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Mason District Community,

Fall has arrived with shorter days and cooler temperatures - mostly! As we finish the first quarter this week, there is much to celebrate in the Mason District and to look forward to in the coming months. 

As a reminder, Daylight Saving time ends on Sunday Nov. 3rd so be sure to adjust your clocks and enjoy the additional hour.

I was pleased to witness the beautiful performance of the National Anthem by the Annandale Singers at the September 12th School Board meeting.

The Annandale Singers, under the direction of Pat Vaughn, perform at the September 12, 2024 School Board meeting.

Trio from Glasgow Middle School performed a lovely rendition of the National Anthem at the October 24th School Board meeting.

Glasgow Middle School Chorus Trio, under the direction of Caleb Caldwell, perform at the October 24, 2024 School Board meeting.

A few weeks ago, several colleagues and I joined students from Holmes Middle School to attend a Back-to-School Night Event hosted by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the White House. Students were invited to bring photos of their first day of school for display at the White House the following week.

It was a wonderful event with a welcome from the First Lady and the celebration of national teachers of the year.

White House Visit with Holmes Middle School for Back-to-School Night Event

Boundary Review Community Meetings are currently being scheduled for each region and will begin in November. Watch for details in the coming days for these opportunities to hear more about the process and to ensure your voice is heard.

Keep reading for more information about student successes, community events, and even more opportunities to stay involved.

I value the input I receive from the Mason Community and am happy to address questions or concerns via email or phone. You can reach me by email at rjanderson@fcps.edu. If you are interested in scheduling a phone call, please reach out to my assistant, Cristy Coffey, at cmcoffey@fcps.edu to arrange a time.

In this issue:

Mason Moments

VMEA Performances

Mason District musicians will have the honor of performing at the Virginia Music Educators Association conference in Norfolk, Virginia next month.

Congratulations to the following Mason District ensembles selected to perform:

Glasgow Middle School Wind Ensemble One of only two middle school ensembles invited to perform at VMEA this year! You can listen to their program at a preview concert on November 18th at 7 p.m. at Justice High School.

Glasgow Middle School Wind Ensemble

Falls Church High School Chamber Orchestra This is the first time an ensemble from Falls Church High School has been invited to perform at VMEA. Their program celebrates AAPI composers from across the Asian Diaspora. A preview concert, combined with the Lake Braddock Symphony Orchestra, is scheduled for November 6th at 7 p.m. at Lake Braddock Secondary School.

Falls Church High School Chamber Orchestra

Special Olympics National Unified Champion School Congratulations to Annandale High School - recognized as a Special Olympics National Unified Champion School for outstanding commitment to inclusion and the promotion of unified sport and leadership! Annandale is one of nine Virginia schools that earned this national recognition. To achieve this distinction, Annandale High School demonstrated dedication to fostering an inclusive school environment by fulfilling 10 standards of excellence which emphasize key activities such as: Special Olympics Unified Sports®, where students with and without disabilities train and compete together as teammates. Inclusive youth leadership, promoting student voices and encouraging collaboration across diverse student groups. Whole school engagement, ensuring that the entire school community actively participates in creating an inclusive culture. View the FanQuest Video of the Annandale Special Olympics team in action.

Team Introductions Video at FanQuest 2024

Field Hockey District Champions

Congratulations to the Annandale High School Field Hockey team for winning the National District Championship! Good luck to the Atoms as they move on to the Occoquan Region Tournament!

Excellence Awards

The annual FCPS Excellence Awards celebrate exceptional work performance by employees in support of the mission and vision of FCPS. Congratulations to the Mason District employee recipients of this recognition:

Equity and Cultural Responsiveness
Aida Joranko, Family Liaison at Glen Forest Elementary School

Student Achievement and Success 
Kirsten Salonga, Biology Teacher at Justice High School

Collaboration and Partnerships
The IB & POG Working Group, including Camille Burden (Glasgow MS), Darcy Malone (Poe MS), and Ellen Rogers (Belvedere ES)

Find more about the recipients of this year’s Excellence Awards.

National Merit Semifinalists

One hundred ninety-one FCPS students are among the semifinalists named by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for 2025. All semifinalists are eligible to compete for 6,870 National Merit Scholarship awards worth nearly $26 million, to be awarded in spring 2025. 

Semifinalists advance to finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements including a recommendation from a high school official.

Congratulations to Mason District resident Leonardo Valli from TJHSST who was selected as a Semifinalist! View the complete list of FCPS Semifinalists HERE.

Mason District News

Happy National Principals Month!

Please join me in celebrating the incredible work of our Mason District school leaders!!  We are grateful for their vision, dedication, and focus in promoting the success of our students.

Minnie H. Peyton Community Center at Bailey’s

I was pleased to attend the renaming and dedication ceremony for the Minnie H. Peyton Community Center at Bailey’s (formerly known as the Bailey’s Community Center).

The informative program included remarks from Willie Coleman, President of the Springdale Civic Association and Alyce Pope, great-granddaughter of Minnie H. Peyton.  

Ms. Peyton had been a long-term resident of Springdale, a historically Black community in Bailey’s Crossroads that originated as a home to freedmen after the Civil War. Minnie Peyton was affectionately known as “mom” in the Springdale community where she lived for over 50 years until her death in 1985 at the age of 96.

Fall Theatre

Hold the dates for Mason District fall theatre productions!

Annandale Theatre Company presents                                           
Peter Pan & Wendy
November 15-16
Get tickets

Edison Theatre Company presents
Peter Pan & Wendy
November 13-16
Get tickets

FCHS Spotlight Theatre Company presents
Phantom Tollbooth
November 18 - Dec 7 at multiple venues
Get tickets

Glasgow Middle School Theatre Group presents
Trouble in Paradise Junction
November 22-23

Holmes Middle School Theatre presents
Disney’s Newsie’s Jr.
Dec 6-7

Jackson Middle School Drama presents
Aesop Live!
November 14-16
Get tickets

The Wolfpack Theatre at Justice High School presents
Addams Family
November 14-16
Get tickets

Poe Middle School's Raven Theatre presents
Addams Family
January 23-25

TJ Theatre Arts presents
Antigone
November 21-23

Woodson Drama presents
Lear by Shakespeare
November 8-9 & 15-16
Get tickets

2025 Graduation Dates

School Board Work Updates

School Board Legislative Program

The School Board annually adopts a legislative program and legislative priorities to inform local, state, and federal public officials and others of its positions on legislative policy and budget issues of potential importance to Fairfax County Public School students, teachers, staff, parents, and the broader Fairfax community. The program contains the School Board’s positions on state and federal issues of both current and ongoing significance.

The Board adopted the 2025 State and Federal Legislative Program at the September 26 regular meeting.

I also had the opportunity to meet with several legislators on Capitol Hill last month to discuss School Board concerns regarding IDEA funding, cybersecurity funding, mental health supports and school accountability measures.

Meeting with Representative McClellan, Representative Spanberger, Senator Kaine, and Senator Warner

Secondary Grading Practices

The Governance Committee continues its work to revise Policy 2418. Grading and assessment practices should be transparent, predictable and consistently applied across our schools.

Please review the grading policy and share your feedback. 

The Governance Committee meetings are held at the Gatehouse Administration Center and broadcast live on the FCPS School Board YouTube channel. 

FCPS News

Stadium Bathrooms At the September 12 School Board Meeting, the Board approved the contract for the construction of stadium bathrooms at 14 high schools, including Annandale , Edison, TJHSST, and Woodson. Construction is expected to be completed by fall 2025.

Varsity Tutors

FCPS is partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide students and families with extra resources for learning. Every student can take advantage of Varsity Tutors’ services at no cost, including weekly live online classes, on-demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, and study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests. Learn more about online tutoring with Varsity Tutors. 

Strategic Plan Goal 1 Report

On October 8th, the Superintendent presented the 2024-25 Goal 1 Report which focuses on availability of Pre-K programs, Kindergarten readiness and Multilingual learners (formerly English language Learners) growth.

Measurable Progress:

The actual results for the target goals established in the Baseline report which was presented in December 2023 and the target goals for the 2024-25 school year are shared below.   

• Increase the percentage of all students with Pre-K experience from 75% to 80%. All subgroups* are expected to increase Pre-K at least 5 percentage points, except for Students with Disabilities who are expected to maintain the current percentage of 90% and White students for whom the goal is from 88% to 90% or more; (Measure A) 
• SY 2023-24 results: 78% - did not meet target;
• SY 2024-25 Target: TBD
• Increase percentage of students meeting grade level expectations for reading, mathematics and executive functioning in the fall from 71% to 76% and by 5 percentage points for 8 of the 9 reported subgroups; (Measure B)
• SY 2023-24 results: 69% - did not meet target;
• SY 2024-25 Target: 78%
• Increase percentage of English Learners who meet the state criteria for growth from 45% to 50%. (Measure D of Goal 1 – page 49 of full report)
• SY 2023-24 results: 56% - met target; (page 52 - Table 26)
• SY 2024-25 Target: 59%

Goal 1 Report Highlights:

• The percentage of kindergarten students who have a Pre-K experience continues to increase, with students being served both within and outside of FCPS. 
• There are significant differences between the percentage of kindergartners with and without Pre-K experiences meeting grade level expectations in the fall. The gap between the two groups widened in SY 2023-24 when compared to the baseline.
• FCPS saw significant increases in the percentage of Multilingual learners (MLs) meeting state standards for progress towards English language proficiency overall and across multiple intersectionality groups. 

Notable Data:

• 78% of FCPS students entered with Pre-K experience.
• Of the 78% of FCPS students with Pre-K experience in the 2023-24 school year, Multilingual/English Learners continue to have the lowest rates of participation at 57%, Hispanic students at 60% and Economically Disadvantaged students at 63%; (page 16 of full report)
• Of the students entering FCPS without Pre-K experience, the data by pyramid show Mason District schools as follows: AHS pyramid: 34% (decrease of 3%); FCHS pyramid - 23% (decrease of 10%); and JHS pyramid: 31% (decrease of 10%) - (page 22 of full report)
• 69% of FCPS Kindergarten students met grade level expectations at the beginning of K for reading, mathematics and executive functioning; (page 32 of full report)
• 68% of kindergartners met grade level expectations in reading, mathematics and executive functioning in the spring, with 39% of English Learners (increase of 4 percentag points), 51% of Economically Disadvantaged students - increase of 12 percentage points; 47% of Hispanic students (+ 7 percentage points); and 44% of Students With Disabilities - (+ 4 percentage points) meeting these expectations; (page 37 of full report)

Carter G. Woodson High School Dedication

C.G. Woodson High School students and community of the former W.T. Woodson High School gathered on October 23rd to rededicate the building and reflect on history.

Based on concerns raised by students and others, the School Board voted in December 2023 to rename the school which opened in 1962 and originally named after the second-longest serving FCPS superintendent, W.T. Woodson, who led the division from 1929-1961. 

W.T. Woodson’s opposition to the desegregation of schools has since been revealed in historical documents leading to requests from the community to rename the school.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, widely considered the ‘Father of Black History Month,’ founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, the scholarly Journal of Negro History (now called the Journal of African American History), and the creator of “Negro History Week,” the precursor of Black History Month. A journalist and an educator, Dr. C. G. Woodson later became Dean of Howard University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

FCPS 2024 Alumni Hall of Fame

The 3rd Annual FCPS Alumni Hall of Fame event was held on September 25, 2024, celebrating outstanding FCPS alumni and their contributions to the community. Sponsored by Educate Fairfax, the event also included a silent auction benefiting the Educate Fairfax Student Scholarship Fund.

This year's class of inductees spans five decades and represents a broad range of professional experience and expertise. The honorees are:

• Amanda Andere, Herndon High School Class of 1998
• Michael Batt, Marshall High School Class of 1982
• Callie Brownson, Mount Vernon High School Class of 2007
• General James R. Clapper, Annandale High School Class of 1959
• Gavin Myers, Madison High School Class of 1993
• Tony Perkins, Mount Vernon High School Class of 1977
• Sumeet Shrivastava, Robinson High School Class of 1984
• Todd Stottlemyer, West Springfield High School Class of 1984

Return Your Federal Impact Aid Survey

FCPS is asking parents and caregivers to complete a Federal Impact Aid Survey which is available in SIS ParentVUE under Online Packets (in the upper right corner after logging in).  Paper copies of the form will be provided starting Wednesday, November 13 and should be returned by Wednesday, December 4.

For more information, please watch this video and visit the Federal Impact Aid Survey page. Learn how to activate your SIS ParentVUE account HERE to submit the survey.  

Opportunities

Falls Church HS Renovation Update

Join the Falls Church HS Renovation Update Community Meeting on November 13 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Falls Church High School cafeteria.

Learn more about this FCPS capital project and sign up for a project-specific mailing list on the Falls Church High School renovation project webpage.

Student Experience Survey

This fall, FCPS will pilot a Student Experience Survey in select schools to better understand how students view and experience school. The ultimate goal of the survey is to elevate student voice to identify strategic improvement opportunities for FCPS. 

Mason District schools selected to participate in the pilot are listed below. Parents and caregivers of students attending these schools should have received an email notification on October 28th with information about the pilot and the opt-out process.

• Annandale HS
• Annandale Terrace ES
• Bailey’s Upper ES
• Bren Mar Park ES
• Edison HS
• Falls Church HS
• Glasgow MS
• Mason Crest ES
• Poe MS

The Student Experience Survey Pilot webpage includes additional information about the survey, links to view the surveys, and opt-out instructions.

TJHSST Freshman Application The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) Freshman Application process for the Class of 2029 is now open. Applications must be started before November 13th at 4 p.m. Find additional details and information on the TJHSST application process HERE.

NEW! FCPS Scholarship Website In addition to Naviance, a new webpage is now available to share scholarship information with FCPS Students. High school students are encouraged to regularly review and monitor Naviance and the public website for opportunities.

Artist Teacher Exhibition Workhouse Arts Center and Fairfax County Public Schools are proud to present the 17th Annual Artist Teacher Exhibition: Materiality. This exhibition explores how artists use materials to push boundaries, challenge perceptions, and create meaning. Materiality features artworks in a wide variety of media by art teachers who teach K-12th grade students from Fairfax County Public Schools. Works from several Mason District teachers are on display.  The exhibition runs until November 30 at the Workhouse Arts Center, located at 9518 Workhouse Way in Lorton, VA.

Mark Your Calendars - Wolfpack Madness!

Justice Basketball Wolfpack Madness!
November 19, 2024
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Celebrate the new season with games, prizes, giveaways, 3pt contest, food and more! Admission is FREE. Donations are appreciated.

Immunization Clinics Does your child need school-required immunizations? If so, please check out the options below.

Elementary School Clinics

The Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) will provide immunizations for FCPS elementary students on limited early release Mondays at their district offices. All school-required immunizations will be offered at no cost. Call 703-246-7100 to make your appointment.

November 18, 2-7 p.m.

Joseph Willard Health Center

Mount Vernon District Office

Springfield District Office

Middle and High School Clinics

FCPS is partnering with the health department to host immunization clinics at middle and high schools. Clinics will take place during the school day. Students may only participate in the clinic at the school where they are enrolled. Parental/caregiver consent is required for students to receive immunizations.

Remaining clinics scheduled for Mason District students: 

• Annandale High School - December 11
• Falls Church High School - November 21
• Jackson Middle School - December 4
• Justice High School - November 6
• Poe Middle School - November 18
• TJHSST - December 10

Visit the Immunization Resources page for consent forms required at least one week prior to the school’s clinic date.

Become a Special Education Teacher

Become a special education teacher with FCPS! Join the informative virtual session on Thursday, November 14 to learn more about different special education positions, the pathways to licensure, and the support FCPS provides for teachers. Register for the virtual session.

SEPTA Programs

IEP Palooza and Resource Fair
November 16, 2024
9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Luther Jackson Middle School
Register today!

Teacher & Staff Mini-Grants available
Application deadlines November 3 and January 31
Information and Applications

Upcoming School Board Meetings

Regular School Board Meetings (Luther Jackson Middle School)

• November 14, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

Work Sessions (Gatehouse Administration Center)

• November 12, 2024 at 10:30 a.m.

All meetings will be broadcast live on Channel 99 (Verizon channel 11) and on the FCPS website. The meetings are also broadcast and recorded for future viewing on the FCPS School Board YouTube channel.

Would you like to share your ideas and concerns with the School Board and staff?  Register HERE to speak at a regular meeting or public hearing.

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.

@masonfcps

@masondistrictsb

@MasonDistrictSB

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

E-mail: Ricardy Anderson |  Phone: 571-423-1083 | Twitter

Cristy Coffey, Executive Admin Assistant, 571-423-1064, cmcoffey@fcps.edu