Education Archives - Read. Think. Act.

Kimberly Boateng FCPS Student Representative 2019-2020

(July 17, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Kimberly Boateng, the new student representative to the FCPS School Board for the 2019-2020 school year. Kimberly is an incoming junior at Robert E. Lee High School, and was elected this past spring by the Student Advisory Council (SAC). She serve a one-year term starting in July, and will participate in School Board meetings as a non-voting member. Kimberly is the 49^th student representative to serve in this capacity.

Over the course of her academic career, Kimberly has attended seven different schools, six of them being within the FCPS system. Through this unique lens, Kimberly has gained a good snapshot of the county and has a lot of ideas based on her experiences. She understands the diversity, both from a racial and socioeconomic standpoint, and is able to use that understanding to help advance the issues that are most important to her.

Among the pressing issues at hand, Boateng believes that mental health, implicit bias awareness, the dress code, assistance for at-risk students, drug use, and punishment reform are most important.

Some of these issues dovetail with one another. Punishment reform merges in with the issue of implicit bias and at-risk students. She points out that the policy of suspending or expelling students is not working. If the goal is to reform the students and help them, then keeping them in school and making them aware of their mistakes, as well as teaching them how to avoid making the same mistakes in the future is the most important thing.

“The worst thing that a school can do” she says, “is give up on a child”.

Since she has been in so many different schools, Boateng has had the opportunity to see things that have worked well, and things that have not worked out the way that they were intended. She would like to highlight the creative, out of the box ideas that she has seen to be successful.

Boateng takes her role seriously, and hopes that the FCPS student body will reach out to her with their thoughts, ideas and observations. The school system is very large, and she believes the only way to be an effective representative is to be open and responsive to the student body that she represents. Her email is effective on July 1^st, and she hopes to start hearing from them with ideas and feedback for the new school year.

by Rachel Simon

Fairfax Futures with Sallyann Bergh

(June 19, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Sallyann Bergh, Executive Director of Fairfax Futures. Since 2004, Fairfax Futures has been raising awareness about the critical role that school early childhood education plays in promoting academic and lifelong success.

In partnership with the business community and Fairfax County, Fairfax Futures is uniquely positioned to foster cross-sector collaboration in support of early childhood education and school readiness in the county. Through their annual Business Leaders Reception and Leadership Forums, they aim to raise the awareness in the community about the importance of investing in our youngest citizens. Approximately 85% of brain development occurs by age five. It is increasingly clear that the achievement gap starts early on in life, so quality educational experiences prior to kindergarten can greatly enhance a student’s potential and provide a solid foundation for learning.

In addition to working with the business community, Fairfax Futures focuses heavily on supporting early childhood educators. They provide both learning opportunities and ongoing resources for educators. Every year they sponsor a School Readiness Symposium, a unique daylong educational forum for early childhood educators across Fairfax County. Topics presented include literacy, science and math, the arts, play and nature. This was the 15^th year of sponsoring a program and the 2019 School Readiness Symposium theme was Healthy Children, Healthy Futures. The program is possible thanks to a generous grant from the PNC Foundation.

While Fairfax is regularly recognized as an affluent community, there are pockets of poverty and income inequality. There are 74,000 children under the age of five in Fairfax, and one in five of those children are living in poverty. With the cost of quality early childhood education hitting record high numbers, it makes it very difficult for many of these students to access quality early childhood education.

Fairfax Futures works closely with the county’s Office for Children that helps to identify families who are eligible for subsidies and county run programs.. In 2017, Fairfax County adopted the Equitable School Readiness Strategic Plan. Fairfax Futures partners with government, the private sector and the nonprofit community to support goals and objectives of this plan. The goal is that all children, regardless of economic, cultural or ethnic background are prepared for school. Through the Neighborhood School Readiness Project, they forge relationships between local schools, community resources, early childhood educators and families, to ensure that children are well prepared for their transition to kindergarten.

by Rachel Simon

Rosie Riveters with Brittany Greer

(June 12, 2019) Catherine Read speaks with Brittany Greer, founder of Rosie Riveters, a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) education program for girls age 4-14. The no-cost extracurricular program is designed to inspire girls to imagine, create and play while developing their skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Greer’s goal is to equip and empower girls to be strong, confident and competent in the fields of STEM through hands-on projects and mentorship programs. Ultimately, she wants to teach girls to delete the words “I can’t” from their vocabulary, and inspire them to always be confident enough to try. The genesis of the name “Rosie Riveters” stems from the World War II posters that encouraged women to enter into the workforce because the men were off fighting the war. These women did not have practical job skills, but had a can-do attitude. Greer found inspiration in this story, and chose to adopt this name for her program.

Greer founded Rosie Riveters in 2015, after working for many years in the energy industry and noticing that the number of women in STEM fields was not growing. She stepped back from her professional duties in order to establish a program that attracts and inspires young girls to learn in a safe space. Too many times, girls are discouraged from pursuing these fields and do not gain the skill sets and confidence that they need to succeed.

Her first challenge was to figure out where she would hold the programs. As libraries are in a stage of trying to reinvent themselves as maker-spaces, Greer forged a partnership with the Arlington County Library and secured space at no cost. She got the word out to students in Arlington County Public Schools through the backpack flyer system that allows non-profits to advertise services. By February of 2016, their pilot program was up and running. To date, the nonprofit has served 587 girls, with another 287 sitting on waiting lists.

Their goal is to build interest in STEM topics early on in a girl’s life, and to keep that student engaged and coming back year after year. Children develop friends and cohorts, and have an opportunity to interact with other female students who share their interests. The programs operate in three different models, a 12-session program (one per month), an after school program that spans 6-8 weeks, or a community center program that includes a 5 week summer intensive and once a month during the school year.

Greer recognizes that not every community is the same, and it is important to be able to meet students and families where they are in order to attract and retain them.

So what is it that they do and why do students want to keep coming back? The program is predicated on the concept of trying and failing. At first, this can be very difficult for students to understand, but in the end it builds strength and resiliency.

Each class includes a“project build”. The students first observe a fully operational piece of equipment on a table, along with a pile of materials that would be needed to construct the item. Without any instruction, the students are asked to observe what they see and start working to put pieces together. The teachers act as coaches, giving students ideas and tips about how they can use what they observe to make decisions about how to proceed. This encourages both critical and creative thinking skills, and gives the students space to fail, as everyone is in the same boat together. Afterwards, there would be explanation about what they built and how it works.

Each program lasts two hours, as there needs to be sufficient time for kids to work through their projects. The goal is to encourage girls to explore, experiment and have the confidence to try something new and complex. Everyone affiliated with the program, from teachers to material preparation to mentors, are volunteers. If you have an interest in helping with any aspect of the program, please visit the website to sign up.

by Rachel Simon

GMU College of Science with Dean Peggy Agouris

(May 22, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Peggy Agouris, Dean of the George Mason University College of Science at the time of this interview. [Effective July 1, 2019, Peggy Agouris became Provost of the College of William & Mary.] They discuss the history of the college and how that history has positioned the college to be on the cutting edge of its specialities.

The GMU College of Science was founded in 2006, after breaking off from the College of Arts and Sciences, and merging with the School of Computational Data Science. It now serves as one of the largest research colleges in the state, with approximately 4,000 students with declared majors in the school. The College of Science also serves to support students from other disciplines, as science intersects with many of the majors from the University’s varied offerings.

George Mason University started as a branch campus of the University of Virginia in 1947, and broke off to become its own entity in 1972. Being a brand new state university, the college needed to differentiate itself in order to attract students. Early on, it adopted innovative curriculum based on what companies were looking for. This led the university to be in on the ground floor of the data science industry.

As information technology programs took off across the nation and employers were looking for graduates who were trained in the field, George Mason was well poised to capitalize on this growth. The school formed partnerships with big players in the technology industry, and students were gaining access to hands on experiences in the field.

This hands-on, innovative approach to education led to George Mason offering the very first PhD program in computational sciences. As the industry forged ahead, the school understood the intersection of data science with other related fields, and decided to bring all of the science programs under one roof.

One of the unique features of the College of Sciences is the Data Lab, which is used by industries for research purposes. Students work on projects for local businesses, and also provide outreach to the local K-12 population, to show applications of data science. Giving students access to hands-on learning through real-life examples is an important aspect of the Data Lab. Additionally, Agouris notes that it is important to inspire younger students to understand how data science has an impact on their world.

In the second segment of the show, she talks about the importance for students to develop a variety of competencies and skill sets. The applications of data science and technology fields are ever changing, so it is important to cultivate the skills that will take students the furthest they can go. She speaks about how it is important for students to acquire good communication, presentation and writing skills, in addition to the scientific training, as employers want to hire well-rounded individuals.

Agouris is very proud of how well the GMU College of Science is doing in regard to attracting and retaining female students and faculty. Today, females comprise over 60% of the student body, and the faculty rate is even higher. She recognizes that not all programs are this successful in attracting and retaining women, and believes that inspiring girls at a young age to explore the field of science will help to increase the enrollment and retention numbers across the nation.

Finally, Agouris is excited about new and emerging fields that are being born each year. The Urban Science Initiative is a new program of study that has students evaluate the impact of environmental factors and variables on the human population. For example, students would study the affects of having a large business such as Amazon move into a neighborhood to understand the impacts that this change has on residents. The impacts that are discovered can then be useful in helping to shape policy in order to minimize harmful outcomes.

by Rachel Simon

Genesys Works with Mioshi Moses and David Williams

(May 1, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Mioshi Moses, Executive Director of the National Capital Region and David Williams, CEO of Genesys Works. They empower high school students from challenged backgrounds to achieve college and career success through skills training and meaningful work experience.

Founded in 2002 by Rafael Alvarez in Houston, TX, Genesys Works came to life when he served on the board of a local charter school and was struck by the bleak prospects economically challenged students faced, at a time when companies like his were in need of new sources of talent. His goal was to think outside the box and create a meaningful program to help students thrive. Starting with 10 students, he developed an intern-based program that is a unique fusion of training, mentoring and professional experience.

Students who would otherwise not have access to professional experience opportunities are selected to apply to the program. It is a rigorous application process because they want to be sure that the students are 100% committed to sticking with the program. The students then spend the summer of their junior year in an intensive 8-week training program, designed to teach them both the technical skills they would need in an office, as well as the soft skills that they need to succeed.

Once senior year rolls around, the students have condensed classes in the morning to cover academics, then go on to work for 5 hours in a professional setting. This is a demanding program that expects the students to be able to stay on top of their academics, while balancing it with their internship. In order to help each student succeed in their new professional environment, they are assigned a job coach to work with over the course of the year. This is someone who they can call on for advice on how to handle situations and challenges regarding their day-to-day duties.

In order to get this program off the ground, Alvarez had to develop relationships with companies who bought into their mission. Companies who were looking to give back to the community became solid partners, as well as those looking to grow their pipeline of talent. Companies find that by investing in students, they are investing in the future of the community as a whole. Since those first 10 students were placed in 2002, Genesys Works has grown to serve over 4,000 students in five cities (Houston, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington National Capital Region and soon to be launched this summer New York City).

To date, 100 percent of the students who have participated in the program have graduated from high school, and 93 percent of them have gone onto college. The program’s goal is to move more students out of poverty and into professional careers, creating a more productive and diverse workforce in the process. By giving underserved students the opportunity to succeed in a professional work environment while still in high school, they can open up career possibilities and pathways previously thought unattainable.

Moses runs the local chapter of the group here in the National Capital Region, and is excited about the prospect of exposing students to public sector jobs through opportunities with government agencies at the Federal, State and Local levels. They already have a program established with Fairfax County Government and Fairfax County Public Schools, and she is looking to grow those opportunities and add more partnerships over time. In order to accomplish this goal, Gensys Works is looking to grow their name recognition and increase philanthropic giving to support their mission and serve more students in need.

Moses shares that they were awarded two significant grants this year. One from the Jack Kent Cook Foundation, for $120,000 over 2 years, and the other from the Clark Foundation, for $1 million over a 3-year period. CEO David Williams, who took his post in January of 2019, is looking to grow the program exponentially during his tenure. Although the program has only been rolled out in larger metropolitan areas to date, Williams believes that this program can succeed anywhere. They are looking to grow their geographic footprint in order to serve the needs of more students, companies and communities across the country.

by Rachel Simon

Formed Families Forward on Your Need to Know

(February 20, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Kelly Henderson and Dee Robinson-Rutkowski of Formed Families Forward (FFF). Their organization is dedicated to supporting foster, kinship and adoptive families of children and youth with disabilities and special needs. They serve families, educators and child welfare professionals in the Northern Virginia area.

Formed Families Forward is a non-profit supported through a federal grant, established to assist adoptive and foster families navigate the complicated world of acquiring services to support children with special needs. Studies show that youth in foster and kinship care are at a higher risk of having disabilities, and therefore requiring special education services. In addition to medical needs, many of these children have suffered emotional trauma from being in an unstable environment, and need extra support to recover and become healthy and whole.

Dee came to Formed Families Forward after she and her husband adopted their two sons through the foster care system. They faced many challenges and had some very rocky years, especially during middle school. She became connected to FFF after meeting Kelly through her Middle School PTA. Dee is thankful to have had someone to help her navigate the system so that they could access the much needed resources to help her sons. It helped to ease their burden, and put her boys and their family on a path to wellness.

In addition to connecting families with the resources that they need, FFF also runs support groups for both students and parents. These groups are very important because families can connect with one another, and understand that they are not alone. FFF also conducts one on one consultations, so individual families can make sure that they understand how to find the support and resources that they need for their children, and get what their children need to thrive at school and at home.

As the organization evolves, Kelly and Dee note that they are working on different initiatives to meet their clients’ needs. They are just finishing up the production of a webinar focused on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and the impacts and effects that this has on children as they age. They also have programming focused on ADD and ADHD, which is one of the most common diagnoses that children in foster and adoptive care face. In addition to helping families understand how to establish classroom accommodations, there are many things that parents can do with children at home to help manage symptoms.

In addition, there is a growing movement recognizing how trauma can affect children, and have an impact on their ability to learn and fully participate in the classroom. Trauma Informed Community Networks are being established in Fairfax County for the first time. These networks are designed to help educators and service providers better understand the obstacles and challenges faced by students who have suffered from traumatic events at a young age, and help coordinate efforts in supporting these children.

Formed Families Forward is sponsoring their annual event on April 27^th called Spring Forward Family Fun Day, which will be held on the Science and Technology Campus of George Mason University in Manassas. This year’s theme is Navigating Systems to Build Stronger Families. While parents, educators and caregivers enjoy presentations by experts on education and support of foster, adoptive and kinship families, children ages 4 and above will be able to access experiential learning at GMU’s outdoor learning program called “The EDGE”. More details about the day, along with information about how to purchase tickets, can be found on their website

by Rachel Simon

Abrar Omeish and GIVE on Your Need to Know

(February 13, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Abrar Omeish, co-founder of GIVE Youth (Growth and Inspiration through Volunteering and Education) about the organization she helped to found, and her candidacy for the Fairfax County School Board.

Omeish and her friends came up with the concept of GIVE when they were in high school at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax. They identified a need in the community among low-income students who could not afford expensive tutors and academic prep courses to help them stay competitive when it came to applying to colleges. Additionally, they saw that many of these students did not have role models or mentors to look up to.

Omeish and her contemporaries founded GIVE in 2010, with the mission of promoting civic engagement and giving back to the community. Their goal is to invest in the next generation by striving to provide opportunities to those who seek them in the fields of education, empowerment and leadership. The program gives teens the opportunity to serve as mentors to young children, provides resources to underprivileged students, and promotes the importance of an enthusiastic attitude toward learning.

Starting in the basement of her parents’ home, Omeish and her friends organized and planned the launch of their first tutoring and mentoring site at the Mason District Government Center. Since that time, they have grown GIVE to over 20 centers throughout the county. What is truly remarkable about GIVE is that it continues to be run solely by students. They have various work groups that focus on different aspects of their organization, such as web development, fundraising, volunteer mobilization, student engagement and parent outreach.

Abrar Omeish GIVE FCPS GIVE focuses on pairing high school students with elementary school children, with the goal of developing relationships, inspiring younger students and helping to create continuity in the lives of the younger children. Many times, these young children do not have many strong role models in their life, so having an older student who gets to know them can be enough encouragement that helps them believe in themselves and have success in the classroom. Omeish notes that the high school students learn through the experience of teaching, and they get as much as the younger kids do out of the entire experience.

Additionally, the more experienced Board members help to mentor the new board members by teaching them how to run the organization. They also lift each other up during the college application process, and help one another by reading essays and giving feedback. GIVE aims to build community in a variety of ways.

In the second segment of the show Catherine speaks with Abrar about her run for at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board. She is passionate about creating a school system that offers equity and inclusion in education for all students, no matter where they live or what their ability is. Her idea of targeted universalism, where teachers prepare for the hardest case scenario, will create an environment where all students can achieve success.

As Omeish matriculated through the FCPS school system, she noticed the inequities that exist for low-income students. As a student, she worked to close the achievement gap through her founding of GIVE. Her run for school board is an extension of this philosophy, and she is excited to launch her campaign. She strongly believes that the diversity in Fairfax is one of its greatest strengths, and she would like to see more representation in both the teaching and administrative staff, as well as amongst the school board members. She strives to draw on her experience to move these issues forward, while also inspiring and standing up for children.

by Rachel Simon

Successful Children & Youth Policy Team (SCYPT)

(Oct. 22, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with Megan McLaughlin (Braddock District) and Tamara Denerak-Kaufax (Lee District) of the FCPS School Board. Their wide-ranging discussion covers a variety of topics, but focuses on the work being done by the Successful Children and Youth Policy Team (SCYPT). This joint effort of the Board of Supervisors and the School Board, established in 2013, utilizes a collaborative approach to ensure that children and youth in Fairfax County thrive and reach their fullest potential.

Prior to 2013, the Board of Supervisors and the School Board operated virtually independent of one another, even though there was often overlap in the services that were being delivered. SCYPT was created to bring these two organizations together, and look at services that need to be delivered in a more strategic way. This ensures efficiency in the operations for both agencies. The collaborative approach allows them to be align objectives and initiatives, as well as work together in forming strategic plans and think about shared goals.

Over the past 10 years Fairfax County has seen big changes in demographics. There are pockets of deep poverty in certain regions, which pose challenges to teachers and administrators. FCPS has the goal of offering a world-class education to all students, no matter where they live in the county. In order to do this, the county recognizes that certain needs must be met. For example, children are not able to thrive if they are hungry, or do not have access to medical care. Therefore, part of the SCYTPT program is to identify what the needs are and think about how services are delivered to students and families.

The SCYPT committee is comprised of 2 School Board Members, 2 Board of Supervisors members, local police and community representatives as well as Fairfax County government employees. The committee covers a range of issues, including early childcare and school readiness, racial and social equity, access to mental health resources, attendance policies and the prospect of expanding the use of community schools. They have been very busy since the committee was formed in May of 2013.

Pre-Kindergarten Initiatives

Beginning with some of the youngest students, SCYPT has taken a multi-pronged approach to early childcare and school readiness. They have successfully cut the wait time for student’s access to Pre-K in half. In the last six years FCPS has opened 30 new pre-K classrooms, and they continue to look for any opportunity that they have to expand. They know that for every $1 invested in high quality Pre-K, they can save $10-15 later on the child’s education.

Currently there are 3 ways for Pre-K to be delivered. Students can attend center-based programming in schools funded by Head Start or the Virginia Pre-K initiative, through licensed in-home daycare providers who receive strong support and guidance from the county to ensure that these children are ready for Kindergarten, and private preschool for families who are able to afford this.

For students who are not able to access the centers or in-home programs, FCPS has established a free 3-week “Bridge to Kindergarten” program offered in August of each year, which gives students an introduction to school and a basic education on how to thrive in a Kindergarten classroom.

Attendance and Discipline

McLaughlin and Derenak-Koufax both agree that it is important to look at creative ways to solve problems. They continually are looking to other jurisdictions for success stories, and to see if those practices can be replicated in Fairfax. One initiative regarding attendance and discipline reform revolves around Restorative Justice practices. Having alternative accountability in place for students, that recognizes some of the challenge that they face and inspires the students to improve and do better, is just one of the areas that is being worked on. Allowing students some space to learn from their mistakes, without facing automatic suspension, can go a long way in making them better students and citizens. It has been documented that students of color are disproportionately disciplined in a harsh way.

Social Services and Mental Health

When considering social services related issues, SCYPT aims to have a wrap-around approach to delivering care. Over the past few years there have been a record-number of cases of students reporting higher levels of stress and anxiety, leading to an uptick in attempted suicides. FCPS is addressing this through a new behavioral health model that employs a multi-pronged approach to this challenge.

Mental health services are delivered in the school by increasing the number of substance abuse counselors, health advisors and contracting with outside providers to help deliver care and to keep students healthy and ready to learn. Programs directed at students are designed to assist them in identifying signs of depression in their friends, and ensure that they know where to turn if that does happen. Additionally, a crisis text line was established so that teens can easily and anonymously access support when they most need it

The school system now runs a Mental Health and Wellness Conference as a resource for students, families and school personnel. The school system is also working side by side with PTA’s to help make sure that they are meeting the ever-changing needs of the community. This wrap-around approach to social services is intentionally designed to meet the students and families where they are and deliver services in a timely and efficient manner.

Community Schools

McLaughlin and Denerak-Kaufax acknowledge that due to the great diversity of our school system, that the same approach will not be effective in every community. Therefore, they look to other jurisdictions and models to see if successful best practices can be employed in Fairfax. One of those models is the use of community schools. A community school can be defined as both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, youth development, family support, health and social services and community development leads to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities.

This year, FCPS and SCYPT is piloting this model in two schools, Mt. Vernon Woods Elementary School and Whitman Middle School, two of the schools in FCPS that are faced with the highest rates of poverty and face some of the biggest challenges. A high percentage of students in these schools are living in poverty and also qualify for ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages), which pose great challenges to teachers and administrators.

The idea behind this type of approach is that the school and the county would bring wrap-around social services to the families via the school, in order to ensure that they are meeting the needs of these families, as opposed to asking the families to find these services out in the community. It is a shift in mindset, and the work of SCYPT is to bring together the county resources and use them strategically in partnership with the school to make them accessible to children and families.

United Community Ministries is slated to manage the program, and each of the schools will have a community organizer assigned to them. The school system recognizes that the greatest opportunity for upward mobility is through public education. For the most vulnerable students, who are living in poverty and don’t have a strong support network, a community school can offer them the things that they might not be able to find at home. Both McLaughlin and Derenak-Kaufax are excited about this new endeavor and are eager to see positive outcomes in these schools that can be replicated elsewhere in the county.

by Rachel Simon

Rachna Sizemore Heizer – Ability Focused Inclusion

(Aug. 20, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with inclusion advocate Rachna Sizemore Heizer, about her experience and desire to change the conversation around disabilities to focus on “ability-based inclusion”. Rachna is an attorney by trade, but after her son Jake’s autism diagnosis she became an advocate for inclusion in the education system. She did this not only for her son, but also for the thousands of other students who share their struggle. As Jake has grown up, and Rachna has gotten more involved in this movement, she now strives to broaden her message and make disability a part of the conversation about diversity in the United States.

Rachna’s main observation when she began this journey with Jake is that there was quite a bit of talk about inclusion, but not much action. She had to fight on a daily basis to have her son looked at as someone with potential. Her main criticism is that the educators he worked with, although well intentioned, worked to make him fit into a mold that he was never going to squeeze into. His limited verbal skills caused his abilities to be overlooked. Jake is incredibly talented in the musical arena, so much so that he could pick up a guitar and play any song by ear. He also has a sharp memory and can catalogue information easily in his mind.

A more productive approach would be to allow teachers to have the flexibility to nurture these talents, interests and skills in order to help children grow and learn in their own ways. Rachna’s ultimate goal is to have educators focus on creating productive citizens in our society, as opposed to having children with special needs trying to fit in the box that we have created for neurotypical students. Today, one in six Americans are disabled. By looking for opportunities to engage everyone, and play to their strengths, society as a whole will benefit.

After years of working in the advocacy arena training employers,consulting with educators, and speaking at conferences, Rachna feels that the blind spot in our society is that we do not view individuals with disabilities as a part of the whole. Collectively, we still view a disability as a physical limitation, while completely ignoring those with intellectual, social and emotional challenges. Instead of tying to better understand these conditions, society simply labels the behaviors as “weird” or “odd”. Heizer points out that is one of the main reasons why there is such a high unemployment, and underemployment rate amongst those with disabilities. She strongly believes that if we are able to break down barriers and increase understanding of one another, then we can open up more opportunities where everyone can thrive.

As for underemployment, Rachna has much to say. She points to the example of the job of grocery bagging, which is a common job appropriated to disabled individuals. She points out that there is nothing wrong with having people bag groceries, but often times this is the only opportunity afforded to them. Employers need to understand that many of these individuals are capable of doing much more complex work, and can be real assets to an organization if given the opportunity.

Throughout the interview, Rachna provides poignant examples of instances where she has encountered challenges and obstacles. As Jake matures, she has her eyes on the future and speaks passionately about the work opportunities that may or may not be available to him. She explains that employers focus a great deal on an individual’s personality and social skills when hiring, as opposed to focusing on weather or not the person can actually perform the necessary tasks of the job at hand. Some employers still have employees fill out personality tests, which greatly discriminate against people who struggle with interpersonal skills. They may, however, be the best person for the actual job that needs to get done.

Heizer is working hard to change the mindset of employers through training and advocacy. She encourages employers to understand how their organizations can benefit from diversifying their workforce, and how they can lead the way in making important changes that can take seed throughout our entire society. Her goal is to reach into the business community and open their minds to what a diverse workforce means. Her trainings include encouraging employers to find ways to be more inclusive, to value workers for what they can bring to the table and to adapt the workforce culture to be more welcoming and understanding.

Rachna closes by speaking about Stephen Hawking. She wonders if Hawking would have achieved all that he did if he was born with a disability? Would people have listened to and valued his genius if he always needed so much assistance, or would he have been relegated to lesser things? Rachna strongly believes we need to value each person for what they CAN do, and is working hard every day to make this a reality. She serves on the boards of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board and the Fairfax County Special Education PTA, as well as belonging to the ARC of Northern Virginia, the Autism Society of Northern Virginia, and being an appointed member to the FCPS School Board’s Advisory Committee for Students with Disabilities. She has also founded the organization Abilities not Disabilities. Rachna can be found on Twitter @RachnaHeizer.

by Rachel Simon

Skylar Johnson – Sew Fly Sky – Kitchen Table Conversations

(August 6, 2018) Catherine Read interviews 11-year-old fashion designer and entrepreneur Skylar Johnson. Skylar recently designed and stitched an outfit for Phyllis Randall, Chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, to wear at her annual State of the County address.

Skylar has been hard at work learning how to sew and design clothing starting at the age of eight, when she first attended an after-school enrichment program through her elementary school. She recalls her first creation as a mint green skirt with a lace overlay. Since then, Skylar has refined her skills, taught herself how to create unique patterns and experimented to find her style, inspired by fashion trends from the 1970’s. Both her Great Aunt and her Great Grandmother were seamstresses, and she thinks her love of sewing may have trickled down to her.

Supervisor Randall learned about Skylar’s talent, and reached out to her to see about designing a special outfit for her State of the County address. After meeting with the Chairman, Skylar explored various ideas and found inspiration in fabrics that she acquired while on a family trip to California. She did not want to stitch a traditional suit, so she looked for inspiration in various fabrics and spiced up a traditional design by creating a beautiful royal purple satin shirt, with buttons up the back, paired with wide-legged, white linen pants. The outfit Skylar crafted was gorgeous, and perfect for the occasion.

Skylar was recently featured in the 10^th anniversary edition of Posh Magazine, as a young student using practical applications of STEAM curriculum who is going places. She encourages kids to follow their dreams, and talks about her clothing brand she has created called “Sew Fly Sky”. She continues to take sewing lessons and strives to learn all she can about the fashion industry.

After that interview was published, she was invited to speak at a local elementary school to younger students about how fashion design is related to the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) curriculum being taught. She walks the young students through the artistic process of creating a design, the mathematics of properly measuring fabric and creating a pattern using a variety of geometric shapes, along with the tools and technology needed to complete a project. She hopes that her talk was inspiring to the students.

Skylar is excited to continue her entrepreneurial journey, but as her mother Danyel Trammell points out, school still comes first. You can find Sklyar on Facebook, Instagram (@sew_fly_sky) or you can contact her directly at [email protected]