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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.
Dear Sully District Families and Community Members,
What a wonderful start to the school year! I'm so inspired by the connections we've already made with our students and families, and I'm excited to keep building on them as the year goes on. A HUGE thank you to our amazing teachers and staff for making our students feel so welcome! Seeing the kids’ excitement to meet their teachers was truly heartwarming ❤️ and has me looking forward to a successful year ahead.
My colleagues and I had a productive start to School Year 2024-25 tackling a number of important topics. During the August 27th work session, the FCPS Office of Government Relations (OGR) presented the draft of the 2025 state and federal legislative positions. The Board is expected to vote on this at the September 26th regular business meeting.
The Board reviewed and discussed the Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) Accreditation and Accountability changes (presentation) under consideration and the potential impacts to FCPS schools. At the work session, my colleagues and I also reviewed the secondary grading policy (presentation) and practices, priorities and recent changes made to it in anticipation of the School Board’s Governance Committee considering revisions to this policy. Details below.
On August 29th, the School Board approved the FY 2024 Final Budget Review Summary of the year-end funds which included critical resources for extended special education teacher contracts, achievement gap-closing strategies, the DROP program to retain experienced educators, and our new boys volleyball and girls wrestling programs. We also approved contracts for facilities projects at Madison and Fairfax high schools. We also discussed and considered several important items, including new annual pass rate data for VAAP and SOL tests. See below.
Inside this newsletter:
September 15th-October 15th is #NationalHispanicHeritageMonth.Please join me in honoring the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. In this guide, you will find student engagement lessons, activities, videos to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month. Please visit the Smithsonian Latino Center for additional materials, virtual exhibits, and cultural programs!
I always appreciate hearing from you so please do not hesitate to reach out to me for any help you may need. Please see my September Office hours in the newsletter below if you would like to schedule time to meet with me. I'm excited to work together to create policies that ensure safe learning spaces for our students, reflecting the values of our diverse Fairfax County community.
In partnership,
Seema Dixit
Centreville ES 30th Anniversary Celebration!
Centreville Elementary School 30th Anniversary Celebration.
What a wonderful 30th Anniversary celebration at Centreville Elementary School on Saturday August 24th! Thank you to Principal Douds and the incredible staff and volunteers who put together this joyful community event with lots of activities and inspiring speakers. It was a pleasure to share in this wonderful celebration with Superintendent Reid, my colleagues Sandy Anderson from the Springfield district and Ryan McElveen, School Board Member At-Large, the amazing staff (former and current), community members and students. Go Eagles!
Sully District Happenings
5K Run/Walk with Chantilly based nonprofit Asha-Jyothi is next Sunday, September 15th!
 As in previous years, FCPS schools are invited to participate in the nonprofit Asha-Jyothi 5k at Fairfax Corner on September 15. To sign up, participating staff, students and/or their families visit the webpage to register: (https://asha-jyothi.redpodium.com/2024fairfax5k).. Simply enter the code “AJ4schools” and select your school from the drop down menu. A discounted price of $10 for the 5K will be given to all participants. Schools get 100% of the money if you use the school coupon code AND:
- An additional $500 for 25+ registrations
- An additional $1000 for 50+ registrations
- An additional $2000 for 100+ registrations
Asha-Jyothi, a volunteer-based global nonprofit organization based in Chantilly is dedicated to supporting the community through health care and education initiatives and has given over $350,000 to FCPS through their Educate and Innovate Program Grants.
Asha-Jyothi team celebrates grant to Deer Park Elementary with Superintendent Reid!
On Aug 26th, Superintendent Reid and I met with the wonderful staff and volunteers of Asha-Jyothi to celebrate their recent grant award of $102,376.21 to Deer Park Elementary School to support their STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) Lab. Rocky Run Middle School and Chantilly High School have also received grants for innovation labs and technology education in the past.
Superintendent Reid with the Asha-Jyothi team on August 26, 2024!
In a newsletter from Deer Park Elementary School announcing the grant, the school says “It is with great excitement that we announce our partnership with the Asha-Jyothi foundation for the upcoming school year. Through their Educate-Innovate USA Campaign, Deer Park will be receiving over $100,000 to re-create our STEAM Lab into the Bucky’s Learning Lab and to upgrade and enhance our Bucky’s Rest Stop.
The Learning Lab space will be meant to inspire the future inventors, engineers, and makers at Deer Park and hopefully to reach beyond our community to serve our entire Western Fairfax family. Our Rest Stop is an area where students can come to re-energize and refocus so they can access learning throughout the day. With the installment of state of the art sensory items ALL students will have the opportunity to visit this space. The AJ campaign builds on the core belief that every student can and should have access to these types of spaces and we are thrilled to be able to bring this to Deer Park. We look forward to unveiling our new spaces to you in the fall.”
Thank you to Asha-Jyothi and go Bucks!!
Celebrating the Learning Garden at Centre Ridge Elementary School!
Installation of a Captian Planet Foundation Learning garden at Centre Ridge Elementary School.
It was an absolute pleasure to celebrate the installation of a Captain Planet Foundation Learning Garden at Centre Ridge Elementary School on September 5th, 2024.🌍🌱🌿 It was amazing to watch our students build and prepare the beds and plant the vegetables. Hands-on, outdoor education programs like these are a wonderful opportunity to get our kids connected to nature and #learningbydoing! I’m so thankful to our community partner Cox Enterprises who donated the Learning Garden and their strong support for FCPS students. It was a pleasure to be joined by Sully District elected officials State Senator Stella Pekarsky, Delegate Dan Helmer, Superintendent Reid, my colleague Kyle McDaniel, Member At-Large, staff and community members. Thank you Principal Hertzberg for inviting us to share in this special occasion! This learning garden will be supported through our FCPS Get2Green program to help develop a culture of sustainability and student-led environmental action for all students! #sustainabilityeducation #environmentalstewardship #thefutureisbright #handsonlearning
Connecting with PTA/PTO/PTSA's
I will be participating in PTA meetings to provide updates to parents and caregivers on our ongoing policy and budget work. These meetings will also offer an opportunity for questions and feedback. Additionally, I will be facilitating discussions among Pyramid PTA/PTO/PTSA executive board members and booster club representatives to exchange challenges, share successes, and offer helpful resources. If you would like to participate please email my staff at skhurana@fcps.edu.
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Constituent Hours for September
I have office hours set up to meet with Sully District constituents to discuss any questions or concerns you may have. Please use this Constituent sign-up sheet to register for slots and meeting info will be sent to you. I look forward to talking with you!
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Sully District Citizen Advisory Committee Volunteers Needed!
We still have openings on the two committees below for the 2024-25 school year. If you are interested in serving for Sully District on this committee or other future committees, please forward a paragraph outlining your interest in the position and your qualifications to my staff at skhurana@fcps.edu as soon as possible. Please consider being my Sully District representative!
Human Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC):The purpose of the HRAC is to advise the Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) on achieving and maintaining a premier workforce within a caring culture. HRAC will make recommendations to improve practices used by FCPS leadership personnel at school and district levels to promote a rewarding workplace environment. Meets monthly, 1-Year Term. To learn more about HRAC, please view their website.
Adult and Community Education Advisory Committee (ACEAC): Brings to the School Board’s attention resource and programmatic issues associated with adult education. You will collaborate with staff to maximize FCPS, Fairfax County, and external resources and support structures to ensure ACE, Adult ESOL, and Fairfax County Adult High School (FCAHS) programs increase accessibility and best meet the needs of county residents. Meets monthly, 1-Year Term. To learn more about ACEAC, please view their website.
Superintendent Reid's Academic Matters
During the School Board meeting Academic Matters segment on August 29th, Dr. Reid presented information on FCPS’ annual pass rates for the Standards of Learning (SOL) and Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP) tests. As you can see in the graph below, FCPS continues to outperform the state average in all subjects. View data from the “Annual Pass Rates on SOL and VAAP Tests” graphic (below) in an accessible format.
 Our students and staff have been hard at work, and we’re continuing to refine our strategies to support mastery from all our student groups through initiatives such as Universal Design for Learning, Special Education Enhancement Plan, and our new K-6 Language Arts curriculum. You can view the presentation in full here.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) allows students to use a variety of ways to show mastery of SOL standards in writing and history/social sciences. In FCPS, we utilize this flexibility to ensure that our students engage in rigorous assessments. These alternative assessments include Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, which have higher performance standards than SOLs.
FCPS has also elected to embrace VDOE flexibility in history/social sciences to offer more authentic assessment experiences for our students, aligned with their classroom learning. As a result, Fairfax participation numbers for SOL writing and history/social sciences tests are quite small. You can read more about this approach and our expectations for a more thoughtful approach to addressing the achievement data and the data release process in this communication.
Cell Phone Storage Pilot
Last week, select middle and high schools began a cell phone storage pilot program designed to more effectively enforce the school division’s cell phone policy. This pilot program will give us invaluable data to inform future rules around cell phone usage in our schools. Clear communication, and expectation management are key to ensuring that students, parents, administrators, and teachers all understand and abide by the rules around cell phone usage in our schools. We need to do a better job communicating the existing rules. I am also a strong advocate of student voices in our school system and am hopeful that this pilot program will give us the opportunity to work with more of our students and teachers to ultimately come up with strategies that minimize distractions in the classroom and engage students more effectively.
Other school districts that have gone phone-free say that their students are getting better grades and test scores, participating more in class, and personally connecting with each other more during lunch and break times. One school reported a 50% increase in attendance at sporting events and other activities, which we know is so important for the sense of belonging that keeps students engaged and regularly attending school!
It’s important to note that in case of a family emergency, parents/caregivers can contact the school’s front office. In addition, students who currently require access to a cell phone or another personally owned device for medical reasons, or an accommodation to access the curriculum and make progress to their individualized goals, will continue to have such access. Thank you to our participating schools for helping pilot this program. And thank you to all our other schools for helping our students follow our existing cell phone policy! You can visit our cell phone storage webpage to learn more or to share your thoughts and feedback.
Once the pilot program results are presented in spring 2025, the School Board will decide whether to make any changes to the SR&R document and whether to implement secure storage across the board.
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Secondary Grading Policy Under Review
In July, the School Board directed its Governance Committee, of which I am a member, to review Policy 2148 concerning secondary grading practices. I am aware of the concerns and questions that have been raised regarding FCPS grading practices, including concerns regarding consistency of implementation of grading practices across classrooms and schools and regarding some changes that have been implemented in the last few years.
Grading practices and policies are crucial as they ensure fairness, consistency, and transparency in assessing student performance. It also affects their future opportunities, including college admissions and scholarships, by reflecting their academic performance.
You are also invited to observe the Governance Committee’s work on this topic during its following upcoming meetings: September 24 at 3 p.m., October 1 at 3 p.m., October 15 at 3 p.m., and October 29 at 3 p.m.
These meetings are held at Gatehouse and will be streamed live and posted for future viewing on the FCPS YouTube channel.
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Chronic Absenteeism Down 25% – Attend Today, Achieve Tomorrow!
FCPS has reduced chronic absenteeism by 25% over the past year through personalized outreach, targeted interventions, and strong connections with families. This encouraging news was shared by Fairfax County School Board Chair Karl Frisch with WJLA recently.
The beginning of the school year is the best time to develop strong attendance habits. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to perform well in reading and math, develop strong social and emotional skills, and graduate from high school on time. Help prepare your child for future success. Visit the FCPS Attendance Reporting webpage for tips on supporting positive attendance habits and resources for encouraging attendance in elementary school and middle/high school.
School Board Student Leadership Program: Applications Now Open!
Are you a high school freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in a future in law, government, or public policy? The Fairfax County School Board is now accepting applications for its Student Development Program.
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.
Applications are available on the FCPS website under the School Board. Submit the application, program requirements form, and a one-page statement of interest to your principal by September 3. Principals will submit applications to the School Board Office by October 15, 2024.
Each district school board member will select one student from his/her magisterial district. At-large members will select one student each from all applications received. Selected student leaders and remaining applicants will be notified by email by November 15, 2024.
For questions, please contact Kevin Jackson in the School Board Office at 571-423-1075. Don't miss this opportunity to develop your leadership skills and make a positive impact on your community!
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The 2023-30 Strategic Plan — Goal 1: Strong Start, Pre-K-12
 FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan sets five main goals to create positive change in the division. These goals show where we should focus our attention and will help us align our efforts.
Each goal has an equity commitment — the promise we make to every student to support them in attaining these goals. Each goal also has several measures that allow us to track our progress.
The first goal in the strategic plan focuses on each and every student having a strong start in FCPS. Whether they're joining us in preschool or high school, we want our students to be set up for success.
See how Goal 1 is being put into practice. Watch the video above about pre-K.
Student Opportunities
Disclaimer: Opportunities offered by organizations other than Fairfax County Public Schools are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the Fairfax County School Board, the Superintendent, or a specific school. These opportunities may utilize technology tools that have not been assessed by the Fairfax County Public Schools Department of Information Technology. Students should gain permission from their parent or guardian before engaging in any non-FCPS enrichment opportunity and families should review the Terms of Service, User Agreements, and Privacy Policy for any technology platform that the enrichment opportunity may use before participating.
2024 Congressional App Challenge
The Congressional App Challenge offers middle and high school students who are interested in coding a chance to develop and demonstrate their skills and interests in computer science and STEM. Students may register as individuals or in teams of up to four.
The deadline to enter the Congressional App Competition is October 24, 2024.
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AI Bootcamp for High School Students
 The Mark Cuban AI Foundation and Booz Allen are offering the AI Bootcamp again. The boot camp will be hosted at the Booz Allen McLean office this year at 8283 Greensboro Dr., McLean Virginia.
Application deadline is September 30, 2024. High School students apply here.
Climate Crisis Forum: Green Schools for Sustainable Communities
Our schools are stepping up to fight climate change. On Monday, October 7, 2024, join Faith for Climate’s 8th Annual Climate Crisis Forum: Green Schools for Sustainable Communities at Meridian High School in Falls Church. Hear from Northern Virginia superintendents and passionate student climate activists about how our
schools are tackling the Climate Crisis and making a real difference. Don’t miss this chance to learn how you can get engaged, connect with other advocates, and be inspired! Doors open at 6 PM for tables and exhibits from local organizations taking action in our communities. Learn more and register here: https://faithforclimate.org/news-events/climate-crisis-forum/.
Virginia Space Grant Consortium Opportunity
Student: Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) focuses on the challenges of the next generation of scientists and engineers to become part of the solution to the societal issues faced by the impacts of climate change. This program engages 11th and 12th grade students in real-world investigations of the Earth and its systems using the latest research and data from NASA. Applications are OPEN UNTIL OCTOBER 24.
United States Service Academies Application
Congressman Gerry Connolly is now accepting applications for nominations for the Class of 2029. Considered to be among the top academic institutions in the country, our U.S. Service Academies produce some of the nation’s best and brightest.
Applicants must meet eligibility requirements established by law and be nominated by an authorized nominating source, including Congressman Connolly, who can nominate qualified applicants residing in Virginia’s 11th congressional district.
Your complete application packet and all required documents must be submitted on or before October 4, 2024.
LearnServe Fall Fellows Program for High School Students!
Overview: This is our first-year, introductory in-person entrepreneurship program that takes young changemakers through the entire process of researching, brainstorming, creating, and pitching their own social action project to solve an issue in their community!
Time Commitment: The program runs from October-April (exact dates TBA), where students will meet in-person or virtually every Thursday at a location in central DC (location TBA).
Program Cost: Sliding scale tuition of $50-$1250/student, depending on the student's financial ability to pay. Families will complete the Sliding Scale survey during the application process to determine their individual tuition.
Application: Rolling admission - Click here to apply!
LearnServe is a Washington DC based nonprofit that offers leadership and social entrepreneurship training for high school students from across the Washington, DC region. Programmatically we bring students together from diverse backgrounds, and guide them through the process of designing and launching social ventures -- action projects to serve their schools and communities. In the process they learn the skill-set and mindset of being a changemaker, a blend of social and emotional skills, global competencies, and business and professional skills that will set them up for success in their college and careers.
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Mental Health Resources for Families
This month's theme: Self-Care September
Self-care isn't selfish. It's essential.
Go to Action for Happiness for ideas to help you take action for a happier and kinder world.
 Student Wellness: Tips and Strategies
Feeling super stressed? Worried about a friend's mental health—or your own? Get tips to help manage your emotions and see what to do if you are in crisis.
Mental Health and Resiliency
Helping students to manage stress, make better choices, and develop healthy habits.
FCPS Family Resource Center
Staff is available by phone 703-204-3941 or email frc@fcps.edu to help! Offers free workshops, consultations, a lending library, and more to help adults support the success of all students, including those with learning challenges, special needs and disabilities.
No Cost Therapy for High Schoolers
You can refer your high school child to therapy, at no cost to you. Get the process started by filling out an e-consent and then clicking 'Request Teletherapy' at hazel.co/get-hazel, by calling 571-749-2940, or by contacting an FCPS school counselor, social worker, or psychologist.
Find out more about the Hazel Health mental health services available for all FCPS high school students: https://bit.ly/3UAQyVe.
George Mason’s Center for Community Health
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.
Upcoming School Board Meetings
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Thursday, September 12, 7pm: Regular Meeting
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Thursday, September 26, 7 pm: Regular Meeting
Please note, times and topics are subject to change.
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.
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.
Reuniones de la Junta Escolar de FCPS en Español
Para ver las reuniones de la Junta Escolar grabadas o para ver en vivo durante las reuniones regulares en YouTube, por favor vaya al canal de YouTube de FCPS en Español o escanee el código QR.
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Contacting Me
To contact me, it is most helpful if you can please use the official School Board contact form. This form prioritizes emails to me from constituents, and helps me track communication so I can be sure you receive a response. If you are unsure of your county magisterial district, you can look that information up here.
Use this link to sign up for my Newsletter and follow me on Facebook.
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.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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