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To read this newsletter in other languages, please visit our website.
Para leer este boletín en otros idiomas, visite nuestro sitio web.
ይህንን ዜና መፅሄት በሌሎች ቋንቋዎች ለማንበብ፤ እባክዎን ድረ ገፃችንን ይጎብኙ።
이 소식지를 다른 언어로 읽으려면, 우리 웹사이트를 방문하시기 바랍니다.
.يرجى زيارة موقعنا الألكتروني لقراءة هذه النشرة الإخبارية بلغات أخرى
Note: This newsletter contains links to translated versions of the content for your convenience. These translations are generated by Google Translate and are not intended to be a substitute for professional translation services.
Hello Community Members!
With the first week of the school year completed, I hope all are adjusting well to the rhythm of the daily school schedule.
I visited over a dozen schools in the first week of school, and I consistently heard from students and families that things were going smoothly, without major challenges. It is no small feat for 183,000 students and 45,000 employees to begin the school year smoothly!
Several schools serving Hunter Mill students began the year welcoming wonderful new school leaders, for a variety of personnel reasons, including retirements: South Lakes HS, Floris ES, Forest Edge ES, and Westbriar ES.
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(pictured: me with the new principal of South Lakes High School, Carlos Seward!) |
(pictured: me with the new principal of Floris Elementary School, Joshua DeSmyter, and members of the PTA!) |
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Some of you may be aware that on the second day of school, there was a targeted violent crime of one person on another, at a Reston business. This occurred at dismissal time for several nearby schools. FCPS protocols for keeping students and staff safe were implemented. Through my follow up after the incident with several stakeholders involved, I do believe that the situation was handled safely; however, clearer and more timely communications with families is desired in these terrible situations, even if it is to reassure the safety of the people in our schools. I’ve relayed this to the Superintendent, and believe this will be improved. Thank you to our FCPS security team and the Fairfax County Police Department for responding in full force.
Lastly, I must inform you of two state-level developments that threaten the support and success of our public schools in Virginia.
First, Governor Youngkin and his education administration of the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) were silent about the achievements of the majority of FCPS students on standardized tests (the Standards of Learning, or SOLs), during a media conference he called about the subject. Of note, FCPS is the largest school division in Virginia, educating 14% of the public school students in the Commonwealth, and the third largest employer in the state. At the same time, local media misrepresented FCPS students' achievement on outdated SOLs in writing (110 students) and history/social sciences (474 students) - while tens of thousands of students took VDOE-approved alternative assessments and continued to perform extraordinarily well. Our Superintendent addressed this omission in her letter here, which is well worth reading. This selective data-reporting by Virginia’s leadership is a disservice to students, teachers, and taxpayers.
Second, the Governor’s appointed State Board of Education voted Wednesday (8/28) to change the established standards that measure school and student performance, at unprecedented rapid speed and without dedicated funding resources for this major transition. The changes reposition how local schools will educate students, reverting instruction back to the defunct practice of using high-stakes, standardized testing as the measure of student learning. Please listen here to the public remarks I made Tuesday, denouncing these changes and the process used to make them. Look for more information in Superintendent Michelle Reid's Weekly Reflections email, which is also then posted on the FCPS News Website, here.
At the same time, the state Board has been silent on needed funding to meet any state standards, despite the 2023 report confirming decades of underfunding of Virginia’s public schools.
Like all school divisions in Virginia, FCPS must try to make sense of these new state directives in anticipation for implementation in the next school year (SY25-26). Our options are limited for trying to counteract this change at this time; however, you can support our public schools in these ways:
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Contact your state elected officials to share your concerns and ask for their help. You can locate your state elected officials by inputting your address into this link here, and seeing the results on the left side of the page.
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Share information about what is happening with your community members and networks. Help people be in the know.
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Stay aware of forthcoming information from FCPS.
🚧School Board Updates and Recent Work
Academic Grading Practices Being Reviewed by the Board
The Board met publicly this week to review grading practices used in our secondary grades for credit-bearing classes – basically, the classes that will go onto a student’s transcript and become critical indicators for entry into higher education after graduation. Please find the materials from the August 27 meeting portion about grading practices here.
I arrived at this conversation having reviewed input shared ad hoc with me over the past months and even years, from students, families, and staff. I also had thoroughly reviewed prior, the report of the Secondary Grading Advisory Committee and the Handbook shared for the August 27 meeting. You can also see what I shared in December, here, about the adoption of the 100-point scale, with 50% as the lowest passing grade for submitted assignments, for all high school credit-bearing classes, which went into effect this school year (SY24-25).
Student Representative to the Board, Megan Sawant
See Megan's introduction video here!
Legislative Agenda: a Roadmap for Advocacy in Richmond
As the Board’s state Legislative Liaison, I worked with staff to bring this year’s the annually-updated “Legislative Program” to the Board for consideration, on August 27. This document becomes a valuable resource for the Board as well as other elected officials at the County and State levels, to state the school division’s priorities for legislative action. The School Board is hosting a public meeting with the Fairfax delegation of state representatives on October 8, at 8:00am at the Gatehouse Offices café, to advocate for this agenda.
Relatedly, I am heading to Chesterfield, Virginia, near Richmond, in mid-September, for the Virginia School Boards Association meeting on legislation, so I can continue working to Get The Money with colleagues across the Commonwealth.
In case you missed it: Boundary Policy
read my recent update, here.
Student Leadership Development Program
with the School Board
The School Board is accepting applications for the Student Leadership Development Program, open to any high school freshman, sophomore, or junior in good academic standing. The program is for students interested in a future in law, government or public policy. Twelve students will be chosen to work closely with the School Board to how FCPS is governed and will give the students opportunities to participate on various advisory committees to the School Board, and even to seek election as the student representative on the School Board.
The program information and application are available at the link below:
https://www.fcps.edu/node/31703
📅Upcoming School Board Meetings
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Thursday, August 29, 7pm: Regular Meeting (see agenda here)
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Tuesday, September 10, 10:30am: All-Day Work Session
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Thursday, September 12, 7pm: Regular Meeting
Accessing Board Meetings
The work sessions and regular meetings will be broadcast live on Channel 99 (Verizon channel 11) and the FCPS website. Both will be recorded for future viewing and posted to the FCPS School Board 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.
Interested in School Board action items? Sign up to get an update on School Board votes the morning after the School Board meeting.
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For Spanish speakers, watch recorded School Board meetings or to watch live during the Regular Meetings on YouTube, you may visit the FCPS en Espanol YouTube channel or scan the QR code.
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Hunter Mill Happenings
Madison High School Featured on
First Day of School News Clip
Senior Sunrise at Madison High School kicked off the year with a burst of excitement. This vibrant event set a positive tone for the year ahead, celebrating the start of their final high school chapter. They were featured on WUSA9 News!
New Leader at Rachel Carson Middle School, and in FCPS Region 5
Mr. Donald “Tony” Washington is the new principal of Rachel Carson Middle School, effective September 3, 2024. Mr. Washington is an experienced instructional leader, collaborator, and relationship builder with over 20 years of experience working in Fairfax County Public Schools. Mr. Washington takes the helm at Carson after former principal, Mr. Gordon Stokes, began in the position of Executive Principal of FCPS Region 5 this summer.
Region 5 is pleased to announce Gordon Stokes as Executive Principal for Region 5. With a distinguished career marked by exceptional leadership and a commitment to educational excellence, Mr. Stokes has demonstrated a proven track record of success to his new role as Executive Principal. Mr. Stokes brings a wealth of experience, from his initial days at Carson teaching U.S. History in 1998, to President of FCPS’ Middle School Principals Association.
Each of FCPS’ six Regions have two Executive Principals and a Regional Assistant Superintendent (RAS). Most Hunter Mill constituents live in FCPS’ Region 1 and Region 5, which are unrelated to local government / election designations or zones.
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🚍New bus service from north Reston to South Lakes High School
This school year, the public Connector bus will offer shorter transit times from north Reston to right near South Lakes High School – free for students with a pass! Each January, during the course selection process for the next school year, I hear from parents asking for school bus service for their students in north Reston who are zoned for Herndon HS, but want to participate in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program that is offered at South Lakes HS. Current policy doesn’t allow for school bus transportation in this situation – and this is a problem I am working to correct long term. (Please note that the Superintendent’s current review of school boundaries county wide can offer a solution.).
To find a short-term solution, I contacted Walter Alcorn on the County Board of Supervisors, who oversees the County Executive charged with managing public bus service, to see if route changes could be made so our students could have public transit as an option. At the time, the route in place was nearly an hour to go across Reston, and I knew this wasn’t good enough for our students who have busy schedules and need that morning time especially to sleep. So I brought our FCPS Chief Operating Officer and our Executive Director of Transportation to the table with Fairfax Transportation staff, and after discussions this summer, a new bus schedule was designed! The new schedule almost halves the time the previous route took from north to south Reston, making using the Connector a real option for students. The bus routes are 558, RIBS 2 ,and RIBS 4. The scheduled travel time is now less than a half hour, including a quick transfer at Reston Town Center for the RIBS busses.
Students will need a free bus pass, available here. I’d love to hear if students are using this new option. Please let me know using the contact form on my website, at www.fcps.edu/Meren.
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🏐Attend School Home Athletic Games for
One Cost-Effective Price
Did you know that our high schools offer an annual pass for purchase, that allows holders to attend any home game during the regular season? It’s a big cost savings, for students and adults. Inquire at your school – via the Director of Student Activities or the school’s Booster Clubs.
🛑In case you missed it:
Updates about Crossing Guards in Vienna
I shared an update earlier this month. I am meeting with concerned residents to consider how best to keep the community’s interest front and center as County Executive, Bryan Hill, who is supervised by the Board of Supervisors, works on this matter.
Madison High School’s Annual County Fair, on August 29
Other Info of Interest
🔍 Lightspeed Parent Report on Child’s Device Activity
FCPS has tools to help parents know more about their child’s activity on any FCPS device. These tools are provided at no cost to families by Lightspeed, the school division’s internet content filtering service.
Parents may sign up for a weekly Parent Report, which will provide a list of the top sites their child visited. The report also offers parents the ability to sign up for free access to the Internet Use Parent Portal. Through the portal, parents may pause their child’s access to the internet on their FCPS device during non-school hours.
Learn more about Lightspeed Parent Reports.
Contacting Me
I prioritize responses to Hunter Mill constituents, so please be sure to identify yourself as such if you contact me. If you are unsure of your county magisterial district, you can look that information up here.
To contact me, it is most helpful to please use the official School Board contact form via my website (click "Submit a Question"). This form prioritizes emails to me from constituents, and helps me track communication so I can be sure you receive a response. Thank you for your cooperation.
Best,
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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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