In a presentation to the School Board earlier this week, Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced that some students could begin returning to classes in schools in late October.
By late October, administrators estimate that 653 teachers can teach 6,707 students in school buildings for anywhere between one half-day to four full days a week.
The district is targeting students who receive special education services, attend preschool, are English-language learners, newcomers to U.S. schools or have limited formal education. High school students can also come for certain technical-education courses.
The move was heavily criticized by members of the School Board, who said Brabrand’s plan lacked important data that parents and teachers need when planning to start heading back to school.
Fairfax County Public Schools must now wait until a formal grievance process has concluded to impose discipline against students and employees found to have committed sexual harassment or assault.
With three members abstaining and one not present, the Fairfax County School Board voted 7-1 on Sept. 17 to amend the FCPS Student Rights and Responsibilities book, which contains the district’s student conduct policies, to specify that discipline in Title IX cases cannot be dealt until the completion of the grievance process, including any appeals.
The board also agreed to discuss its new sexual harassment regulations further at a future work session to potentially bolster protections for both people who file complaints and those subject to the discipline process.
Necessitated by new federal rules regarding Title IX cases, which concern sexual and gender-based discrimination, the Student Rights and Responsibilities amendment is an extension of a new district regulation that dictates how Fairfax County schools will handle sexual harassment complaints.
Effective as of Aug. 26, Regulation 2118 establishes a separate process for reporting, responding to, and resolving sexual harassment complaints than the one used for other offenses, such as drug use and even sexual misconduct that does not meet the definition of harassment.
Where other potential student conduct violations are generally addressed by school principals, formal complaints of sexual harassment will be reviewed by Title IX investigators in the FCPS Office of Equity and Employee Relations, and hearing officers under the superintendent are now responsible for determining whether a complaint is founded and what discipline to impose.
All appeals go to the school board’s appeals committee except for an appeal of a complaint’s dismissal, which would be heard by the district’s deputy assistant superintendent. Read More
About 6,700 students could start trickling into Fairfax County Public Schools during October, according to a plan for limited in-person learning developed by the district.
Although Board of Education members indicated they approve of bringing back students, prioritizing those who need extra support in school, they criticized the plan as Superintendent Scott Brabrand presented to them during a work session Tuesday evening.
Members told Brabrand his presentation lacked the numbers that parents and teachers need to reconfigure their lives. They also pointed out that there was minimal information on the thresholds that the district needs to offer or suspend in-person instruction, depending on health levels.
“We continue to say, ‘data, data, data, measurements,’ and I don’t see it here,” Springfield District Representative Laura Jane Cohen said. “I don’t think this gives our staff and our families any sense of understanding of what is to come.”
Brabrand assured members that their thirst for data will be quenched once the Virginia Department of Health publishes a dashboard that currently only officials can access.
“The state dashboard health metrics will be a game-changer for this community and this school board, and it will be available in just a few days,” he said.
Members flooded FCPS administrators with other questions and concerns, chief among them, when kindergarten, first- and second-grade students can return.
Currently, students can come to be assessed for support services, groups can sit for socially distanced exams and teachers can access their classrooms.
By late October, administrators estimate that 653 teachers can teach 6,707 students in school buildings for anywhere between one half-day to four full days a week.
The district is targeting students who receive special education services, attend preschool, are English-language learners, newcomers to U.S. schools or have limited formal education. High school students can also come for certain technical-education courses.
But Vice-Chair and Sully District Representative Stella Petarsky said she is disappointed that English-language learners are only coming in for a half-day, once a week. She doubted that was “worth the inherent risk of bringing kids to school.”
Melanie K. Meren, the Hunter Mill District representative, said teachers are overwhelmed, and some are “outright resigning.” Others told her they are hurting from funding shortages that resulted from lower enrollment.
This year, 8,000 students unenrolled from FCPS.
The extent of the impact of lower enrollments has yet to be measured, but staffing problems could strain the return-to-school plan.
Over the summer, the district surveyed teachers to gauge if they prefer in-person or virtual learning during the pandemic. Teachers who preferred virtual learning were separated into four categories: At-risk teachers formed Tier 1, while those living with at-risk individuals comprised Tier 2. Those who worried about child-care formed Tier 3, while teachers with none of these concerns formed Tier 4.
To support in-person learning, most of the teachers in Tiers 2 through 4 need to teach in schools, or “make a decision not to work for Fairfax County Public Schools,” Brabrand said.
“If we want to bring the majority of our kids in each cohort, we have to bring back the majority of teachers who themselves do not have health accommodations,” he said.
Teachers in Tier 1 would be offered accommodations or be given a leave of absence. Those needing childcare can have temporary absence covered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The district would try to match some teachers with virtual students, Brabrand said.
In response, a majority of board members told the superintendent they want to review the data on the staff who said they would consider leaving the district, and see if they could be offered a leave of absence instead.
“We do have enough staff for the first phase of the plan and will work on other matters moving forward to ensure a safe return for our staff and students into school buildings,” Caldwell said in the email.
Photo via Element5 Digital/Unsplash
When students at Cooper Middle School (977 Balls Hill Road) in McLean eventually do return to their classrooms, they could find their school in the middle of a sweeping overhaul.
At a School Board meeting last week, the Board unanimously approved a contract to make a series of improvements to the school, including a renovation of all systems and spaces in the building.
Some of these changes are technical and behind the scenes, but others are more prominent.
“This includes new HVAC, IT, electrical, plumbing, and life safety systems in their entirety,” said John Torre, executive director of communication and community relations for Fairfax County Public Schools. “Approximately 69,000 [square feet] of new space will be added to the existing building.”
This new space includes:
- new two story classroom addition
- new library space
- new courtyard
- additional classroom space in a new second floor that will be built over a portion of the existing first floor
- new main entrance
- reconfigured administration space
- cafeteria expansion
- main gym expansion
The existing Kiss and Ride circulation outside the building will be improved in the renovations, with parking at the school reconfigured and expanded. A new paved play area will be provided, Torre said.
“This project is currently scheduled to begin in mid-October 2020 with an end date of late summer 2023,” Torre said.
Image via Google Maps
F.C. Council Vote on Whole Foods Project to Be Delayed — “The News-Press has learned at plans at present are to delay a vote by the Falls Church City Council at its business meeting this Monday on the proposed Broad at Washington mixed use development process because there is insufficient support on the Council at present to move it forward for evaluation by City boards and commissions.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Improper Disposal Of Smoking Materials Cause Merrifield Condo Fire –“Units arrived on the scene of a four-story, condominium building with fire showing from a third-floor deck.” [Twitter]
Computer Hackers Attack Fairfax County School System –“Hackers attacked the Fairfax County Public Schools computer system and placed ransomware on some of its systems, a school district spokesperson said Friday.” [Washington Post]
As kids return to the classroom, Tysons Reporter wants to know how parents and the community feel about this current school year.
The Fairfax County Public School Board debated the best practices for the start of the school year and ultimately decided to begin with a primarily virtual classroom — incorporating varied in-person learning opportunities for certain ages.
FCPS released a portal to help families work out technical issues that caused confusion in the spring.
Despite attempts to confront potential issues, Fairfax County officials previously expressed concern about the lack of childcare opportunities for parents who work full-time jobs while their kids are in school.
To fix this, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to allow county staff to work with FCPS on ways to improve resources and support systems for working families.
Do you feel that these measures are enough?
Please fill out the poll below and then expand on your opinion in the comments.
Additionally, if you’d like to share your experience with us personally or share a news tip, please send our editorial team an email.
Two Candidate Forums Set for Special F.C. Council Election — “The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and the Falls Church League of Women Voters have each announced forums to hear from the three candidates running to fill the F.C. City Council seat vacated by the July passing of Daniel X. Sze.” [Falls Church News-Press]
FCPS Extends Breakfast and Lunch To Go–“Fairfax County Public Schools announced they will continue free breakfast and lunch to go starting Tuesday through December 31.” [Local DVM]
McLean Firm Wins $7.3M DARPA 5G Security Contract — “McLean-based computer and network security company Kryptowire LLC won a four-year, $7.3 million contract to help the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) conduct research and development services for 5G mobile network security, according to a Department of Defense statement released Tuesday.” [Virginia Business]
Kids of All Ages on What They Miss Most About Dining in Restaurants — “The flaming onion volcano wouldn’t make it through the car ride. Marcus, who is 8 and lives in Tysons Corner, misses dinner and a show at his favorite restaurant, Sakura.” [Washington City Paper]
Capital One May Find Its Way Into the McLean Metro Station’s Name — “Fairfax County is weighing a proposal to rename the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” which, if approved, would become the first station to include a company’s name in its title.” [Washington Business Journal]
After noticing gender inequalities in STEM classes and extracurricular activities, the founders of Girls Who Math decided to intervene by setting up a tutoring service for girls and young women.
A free platform created in 2019, the program works by matching mentees with volunteers who have certain areas of expertise, Cynthia Wang, a founding member and the current director at Girls Who Math, said.
Wang is currently a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and lives in Falls Church. She is a part of the five-person team, which includes a Longfellow Middle School alumnus and a McLean High School student.
The program’s tutors currently help more than 700 students around the world with material for grades K-12 including computer coding, math classes and chemistry, the website said.
Girls Who Math offers more than tutoring — the program regularly hosts seminars that help girls with things like college admissions, Wang said, adding that they try to educate people on other free resources available.
Since the beginning of COVID-19, Wang said that the program has increased in popularity and many families are taking advantage of the service since kids are struggling to adapt to online classrooms.
Despite the group’s growth, Wang said that there are underlying problems beyond a demand for tutoring that need to be addressed. Before the program’s founding, she had been offering casual tutoring services to her peers and began to notice some problematic trends.
“I thought there was a discorporate amount of girls [who sought out tutoring],” she said, adding that she later learned this was because they felt uncomfortable asking questions during class because they would be unfairly judged by their peers.
It turned out that the problems didn’t end there. She also said that she noticed what could be labeled as sexism in other areas of academia as well — noting examples of when she sometimes felt unwelcome at clubs in middle school because the coaches would unjustly assume based on her gender alone that she didn’t have the skills to succeed or the ability to learn.
“It made something click in my mind,” she said.
Though Wang is still often the only girl in many of her clubs and extracurriculars, she hopes that Girls Who Math will empower young women across the globe and close the gender inequality gaps.
Anyone interested in getting involved with Girls Who Math can sign up online to become a volunteer or mentee.
Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash
FCPS Town Hall Tonight — “Join FCPS Superintendent Scott S. Brabrand for another opportunity to ask questions and provide your thoughts on Wednesday, September 2, from 6 to 7 p.m. The focus for this Town Hall will be resources for parents, including technology and other supports.” [FCPS]
Fired Capitals Head Coach Selling Local Mansion — “It’s barely been a week since the Capitals fired head coach Todd Reirden, but his Falls Church mansion is already on the market. The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom house sits on 2.3 acres, and was listed Monday for $2,250,000 by Keller Williams agent Jordan Stuart.” [Washingtonian]
Tysons Galleria Debt — “The owner of the high-end Tysons Galleria mall said it plans to avoid defaulting on $282 million in debt slated to mature Tuesday as the owners of retail centers across the nation continue to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic.” [Washington Business Journal]
Push for Vienna Police Reform — “In June, Sam Ressin read the news reports of protests against racism and police brutality in Minneapolis. Then he looked at his own community of Vienna, in Fairfax County.” [DCist]
Photo by Michelle Goldchain
A new chief information officer will oversee Fairfax County Public Schools’s virtual learning and department of information technology.
Gautam Sethi, who currently serves as the chief technology officer for Douglas County School District in Colorado, will start Sept. 21.
The head of information technology for FCPS resigned in April following distance learning woes. Maribeth Luftglass had held the position for more than two decades. Technical and management problems haunted the beginning of remote education this year, leading the school system to temporarily cancel classes.
FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand said he is confident Sethi will help ensure FCPS is at “the forefront of innovation and fully supports our students, families, and employees.”
“He has administrative and management skills in K-12 education-including experience supporting remote learning-that make him uniquely qualified to oversee our IT functions,” Brabrand wrote in a statement.
Sethi built an IT security program in Colorado for the state’s third-largest district. He also modernized existing technologies and helped develop online portals to support staff and families, according to FCPS.
Here’s more from FCPS on his background:
Previously, Mr. Sethi led technology teams for Atlanta and New York City public schools. He served as executive director of information technology for Atlanta Public Schools, where he enabled solutions for successful virtual student-teacher collaboration and human resources functions. He also served as the New York City Department of Education director of enterprise solutions architecture, working on innovative technology solutions resulting in more than 20 new systems initiatives; spearheaded a pilot cloud deployment; and directed IT for special education programs.
Sethi earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Delhi n Indian and his master’s degree in business administration from Emory University in Atlanta.
Photo via FCPS
