Fairfax County School Board | FFXnow

Morning Notes

Published July 18, 2022 at 7:30AM

Sunlight shines through trees in Reston (photo by Terry Baranski)

D.C. Area Sees Rise in Teacher Resignations –“Resignations spiked enormously at the end of the 2021-2022 academic year in D.C. Public Schools and in several Northern Virginia districts, including Fairfax County…Educators say the reasons for resigning vary. But some cite the difficulty teachers faced readjusting students, many of whom had grown accustomed to pandemic-era remote education, to in-classroom learning this past year.” [The Washington Post]

Police Chief Addresses Gun-Pointing Incident — The Fairfax County Police Department released body camera footage on Friday (July 15) of officers pointing their guns at a person who was filming them outside a West Falls Church IHOP. Chief Kevin Davis said he understands “the anxiety that folks in the community have after seeing this video go viral” but defended the officers’ actions. [WTOP]

News

Expansion with new parking solution proposed to relieve overcrowding at Justice High School

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 13, 2022 at 12:00PM

The renovation of Justice High School includes two buildings (Photo via FCPS).

This year, Justice High School in Lake Barcroft has nearly 200 more students than it was designed to handle — an overcrowding issue that has driven plans to expand the school.

The Fairfax County School Board is seeking to add two buildings to the nearly 21-acre site at 3301 Peace Valley Lane. The county’s planning commission will decide whether to recommend approval of the project after a public hearing tonight (Wednesday).

News

Vienna’s Louise Archer Elementary takes step closer to renovation

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 7, 2022 at 1:30PM | Updated July 11, 2022 at 5:36PM

Louise Archer Elementary School (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

(Updated on 7/11/2022) Fairfax County Public Schools has officially committed $36 million to renovating Louise Archer Elementary School in Vienna.

The Fairfax County School Board awarded a contract to Henley Construction Company, Inc. during its June 16 meeting. The contractor beat out two other bidders for the project, which will roughly double the size of the school building.

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published June 20, 2022 at 7:30AM | Updated June 22, 2022 at 6:28PM

The sun pokes through the leaves as it readies to set in Fairfax County (staff photo by Brandi Bottalico)

Man Fatally Shot in Hybla Valley — “Officers were called at 8:12 p.m. to the 8000 block of Seaton Street for a man who had been shot while sitting inside a vehicle. Officers found Darren Davis, 19, of Alexandria, inside a white Dodge Challenger suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Davis was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.” [FCPD]

Bomb Threats Made Against Schools — “Police are investigating multiple bomb threats against Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) over a span of six days.On Saturday, June 11, the Fairfax County Police department was notified by an FCPS IT employee that they had found multiple email threats sent to schools throughout Fairfax County. According to FCPD, even some faculty members were named in the email threats.” [WUSA9]

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published June 16, 2022 at 7:30AM

A busy bee in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A Few Sidelined Metro Trains Return Today — “Metro has previously said riders will first see the trains on the Green and Yellow lines. The transit agency says once they’ve established a ‘steady rhythm of inspections and consistently delivered eight trains for daily service,’ they will increase service on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines to every 15 minutes” [DCist]

D.C. Woman Believed to Be New Victim of Alleged Serial Killer — “A spokesperson with the Metropolitan Police Department told WTOP that ‘shopping cart killer‘ suspect Anthony Eugene Robinson is a person of interest in the death of Sonya Champ…found by police around 11:30 a.m. Sept. 7, 2021.” [Patch]

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Fairfax County School Board delays decision on making sex ed more co-ed

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 26, 2022 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County Public Schools currently separates middle school students into "boy" and "girl" groups for sex-education classes (via Samuel Regan-Asante/Unsplash)

Middle school sex education classes in Fairfax County will remain separated by gender going into the next school year.

A majority of the Fairfax County School Board agreed on Tuesday (May 24) to postpone a vote on whether to introduce gender-combined Family Life Education (FLE) classes for students in grades 4-8 and 10th grade, along with other proposed changes intended to make the curriculum more inclusive.

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After Texas mass shooting, Fairfax County School Board member proposes new security measure

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 25, 2022 at 11:15AM | Updated May 25, 2022 at 3:16PM

Members of the advocacy group Moms Demand Action join the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to designate June 3 as Gun Violence Awareness Day (via Fairfax County/Flickr)

(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) A Fairfax County School Board member plans to advocate for adding security vestibules at schools in the wake of the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in nearly a decade.

Melanie Meren, who represents Hunter Mill District on the board, will introduce a motion at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday) requesting that Fairfax County Public Schools develop a plan to fund and install vestibules at all facilities, she said in social media posts last night (Tuesday).

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published May 25, 2022 at 7:30AM

Reston Town Center set up for theTephra ICA Arts Festival (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

What to Know About Monkeypox — “More monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States since the first illness was reported in Massachusetts last week. But there’s no need for Virginia residents to panic, health officials say as they learn more about how the viral disease is spread.” [Patch]

County to Talk About Youth Mental Health Issues and Drug Use — “As a parent, our kids’ wellbeing is my top priority. Today, the Board supported my motion to convene a roundtable with reps from [Department of Family Services], our Opioid Task Force, clinical pros, the BOS and school board to directly tackle youth mental health & substance use.” [Jeff McKay/Twitter]

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FCPS proposes funding for salaries, environmental initiatives with new budget

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 13, 2022 at 12:45PM

An electric school bus on display at Flint Hill Elementary School in Vienna (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Fairfax County Public Schools didn’t get all the money it wanted, but its next budget still has room to address some key priorities, including staff compensation and efforts to reduce the system’s carbon footprint.

Adopted by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (May 10), the county’s new budget for fiscal year 2023, which starts on July 1, trimmed $10 million from the $112.6 million increase in transfer funds sought by FCPS, officials reported to the school board earlier this week.

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FCPS employees now barred from disclosing information to ICE

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 29, 2022 at 1:30PM

A member of the immigrant advocacy organization CASA urges the Fairfax County School Board to adopt its proposed Trust Policy (via FCPS/YouTube)

Fairfax County Public Schools now has a new layer of protection for undocumented students and their families.

The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously last night (Thursday) to prohibit employees from requesting, accessing, or disclosing information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status unless required by law or court order, or they get permission from the individual or a guardian.