Tholen Newsletter April 28, 2020

Dranesville Updates: Distance Learning, Budget, McLean HS, Resources

As I am sure you may imagine, I am disappointed with how our FCPS distance learning has rolled out. While teachers and school based administrators worked tirelessly to reach out to students, prepare video lessons and beef up online classrooms, we relied too heavily on Blackboard Learn (24-7) and Blackboard Collaborate Ultra to provide our virtual meetings. We changed course several times over the past weeks, causing more confusion as these systems still did not work.

During this time of COVID-19, when families needed us to provide continuity of learning and social and emotional support for their children, we failed to do that. At a time when our staff needed clear, concise direction on how to proceed, we failed to provide it.

I am heartened to hear how our staff has nonetheless provided instruction over the past two weeks. I have heard story after story, such as music lessons online, PE lessons sent by email and BC Calculus classes ready to go for whatever the AP exam will send their way. The people to thank for these successes are our incredible teachers, principals, school based technology specialists, and other school based staff.

Our rollout has gone poorly, but as your school board member, I will work to make this right. Here is some of what I have been doing to help us move forward:

  1. Advocating for principals and teachers to have more autonomy in their selection of an online platform to use. We have many teachers who heavily use Google Classroom. Schools are now able to choose Google Meet to reach out to students virtually. I am also making sure that Google executives are brought to the table to assist us in ensuring we use their platforms most effectively now and in the future.
  2. Reaching out to parents, principals, teachers and others to hear what is going right and what is going wrong with distance learning. This will help us engage in the kinds of real time adjustments we need.
  3. Advocating for flexibility in how teachers and families will execute distance learning for every child to take into consideration scheduling difficulties and other demands.
  4. Ensuring stakeholder groups are properly represented on task forces working to examine logistics, instruction, and special education needs going forward.
  5. Making sure we are budgeting in FY21 for sufficient school based technology staff to support future technology and distance learning needs as well as unforeseen social/emotional needs and academic make-up work that our students will need over the next year.
  6. Making sure we are reaching out to local technology and business experts to keep us moving forward as efficiently as possible during this time of COVID-19.
  7. Asking for improved and streamlined communication processes at all levels of the district—internally and externally.

Please know I am very concerned and am working hard to make sure we provide a learning experience moving forward that our students and families deserve. We know that distance learning will never replace our in-school face to face instruction, but we need to have our students, staff, and administration properly engaged immediately.

I want to hear from you!

Please see my new Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/DranesvilleFCPS/

Send me a question HERE or leave me a phone message at 571-423-1087.

Or, I have set up times to speak with constituents through May that you can book ahead of time. Book a 15 minute phone meeting: Tuesdays 6 pm to 7 pm and Wednesdays 10 am to Noon. Sign up HERE.

What is Happening Now to provide virtual classrooms?

We have moved away from BB 24/7 Learn and towards Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and Google Meet.

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Teachers not only scheduled their sessions last week, they also got their classes up and running. 

In fact, on Wednesday and Thursday we had lots of virtual classrooms meeting.

Wednesday - 23,409 sessions launched with 72,577 attendees

Thursday – 37,642 sessions launched with 149,000 attendees  

Google Meets 

25% of our teachers have chosen to use the Google Meet platform moving forward.

This is What Distance Learning Looks Like

Great Falls ES Twins hard at work

Great Falls ES Twins hard at work

Colvin Run Elementary: One teacher interacted with her students online during an afternoon literature appreciation block. Students take turns reading paragraphs, raised their hands to participate, and were supportive of other learners by muting themselves when classmates read aloud. One parent reached out to the teacher to thank them for letting their child read and shared they were so proud of their child volunteering to read aloud. Students in another grade conducted scientific investigations online using general household kitchen items.

Dranesville Elementary: Students are fully engaged in activity choice boards in content areas, such as creating a poster, designing a computer project, and completing math activities. Students get to have fun, too! Students created a paper sculpture in five easy steps. Students are completing the ABCs of fitness with daily physical challenges, including scavenger hunts, plank challenges, and mindfulness activities. 

Herndon Elementary: Daily checklists for students with morning messages from teachers. In addition, staff are creating daily videos to support Portrait of the Graduate goals by inviting students to name and notice opportunities around them that will help them succeed within and beyond the classroom. 

Haycock Elementary: We would like to show our gratitude to those in our community who are making such a difference during this unprecedented time with a school wide PBL. In order to do this, we are encouraging each Haycock student to write a letter or choose another method to convey their appreciation for a member of the community who is making a difference. This message of gratitude could be for someone your child knows personally or someone he or she does not know personally such as a health professional, first responder, delivery service, grocery store worker, restaurant worker, etc.

Herndon High School: Staff created a hyperdoc (one document that houses a lot of links to websites) that displays world reactions to industrialization. Students are provided access to video resources, readings, assignments, and other interesting resources.

Great Falls Elementary School Kindergarten Learning Menu

Great Falls Elementary School Kindergarten Learning Menu

 

Distance Learning Information

Attendance During Distance Learning

Participation in asynchronous and synchronous learning is encouraged at all levels during the school closure. Teachers will note student non-participation in synchronous sessions in SIS, which will be visible to parents.

The data will not be included in student attendance history and will not be reported to the VDOE.

Students who are not engaging in any form of synchronous or asynchronous work will be contacted by the teacher and/or other staff members, such as the school counselor, to encourage participation, provide additional supports, and remove barriers if possible. For students who do not have access to technology or connectivity, teachers and school counselors will work together to determine appropriate opportunities and resources. 

The last day of school for all students (except seniors) is Friday, June 12. Seniors’ last day of school is based on their original graduation date with the last day of school on or before Friday, May 29 for all seniors.

Third Quarter Dates

Due to last week’s pause in teacher-led “live” instruction, the third quarter has been extended until Friday, May 1, 2020. Students will work with their teachers to make up third quarter missing/incomplete assignments and complete reassessments by May 1, 2020. 

ParentVUE/StudentVUE access will be turned off to allow for teachers to enter grades from Thursday, April 23 through Friday, May 8. Grades will be available in ParentVUE/StudentVUE on Saturday, May 9.

Report card mailings to all parents/guardians who have not opted into electronic delivery will begin on May 12, 2020. 

Go Paperless for Report Cards

Report Cards/Progress Reports will be mailed centrally for both third and fourth quarters to all parents/guardians, except those secondary families who have opted to “Go Paperless”. Middle and high school parents/guardians may opt into “Go Paperless” for report cards by following the below instructions:

Parents/Guardians can take advantage of the paperless option, by logging into ParentVUE, then going to “My Account” and selecting "Go Paperless!". This is the only way to keep a paper report card from being generated for students at the secondary level. All parents who share the same address as the student must have a SIS ParentVUE account and must select the paperless option. This option must be selected prior to May 12th to prevent the 3rd quarter report card from being mailed.

Letter to Special Education Families

Teresa Johnson, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Special Services, and her team have been working hard to ensure families have support for students receiving special education services.

I wanted to share the letter that was sent to special education families. The letter includes information about the Distance Learning Plan for Special Education as well as Temporary Learning Plans (TLPs) for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

A regular communication with Special Services tips, news, and information will be sent to families of students with disabilities. The newsletter is located at this link: https://www.fcps.edu/node/40870.

Resources for Juniors and Seniors

I want to assure our seniors, we are working on honoring your efforts, but now I especially want to assure our HS Juniors—we are thinking about you and know that you are about to be applying for college or looking at post-high school work. We will support you and are already engaging with colleges to make sure we know how to do that.

Classes at NOVA

New - NOVA JumpStart Opportunity for Current and Rising Seniors

NOVA announced the launch of JumpStart, a new opportunity for current and rising seniors to take up to two tuition-free online college courses this summer. NOVA has identified a specific set of courses available through this initiative, including courses for NOVA degree requirements that are also highly transferable credits to four-year institutions as well as coursework in cloud computing through a collaboration with Amazon Web Services. We are excited to partner with NOVA on this opportunity and will share more information for students and families as additional details about qualifications and registration emerge. 

McLean High School Overcrowding Update

As a response to the comments made at the December public meetings on a potential boundary change between McLean and Langley High Schools, the school board approved adding Cooper and Longfellow Middle Schools to the boundary study at its March 9 meeting. There will not be a boundary change for the Fall of 2020. As soon as we can figure out the best way to have public meetings to move forward on the boundary scoping process, those meetings will continue.

In an effort to alleviate some of the overcrowding issues at McLean HS for current students by adding bathrooms outside of the building and a more collaborative learning space and environment for teachers, staff and students, the school district is looking into putting a modular unit at the high school. This 12 classroom unit will replace 14 of the trailers on the site. The modular will be on the consent agenda for the May 7 school board meeting.

After the May 7 meeting, a summary note will be sent to all families in the McLean and Langley pyramids.

We will continue to analyze development numbers and enrollment figures for McLean High School to monitor the need for an addition to the school.  

FY21 Budget News

The new FCPS budget mirrors the county strategy of focusing on keeping existing staff, eliminating compensation increases, and preserving our classroom and student focused supports. We are still focused on funding school needs for anticipated increased enrollment and increased needs for special education and English language learners. School Board members all expressed the need for continued and enhanced social/emotional supports for our students, staff, and families as we deal with distance learning and the stresses COVID-19 has put upon our families. Supporting everyone as we return to our school buildings will be imperative. I also expressed the need for continued focus on our enrollment and capacity numbers as we may see changes/shifts in enrollment as people move out of private schools, employment needs shift, and people move as our economy changes. Accurate numbers are needed as we make multi-million dollar decisions and hire staff to cover our classroom needs each year.

We are looking at a Technology fund to ensure that we are prepared for future distance learning needs. I am advocating for full time school based technology specialists at all of our schools.  

We are developing a new budget timeline with times for you to give input.  The schedule we have now can be found below.  Please watch our website for updates.

FCPS Budget Timeline

28 Apr

School Board presents Preliminary FY21 Revised Budget to County BOS

5 May

Board of Supervisors mark-up FY21 Budget

7 May

School Board FY21 Approved Budget presented for new business

12 May

County BOS approves FY21 County Budget, tax rate, and transfer to schools

12 May

School Board holds public hearing on the budget (13 May, if needed)

14 May

School Board conducts final budget work session

21 May

School Board adopts FCPS FY21 Approved Budget

 

Amazing Student Work

A Note from the Journalism teacher at McLean HS: McLean High School’s newsmagazine reporters and editors have been hard at work over the past several weeks to produce this special edition of the newsmagazine, and I am excited to share it with all of you. They have poured hundreds of hours into it, overcoming so many obstacles presented by our current situation, and they have produced a truly impressive issue without sacrificing any of the quality you’ve come to expect from The Highlander.

Needless to say, I couldn’t be more proud of them! Please enjoy this digital copy, and feel free to share it far and wide!

https://issuu.com/the_highlander/docs/covid-19_edition

 

South Lakes HS Virtual Choir

I had to share this wonderful video from our neighboring district, Hunter Mill. The choir at South Lakes has been hard at work. South Lakes High School Virtual Choir : https://youtu.be/Kycm5p39BdY

Recognition of Secondary School Counselor for the State of VA

Congratulations to Kathleen Otal, McLean HS Guidance Counselor. She has been named the 2020 VSCA Secondary School Counselor for the State of VA!  

Ms. Otal wears many hats at McLean. In addition to her responsibilities as a counselor, Ms. Otal serves as a member of McLean’s attendance committee, runs Parent University sessions, regularly counsels parents on the transition from high school to college, sponsors the girls' leadership committee, and coordinates stressless activities in McLean. She approaches all of these roles with the same mindset that she brings to her job, doing what is best for students. 

Upcoming School Board Meetings

Please check BoardDocs for updated board meeting information, agendas, handouts and virtual meeting access. 

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually at https://www.fcps.edu/tv/ch99.

Parent Resources

Safe Community Coalition

Tips and Advice from the Safe Community Coalition’s Mental Health Committee 

 

For 25 years, the Safe Community Coalition has been working to help families in McLean thrive. During this pandemic crisis, members of the SCC’s Mental Health Committee have been working to provide resources including videos and tips that are now posted on the SCC website at http://mcleanscc.org/.  

Topics include: 

  • Grounding Techniques to Help Cope with Uncertainty
  • How to Meet Kids’ Three Basic Needs: Competence, Connection, and Autonomy
  • Healthy Coping Strategies During Uncertain Times
  • Staying Positive
  • Finding a Counselor: Tips and Advice

Check out the SCC’s Facebook and Twitter pages (both: @mcleanscc) for timely articles related to stress, anxiety, and coping during the pandemic.

Welcome to the Parent Resource Center's Virtual Workshops! 

Please check our website frequently as we will be adding new webinars.

May

Setting the Stage for Distance Learning Success: A Webinar for Parents

Transitioning to distance learning can be overwhelming.  Join us to learn important strategies to help support your child’s learning in elementary, middle, or high school. 

Webinar Highlights:

  • Setting realistic expectations for this unique time period
  • Setting new routines
  • Designing organization systems for your home
  • Building strategies to support everyone’s needs
  • Preparing for and addressing challenges as they arise

Presented by Erika Deem and Valrie Eisele, FCPS Parent Resource Center Professionals.

Friday, May 1, 2020, 10 a.m.-noon. 

Register for Setting the Stage for Distance Learning Success: A Webinar for PARENTS

Family Resource Update

Food Services

Fairfax County Public Schools continues to help distribute meals throughout the county. As of April 24, 2020 550,566 meals have been served.

Visit https://www.fcps.edu/news/coronavirus-update-food-resources for more information. Or, you can use the Fairfax County interactive map to find community meal distribution sites, food pantries, and other related services.

Technology

As of April 24, FCPS has distributed 16, 206 laptops and almost 900 MiFi devices to ensure students have access to technology and reliable internet. If your student is in need of a laptop, please check with your student's school.

 



The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.

© 2020 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia