Fairfax County leaders want Gov. Glenn Youngkin to boost state funding for critical services, such as schools, transportation and health care.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday (Sept. 24) to send a letter to Youngkin arguing that chronic underfunding by the state has forced localities like Fairfax County to lean heavily on local tax revenue to maintain “core services” like public education, public safety and transportation infrastructure, straining local budgets and taxpayers.
Fairfax County school officials fear Virginia’s new accreditation system could disproportionately harm schools with large populations of English learners and students with disabilities.
Adopted last month by the Virginia Board of Education, the School Performance and Support Framework places more weight on standardized test scores and graduation rates — a move state officials argue will hold schools to higher educational standards and improve accountability.
Going forward, Centre Ridge Elementary School will incorporate vegetables into the classroom as well as the cafeteria, thanks to a newly installed garden.
A “learning garden” from the nonprofit Captain Planet Foundation was unveiled at the Centreville school yesterday (Thursday). Built by a group of sixth-grade students and donated by Cox Enterprises, the conglomerate that owns the broadband company Cox Communications, the vegetable and herb garden will serve as an educational tool, while also providing access to produce.
A private school that provides special education for students in first through 12th grade is looking to expand in Annandale (7010 Braddock Road).
The school is part of Phillips Programs, a nonprofit that provides education, family support services and advocacy for students with developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs.
The Virginia Board of Education on Wednesday approved the final touches on the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan, designed to address concerns with how schools were rated and student performance was measured to determine better how to direct state resources.
During the special meeting in Richmond, the board approved Virginia’s ESSA plan, readiness weighting for different grade levels, and the overall school performance and support framework proposal as part of its package of accountability system changes.
Fairfax County Public Schools is giving the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) a demerit for its recent reveal of annual student test scores.
The results released last week omitted assessments outside of the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests that students take statewide, creating a misleading impression of how FCPS is doing, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid said in an Aug. 23 letter to state officials, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Herndon is planning a historical marker that will delve into the town’s history of segregation, particularly in connection to the Herndon Fortnightly Library (768 Center Street).
Town staff discussed the proposal with the Herndon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (HDEIC) at a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Virginia students’ reading and math assessments for the 2023-24 school year saw some improvement over last year after months of recovery efforts, according to data released by the Department of Education Tuesday. However, pass rates in other subjects are still behind results from the 2022-23 school year.
Pass rates for grades 3 through 8 in reading, math, and science Standards of Learning tests all showed increases statewide by at least 1%. Writing showed the highest increase — 17 percentage points — while history and social science saw little gain, less than a percentage point.
Fairfax County Public Schools Adult and Community Education is launching more than 250 new courses for the trades, construction, IT and health care.
The new courses include in-person, hybrid and asynchronous offerings in line with the program’s focus on “new collar” workforce development, according to a school system news release. New collar defines high-paying professions that combine technical skills with specialized education rather than a four-year degree. Those roles are found in industries with high demand for workers in Northern Virginia — especially the trades, health care and technology — according to Paul Steiner, head administrator of FCPS Adult and Community Education, also known as ACE.
Reinforcements are on the way to bolster Fairfax City and the Town of Vienna’s restaurant industry.
The two localities are seeking applicants for a new Culinary Careers Collaborative program intended to train future chefs, bartenders and other food service workers for potential jobs with local businesses.
