FCPS School Board Archives - Read. Think. Act.

Menstrual Equity Update with Holly Siebold

(Dec. 10, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Holly Seibold (President) and Shaheen Khurana (Legislative Affairs) of BRAWS (Bringing Resources and Aid to Women’s Shelters), along with Del. Jennifer Boysko and FCPS School Board Member At-Large Karen Keys-Gamarra regarding the issue of menstrual equity.

Catherine first speaks with Holly Siebold about the term “menstrual equity” and why it is on the radar of so many people in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Holly became involved with this issue several years ago, when she founded the organization Bringing Resources and Aid to Women in Shelters (BRAWS). At the time, her goal was to get menstrual supplies to low-income women who did not have the resources to purchase them.

As Siebold has learned more and more about this issue, she has championed the idea of bringing full access of these products to all women in need. She specifically mentions that the place where the most work needs to be done is in the public schools. In her travels throughout Northern Virginia she has found that 30% of the girls surveyed have had to miss school to manage their period. This could be for something as simple as not having a tampon or pad at school, or being forced to go home to get products or to change clothes. This puts girls at a tremendous disadvantage, especially those who come from low-income households who do not have the necessary resources to deal with these challenges.

In addition to the fact that they are forced to miss school, many young women feel shame and stigma about having to manage their menstruation. Schools are not equipped with products to help the girls, and students might not want to tell the nurse or counselor what their problems are due to shame, anger or embarrassment. Part of Holly’s work is to help change this dynamic, and to change how adults approach and talk about menstruation. BRAWS also sponsors a teen council to help de-stigmatize periods and elevate this issue, as well as advocate and raise funds for those in need.

In the second segment Catherine speaks with Shaheen Khurana, the legislative affairs specialist at BRAWS working on menstrual equity bills in the Virginia General Assembly. Last year, BRAWS successfully worked with Del. Kaye Kory to pass HB 83, a bill directing all correctional facilities in Virginia to make menstrual products readily available, and free of charge, to all inmates who request the products. In the past there was a wide disparity throughout the state run correctional facilities on how these requests were handled. Many inmates were required to purchase the products as the store, but could not afford to buy them. This legislation ensures that all women have access to the sanitary supplies that they need on a monthly basis.

Del. Jennifer Boysko joins Catherine in the following segment to discuss her work to bring the Dignity Bills to the floor of the chamber in 2019. These bills are designed to abolish the sales tax charged on menstrual products to help ease the burden of the cost of these goods. The first bill introduced last year would have removed the tax only during the sales tax holiday, which is designed and marketed as “back to school” sales tax relief. Currently, everything from wedding dresses to candy are included as part of this tax relief program. The second bill would have removed sales tax permanently on all purchases throughout the year.

Both bills were killed in committee last year, but Boysko hopes to have a better outcome with these bills during the 2019 session. As menstrual equity is elevated in the state and national discourse, she believes that they can make progress. To date, fifteen states have already removed sales tax from these products, and NY, CA and IL have all required their school systems to provide menstrual products free of charge to students in need.

Catherine’s final guest is Karen Keys-Gamarra, School Board Member at Large for Fairfax County Public Schools. She has successfully included support for menstrual products to be supplied to students who need them in the FCPS legislative package being sent to Richmond this year. Keys-Gamarra strongly believes that as the largest school division in the state, it is important to include this as a priority and be a leader on this issue. She notes that the school accreditation standards have recently been updated to include school absence as a factor. Based on the student surveys indicating that girls are missing classes due to not having access to menstrual products, she felt compelled to raise the issue. FCPS Superintendent Scott Braband has been directed to explore the scope, cost and impact that this request would have on the school system’s budget.

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

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 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.