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.يرجى زيارة موقعنا الألكتروني لقراءة هذه النشرة الإخبارية بلغات أخرى
Dear Braddock District Students, Staff and Families,
Happy New Year! I hope you and your families had a wonderful break and I send my best wishes to you for a happy, healthy and peaceful 2024. I am excited to be writing my first newsletter as the magisterial School Board member for the Braddock District! I was sworn in as the Braddock District member on December 13 and assumed the seat on January 1, 2024. I have lived in this community for over twenty years and I look forward to continuing to work with and represent our schools and families even better in this new role. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you at community and school events throughout the Braddock District.
My office is hiring a Staff Aide, effective January 16, 2024. This position is my "right-hand person" performing a variety of "professional and administrative duties required to support activities, projects, and initiatives related to the School Board; serves as a liaison on behalf of individual Board members in communications between constituents, community organizations, Division leadership and staff, and varied elected officials." The position is hybrid. Learn more and apply.
I am also excited to work with the other members of this new School Board. Learn more about the new School Board.
 Some of the issues I look forward to working on in the early part of this year are the FY25 budget, the Capital Improvement Program, and FCPS’ grading practices. See more below about Policy 2418.
I also want to alert you to some statewide issues in advance of the beginning of the General Assembly session on January 10. As you may recall, Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) studied Virginia’s K-12 Education Funding in a report released earlier this year. Among other findings, the study found that Virginia school divisions receive less funding than the 50-state average and the regional average, than actual division spending and benchmarks and does not account for local labor costs or higher needs students.
A second statewide issue that I would like to note is a proposal to remove the current .5 cap on Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) funding. We currently have a 50/50 match split for VPI funds. Without the cap, the split would be governed by our current LCI, which would reduce our state per pupil funding for every student covered under VPI.
I encourage you to contact your state legislators if you have feedback to share regarding either of these issues. You can find your state legislators here.
Please reach out if I can be of assistance or if you have thoughts and concerns to share!
Warmest regards,
Rachna
Below you will find:
School Board Updates
Fiscal Year 2024 Midyear Budget Review
The School Board voted to approve revenue and expenditure changes reflected in the Fiscal Year 2024 Midyear Budget Review. The expenditure adjustments include funding for security cameras at nine elementary schools, background checks, client communications platform, W.T. Woodson High School renaming, restorative justice practices, facility testing room enhancements, and adjustments for federal IDEA grant awards. In addition to the expenditure adjustments, position authorization recognizes a 1.0 IDEA grant funded position.
Strategic Plan Goal 1 Baseline Report: Strong Start: Pre-K-12
The School Board voted to approve the Goal 1 Baseline Report as the division's starting point for the work toward achieving the goals in our 2023-30 Strategic Plan related to Goal 1: Strong Start: PreK-12. While I wholeheartedly support the important goal of early childhood education, I voted “no” on this report because it didn’t incorporate the Preschool Autism Classrooms into inclusion plans. I raised this concern at the Work Session devoted to this report but it is not reflected in this baseline report.
Amend Policy 2418
The School Board voted to approve the amendment to Policy 2418 to include that high-school credit-bearing classes will utilize the 100 point letter grade scale with pluses and minuses and to make technical changes. This is a change made to ensure that the 2009 School Board direction that all FCPS high-school grades conform to this scale is consistently followed by all schools. I have been hearing of many additional inconsistencies and concerns about the grading practices of our schools and am very interested in learning more about the current practices, division guidelines and research-based best practices to ensure that our students are in a grading environment that best allows them to learn and be prepared for the future.
Upcoming School Board Meetings
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Tuesday, January 9, 12:30 pm - Work Session
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Thursday, January 11, 7:30 pm - Regular Meeting
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Thursday, January 18, 6 pm - Capital Improvement Program Public Hearing
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Thursday, January 25, 7:30 pm - Regular Meeting
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Tuesday, January 30, 10 am - Work Session
Please note that times and topics are subject to change.
The work sessions and regular meetings are broadcast live on Channel 99 (Verizon channel 11) and the FCPS website. Both are recorded for future viewing and posted to the FCPS School Board YouTube channel.
For Spanish speakers, to watch recorded School Board meetings, or live during regular meetings, visit the FCPS en Espanol YouTube channel.
Visit the community participation webpage to sign up to speak at a regular meeting. Visit BoardDocs for more meeting logistics, agendas, and handouts.
FCPS News
Conversation to Raise Awareness of Fentanyl and Other Drugs
In this video, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid interviews the Fosters, a family who tragically lost their son, Cayden, to a half pill of fentanyl mistaken for Percocet. This heart-wrenching yet essential discussion aims to save lives by raising awareness among students about the dangers of fake painkillers.
Please join Dr. Reid on Wednesday, January 10, at 6:30 p.m., at Edison High School for a community conversation about opioid awareness. You may register to attend. However, registration is not required; it is simply for space considerations.
FCPS’ website also has resources to help you start the conversation and additional support for families struggling with substance misuse.
Academy Open Houses
FCPS high school academies will hold open houses for interested students beginning in mid-January.
A high school academy is a center within a high school that offers advanced technical and specialized courses to prepare students for postsecondary education and/or career fields. Students enrolling in academy elective courses will be provided with opportunities to participate in a variety of career experiences including shadowing, mentoring, or internships with local businesses.
View the calendar of Academy Open Houses.
Support the 2024 Science Fairs
Are you a scientist looking to give back and inspire future scientists? FCPS School-Based and Region Science Fairs are looking for you!
Volunteers are needed for
- Judges at High School Fairs
- Judges at the Regional Science Fair
Find more information.
FCPS Business and Community Partnerships
The Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution and the FCPS Instructional Services Department are collaborating on what Brookings calls the 17 Rooms initiative.
The 17 Rooms initiative is a convening that encourages middle and high school students to come together, share insights, and cooperate to advance “next step” global actions spanning 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The overall goal of this new partnership is to bring together some 200 students from across the school division to generate and elevate actionable ideas for local priorities — those stated as global issues in the SDGs.
Love Like Adam Foundation
The local Love Like Adam Foundation creates awareness for high school students of potential dangers on college campuses including hazing, sexual assault, binge drinking, signs of alcohol poisoning, and drug overdoses.
The nonprofit was created by Courtney White in honor of her cousin, Adam Oakes, who died from hazing in 2021 at Virginia Commonwealth University.
In this new Ignite Partnership, two employees from the Love Like Adam Foundation will offer interactive presentations, workshops, and lessons to engage thousands of high school seniors in FCPS.
Adam’s Law, Virginia’s Anti-Hazing Law, aims to equip high school students to make informed decisions when joining teams, clubs, organizations, and other groups, especially as they embark on their transition to independence at colleges, trade schools, collegiate-level sports, and more.
Aim High Event
Business and Information Technology students from Falls Church and Marshall High School traveled to Capital One’s campus in Tysons Corner for the inaugural Aim High Capital One Coders Varsity event.
The half-day immersive event included a tour of the Capital One Headquarters, offering a firsthand look into the constantly changing landscape of tech careers.
Thanks to a sponsorship from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, this initiative connects Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) tech champions with local high schools so that students receive career exposure and learn about training, mentorship, and internship opportunities.
During guided conversations, students were allowed to engage with industry professionals by posing questions and sharing and exploring insights. Advice from one student to the next on the post-event survey revealed the value of the conversations: “Ask as many questions as you can. The responses that were given were very informative and insightful.”
To learn more about NVTC’s Aim High initiative in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College and Fairfax County Public Schools, and how your company can get involved, reach out to Matt Bechtel of the FCPS Work-Based Learning team at mhbechtel@fcps.edu or 571-423-4824.
Community Resources
Free COVID-19 Rapid Tests
Residential households are eligible to receive free at-home COVID-19 test kits. If an order has not been placed for your address since the program reopened on September 25, you may place two orders now.
George Mason’s Center for Community Health
As shared in Supervisor Walkinshaw’s newsletter, George Mason University’s new Center for Community Mental Health (9900 Main Street, Fairfax) provides evidence-based, accessible, affordable, and culturally sensitive therapy and testing services to those in need, regardless of income. The Center sees children as young as age 5, and works with community members of various ages, including addressing the mental health needs of veterans.
The center’s Emotional Help Line provides free, anonymous, confidential support in both English (703-215-1898) and Spanish (703-914-3878). The line is open daily from 8:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Learn more on the Center's website.
Quick Links
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.
© 2024 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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