. 22), the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported today.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the two-story, single-family home at approximately 1:56 a.m. Fire was showing through the front door when units arrived on the scene.
Since the area had a limited number of fire hydrants, responders requested a tanker task force, and additional FCFRD units were brought to the area, along with fire and rescue crews from Montgomery County.
“Crews initially knocked the fire down from the outside,” FCFRD says. “They then entered the home to extinguish the fire.”
No civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.
UPDATE – Cause of McLean House Fire Under Investigation. Three occupants were displaced. More: https://t.co/E9hQxaemIk #FCFRD @mcfrs pic.twitter.com/rxpJdTOCsK
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) November 23, 2020
Three residents of the house were home at the time of the fire, which they discovered in the basement upon smelling smoke. FCFRD says it did not find evidence of working smoke alarms.
The fire has displaced the three occupants, who accepted the Red Cross assistance that was offered, and it caused approximately $115,000 in damages.
“The cause of the fire is currently under investigation,” Fairfax County Fire and Rescue says.
The Fairfax County Police Department is investigating two different armed robberies that took place in Tysons last week.
The first took place in the 8300 block of Greensboro Drive at 3:39 p.m. on Nov. 14. The victim was approached by a man with a knife who demanded money. The man “forcibly took a wallet from the victim before walking away from the area,” the FCPD reported in its weekly recap on Nov. 20.
The victim in that incident suffered injuries, but they were not life-threatening.
The second reported incident occurred at 2:19 a.m. on Nov. 19 in the 8600 block of Westwood Center Drive.
According to Fairfax County police, two men armed with guns forced their way into a hotel room occupied by three victims. The men assaulted one of the victims and took cash and personal property before walking away from the area.
The assaulted victim was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police say.
Routine Maintenance Closes Parts of Clemyjontri Park — “While some sections are closed, others will remain open and the work will rotate throughout the playground from Sat., Nov. 21 through approximately Fri., Dec. 4, 2020.” [Fairfax County Park Authority/Twitter]
Tysons Sheraton Liquidation Sale Shows Impact of Pandemic — “[Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association Eric] Terry estimated 20 Virginia hotels closed on a temporary basis during the pandemic, and although most have since reopened, the outlook is bleak. More hotels may follow the Sheraton’s path.” [DCist]
Social Distancing Santa Offers Sense of Normalcy — “The Wells were among a stready stream of families entering Santa’s Headquarters at Tysons Corner Center Friday night with a reservation in hand for their annual picture with Santa Claus.” [ABC7-WJLA]
Pandemic Pushes Key Retailers out of Founders Row Project — “Business casualties from the coronavirus pandemic hit home for the City of Falls Church, with major retailers in hybrid theater-restaurant Studio Movie Grill and City Works restaurant both backing out of their commitment to the Founders Row Development due to financial troubles.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Staff photo by Jay Westcott
