June 2022 Newsletter
Dear FCPS Families,
Congratulations to all our students and families. This past school year has been packed with learning in new and innovative ways. Our students have risen to the occasion and excelled. Our graduates are moving on to their next exciting stage and we are extremely proud of them.
This newsletter covers the events of our end-of-year activities. We have celebrated so much and I have enjoyed listening to our community. This summary includes a review of our most recent board meetings and covers budget highlights, as well as, a summary of changes to the revised Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook. Each of these items involved improved outreach to the community. I look forward to sharing a special Spotlight on Summer Resources and Opportunities with you next week.
As we go forward, I continue to look forward to hearing from you.
Have a wonderful summer!
 Inside this Issue
- Spring School Visits: Celebrating Nature, the Arts, Athletics and Student Success
- Spring 2022 FCPS Survey for Families, Deadline: June 17, 8 p.m.
- Student Rights & Responsibilities
- Budget
- School Safety
- Trust Policy Update
- Eight New Inductees into the FCPS Hall of Fame
- FCPS Honors Recognizes 2022 Outstanding Employees
- LGBTQIA+ Pride Month Recognition
- Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Recognizes Recipients of 2022 Juneteenth Resiliency Awards
- FCPS Employment Opportunities: Virtual Instructional Job Fair, June 22
 Spring School Visits: Celebrating the Nature, the Arts, Athletics and Student Success
Celebrating Nature and Stewardship. I was honored to participate in the first FCPS Arbor Day celebration at Liberty Middle School. This event was held in conjunction with the Urban Forest Division and Tree City Flag. School Board Chair Stella Pekarsky and I joined Chairman Jeff McKay and Supervisor Pat Herrity for a brief ceremony that included the dedication of the first tree planting from the Urban Forest Division, who will plant a total of 51 trees at Liberty Middle School.
Celebrating the Arts. The performing arts are alive and well in our schools. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting South Lakes High School Theater for a production of Crazy for You. The Roadrunner Musical Showcase at Marshall Roads Elementary School was a delightful visit that still warms my heart.
Celebrating Athletic Excellence. I joined a delegation of my school board colleagues to recognize and celebrate two of our FCPS state championship teams. I am so proud of the accomplishments of our 6A Boys Basketball State Champions of Hayfield Secondary School and our 6A Girls Gymnastics State Champions of Lake Braddock Secondary School. Congratulations to all of our FCPS state champion winning teams who were honored at the School Board Meeting on June 16.
Celebrating Student Learning. I applaud the efforts of our students and teachers as they continue to make advances in student learning. AVID–the Advancement Via Individual Determination Program–is a college-preparatory program designed for students who have a desire to take challenging courses to prepare for four-year college enrollment. In May, I had the pleasure of visiting the AVID programs at South Lakes High School and John R. Lewis High School as they completed certification and year-end activities.
I also visited with 5th graders at Belvedere Elementary School who completed their 5th Grade Exhibition Projects. Through PYPX 2022, 5th graders use what they have learned during their time at Belvedere to research a local issue or problem and take action. It was a joy to participate in the presentation of their hard work!
 Graduation: Celebrating the Class of 2022. Congratulations to all our students, and especially our graduating seniors, on completing the 2021-22 school year! This year, I attended graduation ceremonies across the county. It is always an honor to witness milestone events in the lives of our students.
Watch this highlight video to relive this year’s graduation events. I am proud of the accomplishments of the Class of 2022 and look forward to the positive impact they will make on our local and global community. Best of luck to the Class of 2022!
Spring 2022 FCPS Survey for Families. Due 6/17/22, 8 p.m.
FCPS wants to hear from parents and caregivers about how this school year has been for their students, since FCPS has transitioned back to five days of in-person instruction.
The Office of Research and Strategic Improvement (ORSI) is administering the Family Return to School Survey so parents and caregivers can share what they think of their child’s school experience during the 2021-22 school year. The information families provide will be used, along with other data, to support FCPS’ efforts to make improvements that support schools, students, and staff, and for ESSER accountability reporting.
The Family Return to School Survey is open from May 31 - June 17, should take about 15 minutes to complete, and is anonymous. Parents/caregivers with multiple children attending FCPS may want to take the survey more than once to describe the separate experiences of each child.
The survey is available in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Spanish, Korean, and Farsi. Click one of the links below to begin the survey in your preferred language. We encourage all FCPS parents and caregivers to respond to the survey and share their experiences whether positive or negative.
Please complete the survey Friday, June 17 at 8 pm. All parents and caregivers have received an email with the links included. Please note that this survey is optional.
School Board Updates and Information
Below are just a few highlights of the Board's recent work and accomplishments I believe support student learning and success in classrooms and community:
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Student Rights & Responsibilities
Fairfax County Public Schools' Student Rights and Responsibilities (SR&R, Regulation 2601) document explains expectations for student behavior and adult responses to enhance school safety and to create a fair, equitable, and supportive school environment. Each year, the SR&R undergoes a review process, and the Fairfax County School Board votes on proposed changes. On June 16, the School Board approved changes to the SR&R for the 2022-23 school year.
Key changes include:
- Detailed information about orientation or training stakeholders including school-based administrators and staff, transportation staff, and coaching staff; students; and families.
- Adding rights to protect citizenship and immigration status from unauthorized sharing.
- Changes to FCPS’ Acceptable Use Policy Regulation for Technology.
- A new section on cell phones.
- A clarification on the response to substance misuse violations.
- A clarification on the purpose of individualized education program (IEP) meetings when students with disabilities are reassigned for disciplinary reasons following referral to the superintendent.
Cell phone usage has been a popular topic. Key highlights of related changes are below for your convenience:
- Grades K-8: Phones must be silenced and put away for the duration of the school day.
- Grades 9-12: Phones must be silenced and put away during all instructional periods.
- Students are prohibited from using phones, tablets, and other mobile devices in restrooms and locker rooms, unless there is a medical necessity or emergency.
- Parents/Guardians, multi-disciplinary team members, or other persons with knowledge of students who require access to personally owned devices as an accommodation shall make requests for such accommodations through their respective multi-disciplinary team.
FCPS believes that students learn best when expectations for behavior are clear, consistent, fair, age appropriate, and build on strong student teacher relationships. Please visit the SR&R webpage for additional information.
Budget
For the fourth year in a row, Fairfax County leaders have shown a commitment to public education by supporting a budget that funds Fairfax County Public Schools’ key initiatives of student success and a premier workforce.
The County transfer increase of $102.6m, for a total of $2,275.3b, will support investments that show our employees they are the critical piece in helping our students thrive. Attracting and retaining the best instructional and support staff, including bus drivers, remains critical to student success. Budget highlights include:
- Eighty-six percent of the $3.3 billion budget will go directly to instruction.
- A 4% Market Scale Adjustment (MSA) for all employees, along with a step increase for eligible employees, a salary scale extension to all scales, and market improvements to our bus driver and family liaison salary scales.
- Support for a County initiative to provide affordable housing so that teachers and staff can live where they work.
“This budget means we can provide our employees the kind of compensation they need – not just to survive, but to thrive in the current economy,” says Superintendent Scott Brabrand. “We continue to get tremendous support from the County Board of Supervisors and County Executive Bryan Hill for our unique needs and to allow us to fully realize all of our key priorities.”
Additional system wide professional development on new curriculum and skills development, and planning time for elementary schools will allow school based staff to spend time reviewing formative and summative assessments to prepare for targeted instruction and provide students with more timely feedback, preparing and organizing materials for differentiated instruction, and communicating with families.
In line with its key priorities, the budget includes funding for multiple initiatives that support students in critical areas of need, including:
- A lead special education teacher at all elementary schools,
- An increase in school-based family liaisons,
- Investments in staff recruitment and retention,
- Additional supports for student mental health, wellness, and safety, including support to maintain school counselor positions that would have otherwise been reduced due to a decrease in student enrollment, and
- Support for carbon neutral electric buses, Safe Routes to Schools, the Get2Green program, and other sustainability programs.
The School Board also directed the Superintendent to conduct a holistic review of safety and security protocols and procedures in all FCPS buildings, as well as prioritizing completion of the security vestibule program.
“This robust post-pandemic budget, which focuses on staff compensation and strengthening student academic supports, represents hope for our FCPS community,” says Stella Pekarsky, School Board Chair and Sully District Representative. “We are grateful for the continued close collaboration with the County Board of Supervisors for their support in keeping our schools safe, effective, and welcoming places for students to learn.”
School Safety
I join the nation in mourning the tragic loss of 20 innocent lives at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to declare June 3 as Gun Violence Awareness Day in Fairfax County. The importance and weight of this day is even greater, as our nation reels from the tragic loss of life to senseless and hateful gun violence that recently occurred in Buffalo, Milwaukee, Laguna Woods, and Houston as well as at Uvalde, Texas.
Your child may have questions and concerns after learning about this tragic news. The National Association of School Psychologists has a helpful resource for families and educators to support them when talking with students about school violence. If you or your child need additional support, please reach out to your school counselor.
FCPS Safety. We want you to know that the safety of our schools, and the children and staff within them, is our highest priority. We continually work to make critical safety upgrades to our buildings each budget year. Student safety and security is of paramount importance to the Fairfax County School Board and FCPS.
For several years, FCPS has been upgrading school security to create security vestibules, which are a strategy for preventing intruders from gaining access to schools. A security vestibule requires visitors to be verified by staff in a secured sign-in area before doors are electronically opened that grant the visitor access to the building. Currently, all schools under renovation receive a security vestibule.
The Superintendent estimates that it would cost $15 Million to construct and install these areas and electronic systems in the FCPS facilities that still need these added to address this public health crisis. FCPS has been using funds through various grants to fund these upgrades, and future grant submissions will continue to focus on physical security options that would include vestibules, locks, and radios. We are hopeful that, going forward, funding for these security upgrades may come through the pending state budget and additional federal funding.
The School Board also has several advocacy positions related to school safety, school facility security, and firearms in their 2022 Fairfax County School Board State and Federal Legislative Program, including:
- The Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) supports the provision of and funding for a safe and secure learning environment for its students and personnel, which includes securing physical facilities, addressing student mental health and wellness, as well as educating students regarding the safe use of the internet and other instructional technologies.
- The FCSB supports incentive funding for local school boards to use in ensuring safe, secure, and respectful school environments through effective programs such as peer mediation, conflict resolution, character education, threat assessment, door access technologies, video surveillance, radio interoperability with public safety agencies, exit door numbering protocols, visitor screening, and other proactive initiatives appropriate at the local school level.
- The FCSB supports interpretations and provisions of law that allow local school boards to be rigorous in banning the possession of weapons on school property in order to protect the safety of students in the school environment.
- The FCSB supports specific authorization for localities to ban possession of dangerous weapons in recreation centers and prohibition of the sale of look-alike firearms, particularly BB and pellet guns, to minors.
- The FCSB supports allowing localities the option of regulating the proximity of a gun store to a public school.
- The FCSB supports comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation to help protect the health and safety of our students, families, and staff.
Most recently, Virginia provided local school boards with additional authority to establish gun free zones on school board property via legislation adopted in 2021. Learn more about FCPS safety and security practices.
Trust Policy
The School Board voted to adopt the Trust Policy on April 28. The policy confirms the Board’s commitment to providing a safe and welcoming space for all students and their families by aligning FCPS with Fairfax County’s Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy. This alignment ensures that FCPS students and families can access the school division’s benefits and services without fear that information will be disclosed, directly or indirectly, to federal immigration officials.The Trust Policy will be effective July 1, with staff training completed by the start of the new school year. Read more about FCPS Trust Policy.
Eight New Inductees into the FCPS Hall of Fame
On Wednesday, May 4, Educate Fairfax inducted 8 new members of the FCPS Hall of Fame, established to honor distinguished alumni of Fairfax County Public Schools.
"Congratulations to this class of inductees," said Len Forkas, board chair of Educate Fairfax. "We launched the Hall of Fame to demonstrate how our school system prepares students to become tomorrow's community leaders, business owners and servant leaders. We believe our students are our strength and welcome the community to join Educate Fairfax in its mission to ensure that every student has a path to success.”
This year’s class of Hall of Fame inductees include a life-long diplomat, a war hero, local business owners and entrepreneurs, a lawyer and inventor, a young published author and filmmaker, an Olympic athlete, and one of FCPS’s own leadership team!
For more information, visit Educate Fairfax.
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FCPS Honors Recognizes 2022 Outstanding Employees
Exceptional employees from across Fairfax County Public Schools were recognized at the FCPS Honors event held Wednesday, June 8. Sponsored by Educate Fairfax, the 2022 celebration was hosted at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts.
Annually, more than 700 employees in both instructional and operational roles are recognized through the Outstanding Employee Awards Program. This year, 71 finalists representing 12 categories were recognized during the special award ceremony.
Among the finalists this year, Superintendent Scott Brabrand said in his opening comments there seemed to be a common thread—”adaptability” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the return to classrooms and offices.
Winners in 12 categories were recognized and celebrated. Learn more about this recognition program and the nominees in all categories.
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 During June, we recognize the valuable contributions of LGBTQIA+ individuals across America, and we reaffirm our commitment to standing in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ Americans in their ongoing struggle against discrimination and injustice.
 Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Recognizes Recipients of 2022 Juneteenth Resiliency Awards
On June 7, 2022, Fairfax County’s Neighborhood and Community Services recognized the recipients of the 2022 Juneteenth Resiliency Awards during the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting. The student award winners received certificates, a copy of the Juneteenth Proclamation made by Chairman of the Board Jeffrey McKay, and a group photo with the members of the Board of Supervisors.
The Juneteenth Resiliency Awards, now in their second year, recognize and celebrate Black resiliency in youth and young adults ages 13-21 who have exhibited true perseverance (also known as grit, determination, dedication and persistence) to strive towards meaningful contributions and outcomes in their lives and/or the lives of others in the Black community.
FCPS Virtual Instructional Job Fair (June 22)
Interested in an instructional job with Fairfax County Public Schools? Instructional positions include teacher, school counselor, librarian, instructional assistant, public health attendant (PHA) and public health training assistants (PHTA), and substitute teacher and assistants.
To learn more, attend the virtual Instructional Job Fair on Wednesday, June 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Learn more and register online.
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.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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