Fairfax County Public Schools Archives

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 her organization she founded, and her candidacy for the FCPS 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 amongst 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

League of Women Voters with Beth Tudan

(Dec. 5, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with Beth Tudan, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area for a discussion focusing on voter registration and voter education.

Several years ago, Beth realized that there was a wide disparity regarding how students were being taught about voter registration throughout Fairfax County. This was brought to her attention when her own son was in high school, and she learned that not all students were getting equal access to education and assistance about the voter registration process. After learning in 2016 that only 1600 out of approximately 13,000 senior students were registered to vote, she embarked on a mission to change the paradigm.

Together with the FCPS school system; the League of Women Voters sponsored a voter registration challenge. Understanding that not all students are able to register to vote, they adjusted eligible student numbers for each high school, and came up with realistic goals based on the school population. By the end of the challenge, they had boosted registration up to approximately 5,000 students countywide. Last year, Hayfield Secondary School took the prize, under the enthusiastic direction of Doug Ziwall. The League will again sponsor the challenge for the 2018-2019 school year and are looking to improve on last year’s success.

In addition, the LWV created a non-partisan lesson plan that they use to emphasize the importance of voting, and the responsibilities of being a citizen in a democracy. Tudan and her volunteers use interactive exercises to demonstrate why students should not let others decide about public policy on their behalf. In Virginia, citizens do not register by party, so voters can decide which primary that they will participate in year by year. This training is now being shared with Leagues throughout the state, which will hopefully boost voter registration throughout the Commonwealth.

The class also informs students how they can vote absentee once they go off to college, as well as how to find information about candidates, and locate their polling place. The goal is to give students the tools that they need to be able to actively participate in the democratic process as well as develop a habit of voting. Tudan notes that the wonderful thing about the Commonwealth of Virginia is that elections are held every year, so the students will always have a reason to go to the polls the same year that they register.

Each high school is required to offer voter registration opportunities to students three times a year. Tudan has worked with volunteers at the LWV to ensure that every school that requests a visit can be covered. In Virginia, there are only three organizations that are authorized to visit schools regarding voter registration. They are the League of Women Voters, Aspire Virginia and the Board of Elections.

The LWV regularly works with students who are looking to fulfill the requirement of service hours for graduation. She has opportunities for students to research candidates (in a non-partisan fashion), help organize candidate forums, and manage social media posts with tips and information for voters. Please reach out to Beth via email if you are student and you are interested in getting involved.

Tudan points out that this is a big year for Virginia, as every seat in the General Assembly (100 House seats and 40 Senate seats) will be up for grabs. Additionally, elections will be held at the municipal level, as well as at the county level for the Board of Supervisors and the School Board. Visit the League’s website for more information about voting and candidates in the Fairfax County area.

by Rachel Simon

Dalia Palchik – FCPS School Board – Your Need to Know

(Aug. 1, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with FCPS Providence District School Board member Dalia Palchik. Dalia speaks candidly about her background as an immigrant coming to this country at the tender age of six, and about her experience as a non-English speaking student in Fairfax County Public Schools, as well as the work she is doing to help all students in the county in her current role as School Board member.

Dalia’s family immigrated to the United States from Argentina In 1992. She, along with her mother and siblings, came to the United States to meet her father who had been working here in Virginia. They were thrilled when they were finally granted citizenship, and had the opportunity to build a better life for themselves in Virginia. As they assimilated to their new country, a new language, and a new life they worked hard to navigate the system and learn a new culture.

Dalia entered school speaking no English, and received ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) services. She is thankful for her wonderful teachers, and for having the opportunity to come to this country. As her family settled in and adjusted to life in America, it was Dalia who learned how to navigate the ins and outs of the school system and help her parents understand the culture of the school, how it all worked, and how to access opportunities. She felt as if she were the parent in their relationship at the time. Dalia eventually went on to graduate from the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School, and earned a scholarship to Tufts University, where she majored in International Affairs. Professionally, she traveled all over the world to help organizations tackle the big issues of poverty and hunger.

After a long stint away from home, Dalia returned to Fairfax County, and looked around at the ever growing diverse community here in Fairfax had an epiphany about how she could make an impact.As she is fluent in 4 languages (English, Spanish, French and Italian), Dalia became language teacher and eventually ran for School Board, in the hopes of giving all kids the same excellent opportunities that she had as a child. She strongly believes that all children in Fairfax should have access to a world-class education, no matter where you live or what your family circumstances are.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is the 10th largest school system in the country, with almost 190,000 students walking though the doors every day. It is a culturally rich and diverse community, with a socioeconomically diverse student body. There are 48 Title 1 schools in FCPS, and Dalia mentions that it is important to understand the challenges and hurdles that these students face. She believes it is imperitive to put policies in place to make sure that these students are able to succeed. The One Fairfax policy that was recently adopted by both the School Board and the Board of Supervisors, is designed to look broadly from community services to education, to address the needs of our most vulnerable residents. Its purpose is to intentionally, comprehensively and systematically break down barriers that are creating gaps in opportunity (quote website).

As a foreign language teacher herself, Dalia spoke passionately with Catherine about the importance of teaching languages to students in FCPS, especially the elementary students. As our children are being raised in a global economy, these skills are becoming more and more important. Currently, there are only 17 language immersion programs being offered in Fairfax County, where half of the school day (math and science) is taught in the target language. Dalia notes that there are specific challenges to maintaining these World Language programs, with recruitment and retainment of staff as one of the largest obstacles, but she would like to see increased access so more students can take advantage of these programs. FCPS is also looking into dual immersion programs in certain schools where there is a majority Spanish speaking population. There are currently 25 elementary schools that fit the profile for these programs.

Dalia is also very excited about a new position that is being created this year, the Family and Student Ombudsman, to help students and families better navigate the school system. Armando Peri, a former principal, will serve as a chief problem-solver, who can review cases and help advocate for students who are experiencing issues from diversity challenges to special needs. The goal of this position is to bring parties together to come up with viable and effective solutions. Dalia continues to look for opportunities to help solve problems and bring students, teachers and parents together to make positive changes for the FCPS school system.

by Rachel Simon

Ryan McElveen – FCPS School Board

(June 18, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Ryan McElveen, At-Large member of the Fairfax County School Board. FCPS is the tenth largest school district in the nation, and Ryan has served on the board since 2011. While he is not serving on the school board, he works at the Brookings Institution, where he is a senior administrator at the John L. Thornton China Center. He welcomes the opportunity to have FCPS serve as a national leader on a variety of issues such as non-discrimination, gun violence prevention and dress code changes.

Dress Code

In the first segment, Catherine discusses with McElveen the proposed changes to the FCPS dress code. The board is concerned that the current language used in the dress code policy has led to too many instances of body shaming for young female students. The board overwhelmingly voted to strike language from the code that “banned outfits with low necklines that show cleavage” and outfits deemed “sexually provocative”. Over the years many female students shared instances where they have been singled out and embarrassed by teachers or administrators. The revised policy is designed to avoid these problems. McElveen agrees that teacher training will be critical to successful implementation of the revised code.

McElveen shares a short story about his own alma mater, Marshall High School. Over the years, during graduation, the boys and girls would wear crimson red gowns and the girls would wear blue ones. In an effort to unify the student body, the high school recently shifted to having everyone wear the same robe that incorporated both colors on the robe. In large and small ways, the schools are moving closer to a gender-neutral approach.

Healthy Food and Nutrition Services

Ryan has worked with various groups over the past seven years to move different issues forward. He was thrilled to work with the group Real Food for Kids to help improve healthy food options in FCPS cafeterias. Hand in hand with the division’s new Food and Nutrition Director Rodney Taylor, there have been a variety of new and exciting additions. Salad bars are being rolled out to all 141 elementary schools, giving children more options for healthy fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.

The Summer Meals for Kids Program is a new initiative that will offer free lunch to any student at certain FCPS schools every day throughout the summer. Additionally, any adult over the age of 18 can eat a healthy meal for only $2 cost. Considering that many students, especially in our Title 1 schools, get their only meal through the school lunch program during the school year, this is a critical program to help the most vulnerable in the community.

Facilities

Shortage of facilities at FCPS is always a hot topic of conversation. McElveen shares some insights into why so many FCPS students are housed in trailers. For many years now, the Capital Improvement Budget of FCPS has been underfunded, in order to meet the other obligations of running the school system. As a result, FCPS is now on a 37 year replacement cycle (a 25 year replacement cycle is optimal). He shares that the board has successfully advocated for adding $25 million to the fund, they are still short $275 million to bring the fund up to standards. This means that students and teachers are working in outdated classrooms and labs, or are taking classes in trailers. In January of 2018 McElveen tweeted that “the number of FCPS students that attend classes in trailers each day is on par with the entire student population of Arlington County or Richmond. That is a travesty, it is an embarrassment and it is unacceptable”.

The root cause of this problem is funding. This year is the first year in a long time that the Board of Supervisors fully funded the school budget request. Because of the Dillon rule, counties such as Fairfax have limited options to raise revenue on their own. Therefore, they rely on the County (property taxes), the State (state tax revenue), and the Federal government (federal grant dollars), to round out the budget. A recent ballot initiative to raise money through a “Meals Tax” in Fairfax failed. Even though most neighboring jurisdictions currently assess this fee on restaurant meals (Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, along with the cities of Falls Church and Fairfax, and the towns of Vienna and Herndon), the business community and the chamber of commerce ran a brutal campaign to block this initiative.

Teacher Pay

McElveen was thrilled that the BOS agreed to fully fund the school budget for 2018-2019. One of the most pressing issues that the board is dealing with involves teacher pay. Since the recession of 2018 and several years of pay freezes, FCPS fell far behind its neighboring jurisdictions in teacher pay. It has been a challenge to both recruit and retain teachers, who often leave for higher-paying opportunities. Raising teacher pay, which is included in this budget, will help work toward the goal of improved retention, especially for mid-career teachers. The board continuously evaluates the 5-year retention rate to see how they are doing in this area. After the General Assembly passed the Medicaid Expansion bill this past session, McElveen is excited about the prospect of millions of dollars flowing down from the state coffers to help invest in both students and teachers.

Student Leadership

When McElveen was first elected to the school board, he was 25 years old. He was young and technologically savvy, and used this to his advantage. He quickly recognized that social media was a fantastic tool to reach his constituents, and to obtain real-time feedback. As an At-Large board member in a county with a population of 1.1 million people, it is just not physically possible to meet with every single person that he represents, but he can connect digitally with them. He has witnessed the rise of social media as a key communication tool, and has seen how it can be used to organize and move issues forward.

Today, he sees both parents and students utilizing these same tools to lead on a variety of important issues. Over the past few years there have been many programs on the “chopping block” each year, as the school system looks to balance the budget. When certain programs such as foreign language immersion or music in the elementary schools come up for review, he has seen parents and students come together to testify and organize around saving these very valuable programs.

On the student side, this past year after the Parkland shootings in Florida, students used social media to help organize walk outs and protests, to call attention to the issue of Gun Violence Prevention. McElveen was impressed with how respectful, responsible and productive these demonstrations were. He is very proud of the many FCPS students who have stepped up to speak out for the things that they believe in. He wants to support student leaders so that they can develop the leadership skills that they will need in college and beyond.

Academy Programs

In the final segment, McElveen talks about the academy programs that are thriving at FCPS today. These are hands-on training and learning programs that give students a unique opportunity to take advanced technical and specialized courses that successfully integrate career and academic preparation. These centers include programs for Animal Sciences, Automotive Technology and Collision, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts and HVACR. Other specialized programs include Fashion Design, Theater, Health Informatics, Nursing, Fire and Rescue, and Automotive Dealers. If students are interested in any of these areas, they should speak with their guidance counselor to learn more and find out how they can apply.

You can follow Ryan McElveen on Twitter (@RyanLMcElveen) and on Facebook www.facebook.com/VoteRyanMcElveen

by Rachel Simon

Karen Corbett Sanders – FCPS School Board

(June 6, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with Karen Corbett Sanders, Vice Chair of the FCPS School Board, representing the Mt. Vernon district. She represents a diverse district, which stretches from the Potomac River in the east, through the Rt. 1 Corridor, into Springfield and across to the Occoquan River. Some of the schools in her district are amongst the poorest in the county, with poverty rates as high at 90% in some places. These conditions put additional stresses on school personnel, and often require a different approach to ensure that each child in her district is getting an excellent education, no matter what their family background is or where they live.

Karen Corbett Sanders opened the conversation talking about the needs of students who come from some of the most vulnerable communities within her district. She mentions the importance of providing “wrap-around” social services to students, to ensure that they have enough food to eat, clothing to keep them warm, and access to healthcare. In order for students to have the best opportunity to succeed, Corbett Sanders argues that we must invest in a strong support system for both students and their families. She points to literacy as a specific challenge for many families. In order for parents to stay up to date and in tune with their children, let alone be able to help them with homework at night, it is important that all families have access to literacy education. The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia is making great strides in helping parents learn the language skills they need, so they can more fully and equitably participate in the community.

Corbett Sanders is proud of the One Fairfax Policy, adopted by both the Board of Supervisors and the FCPS School Board on July 12, 2016. It is a joint social and racial equity policy that commits the county and schools to intentionally consider equity when making policies or delivering programs and services. It is a written declaration that all citizens deserve an equitable opportunity to succeed if they work hard, regardless of their race, color, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or where they live. One Fairfax is a framework that will be used to consider equity in decision-making and in the development and delivery of future policies, programs and services. It is designed to help county and school leaders look intentionally, comprehensively and systematically at barriers that may be creating gaps in opportunity. Corbett-Sanders states that the adoption of this policy helps those in charge understand that there must be a different approach in a school community that has a 90% poverty rate vs. a school that has a 1.8% poverty rate.

In the second segment of the show Catherine speaks with Karen Corbett Sanders about the program GrandInvolve. This is a unique public-private partnership that puts retired educators in Title I elementary schools to volunteer and help give back to their community. GrandInvolve has been recognized by the Governor as one of the top volunteer organizations in the state, and has had great success here in Fairfax County. The seniors serve as role models for the students, many of whom do not have Grandparents who live in the United States. The seniors bring a fresh, new perspective to the classroom and help support one-on-one learning with students. It is truly a win-win for teachers, students and the senior volunteers.

Another new pilot program that Karen Corbett Sanders mentions involves placing police officers in the school cafeterias, where the officers are helping students in the lunch line, and getting to know them. Often times, children only see police officers in a bad or difficult situation. This type of partnership helps to build relationships and teach children that police officers are really there to help them, not hurt or punish them.

Corbett Sanders is also very proud of a new initiative that is being rolled out to all FCPS students called the Passport to Mt. Vernon. This would allow free access for county students to Mt. Vernon, Gunston Hall, Gum Springs Museum and Woodlawn Plantation. We have such a rich source of history right here in Fairfax County, but our students who are the poorest and most vulnerable do not have access to these sights because they cannot afford the entrance fees. By offering free access, they are hoping to open up doors to those who were otherwise shut out. She also highlights the Bus Pass program, now in its third year. This offers any 7^th-12^th grader a free bus pass for the Connector Bus or the Q Bus in Fairfax City. Free access to public transportation allows students to get around independently after school or during the summer. They can travel locally to go to part time jobs, summer camps or the library. Corbett-Sanders is encouraged by the work being done between county and school board leaders to think outside the box and come up with workable solutions to help our most vulnerable residents.

by Rachel Simon

High School Voter Registration – Beth Tudan LWV

(May 2, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Beth Tudan, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Fairfax. Their discussion focuses on the League’s voter registration campaign for high school students, prior to the June 12^th Primary and the November general elections. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization, founded during the suffragist movement, that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issue, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

The League of Women Voters has recently renewed and revamped their efforts to bolster voter registration amongst high school students. After Beth’s own son went through his senior year of high school she saw first hand that there was no standard of how schools were handling the process of helping students to register. Some were registering during government class, but not all students were taking government. Some classes had the Board of Elections come in to talk about voting, some did not. Even within the same school, this process varied widely based on what classes the students were enrolled in.

As one of only three organizations who are authorized to go into the schools (the other two being the Board of Elections and Inspire Virginia), Beth recognized an opportunity. She took time to look around at best practices, and bring a better solution to the table. After working with the neighboring League in Arlington, and gathering information from successful programs across the country, she came up with a script and program that can be easily replicated in the classroom throughout Fairfax County. Beth sees this as an opportunity to partner with the schools in order to make a big impact with the 12,000 seniors registered in FCPS high schools countywide.

In collaboration with the Fairfax County Council of PTA’s (FCCPTA), where Beth also serves as President, she suggested running a countywide competition to see how many students each school could register to vote prior to the June primaries. This contest promotes school spirit and gets students to encourage their friends to take action. The League has visited many of the 27 high schools in FCPS. They have done presentations in government class, as well as host information tables with registration information in the school cafeterias.To date, 3500 students are registered out of a total of approximately 12,000 students. Even though not all students are US citizens or VA citizens, it is evident that there is more work to be done.

Tudan shares that students do not have to be 18 in order to register, but they do need to turn 18 by Election Day, November 6th. They simply need to submit their contact information, be a US and VA citizen, and provide their social security number (which can be found on the Common Application for college). The form can be submitted on paper or online. In fact, if the student has a driver’s license then have already been verified, therefore the online form takes a mere 5 minutes to complete and submit.

The deadline to register to vote in the June 12th primaries is May 21st at 5pm (11:59pm for online forms). The deadline to register for the November 6th General Elections is October 15th at 5pm (11:59pm for online forms). Remember, you can register as long as you will be turning 18 by November 6th.

by Rachel Simon

Fairfax for All Coalition – Inside Scoop

(Mar. 12, 2018) Catherine Read speaks with community activists who are part of the Fairfax for All Coalition. These representatives are from local civic advocacy organizations that focus on supporting the immigrant community in Northern Virginia. Catherine speaks with Sookyung Oh of NAKASEC, Allie Boldt of Demos and Michelle LaRue of CASA Virginia. They all share important information about the work that they are doing every day to make our communities strong and safe for all residents.

In the first segment, Catherine interviews Sookyung Oh, the DC Area Director of NAKASEC (National Korean American Service Education Consortium). NAKASEC began its work in Virginia five years ago, and current programs are centered on immigrant rights, civic engagement, and parent and youth organizing. NAKASEC VA’s work is focused on the most vulnerable community members, including low-income, recent immigrants, limited English proficient, undocumented, youth, women, and seniors. It is a nonprofit aimed at building an inclusive community by creating economic opportunities for all, breaking down barriers and bringing people together.

NAKASEC took on two big legislative priorities this year. The first was advocating in Richmond at the General Assembly for a Driver’s Privilege Card for all, including undocumented immigrants. This would extend driving privileges to anyone who has been tested, trained and insured. Unfortunately this bill got killed in committee and never made it to the floor for a vote. Their second legislative goal was to extend in-state tuition to all eligible students who graduated from a Virginia high school. Currently DACA recipients are eligible for in-state tuition, but only after a full year after being granted DACA status. This bill would have loosened the strict requirements and opened up the doors for many more students to pursue a college degree at an affordable price. This initiative was also killed before getting to the floor for a vote. NAKASEC will continue to advocate for these benefits in the coming years.

In the second segment Catherine speaks with Michelle La Rue from CASA Virginia and Allie Boldt of Demos. CASA is an immigrant rights organization that aims to organize, advocate for and expand opportunities for Latino and immigrant populations in our local communities. Demos is a non-partisan, national public policy organization working for an America where everyone has an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy.

Boldt spoke about the fact that being an undocumented immigrant is not a crime, it is a civil offense similar to not paying taxes. Civil immigration enforcement is separate from the criminal law system. Demos focuses on pressing Fairfax County to end all unnecessary and unconstitutional collaboration with ICE. Boldt would like to see the end of the over-criminalizing of the immigrant community. She was pleased to see that Sheriff Stacey Kinkaid has agreed to stop honoring ICE requests to detain someone past their scheduled release date, and would like to see the Juvenile Detention Centers follow suit.

LaRue shared that CASA is intent on protecting confidential and sensitive information about community members. They aim for local officials to guard this data, instead of freely sharing information with ICE officials. This includes personal contact information and immigration/citizen status. She would also like to limit ICE agent’s access to county facilities like jails, schools and other public facilities. Another goal is to end the practice of arresting immigrants and bringing them into custody on misdemeanor charges, when other citizens would simply be released.

The cumulative effects of the practices that CASA and Demos are aiming to eliminate actually have the result of making our communities less safe. Both organizations claim that the current policies of Virginia law enforcement’s unconstitutional collaboration with ICE breed mistrust and fear that endangers the safety, health and well-being of the entire community. Extensive research shows that, compared to counties that cooperate with ICE, counties that refuse to honor detainers have statistically lower crime rates, stronger economies and put less strain on social and mental health assistance programs. This is because there is greater trust and cooperation between the police and the communities when people do not fear being deported.

In addition to NAKASEC, Demos and CASA, the Fairfax for All Coalition is comprised of La Collectiva, DMV Sanctuary Congregation Network, and ACLU People Power. They are working together to move the needle on regulations at individual agencies and departments like the Sheriff’s Office and Police Department, as well as through countywide ordinance. The Fairfax for All Coalition has provided Fairfax officials with the resources to update their regulations and pass an ordinance. Both Boldt and LaRue note that if these issues are important to you, than you should not hesitate in making your voice heard. Reach out to your Supervisor and share your stories, experiences and opinions. The next opportunity to speak publicly about this will be on April 3^rd at the Public Safety meeting held by Sheriff Kinkaid. Check the CASA website and facebook page for more information as the date approaches.

by William Zuhl

Sandy Evans – Your Need to Know

(Feb 21, 2018) Sandy Evans is the Fairfax County School Board member from Mason District. She has been on the FCSB for 8 years after having first been elected in a special election in March of 2010. She and Catherine Read take a look at the issues facing Fairfax County Public Schools, the nations 10^th largest school system.

Sandy Evans started out as a parent advocate, supporting the PTA of her daughter’s school. When her daughter entered middle school Sandy Evans was made aware of the then early start times for Fairfax Country middle and high schools. Seeing the early start times as a serious health issue, she cofounded SLEEP (Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal) and then ran for the school board. In Fall of 2014 the school board approved the change of high school start times from 7:20 AM to 8:10 AM starting in the Fall of 2015. Currently, Sandy Evans and SLEEP are advocating for later middle school start times as well.

Currently, Sandy Evans is the budget chair of the school board, and they are currently debating the school superintendent’s proposed budget ahead of an expected early February vote to send the budget to the Fairfax Country Board of Supervisors. The new budget makes a priority of creating new teacher pay scales in order to make the country more attractive for talented teachers. While the new pay scales will take time to go into effect, more than 54 million dollars have been set aside in the current budget to raise teacher salaries into the new scale. The current overall budget is 2.9 billion dollars providing services for over 188 thousand students.

The members of the school board have also been working with legislators in Richmond to try and increase state level support of the county schools in support of special need, ESL (English as a Second Language) and impoverished students. Currently, about 25% of FCPS students qualify for free or reduced cost meals, 29-30% need ESL services and 14% qualify for special needs. These numbers are currently expected to grow going into the future, and local community support is not expected to be enough to fill the gap. The current state funding formulas mean that Fairfax County Public Schools receive less funding proportional to their size in spite of the fact that over 54,000 students qualify for free or reduced price meals, a number equal or larger than many other school systems entire enrollment in some parts of the state.

Going into the future, Sandy Evans is determined to make sure the school board is committed to school equity, using needs based staffing to make sure every student has equal opportunities regardless of the school they attend. FCPSOn is an initiative dedicated to making sure that every student has access to a computer. Students attending schools with high poverty rates will be offered laptops which they can take home and use, then return at the end of the school year. FCPS have also recently put their Parent Liaisons on contracts to work full time as opposed to their older hourly system. Parent Liaisons are particularly important in schools with high ESL or poverty rates, which frequently have either no or underfunded PTAs, having a person dedicated to communicating with parents and providing translation services to ensure that parents feel welcome to speak concerns and keep informed of how their children are doing.

Talks have also been on going about using schools as a platform for community services. The school board has been in talks with County Supervisor Penny Gross about building a new school in the Wilston area which could potentially be combined with a health facility or a public library to provide services to the population at large while reducing costs for students in particular.

The school board has also recently made changes to the school discipline system. They’ve aimed to replace out-of-school suspensions with in-school suspensions overseen by people versed in restorative justice and positive behavior approaches. They’ve also attempted to speed up the process of informing parents of troubled students, and Sandy Evans wishes to make that process even faster going into the future.

In July, the Fairfax County School Board voted to change JEB Stuart High School’s name. The public suggested 73 different names but failed to produce a majority opinion. The school board took the five most popular names and picked Justice High School. Students attending the school were allowed to pick their new mascot and following a school-wide vote chose to become the Wolves. The school board has allowed 2 years to make the transition to the new name, but the school superintendent expects the process to be finished by next fall.

For more information, contact Sandy Evans at [email protected], or www.fcps.edu/index.php/school-board/Sandy-Evans or go to fcps.edu for more information about Fairfax County Public Schools.

by Catherine Read

Fairfax County Public Schools – Back to School Special 2017

(Aug 14, 2017) Students return to Fairfax County Public Schools on Monday, August 28, 2017. In advance of this pre-Labor Day start date, host Catherine Read speaks with three members of the 12 person school board and the new Superintendent Dr. Scott Brabrand. Ryan McElveen and Pat Hynes were elected to the FCPS School Board in 2011, Dalia Palchik was elected in 2015, and Dr. Brabrand returned to Fairfax County as the new Superintendent on July 10, 2017.

In the first segment Ryan McElveen, school board member At Large, talks about his path to the school board at the age of 25 after graduate school at Columbia University. He went through the FCPS school system himself, attending George C. Marshall High School and then on to the University of Virginia. He is not an educator by profession. He brought ideas based on what he believes the school system could improve to create a better educational experience for the students. He has also been a staunch advocate for the rights of LGBTQ students and staff, and last month made his views clear on the renaming of JEB Stuart High School. Ryan is committed to transparency in process and has connected with students across the county using social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. The 270K followers of @RyanLMcElveen count on Ryan to be the first point of credible notice of snow closures.

Patricia “Pat” Hynes represents the Hunter Mill magisterial district of Fairfax County where her own two children attended the public schools there. After attending the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University Law School, she switched careers to become a teacher herself and still teaches in the classroom in Arlington County today. Pat is focused on creating greater equity in our school system. Fairfax County is the 10th largest school district in the United States, and in this county of 1.1 million people, there is a great deal of cultural and economic diversity that impacts student outcomes in the classroom. Finding ways of closing some of the existing achievement and opportunity gaps is a priority for her. She is also focused on investing more in renewable and sustainable energy for our schools and reducing energy consumption and the FCPS carbon footprint.

In the third segment, Dalia Palchik talks about her career switch from global micro-finance to education, where she is the second teacher to serve on the FCPS School Board. Dalia immigrated to the United States from Argentina at the age of 6 and learned English as a second language while attending Fairfax County Public Schools. A graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology – one of the top ranked high schools in the nation – she went on to study cultural anthropology at Tufts University and to travel extensively. She is a language teacher, and an native Spanish speaker, who is focused on finding ways to serve the diverse student population in the county and their families. Dalia represents the Providence Magisterial District and within that district there many families from different countries who are working to understand their role in their children’s education. She talks about the new public bus program that allows middle school and high school students to get a free bus pass and how that could be expanded to include parents who also face transportation challenges in engaging with their children’s schools.

Dr. Scott Brabrand is returning to Fairfax County from his recent position as Superintendent of the Lynchburg (VA) City School System. He switched careers after being a classroom volunteer and discovering that education is really his great passion. He served in many capacities in Fairfax County Schools from a Social Studies teacher at Herndon High School in the mid 1990s, to principal of Fairfax High School from 2005 to 2009, and then on to Cluster Assistant Superintendent. In each role, he has made measurable improvements in student outcomes. He talks about his emphasis on having a growth mindset in education. While acknowledging that testing can’t be entirely eliminated, he is focused on moving education toward critical thinking skills and fostering a greater engagement between students and their educational experience in the classroom.

The early start date of Aug. 28, 2017, has been years in the making as the FCPS School Board has lobbied the Virginia Legislature to grant an exception to the “Kings Dominion Law” that keeps schools from opening until after Labor Day.

This year, on Tuesday, Aug. 29th, there is a special election to fill a FCPS School Board vacancy. Voters will go to their regular polling places – many of those at schools in Fairfax County – while school is in session this time. This is an important election and Fairfax County residents are encouraged to mark their calendars and plan on voting.

by Catherine Read

GrandInvolve – Retired Seniors Volunteering in the Classroom

(July 10 2017) Catherine Read talks about the non-profit GrandInvolve with staff and a volunteer from Crestwood Elementary School in Springfield, VA. This program brings retired seniors into the classrooms of Title I schools in Fairfax County, VA. GrandInvolve recently received the 2017 Governor’s Community Organization Award for its work fighting ageism and furthering understanding of cultures.

In the first segment, Guidance Counselor Sara Crummett shares the experience of being the first school to launch this volunteering program at Crestwood Elementary School, located in central Springfield, VA. She coordinates and matches the volunteers with the classroom teachers to find a good “fit” that meets the expectations of both. Crestwood will be starting their fourth year of this program in the Fall of 2017 and continue to look for volunteers for their classrooms, which have a high population of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches and are also from homes where a language other than English is spoken.

Eve Hall, a teacher at Crestwood, explains how she initially started with GrandInvolve as a third grade teacher and how she established working relationships with the three volunteers assigned to her. She is now a Head Start teacher and all of her volunteers followed her into this preschool program. Eve gives examples of the ways in which the volunteers assist her with regular daily activities and also their willingness to help with special events like pumpkin carving and evening events like book fairs. One of her volunteers even started a knitting club at the school which has been a great success.

Suba Satay, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, shares his experience being a classroom volunteer in first and second grade at Crestwood. He was matched with a teacher where he was able to specify reading and writing as an area he wanted to focus on with the children. Going into the 2017-18 school year, he’s adding a second volunteer day so he can do the same type of mentoring for third and fourth graders. Mr. Suba, as the children know him, has found this volunteering to be one of the most rewarding things he has ever done. He has also developed a great respect for all that classrooms teachers are asked to do.

In the final segment, Cindy Nothom, a GrandInvolve Action Team Volunteer at Parklawn Elementary School, shares the efforts the organization is making to recruit more volunteers for the upcoming school year. Cindy was one of the original members of GrandInvolve team which was founded by Dorothy Keenan in 2014 to place needed volunteers into Title I schools. At Parklawn last year there were more classroom teachers requesting volunteers than they had volunteers to place. This year they are reaching out to a number of organizations such as Venture into Volunteering and Volunteer Fairfax to look for new volunteers. Additionally, they have more than 15 GrandInvolve speakers who are available to speak at meetings for service clubs like Rotary, Kiwanis, Garden Clubs and Women’s Clubs to explain the volunteer opportunities. You can find additional information about GrandInvolve at www.GrandInvolve.org and on their Facebook page.