Fairfax County Public Schools

Fairfax County hopeful vaccination rates can limit severity of “likely” omicron infections wave

Published December 16, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:57AM

7-Day Rolling Average of Vaccination and Booster Rates in Fairfax County (via screenshot/Fairfax County)

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) As Fairfax County prepares for a “likely” wave of omicron infections, officials are cautiously optimistic that vaccination rates and the potentially less-severe illness caused by the variant may prevent a surge like what was seen last winter.

Fairfax County Health Department Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu and epidemiologist Dr. Ben Schwartz lauded the county’s vaccination rates in a status update for the Board of Supervisors’ health and human services committee on Tuesday (Dec. 14).

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Group files second school board recall petition, with shift to Springfield rep. Laura Jane Cohen

By David Taube

Published December 16, 2021 at 9:30AM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:48AM

Laura Jane Cohen, Springfield District representative for Fairfax County Public Schools (Via FCPS)

A coalition that tried to recall school board member Elaine Tholen has filed another recall petition, this time for school board member Laura Jane Cohen.

Open FCPS Coalition says it’s seeking to remove the Springfield District representative over Fairfax County Public Schools’ pandemic response. Dee O’Neal Jackson, the group’s founder, said in a statement that the school board has failed students during the pandemic, especially those with learning disabilities.

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NEW: Police investigate reported threats of violence at Herndon schools

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 9, 2021 at 4:30PM | Updated December 9, 2022 at 2:25PM

Herndon Middle School (via Google Maps)

Fairfax County police are investigating two threats of violence reported at schools in the county earlier this week.

Both threats concerned schools in the Herndon area and were determined to be unfounded, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.

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FCPS decision on challenged books praised by LGBTQ students, staff

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 24, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated February 25, 2022 at 11:49AM

LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other gender and sexual minority identities (via Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash)

Students and staff in the LGBTQIA+ community expressed relief yesterday (Tuesday) after Fairfax County Public Schools announced that it will return a pair of challenged, queer-centered books to library shelves.

“Gender Queer: A Memoir” by nonbinary author Maia Kobabe and Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy” — a coming-of-age story about a Mexican American man that deals with race, class, and sexual identity — were pulled from circulation in late September after parents complained that they contained graphic sexual content unsuitable for children.

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What’s opened and closed this Thanksgiving break in Fairfax County

By Fatimah Waseem

Published November 24, 2021 at 11:00AM

The Fairfax County logo is shown on the front of the Fairfax County Government Center building at 12000 Government Center Parkway. (Staff photo by David Taube)

With Thanksgiving on the horizon, many local entities and organizations will be closed.

Fairfax County government offices and Fairfax County Public Schools will be closed for Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov. 25) and Black Friday (Nov. 26). County libraries are also closed both days.

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JUST IN: FCPS returns books challenged for sexual content to school libraries

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 23, 2021 at 10:30AM | Updated August 29, 2022 at 7:35PM

Fairfax County Public Schools

(Updated at 10:55 a.m. on 11/24/2021) Fairfax County Public Schools has reinstated two books that were recently pulled from library shelves after some parents took issue with their sexual content.

“Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “Lawn Boy” by Jonathan Evison — both books that center on LGBTQIA+ individuals exploring their identities — will be returned to shelves based on recommendations from committees formed to review the materials, FCPS announced today (Monday).

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Fairfax County sees uptick in COVID-19 cases as thousands of kids get first vaccine shot

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 15, 2021 at 2:00PM

First lady Jill Biden visited Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean to launch the national rollout of the COVID-19 pediatric vaccine (photo by Donnie Biggs/FCPS)

More than 16% of children in the Fairfax Health District have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine dose since the shots became available to them on Nov. 3.

As of today (Monday), 17,578 of the district’s over 108,000 residents between the ages of 5 and 11 have received their first dose of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech regimen, according to the Fairfax County Health Department’s vaccine data dashboard.

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JUST IN: First lady Jill Biden to visit Fairfax County school today to promote coronavirus vaccinations

By David Taube

Published November 8, 2021 at 11:15AM | Updated March 15, 2024 at 2:56PM

First lady Jill Biden visited Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean to launch the national rollout of the COVID-19 pediatric vaccine (photo by Donnie Biggs/FCPS)

Fairfax County Public Schools will kick off its COVID-19 vaccination clinics for children today (Monday) with a visit from the first lady of the United States.

First reported by The Washington Post, FCPS confirmed to FFXnow that first lady Jill Biden will visit Franklin Sherman Elementary School this afternoon to encourage pediatric vaccinations.

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Fairfax County Public Schools, public library to get federal funds for remote learning

By Scott Fields

Published October 28, 2021 at 11:00AM | Updated October 28, 2021 at 12:28PM

The county is still working through negotiations with Comcast (Photo by Annie Spratt/Unsplash).

(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Fairfax County Public Schools and the Fairfax County Public Library are recipients of federal funding to help provide internet access and necessary devices for students, school staff and library patrons.

Announced on Tuesday (Oct. 26) by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, the funding comes from the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Connectivity Fund Program to help close the “homework gap” for students who lack internet access.

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FCPS shares plans for COVID-19 vaccine clinics for young students, potentially starting next month

By Scott Fields

Published October 20, 2021 at 3:30PM

Fairfax County Public Schools

School-based COVID-19 vaccination clinics for elementary school-aged children could be set up as soon as mid-November, Fairfax County Public Schools officials say.

As reported to the Fairfax County School Board at a work session yesterday (Tuesday), these targeted vaccination clinics will be available in evenings or weekends and have a parent or guardian present.