Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Debate heats up as school board weighs community and staff recommendations before coming school year.
Two weeks after a community committee detailed 52 recommendations to overhaul discipline practices systemwide, Fairfax County Public Schools staff has presented its own proposal for policy changes. But the plan leaves out two programs some see as key to a years-long push for reform — sparking a debate Monday on what role both groups would play in how the system moves forward. Staff leaders backed many of the ideas put forward by the 40-member Ad Hoc Community Committee on Student Rights and Responsibilities, including initiatives to make the discipline handbook easier to understand, keep students in school as they appeal a suspension and give principals tiered, age-specific approaches to a range of offenses. But staff members said they …
Monday, April 8, 2013
School board agrees on a number of measures to re-evaluate teacher workday, but associations say teachers "need relief now."
Fairfax County School Board members agreed Monday on four initiatives to address the system's years-long teacher workload issue, including the creation of a committee charged with returning to the board with recommendations on reducing teacher time demands by the end of the month. But the board did not agree on specific actions to relieve teachers in the short term, as teachers associations and some school board members had hoped. More analysis and discussions, they said, are "not enough" — and continuing for much longer without concrete action will begin to impact student achievement, if it hasn't already, they said. "I'm not happy. ... This has been the No.1 issue in my tenure," Michael Hairston said of his time as president of the …
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. …
Friday, April 5, 2013
Fairfax County school board to talk with next round of candidates in coming weeks as Superintendent Jack Dale prepares to retire.
The Fairfax County School Board will continue to narrow its field of superintendent candidates in the next two weeks as it prepares to name a new system leader by May. At its meeting Thursday night, the school board approved a motion to discuss, consider and interview candidates for the division's superintendent "at one or more undisclosed locations" between April 5 and 19. Outgoing Superintendent Jack Dale announced in 2011 his plans to retire June 30 of this year. Last fall, the board selected Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates — the same consulting firm that found Dale in 2004 — to lead the current search process. While the board has focused more on community engagement in this search than in the one it used to hire Dale, it decided to…
Thursday, March 21, 2013
International pilot test could offer new way to measure student knowledge, but whether the program should be expanded in Fairfax, and how, is unclear
When teachers in Fairfax County review results of the state's Standard of Learning tests, they learn whether their students passed or failed in a given subject. But beyond that, some teachers say, they don't have a great sense of what connections students are making or missing, or why. In a presentation to the school board Thursday, officials said a new pilot test given across 10 county high schools — which asked students to draw on prior knowledge and new information to solve problems across disciplines — gave teachers new information about what students actually know rather than what they can recall from their curriculum in any given year, as is often the case with standardized tests like the SOL. With it comes an opportunity to change …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Tuesday's community dialogue asks residents, community groups for their budget priorities.
Have you got something to say about the Fairfax County Public Schools budget for Fiscal Year 2014? Tuesday is the first chance of several over the next two months to share your perspective. The community dialogue, which begins at 6 p.m. in the Gatehouse Administration Center Cafe in Falls Church, is an effort revamped this year to be more inclusive of all residents — not just specific county groups. School board member Ryan McElveen (At-large) said last year, the school board invited community groups to a similar dialogue, setting them at a roundtable for a budget presentation and then breaking them into two groups tasked with forming a list of budget priorities. This year, the board is inviting specific community groups as well as the …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
At noon Friday, Patch readers can join a discussion with Fairfax County teachers' association leaders and school officials to discuss what some teachers have called an unsustainable work environment.
Some Fairfax County teachers say they've seen workloads increase for a few years now — but this is the first year it's becoming what they are calling "unsustainable." And they say they want a solution sooner rather than later. Join Patch at noon Friday to talk with the leaders of two of Fairfax County's teachers' associations, along with a school board member and an assistant superintendent about some of the issues surrounding teacher workload, including state and local testing, grading and evaluation systems and new curriculum initiatives. Readers can make comments or ask questions and get live responses throughout the course of the chat. To join: Bookmark this page and return at noon Friday, or sign up for an email reminder above. At a…
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tax hike, no employee raises are some of the issues supervisors will tackle in committee meeting for Fiscal Year 2014 spending plan
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will start the Fiscal Year 2014 budget review process during its first budget committee meeting Tuesday afternoon. Supervisors will gather at 1 p.m. Tuesday in conference rooms 9 and 10 at Fairfax County Government Center to begin hammering out the details of County Executive Ed Long’s $7 billion advertised budget, which features no raises for employees and a slightly higher tax rate. The committee is also expected to go over the $2.5 billion Fairfax County Public Schools budget for fiscal 2014. School Board members requested $95 million from supervisors, a 5.5-percent increase in transfer, for a total of $1.78 billion. But Long was only able to give schools a 2 percent increase in transfer, or $33.7…
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Snow accumulation forecast increased in Fairfax County; winter storm warning continues through 3 a.m. Thursday.
Fairfax County Public Schools are closed Wednesday due to snow. The Office of Personnel Management also announced early Wednesday that federal employees do not have to report to work , and emergency and telework employees should follow their agency's policies. According to a Facebook post from the system, the following school activities are also canceled Wednesday: • extracurricular activities • interscholastic contests • team practices • field trips • middle school after-school programs • professional learning and training courses • all adult and community education classes • recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS FCPS School Age Child Care (SACC) centers are also closed. Northern Virginia …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Ride out the Virginia snow storm with Patch.
UPDATE 5 p.m.: Due to inclement weather, all education classes and workshops at the Workhouse are cancelled today, Wednesday. Galleries and studio buildings are closed to the public today. UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: From the Fairfax County Park Authority: Due to the snowstorm, all park facilities will be closed from Noon today until 10 a.m. Thursday. This includes RECenters, synthetic turf fields, and all other park facilities. UPDATE 12:10 p.m. Fairfax County Government offices and services will close at Noon Wednesday. Fairfax County Courts are also closed. All Fairfax County library branches, includingBurke Centre Library, Pohick Regional Library, and Kings Park Library will close at 11 a.m. Wednesday. VRE service is canceled Wednesday. …
doris lyons
12:50 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Bullying is a major problem in many schools and even in the lower grades. In the current conversation there is too much focus on one or two infractions and not enough attention to the overall school environment. On the one hand we always hear that the "Parents should be involved." Then, when the parents try to be involved, no- they can't even be notified to be present when their child is facing … more ›