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How Snow Days Are Decided
Board Meeting Recap: December 19, 2024
Dear Neighbor,
I hope you and your families had a wonderful winter break and wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year. As we enter our second “snow day” school closure, several in the community have asked how FCPS decides when to cancel, delay, or close schools early.
In short, the Superintendent works with her team to review information from emergency management and state highway administrators about road conditions, and school personnel inspect roads, sidewalks, and FCPS parking lots and bus lanes.
Here is a helpful video that helps explain how these difficult decisions are made:
Before winter break, the Fairfax County School Board held its last regular meeting of 2024 on December 19 (agenda | video).
We considered several important items, most notably allocating more than $3 million for safety and security enhancements and updating the grading policy to increase consistency and academic rigor. A more comprehensive update is included below.
As always, you are welcome to attend School Board meetings (schedule) and register to share your thoughts with us during community participation at Regular Meetings and Public Hearings (sign-up).
In service,
Karl Frisch
Chair and Providence District Representative
Fairfax County School Board
Table of Contents
Midyear Budget Adjustment Invests in Safety and Security
Video | Meeting Materials
FCPS Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden presented the Midyear Budget Review, providing an update on revenue and expenditure adjustments for the 2025 financial year. Chief among the Board’s new investments was a $3.35 million infusion for school safety and security initiatives. Additional resources were also approved for e-sports stipends and licensure pathways (iTeach).
Motion: McDaniel, Second: Sizemore-Heizer / Vote: Yes 11, No 0
Grading Policy Updates Bring Consistency
Video | Meeting Materials
After several months of work, the School Board unanimously approved an updated grading policy to bring greater consistency and academic rigor to grading practices across the school division. This policy, developed with input from educators, students, and families, standardizes grading expectations while ensuring they align with FCPS’s commitment to equity and high academic standards. Key changes include clearer grading scales, uniform practices for more limited reassessment opportunities, and more consistent approaches to homework. These updates will support students in reaching their full potential by promoting fairness and accountability in grading.
Motion: Lady, Second: Meren / Vote: Yes 11, No 0
Strategic Plan Goal 2 Report: “Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered”
Video | Meeting Materials
The School Board judges the overall success of the Superintendent on the school division’s reasonable progress toward achieving the 2023-30 Strategic Plan goals and adherence to a set of thirteen Executive Limitations found on pages 14-31 of the board’s Strategic Governance Manual. Annual goal reporting provides an update on the school division’s progress toward achieving its Strategic Plan goals.
At last week’s meeting, the Superintendent provided her annual report on Strategic Plan Goal 2, “Safe, Supported, Included, and Empowered,” with a focus on chronic absenteeism, discipline disproportionality, and student academic inclusion. Following the Superintendent’s presentation and a thorough discussion, the board accepted the goal report.
Motion: S. Anderson, Second: R. Anderson / Vote: Yes 11, No 0
Superintendent Performance Review
Video | Meeting Materials
As previously noted, the School Board judges the overall success of the Superintendent, in part, on adherence to a set of thirteen Executive Limitations found on pages 14-31 of the Board’s Strategic Governance Manual. The Superintendent provides annual monitoring reports to the Board for each Executive Limitation. The Board then votes on whether the provided reports are in compliance with the given Executive Limitation. If the report is found not to be in compliance, the Superintendent provides a corrective action memo addressing the Board’s concerns.
Executive Limitation 4: Human Resources (Corrective Action Memo)
During the December 5 Regular Meeting, the Superintendent provided her annual monitoring report on Executive Limitation 4: Human Resources, which stipulates, in short, that the Superintendent shall not fail to recruit, select, retain, and appropriately compensate a highly qualified and diverse workforce that enables FCPS to deliver a world-class education to every student in an environment characterized by high staff morale.
Following the Superintendent’s December 5 presentation, the Board found that she was in non-compliance and requested a corrective action memo for the December 19 Regular Meeting. At last Thursday’s meeting, the Superintendent delivered her corrective action memo to the board, which subsequently found the monitoring report now in compliance.
Motion: S. Anderson, Second: Sizemore-Heizer / Vote: Yes 11, No 0
Academic Matters: Algebra by 8th Grade
Video | Meeting Materials
For Academic Matters, the Superintendent highlighted progress toward ensuring all students successfully complete Algebra 1 by the end of 8th grade, a key metric in FCPS’s Strategic Plan for academic growth and excellence. Through the Algebra Access Network Improvement Community (AANIC), FCPS is building school-specific systems and supports to increase enrollment and success in Algebra 1, particularly among diverse student populations. Early results from participating schools show promising gains, including increased enrollment and student confidence. Among all cohorts, the percentage of students participating in Algebra 1 by 8th grade has increased from 56% to 71%, which puts us on track to hit our target before the completion of the 2030 strategic plan. This multi-year initiative continues to expand, reflecting FCPS’s commitment to equity and academic achievement for all students.
Student Performance of the National Anthem
The Board meeting began with a beautiful performance of the National Anthem by the Carson Middle School Bella Voce choir under the direction of Christen Reddig:
Board Matters: Providence District Update
At the end of each meeting, School Board Members provide updates from their communities about school visits, activities, upcoming events, and more. Here is my update:
Upcoming School Board Meetings
Regular Board Meetings (Luther Jackson Middle School)
- Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
Work Sessions (Gatehouse Administration Center)
- Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.
- Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.
All meetings are broadcast live on Channel 99 (Verizon channel 11) and on the FCPS website. Meetings are also recorded for future viewing and posted to the FCPS YouTube channel. Visit the community participation webpage to sign up to speak at regular meetings or public hearings.
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.
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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