Dear Dranesville Families:
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed some well deserved rest and family time over the winter break.
Please see information below on return to school plans, our McLean/Langley boundary adjustment, the FY22 budget process, and a variety of resources and other updates.
I am looking forward to our continued partnership in 2021 to best serve our students.
Elaine
Prioritizing Vaccinations for School Personnel
The COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to FCPS staff via Inova Health System, in partnership with the Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD), starting this Saturday, January 16, 2021. All FCPS employees will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine as a part of the Virginia Department of Health 1b group of other essential workers. All FCPS staff who wish to access the vaccine will have the opportunity to receive their first dose in the next three weeks.
Return to School Update
At the 1/5/21 School Board work session, Dr. Brabrand presented a revised Return to School plan to the Board. After discussion and deliberation including input from the Fairfax Department of Health, principals, teachers, and Board members, the Board decided to pause the return to school plan. The Board asked for an additional update before the next Return to School Update work session. The February 2nd work session will include an updated Return to School plan and timeline.
The fact that we still do not have large numbers of children in our schools is frustrating for many. I am disappointed that as soon as we seem to have a plan, spikes in Fairfax County COVID-19 cases, uncertainty with new variants, and winter holiday spikes cause us to pause. I know the inability to plan is hard on many families. As many families want to remain in virtual learning with the high rate of COVID community positivity, I understand the request by many others to give options to our families. I will be continuing my reading and discussions with experts, staff, and other board members. I appreciate the articles many of you are sending me and your viewpoints.
As the nation receives their vaccines, we all need to continue working together to help slow the spread of COVID-19 See how you can protect yourself and your family.
FCPS Meal Distribution Plan for now - January 26, 2021
FCPS is committed to providing all students access to meals during the week of January 18-26, where there are two school holidays and one student holiday/teacher workday. The detailed plan can be found here.
McLean HS/Langley HS Boundary Adjustment Timeline
Please note the Public Hearing sign up is open now.
Here are the dates for the McLean High School/Langley High School Boundary adjustment timeline:
- Thursday, 1/21/21 7 p.m. Regular Meeting
- FCPS Staff will present the option to the School Board during the presentation portion of the meeting.
- Thursday, 1/28/21 6 p.m. McLean HS/Langley HS Boundary Public Hearing
- Speakers list is now open and will close 1/27/21 at 4:30 p.m.
- Thursday, 2/4/21 7 p.m. Regular Meeting
- School Board will vote on the recommended boundary change.
Please visit here to view the options, the 12/7th community meeting comments, and email comments.
You may share your opinions on the boundary adjustment at McLeanboundary@fcps.edu.
Registering for next year's classes
For those families who possibly have students affected by the boundary adjustment, please register for next year's classes based on the school you would attend without a boundary adjustment. Once action has been taken, there will be time for you to make any necessary registration changes. The Langley Pyramid is eager to support the needs of all of our families. Cooper MS and Langley HS will work closely with those impacted families when the School Board makes any changes and will host multiple opportunities for families to connect with their new school.
Revised FCPS Grading Policy Supports Student Wellness
FCPS has heard from many students that they are concerned about the impact of grades on their future, are exhausted from online school, and do not feel that academic expectations have been modified to fit the current learning circumstances. In response, the grading policies have been revised and will take effect January 4, 2021.
The most significant change is to the 100-point grading scale. When using a 100-point grading scale, 50 percent of an assignment’s value will be the lowest possible score, including the score for work that is not submitted. Four-point scales are also appropriate.
Other steps being implemented to support students with workload and wellness include:
- Dropping the minimum number of assignments per quarter from nine to six.
- Accepting late work on major assignments with minimal penalty.
- Capping the maximum weight of an assignment or assessment at 20%.
These policy changes will be in place the remainder of the school year.
“Go Paperless” Report Card Option Reminder
Please sign up for “Paperless Report Cards”. To take advantage of the paperless options, parents and/or guardians will need to log into ParentVUE, then go to “My Account” and select "Go Paperless" All parents who live with the student and share the same address must have a SIS ParentVUE account and must select the paperless option to prevent mailing of the printed report cards. The “Go Paperless” option will apply to all your associated students, no matter what school level. This will not impact any other mailings from FCPS other than the report cards for secondary students and progress reports for ES students.
Enrollment for Dual Language Immersion Programs
FCPS's online registration for the county-wide lottery for Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs will open on Monday, January 25. Current prekindergarten students may apply for the kindergarten immersion program and current kindergarten students may apply for the first-grade immersion programs for the 2021-22 school year.
The kindergarten DLI programs are available in Korean and Spanish. Korean is available at Powell and Spanish is available at Bailey’s Primary, Fort Hunt, Lake Anne, Laurel Ridge, London Towne, and Rose Hill Elementary Schools. First grade DLI programs are available at 12 elementary schools and are offered in French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
Information Meetings Start on January 13.
Parents who are interested in the DLI programs in FCPS are encouraged to attend one of the upcoming informational meetings. All meetings are held virtually. Information regarding virtual meeting access will be made available on the Dual Language Immersion registration site by the day of the meeting.
Get more information here.
First Electric FCPS School Bus Arrives
The first of eight electric buses arrived at the FCPS Stonecroft Transportation Center this week. A grant from Dominion Energy will cover costs so that school districts pay no more for an electric bus than they would for a diesel model. The remaining buses are expected to be delivered to FCPS at the end of January. The buses will be tested before being assigned to routes transporting students in early to mid-April.
Electric school buses in FCPS will benefit not only the school division and its community but the entire national capital area as they will help reduce carbon emissions, serve as a resource for national emergency planning efforts, and provide stability and capacity to the grid with meeting increasing energy demands. These Thomas-built buses will join FCPS’ current fleet of roughly 1,625 diesel-fueled buses and will help reduce operation and maintenance costs.
First of eight electric school buses delivered to FCPS |
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Free Student Bus Pass Program
The Fairfax County School Board has joined the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors by passing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Free Student Bus Pass Program that provides free bus passes to all FCPS middle and high school students to ride local buses at no cost.
Interested students should contact their school for an application.
Superintendent Brabrand Presents FCPS Budget for FY 2022
Last Thursday, Superintendent Brabrand presented a $3.1 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Proposed Budget to the Fairfax County School Board at its business meeting. Overall, the FY 2022 Proposed Budget represents an increase of $0.4 million, or 0.01 percent, over the FY 2021 Approved Budget.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted FCPS in numerous ways,” said Brabrand. “As a result, this budget focuses on our most pressing needs. I have designed the budget to prioritize the instructional and social-emotional needs of our students so they can continue to learn and grow despite the ongoing challenges of this pandemic.” Click here for the full news release.
FCPS Releases FY 2022-26 Capital Improvement Program
FCPS released its proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-26 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that focuses on capital projects, including new school construction, capacity enhancements, and renovations, reflecting schools for the current school year (2020-21) and a five-year requirement of approximately $1.1 billion.
The School Board held a work session on the FY 2022-26 CIP on January 5. You can view the CIP work session here. The Board is scheduled to vote on the CIP at its regular meeting on Thursday, February 4. Details about the FY 2022-26 CIP are available here.
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Employment Opportunities in FCPS
FCPS schools and centers are hiring classroom monitors for in-person classroom assistance with students when some staff members continue to work virtually. Learn more information here.
Are you or somebody you know interested in substitute teaching with FCPS? Apply online or attend one of our Friday information sessions to learn more. Additional details can be found here.
Welcome Wendy Biliter!!
I have great news to share. Wendy Biliter is my new School Board Staff Aide. Many of you may have already met Wendy as she has been working with me part time since the summer. She started in this new position just before winter break. She is already hard at work organizing my schedule and correspondence, and most importantly, helping me move important Dranesville community issues forward and working to keep you informed on what is happening in the School Board Office.
Wendy is a trained pediatrician, has worked at Churchill Road Elementary School and has held various roles in the School Board Office. She is a parent of two current FCPS students and two FCPS graduates. Her breadth of experience will add lots to our work.
FCPS Announces Appointment of New Executive Director of Office of Communication and Community Relations (OCCR)
Superintendent Brabrand has named Helen Lloyd, who currently serves as the Executive Director of Communications for Alexandria City Public Schools, as the district’s new executive director of the Office of Communication and Community Relations (OCCR), effective February 1, 2021. You can read the full news release here
Two Holiday Observances Next Week
All schools and offices will be closed Monday, January 18, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and Wednesday, January 20, for Inauguration Day.
Coming School Board meetings:
- 1/19/21: 11 a.m. Work Session - Program Budget Review
- 1/21/21: 7 p.m. Regular Meeting - McLean HS/Langley HS boundary presentation
- 1/26/21: 6 p.m. Budget Public Hearing
- 1/27/21: 6 p.m. Budget Work Session
- 1/28/21: 6 p.m. McLean HS/Langley HS boundary Public Hearing
- 02/4/21: 7.p.m. Regular Meeting - Vote on McLean HS/Langley HS boundary
How to Watch Meetings
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Livestream: Meetings can be live streamed here.
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Recordings of Meetings: Meetings are recorded and available here.
- Latest schedule of School Board Meetings:
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
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