Hundreds of people flooded Park Avenue in the City of Falls Church calling for justice after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Two rising juniors at George Mason High School — Ariana H. and Sarah E. — organized the walk, joining the global protests and rallies over Floyd’s death. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder following a viral video showing his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes, while three other officers at the scene were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

“We had been watching the protests going on around the country and wanted to bring it closer to home,” the organizers said in a statement to Tysons Reporter.

The walk started around 1:30 p.m. with participants meeting in West End Park for brief comments before marching. Protesters shouted “No justice! No peace!” Floyd’s name and other chants as they made their way down Park Avenue, peacefully escorted by the city’s police department.

“Hands up! Don’t shoot!”

“Hey, hey! Ho, ho! These racist cops have got to go!”

“Black Lives Matter!”

With the temperature hovering at 90 degrees Fahrenheit, medics stationed themselves along the route, and several people passed out water bottles.

Many residents lined the route, waving signs and photographing the march from their porches and front lawns. At one point, several workers at a nearby construction site took selfies with the protesters.

Ariana provided the following statement to Tysons Reporter ahead of the event:

Here’s our vision. Our community is often isolated from the injustices experienced in other communities. We are just two rising juniors at George Mason High School who wanted to raise awareness in our community and march in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and all people who have lost their lives simply because of the color of their skin. As a community, we can do better.

As two non-black people, we wanted to give the floor to black people in our community and make sure their voices are heard. It’s time for us to be allies and actively work to dismantle the systemic racism that has plagued our country for far too long. We had been watching the protests going on around the country and wanted to bring it closer to home.

We have the privilege to opt ourselves out of these times, but that will not bring the change that is needed. We have a duty to listen to our black peers and educate ourselves because it is not enough to not be racist; we must be anti-racist.

The City of Falls Church will see another event sparked by Floyd’s death later this week. On Sunday, locals plan to host the Falls Church Justice for Black Lives Rally at Cherry Hill Park at 1 p.m.

A Vienna learning center is helping out kids in need by temporarily supplying them with laptops during this era of online learning.

Stemtree of Vienna typically offers four different science, technology and engineering courses for students but decided to loan laptops to students throughout the community who don’t have access to computers for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to its Facebook page.

The center’s curriculum director Abdelghani Bellaachia said that the program distributed roughly 10 laptops in the last few weeks and still has availability for students in need. He added that a student doesn’t have to meet any criteria for the free laptop loan besides being in need and a promise to treat the equipment with respect.

Though families might have one or two laptops to share between kids, Bellaachia said he understands this might not meet the demand of online school. “We understand families might need an extra laptop.”

The center has been working with public schools like Westbriar Elementary School in Vienna to ensure the needs are being met, according to Bellaachia.

Anyone interested can register online and then set up a time to pick it up by calling (703) 281-STEM (7836) or sending an email.

All laptops must be returned by June 10 so the center has its equipment to start summer camps on June 15 under the first phase of the reopening plan set forth by Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Health, Bellaachia said.

Students in the camps will be with peers in groups of 10 or less and have designated equipment for the week, according to Bellaachia, so families and the center can limit risk.

Photo via Stemtree/Facebook

Look down and you can spot a new public art piece near the Vienna Community Center.

The Town of Vienna posted on Facebook yesterday that Myles T., the student member of the Vienna Public Art Commission, painted a storm drain with the help of his friends Anneliese B. and Gavin K. “All three students are rising seniors at James Madison High School,” the post said.

The picture of the painting on the sidewalk around the drain shows a turtle swimming through water that is surrounded by yellow, purple and red flowers.

“[Myles] spent last Friday painting a colorful, whimsical design on the storm drain at the bend in the road near the community center on Cherry Street,” the post said.

Vienna Paint donated the paint, the post said.

Photo via Town of Vienna/Facebook

New Water, Sewer Rates — “The Vienna Town Council on May 11 set water and sewer rates for the upcoming fiscal year, but held off on decisions regarding the fiscal 2021 budget and the potential hiring of a consultant to help update the town’s zoning code.” [Inside NoVa]

In Memoriam — “For years, as a youth coach and administrator of multiple sports, Bill Cervenak was a pillar in the Vienna community, touching hundreds of lives… Cervenak died in recent days from various health issues. He was 80.” [Inside NoVa]

Smarty Pants — “Seven students from McLean are among the 2,500 recipients of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s $2,500 scholarships announced Wednesday. They were chosen in a selection process that started with the 2018 PSAT.” [McLean Patch]

House has been demolished to make way for a new park at Parker and Oak. pic.twitter.com/ReWCOd57Kr

— Falls Church Views (@fallschurchview) May 13, 2020

Some #inspo for your #FallBrochurePhotoContest Photos! Don't forget to submit your pics to [email protected] by May 20.https://t.co/67BkuxTJ5x

— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) May 13, 2020

After discovering her love for storytelling at age 8, Cooper Middle School student and McLean resident Chloe Middleton has now published her first book in a new series called BunnyElla.

BunnyElla is about a young bunny who finds herself put in a position where she has to be brave and make certain decisions that will guide her life, according to the book’s description.

“It’s a book for everybody,” Chloe said, adding that people of all ages can take away something different from it. 

According to Chloe’s mom, Ang, common themes in the book include overcoming peer pressure and challenging cliche fairy tale tropes.

After the book’s official release on March 24, Chloe said she was overwhelmed by the positive response she received from her peers and her community at school — including a personal phone call from the administration at her school praising her work.

All of the artwork in the book is the creative product of Chloe and her younger sister, Adeline. To brighten up the colors, Ang noted that the family also hired an artist to digitize their artwork before it went to print.

To help women in need during the coronavirus pandemic, Chloe said that some of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Calvary Women’s Services, which assists women experiencing homelessness in the D.C. area.

Currently, Chloe said that she is working on a sequel to BunnyElla, adding that it will likely be a chapter book further exploring the themes in the first book. When she isn’t writing, Chloe said she also enjoys playing the piano and participating in sports.

People can purchase BunnyElla on Amazon.

Image courtesy Chloe Middleton 

This op-ed was submitted by Fairfax GOP Chairman Steve Knotts, on April 13. It does not reflect the opinions of Tysons Reporter. We publish op-eds and letters to the editor of specific interest to the Tysons community. Contributions may be edited for length or content. 

On March 13, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) closed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak; and Gov. Ralph Northam’s March 30 stay-at-home order has closed all schools in Virginia for the remainder of the academic year. While we have all exhausted the adjectives necessary to describe the coronavirus crisis in our nation, extended and unexpected school closures should be nothing new for FCPS.

One month into the coronavirus outbreak, FCPS has left parents wondering why one of the “top school districts in the country” is failing to lead the way in distance learning.

Snowmaggedon: History Repeats

In 2010, the blizzard dubbed Snowmaggedon crippled Northern Virginia and resulted in FCPS losing 10 days of school. That extended closure led many to call for plans for distance learning if such a catastrophic event were to ever happen again. But what planning has taken place over those ten years?

When formulating its plan for learning during this pandemic, the school board assumed that many homes only have one computer available, necessitating the alternating of instructional sessions by division (elementary, middle, and high school). However, limiting virtual class hours to 9:15-11:15 a.m. and 12:15-2:15 p.m. creates artificial bottlenecks for instruction.

Why not try to create “shifts” where elementary students would be online in the morning; middle schoolers learn during the midday hours; and high schoolers participate in their classes in the late afternoon or evening hours? Or failing that, why not make lessons available for streaming on demand –thus allowing families to determine a schedule that works best for them? Why do teachers need all of Monday, March 16, for planning? Why did FCPS still observe spring break?

Difficult times call for creative solutions, not rote adherence to practices that don’t apply to the new paradigm.

One Fairfax: A Failed Policy

On November 20, 2017, the school board adopted “a joint social and racial equity policy” called One Fairfax. This policy requires the Board to consider “equity” in the decision-making for all policies, programs, and services.

As the school board struggles to provide identical access for all students, they are delaying educational instruction to all students. The distance learning plan called for instruction to resume on April 14.

Parents disappointed with the lack of academic content will search out any means available to foster their student’s education. Families that can afford private online programs and tuition-based homeschool curricula will pursue those options, and their children will continue to advance academically. Families who are not financially able to purchase the education their children need will fall behind.

Distance Learning

Fairfax County ranks as the 10th largest public school system in the U.S., with over 188,000 students currently enrolled. Our student population presents a tremendous challenge, but FCPS has had ample time to train teachers and staff in the implementation of virtual meeting technologies, which are very easy to use.

All FCPS high school students were issued laptops at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year as part of the FCPSOn initiative. That portion of the student population should have been immediately ready for distance learning. The primary challenge to distance learning is home internet access.

Every school year, parents are required to fill out FCPS’s emergency care form, which includes a question about the type of internet access in the home and whether or not the family has “a device for this student that meets their educational needs.” On the first day of the coronavirus crisis, FCPS should have known exactly how many students lacked access to the internet and distance learning technologies.

FCPSOn: Wasted Dollars

A central requirement of the FCPSOn initiative is that all high school students have a laptop issued by Fairfax County. The money saved by allowing students to provide their own laptops would have allowed FCPS to purchase and distribute the crucial wireless routers for internet access that are currently the main issue stalling the distance learning plan.

The Result

This is unquestionably the most difficult challenge our county schools have ever faced. However, smarter planning by the school board and staff, wiser allocation of funds and better utilization of technology should allow us to manage the delivery of education more successfully.

The One Fairfax quest for “equity” is resulting in mediocrity.

Photo via Steve Knotts for FCRC Chairman/Facebook

Fairfax County school board members expressed major dismay over the botched rollout of the school system’s first week of distance learning, including security issues and technical problems with Blackboard’s system.

At an online meeting today (Thursday), school officials acknowledged the school’s leadership failed to ensure adequate security measures were in place when students and teachers logged on to online sessions.

Teacher-led distance learning was canceled this week due to technical issues the school system is working to resolve.

FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand told the school board today that the issues have been two-fold: capacity and load issues on Blackboard’s end and failures to implement and monitor security protocol by FCPS.

Security Issues

Sloan Presidio, the school system’s assistant superintendent for instructional services, described security issues as a “leadership failure.”

“We failed to properly train the staff,” Presidio said, adding that the school’s leadership did not communicate how teachers should properly set up online sessions and make sure security settings were in place.

In some cases, students were able to set up and run unmonitored chat sessions that were not seen by moderators. Some students were able to log on with fake names and upload inappropriate photos.

“We absolutely share the concern and the dismay at some of the behavior that was reported,” Tim Tomlinson, Blackboard’s chief product officer, said. “It’s unconscionable.”

Although instructors were given guidance on how to maintain security and set up online sessions, school officials said the information was not properly disseminated. Once school officials were made aware of security issues, additional guidance on security was provided.

School board member Megan McLaughlin said she was “shocked” the 10th largest school system in the country did not conduct load testing prior to the launch of the system.

“There is no getting around it,” McLaughlin said.

Blackboard Problems 

In addition to security challenges, the system experience log-in issues on the first day of learning, following by problems associated with Blackboard’s servers. The Reston-based company is working on upgrades to the system to resolve ongoing issues.

Tomlinson said that Blackboard “had no indication that these problems would occur” and shared a statement from the company apologizing for the disruption.

“We are working with FCPS to require students to log in to the FCPS 24-7 site and authenticate their identity before they are permitted to join a virtual classroom,” according to the Blackboard statement.

Tomlinson also noted that FCPS chose not to update its software for three years to the latest system. Seven updates were publicly available but not applied, he said.

But Maribeth Luftglass, assistant superintendent of the school system’s department of information technology, noted that the school system was never told those upgrades were required for performance purposes, especially prior to the launch of distance learning. She also added that the system was due for a planned upgrade this June.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic hit locally, the school system had plans in place to replace Blackboard Learn, a virtual learning environment, with Schoology, another distance learning tool operated by PowerSchool Unified Classroom, over the next two years.

The school system hopes to pilot the system in the fall.

School Board Responds   

School board members also questioned why distance learning proceeded if there was indication there were technical problems prior the launch. Several of the members urged FCPS to consider learning alternatives, like resources from Google.

“If Blackboard can’t handle this, lets try Google” Laura Jane Cohen, who represents the Springfield District. “Everyone has worked too hard to make this happen.”

According to the presentation, less than half of the teachers have Google Classroom sites, which could be used as a learning supplement.

“There would be significant teacher training required and additional workload on teachers to create these sites,” the presentation said. “Additionally, Google Classroom is not linked to the student information system and teachers would have to manually create courses.”

The presentation notes that students and teachers have equal permissions on Google Meet, which could let students override teacher content, and that guest access is allowed.

“Additionally, Google engineers expressed concern about handling the volume of FCPS users,” the presentation said.

Other school board members said a two-hour delay in instructor-led learning on Wednesday was not communicated effectively to the school community.

Brabrand apologized for not making the “right call” when he called for the two-hour delay.

“We could have communicated it better,” Brabrand said, adding that his mistake “caused undue confusion for our teachers and our principals.”

Next Steps 

Blackboard is currently working on software patches this week to address the capacity issues behind the login difficulties, Luftglass said.

On April 14, Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, a real-time video conferencing tool, were linked with a new feature that will only allow students enrolled in a class to join the class session and ban guest access, school officials said. Additionally, a back-up plan is being developed using Collaborate Ultra, they said.

FCPS aims to resume its synchronous learning on April 20.

Catherine Douglas Moran contributed reporting

Image via FCPS

The owner of two local Popeyes locations recently donated meals to help combat food insecurity.

During digital learning supply pickup at Timber Lane Elementary School earlier this week, students who came with their families to grab a laptop and other supplies were also handed a meal courtesy of Nader Saleh, who owns both the Merrifield and Fairfax Popeyes locations.

Across Fairfax County, many students and families rely on school lunches. While Fairfax County Public Schools is offering free meals to students during the closure, Saleh said that their are kids who might fall through the cracks.

“There are a lot of kids and families who are depending on the school lunches and then when the schools close, they have been left out,” Saleh said, adding that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help those in his community.

Benjamin Chiet, the principal of Timber Lane Elementary School, gave a shoutout on Twitter to Popeyes, thanking them for the donation.

Timber Lane Elementary School is just one of the many local schools to receive meal donations, according to Saleh.

“We would like to build the bridge between our restaurant and the community,” he said, adding that he is happy to combat food insecurity however he can.

Nationally, Popeyes is part of the No Kid Hungary Campaign, which helps families supply healthy meal options year-round, according to the website.

Though Popeyes (2835 Gallows Road) in Merrifield is still open for takeout and delivery, Saleh said business has been slower than usual. Anyone interested in supporting the restaurant can order online.

Thank you, Nader Saleh of @PopeyesChicken of Falls Church & Fairfax. Every family that picked up a laptop from @TimberLaneES today was treated to a few meals from Popeyes of Falls Church & Fairfax. Thank you for helping our families! Mr. Saleh is also a @mcleanhigh parent! pic.twitter.com/J7UQUhzXvm

— Ben Chiet 🇺🇸 (@PrincipalTLES) April 8, 2020

Fairfax County Public Schools will keep feeding students during spring break next week.

During spring break (April 6-10), FCPS plans to offering grab and go meals at school sites, along with curbside service, according to a press release.

The hours will be from 10 a.m.- 1p p.m. Families can also get meals from the current pop-up sites and bus route drop-offs.

Meals are free for kids and $2 for adults. Families must bring their kids when requesting meals.

FCPS wants families to maintain six feet apart from each other to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus and to practice good hygiene before, during and after the food pick-up.

Photo via FCPS

Editor’s note: Starting March 24, Tysons Reporter will have “Morning Notes” every weekday instead of twice a week to accommodate more news.

Here are the latest stories about the Tysons area that the Tysons Reporter team has been reading:

Grab-and-Go Meal Sites Have Curbside Service — “FCPS staff will deliver meals to children and adults while they wait in their cars in the kiss and ride line. Walk-ups are still welcome at all sites.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Hilton to Furlough Employees — “Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will furlough hundreds — if not thousands — of employees at its McLean headquarters as part of ongoing cost cutting measures related to the novel coronavirus.” [Washington Business Journal]

Local Student Makes Medical Masks — “When Beech Tree mom Van Nguyen heard about the shortage of medical face masks, she put her sewing skills into action. Her original goal was to make 20 face masks, but after posting about her project on social media, she received a plea from local medical professionals to make more. Beech Tree fifth grader Caroline got wind of Nguyen’s project and decided to put her own sewing skills to the test.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Falls Church City Employee Has Coronavirus — “Officials were notified this week of the positive test — the first of a City employee and third reported in the City itself — by the Fairfax County Health Department who determined there was not a public health reason to report the details of the case to the public… Falls Church officials told the News-Press the employee is not a City resident.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Former Vienna Town Councilmember Dies — “George Lovelace, a U.S. Army veteran and longtime Vienna Town Council member who also served one year as a state delegate, died March 22 at age 83.” [Inside NoVa]

Dry Cleaners Now Open in The Boro — The Boro Cleaners is now open at 8303 B Greensboro Drive. [The Boro/Twitter]

Falls Church Farmers Market is Back — “The farmers market in the City of Falls Church will reopen this weekend, though it will look a little different, after a one-week hiatus out of concern over the potential spread of the coronavirus.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Special School Board Meeting Today — “The Fairfax County School Board will hold a Special Meeting at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 27. All Board members will participate electronically due to the COVID-19 emergency.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Keep on responding to the Census, Town of Vienna! Thank you. #NOVAcounts https://t.co/x27OQtgw7M

— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) March 27, 2020

We've mailed out 67% more absentee ballots for the May 5 Clifton & @TownofViennaVA elections compared to last year. Vote absentee by mail so you can #socialdistance: https://t.co/sXGUyau4yx#coronavirus #coronavirusoutbreak #votebymail #absenteeballot #VAelections #viennava pic.twitter.com/Jc16Yp7hXh

— Fairfax County Votes (@fairfaxvotes) March 27, 2020

Cherry Hill Park playground is closed pic.twitter.com/joonRbn0tx

— Falls Church Views (@fallschurchview) March 25, 2020