Fairfax County NAACP shared nine priorities for tackling racism in the county’s public schools on Tuesday night.
The virtual town hall was originally set to be a two-hour discussion with Superintendent Scott Brabrand, but Brabrand declined and instead attended the school board’s meeting to push for a fully online start to school.
Sujatha Hampton, the chair of Fairfax NAACP’s education committee, presented the nine priorities. “Black kids are regularly asked to swallow their pain,” Hampton said.
The event Tuesday night received more than 1,700 views. Most of the discussion and comments focused on school resource officers (SROs), the Advanced Academic Programs (AAP) and principals’ power.
Advanced Academic Programs
Several commenters claimed that there are “drastic” differences between the general education curriculum and AAP Program. “I support getting rid of the AP program for SO MANY reasons,” one person wrote. “We could do so much more as a school system if we didn’t have it.”
The organization’s president Sean Perryman said that the AAP Program is large, referring to a Washington Post story about students getting into the program through the appeals process.
“There’s a reason for us to look deeply at the AAP Program to see if the juice is worth the squeeze,” Hampton said. “It has so many problems, let’s just take a look at it.”
School Resource Officers
For SROs, Perryman said he wants to have more conversation around the idea of taking officers out of schools, questioning how effective SROs have been in preventing and responding to school shootings. Instead, SROs can increase the school-to-prison pipeline for Black and Latino students, Perryman.
“I know for a lot of people, it gives them heartburn when they think we’re going to take the SROs out of schools because they have this understanding that if a cop is present in the school, my child is safe,” Perryman said.
Especially now that FCPS will start off the school year virtually, Perryman said that state funds that go to SROs can instead get used for therapists — “counselors not cops,” he said.
Principals
Several commenters agreed that principals should take the lead on creating an anti-racist school culture.
Hampton said that principals have “tremendous power” over their schools — “almost like a mini fiefdom” — when deciding disciplinary actions.
Here are the nine priorities:
- protect vulnerable students, faculty and staff most impacted by COVID-19
- add more support for Equity and Cultural Responsiveness Team in schools*
- have the School Board vote on removing SROs from schools*
- make curriculum review committees to scrutinize racial/cultural bias*
- create a plan to hire and improve retention of Black and Latino teachers
- examine AAP’s admission process, goals, etc.
- review demographics and accessibility of abstract math, Honors, AP and IB classes to increase Black and Latino students*
- examine the roles of principals and regional superintendents to ensure effective oversight on equity issues
- review and revise the admission process to Thomas Jefferson High School
- *priorities to be completed by end of the upcoming school year
Perryman said that the organization will work to reschedule the discussion with Brabrand.
People can watch the full video on Facebook Live.
Photo via Sam Balye/Unsplash
Rental Assistance — “An association representing landlords and property managers across Northern Virginia is advocating for tenants to seek rental assistance if they’re facing financial hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic.” [Patch]
Food Insecurity — “Up to a quarter of a million people in the Washington area could be thrown into hunger because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by the Capital Area Food Bank, even as the amount of donated food and the number of distribution sites plummet precipitously.” [Washington Post]
Power Still Out — Dominion Energy is working to resolve several power outages in the Tysons area after last night’s storm affected thousands of customers. As of 9:15 a.m., 213 customers are without power in Pimmit Hills and 323 are without power in Falls Church. [Dominion Energy]
New Local School Head — “Ever since Gretchen Warner took over July 1 as The Madeira School’s 10th head of school, she hasn’t had the luxury of a honeymoon period with students and staff.” [Inside NoVa]
Several roads are closed in the McLean area following a storm.
The Fairfax County Police Department shared a list of weather-related road closures around the county.
As of 6 p.m., the closures in the McLean District Station area include:
- 1000 block of Balls Hill Road (traffic hazard, tree and wires blocking roadway)
- 1200 block of Providence Terrace (traffic hazard, tree blocking roadway)
- 8000 block of Georgetown Pike (traffic hazard, tree blocking roadway-right lane)
- Leesburg Pike/Towlston Road (traffic signal, lights on flash)
Currently, a Flood Warning is in effect until 9 p.m.
Several areas around Tysons have power outages affecting thousands of Dominion Energy customers as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit the area.
As of 4:15 p.m., the Vienna, Merrifield and McLean areas had three large outages, according to Dominion Energy’s power outage map.
One stretching from Wolf Trap to Odricks Corner is impacting 856 customers due to a circuit outage. Another running along Lawyers Road from Clarks Crossing Park to Malcolm Road NW is affecting 381 customers. The third — and largest — one has left 3,554 customers from Fairlee to Dunn Loring without power.
In total, roughly 4,700 Dominion Energy customers are without power in the area.
Dominion Energy does not yet have an estimated time for when the outages will be resolved.
Currently, the Tysons area is under a Flash Flood Warning until 6:30 p.m.
Maps via Dominion Energy
Updated 3:15 p.m. — The article previously said it was Supervisor Lusk instead of Storck.
Inspired by nearby jurisdictions’ efforts, Fairfax County officials want to expand its compost pilot to benefit residents.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck shared during the Environmental Committee meeting yesterday that the county staff is pushing for new ideas to reuse compost.
“Arlington, D.C., Montgomery — a lot of them are already doing this kind of thing,” Storck said. “This is a limited pilot.”
Arlington County, D.C. and the City of Alexandria collect compost at farmers markets. Meanwhile, Montgomery County offers compost bins.
According to county documents, Storck would ask the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) to research and report back on options to bring the county’s internal compost pilot to the public.
Some preliminary ideas include placing “green” compost bins next to the purple bins for glass recycling, collecting compost at farmers markets and school sites and providing compost materials at the I-95 Landfill Complex & I-66 Transfer Station, according to a county document.
Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw said that he wants the county to share more information about backyard composting.
“The ideal scenario would be that all of us in the county who have a backyard in which to compost would do that there rather than getting in their car and transporting it somewhere else,” Walkinshaw said, adding that people who live in apartments or don’t have backyards would benefit from the compost bins.
“I’d be concerned about having an unstaffed location for things that could collect that become then a dump site,” Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross said.
Gross noted the glass recycling bins are regularly staffed: “So far with our purple cans, it’s been great.”
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said she supports the pilot idea and agrees with her fellow supervisors that the county should look into staffing and education around the pilot program.
Storck said he plans to bring forward a board matter next week with green initiatives that will include the compost bins.
Photo via Seth Cottle/Unsplash
Updated at 3:35 p.m. — NWS has issued a Flash Flood Warning for the Tysons area. The warning is in effect until 6:30 p.m.
More from NWS:
At 330 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain across the area. Up to two inches of rain have already fallen in portions of the area, and rainfall amounts around 2 to 3 inches are expected within one hour. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.
Earlier: Tysons and surrounding areas are under a Flash Flood Watch today.
The National Weather Service issued the watch shortly after 1:30 p.m. The watch will be in effect until 11 p.m.
According to NWS, heavy rainfall of 1-3 inches is expected to fall within an hour, possibly leading to flash flooding in local areas.
The Tysons area is also under a Heat Advisory and Severe Thunderstorm Watch this afternoon and evening.
Flash Flood Watch until 11 PM pic.twitter.com/GA144bSV5g
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) July 22, 2020
Updated 3:10 p.m. — NWS issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning shortly after 3 p.m. for the area. “Severe thunderstorms were located along a line extending from near Leesburg to Middleburg to near Hume, moving east at 10 mph,” according to NWS.
Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Washington DC, Arlington VA, Alexandria VA until 4:15 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/AtqyJBS7UL
— NWS Severe Tstorm (@NWSSevereTstorm) July 22, 2020
Earlier: A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Fairfax County and surrounding areas today (Wednesday).
The National Weather Service issued the watch at noon. The watch will be in effect until 7 p.m.
The Tysons-area is also under a Heat Advisory until 8 p.m. Forecasters recommend that people stay out of the sun, drink lots of fluids and seek air-conditioned spaces.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 7 PM. pic.twitter.com/AwzmDzbjWS
— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) July 22, 2020
File photo
The coronavirus pandemic is posing new challenges to a McLean restaurant’s years-long efforts to add two more parking spaces to meet Fairfax County regulations.
Before the pandemic, Sweet Leaf Cafe and its landlord, Juliano Properties, were working to submit the required parking information to county staff earlier this year, Juliano’s attorney told the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals today.
Sweet Leaf (1359 Old Chain Bridge Road) temporarily closed after Gov. Ralph Northam ordered restaurants to close their seating and issued a stay-at-home order in March, and now the restaurant and landlord face financial challenges, the attorney said.
The Board of Zoning Appeals again delayed the restaurant’s and landlord’s appeals of the zoning violation after county staff said that the pandemic is putting a financial strain on the restaurant.
Most of the discussion today about the appeal rehashed the nearly five-year-long effort to resolve the restaurant’s zoning violations.
In late 2015, the restaurant got hit with zoning violations following a complaint about a lack of parking. A zoning ordinance update a few years ago addressed one of the violations, but still leaves the restaurant non-compliant with the parking requirement, which is based on the building’s square footage. Currently, the restaurant has 12 of the 14 required parking spaces.
Sweet Leaf’s Co-Founder Andre Matini told the zoning board in March that finding the additional two parking spaces has been challenging.
Now, the new financial hurdles are also impacting the situation.
“We have not been able to front that cost,” the attorney said today about the engineering firm Juliano hired to assess the parking situation. “We need time for the resources to be mustered.”
St. Clair Williams, a county staffer, said that once the engineering firm submits information, the rest of the process should be “fairly smooth.”
The zoning board, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and county staff have said they don’t want to force the restaurant to close. At the same time, county officials have expressed frustration this year about how long the compliance process is taking.
“I think 15 [delays] in four years on one case — something isn’t working,” James Hart, a zoning board member, said today.
The zoning board unanimously voted to delay consideration of the appeals to Nov. 4.
While Sweet Leaf did not have a representative at the meeting today, the landlord’s attorney and Williams assured the zoning board that the restaurant will be OK with the delay to November.
Late Tuesday night, the Fairfax County School Board voted to start the school year virtually, reversing its previous plans for virtual and in-person instruction.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand pitched the proposal at the school board meeting. The change was primarily motivated by a surge in new coronavirus cases. Brabrand also noted that he was concerned that many of the school system’s staff would not return for in-person instruction.
Here’s more from Brabrand’s letter, which was sent to parents and the school community last night:
The online school year will begin, as scheduled, September 8. Should health conditions improve, we would first bring back students for intervention supports on a limited basis. Following that, we would work to bring students back to school as soon as possible starting with elementary school students, select PreK-12 special education students and English Learners.
This was not an easy decision, but after reviewing the best available health data and continuing to gather input from teachers, staff, students, and families, we have determined that full-time online instruction is the only safe option at this time. The pandemic looks much different now than it did even three weeks ago. Although infection rates in Fairfax County have declined and are relatively stable, 33 percent of our employees live outside the county. The threat posed by the virus does not recognize borders or boundaries.
We know this is very disappointing news for the families who chose the two-day-a-week in-person learning option in our recent preference questionnaire. We all want in-person learning to resume as quickly as possible. We will reassess health conditions regularly to determine when students can begin in-person instruction, if science and data suggest it is safe to do so.
Initially, parents were instructed to choose between an online-only approach or a mix of virtual and in-person instruction.
Schools are expected to start virtually. After the first quarter, the school system’s leadership will reassess the situation.
“Should health conditions improve, we would first bring back students for intervention support on a limited basis,” according to the presentation.
The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers lauded Brabrand’s proposal and the school board’s decision.
“Everyone, but nobody more than our educators, want to open schools and get all kids back as quickly as possible, but we must open schools as safely as possible,” Tina Williams, the FCFT’s president, wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, the health crisis doesn’t make in-person classes possible right now.”
Brabrand said the school system is improving its digital learning model.
“We will dedicate ourselves to spending the weeks before September 8 preparing resources and help for parents and students. We will provide additional training for our teachers to better meet the needs of our students and provide distance learning supports and guidance for our families,” he said.
Heat Advisory Today — It’s going to be hot today. A Heat Advisory will be in effect from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Forecasters say that people should drink lots of fluids and stay out of the sun. [National Weather Service]
Local Elected Official Battling Cancer — “Long-serving Falls Church City Council member Dan Sze is fighting esophageal cancer, F.C. Mayor David Tarter reported at the outset of Monday night’s Falls Church City Council work session.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Push for Criminal Justice Reform — “Five commonwealth’s attorneys from Northern Virginia have joined with six other prosecutors from around the state in forming an advocacy group to back criminal justice reform proposals.” [Inside NoVa]
Police Officer Indicted — “A grand jury indicted a white Fairfax County, Virginia, police officer accused of assaulting a Black man who, police body camera footage showed, was not combative when he was stunned and forcibly arrested.” [WTOP]
