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Dear Bailey’s Upper Families,
In light of the tragic events in Georgia this past week, our hearts are heavy. I wanted to take this moment to reaffirm my unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of all of our students, staff, and families.
We understand that events like this can create feelings of fear and uncertainty. Please know that I take the safety of our students and staff as my highest priority. Our school is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment, and we regularly review and update our safety protocols to ensure that we are doing everything possible to protect our community.
This year we changed the Kiss and Ride process to increase safety. We no longer allow the children to walk down the driveway while the cars are moving. While this may sometimes lengthen the time it takes to get through the line, we greatly appreciate your patience as the students adapt to the new process. Additionally, we are asking each car to register with our office using the Google Form and have the Kiss and Ride tag visible in your car at pick-up. This helps ensure that only authorized individuals are picking up students.
Thank you for trusting us with your most precious gift, your child. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding our safety procedures.
Sincerely,
Holly Dowling
We have some volunteer opportunities available at Bailey’s Upper. If you are interested in volunteering for a few hours here and there, please reach out to our Family Liaisons, Ms. Perez mperez3@fcps.edu and Ms. Abdulwahha at haabdulwahha@fcps.edu
If you would like to be a regular volunteer on a more consistent basis, you can go through the volunteer process to get clearance for ongoing volunteer work. This process includes a background check. Please reach out to our Family Liaisons, Ms. Perez mperez3@fcps.edu and Ms. Abdulwahha at haabdulwahha@fcps.edu if you are interested in going through this volunteer process. If you plan on volunteering more than once a month, you will need to go through this volunteer process.
All Students will be administered the iReady Universal Screener for Reading and Math three times this school year. A Fall, Winter and Spring assessment will be administered. Below are the dates when students will complete the Fall assessments.
- iReady Fall Reading Testing Dates
- September 4th - 3rd Grade Reading – all students completed.
- September 9th - 4th and 5th Grade Reading
- iReady Fall Math Testing Dates
- September 17th - 3rd Grade Math
- September 19th - 4th and 5th Grade Math
More information about the screening system is listed below:
The Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System (VALLSS), Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS), iReady Mathematics, iReady Reading test serve as the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) universal screening assessments for literacy and mathematics across grades PreK-6.
- These assessments fulfill requirements under the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA), (VKRP), Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI), and FCPS Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).
- The iReady Reading and Mathematics tests also serve as growth measures to support teachers in monitoring students’ development throughout the school year. Through new legislation for SY 2024-25, the iReady Reading and Mathematics tests as an alternative to the Virginia Growth Assessment (VGA) in grades 3-6.
- The iReady Passage Reading Fluency (PRF), Developmental Spelling Assessment (DSA), CORE Phonics Survey, and 1-on-1 Math Assessment Map offer diagnostic data to identify specific student needs in planning academic support.
If you have any questions regarding upcoming assessments, please contact Nicole Cassidy or Mary Iannicola our School Testing Coordinators at 703-503-2700
At Bailey’s Upper ES, our number one responsibility is to always ensure the safety of our students and staff. We continually work with county leaders to ensure coordinated responses to potential safety concerns, and we practice emergency drills on a regular basis throughout the school year. We will hold fire drills, Lockdown Drills, Bus Evacuation and Tornado drills periodically throughout the year.
Keeping students and staff safe is a priority for all of us. Virginia Law (22.1-137.2) requires schools to notify parents at least 24 hours before a school practices a lockdown drill. However, we are not required to share the exact date and time of the drill. FCPS lockdown drills do not include any type of active shooter scenario training, they are instruction and classroom based. We plan to have our first lockdown drill of the school year during the week of September 9th at Bailey’s Upper ES.
Additional information on our lockdown drill program to include parent tips and FAQs can be found on the Emergency Planning and Crisis Response web page. After reviewing this content, you should discuss the value of these safety drills with your child. Keeping our school safe and secure for all students and staff involves the participation of the entire school community, and we thank you for your help in keeping our school safe.
During a lockdown drill:
- All students stay in place with a teacher or staff member.
- Students and teachers remain in locked classrooms, unobservable from outside (lights-off, window blinds closed, door windows obscured with paper) and outside potential lines of fire.)
- Students and staff members disregard fire alarms.
- No one enters or exits the school, except public safety personnel.
- Persons in trailers remain in locked trailers.
Your child may come home and talk about their experience during the drill. We encourage you to talk with your child about the importance of being prepared for emergencies. Please review these frequently asked questions to support your students before and after school lockdown drills.
⚠️ Know Our Security Terms
FCPS uses specific terminology to describe the actions school staff and students should take to ensure safety in a variety of situations. It is important for staff, families, and students to understand what the different terms mean and how they impact school operations.
Watch this video to learn about safety terms including lockdown; secure the building; and stay put, stay tuned.
If students, staff, or community members have a safety concern at school (that is not an immediate emergency), they should submit a tip to the FCPS Safety Tipline. In an emergency, please call 9-1-1.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides a comprehensive, sequential Family Life Education (FLE) program for students in grades kindergarten through grade twelve. Instruction is seen as a partnership among parents and guardians, the school, and the community in supporting the learning essential to the development of strong families, positive relationships, and a healthy community.
Parents/guardians may choose to opt their child out of all or part of the Family Life Education program. Students who are opted out are provided with age-appropriate, nonpunitive alternative health instruction, and every effort is made to foster respect for family choices. If you wish to opt your child out of all or part of FLE for this school year, opt out forms are available in Parent Digital Consent. Paper opt-out forms are available from your child’s school. Students receiving special education services and accessing modified curriculum will receive a printed opt-out form for modified FLE lessons.
Detailed grade-level program descriptions are available online at Elementary (K-6). FLE grade level-specific lessons and media that FCPS has streaming rights for are available for parents online in Schoology. Parents/guardians login to Schoology using the same username and password as their Student Information System (SIS) Parent account. Grade level-specific lessons are also available at the City of Fairfax Regional Library (this location does not have media). Grade level-specific lessons and media that is not streamed online are available for review at your child’s school library. Due to copyright permissions, we are unable to stream all media online.
Program questions may be addressed at your child’s school or by contacting Instructional Services at 571-423-4550 or by email to fle@fcps.edu
Immunization Requirements
Please check with your health care provider as soon as possible to make sure your child is up to date on the immunizations required by the state of Virginia. Starting Monday, September 30, students who have not provided proof of immunization will not be allowed to attend school.
You may check your child’s immunization compliance and submit their immunization record in SIS ParentVUE. Records may also be delivered to your school’s front office.
Alternative immunization documents (below) may also be provided to your school’s front office, but they may not be uploaded in ParentVUE:
- A health care provider’s written statement specifying all administered immunizations.
- A health care provider’s written statement of a permanent or temporary medical exemption.
- A notarized Religious Exemption form objecting to the administration of immunizations due to conflicts with their religious tenets or practices.
Find more information on immunizations.
Make Every Day Count! The Importance of Attendance
As you plan upcoming trips and other family events, please remember the importance of sending your child to school every day. Review the FCPS School Year Calendar and try to plan any time away during breaks from school.
Children who show up for school regularly develop fundamental reading and math skills while building a habit of good attendance that will carry them into college and careers. Research shows that children who were chronically absent (missing 18 days or more) in kindergarten and first grade were far less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade.
Learn how families can help form good attendance habits.
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3 Hour Early Release: Monday, September 16 (Dismissal starts at 12:15 p.m.)
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Back-to-School Night: Wednesday, September 18 (5:30-7:00 p.m.) (Transportation will be provided)
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Attendance Line: Phone: 703-503-2727 or email: baileysupperelem@fcps.edu
- Kiss and Ride Drop Off/Pick Up Schedule For Upper 8:25-8:35 a.m. and 3:25-3:35 p.m
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