Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Teacher layoffs, program reductions are not a budget issue, Fairfax County Public Schools says.
Fairfax County Public Schools says the decision to cut professional television production classes from four schools in the county — and three teachers along with them — is not due to budget cuts, but instead to declining enrollment. Patch reported last week that Dave Ruby, a professional TV production teacher at Fairfax Academy, who also leads the student-run production company, Digital Wave, will be laid off at the end of the school year. Students, alumni and supporters alike started an online petition soon after to try and help save his job. This week, FCPS spokesperson John Torre told Patch that TV production programs at Lorton's South County High School, West Potomac High School in Alexandria and JEB Stuart High School in Falls …
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Results of survey, which runs through April 12, will be used in Virginia's efficiency review of the system.
If you've ever had feedback to give Fairfax County Public Schools operations or organizational decisions, the time to give it is now. A survey designed by Gibson Consulting, Inc. is giving residents, parents, community groups and educators alike a chance to weigh in on a wide range of issues, from whether the system is up to date on technology and if it has safe bus stops to if the community is adequately involved in the school board's decisions and whether leaders spend money appropriately. The survey is open through April 12. The online questionnaire is part of the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget's School Efficiency Review Program, which assesses efficiencies and potential savings in school systems across the state each year. …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Morning field trips are canceled due to snow.
Spreak break activities at Fairfax County Public Schools are delayed for two hours Monday morning due to the snowfall, according to FCPS. All FCPS school programs and activities that are being held during spring break will begin two hours late. Offices will open on time. Morning field trips are canceled. SACC centers will be open by 7:15 a.m. Adult and community education classes will start on time.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
He'll be at the Lorton Library
Dan Storck, who represents the Mount Vernon District on the Fairfax County School Board, will host community office hours Saturday. Storck hosts community office hours the second Saturday of each month: Members of the community are invited to stop by to ask questions or to discuss concerns, no appointment necessary. If you have any questions about the community office hours, please contact Dan Storck at Dan.Storck@fcps.edu or his assistant, Barb Larsen at Barbara.Larsen@fcps.edu. Are you following us on Facebook and Twitter? It takes less than a minute...
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Fairfax County School Board votes against expanding at Thoreau, Cooper, Herndon middle schools, asks for broader study of advanced academic program offerings as a whole.
Fairfax County School Board members voted Thursday to expand the school system's Advanced Academic Program Centers to three additional elementary schools this fall in an effort to relieve overcrowding at several existing centers. But they stopped short of expanding the program across about a dozen and a half more elementary and middle schools in time for the next school year, as was proposed last fall, pending a broader discussion of what advanced academics truly means in Fairfax County, whether the system is in line with national best practices of gifted and general education and where board members envision the program going in the future. The decision came at the end of a four-hour discussion Thursday that stretched into the wee hours …
Friday, January 11, 2013
This could be your chance to weigh in on the issues that the School Board should tackle.
Springfield District School Board Member Elizabeth L. Schultz will conduct three town hall meetings this month to discuss priorities within the Fairfax County Public School system. The meetings will be held as follows: So, what issues should the school system focus on in 2013? Tell us in the comments section below!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
As the Fairfax County School board stares down $162 million deficit, midyear review funds will help boost next year's beginning balance.
Fairfax County Public Schools has found an extra $9.7 million in its Fiscal Year 2013 budget, much of which school board members voted Thursday night to set aside for its FY 2014 beginning balance — a budget year in which the system faces a $162 million deficit. The money will increase next year's beginning balance from $41.6 million to $51.1 million. School board members have been waiting for the outcome of a midyear budget review since the fall, as it began to grapple with a projected deficit of $93.7 million in FY 2014, a number that doesn't include another $68.4 million shortfall in "significant program needs." At a joint meeting in November, Fairfax County Executive Ed Long said the county anticipates being able to give the school …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Police say there is no threat, it's just for reassurance in wake of Connecticut shootings.
When children return to school on Monday, families should expect to see an increased police presence, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The move is a reaction to Friday's shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 schoolchildren and six teachers, according to police. The gunman also killed his mother at her nearby home. The following was posted by FCPD on its Facebook page on Sunday: As children return to school tomorrow, you will see an increased police presence at and around schools in the county. We want the community to know this is being done as a reassurance for parents, teachers and students and NOT because there is any threat. It is a result of the shooting in Newtown, CT. For …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The next superintendent of the Fairfax County Public School system probably won't be shy.
"Courageous," "knowledgable," "engaging." The conversation about filling the shoes of retiring Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack D. Dale formally began Monday night at the South County High School cafeteria. "I think we need a superintendent who has worked in a diverse community and who is sensitive to all ethnic groups," said Shirley Ginwright, newly elected president of the Fairfax County NAACP, at the meeting, which had five people in attendance. More meetings will be held across Fairfax County this week to determine the qualities necessary for a new FCPS superintendent to lead the largest school system in Virginia. Some came with specific issues in mind: "The research is there that shows that start times we have for …
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Take a Veteran to School Day connected students with military veterans.
Raucous cheers of "U.S.A!" could be heard at Fort Belvoir Elementary School as hundreds of students greeted visiting veterans Friday morning. Take a Veteran to School Day connects veterans with students in a special celebration of veterans. The program is a joint public outreach effort with History Channel, Cox Communications, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Rear Admiral Richard A. Buchanan of the U.S. Navy (Ret.) joined veterans in telling their stories to students. Ninety-eight percent of students attending Fort Belvoir Elementary School have parents who are serving in the military. Bonnie Rice of Alexandria is a World War II veteran who participated in Take a Veteran to School Day. She served with the WAVES as a 2nd Class …
Therese Tuley
4:49 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Healthy and safe school start times for all students, K-12. If Loudoun and many other school systems of all shapes and sizes can do it, I am confident that a great school system like FCPS can do it. Kudos to the school board for their April 2012 resolution to make healthy start times a goal. Change is a challenge, but the science is in: this is a public health issue and communities across the … more ›