Falls Church High School is finally going to get some upgrades.
The Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved a $133.6 million contract for the construction firm Grunley Construction Company, Inc. on Thursday (April 14), ensuring that a renovation project that community members have sought for more than a decade will actually happen.
Fairfax County Public Schools has found its next superintendent, but in the process, it managed the impressive feat of uniting normally opposing factions of the community in protest.
The Fairfax County School Board voted 9-3 last night (Thursday) to appoint Dr. Michelle Reid as the successor to Superintendent Scott Brabrand, who will step down from the position effective June 30.
School Board to Appoint New Superintendent Tonight — “The Fairfax County School Board will be announcing the final candidate for the next Superintendent of Schools at tomorrow night’s School Board meeting. The Board will also vote on the candidate’s appointment.” [FCPS]
School Board Defends TJ Admissions Policy to Supreme Court — The Fairfax County School Board said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court that an appeals court was “entirely within its authority” to let the admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology stay in place while legal proceedings continue. [WTOP]
Fairfax County Public Schools is finalizing a new policy that will bar discrimination based on immigration or citizenship status and prohibit staff from disclosing that information unless required by law or a court order.
Requested by the school board last May, the proposed Trust Policy aligns closely with limits on information sharing by county government employees that the Board of Supervisors adopted in January 2021, FCPS staff said at a school board work session yesterday (Tuesday).
(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) As Fairfax County Public Schools nears an announcement of its next superintendent, students, faculty, and community groups have started to voice concerns about the transparency of the months-long process.
Organizers of the Pride Liberation Project, an FCPS student-led LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization with over 100 members, urged the school system to solicit more feedback from students, saying that the community outreach for the superintendent search was inadequate.
Fairfax County Public Schools had narrowed its search for a new superintendent down to two candidates — only for one of the reported finalists to drop out of contention last week.
Dr. Cheryl Logan, currently the superintendent of Omaha Public Schools in Nebraska, and Dr. Michelle Reid, the superintendent for the Northshore School District in Washington, were identified as the two finalists for the position yesterday (Sunday) in a statement by the Fairfax County NAACP.
The Fairfax County School Board is set to require recess at the middle school level for the first time starting next school year.
Under a health and wellness policy revision to be voted on this month, middle schools would be required to have a 15-minute supervised recess break, and elementary school students will get two recess breaks per day, totaling at least 30 minutes.
Fairfax County Public Schools can use its revamped admissions process to evaluate the next class of prospective Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology students, a federal appeals court ruled today (Thursday).
The overhauled admissions process, which replaced a standardized test with an essay, a higher grade-point-average requirement, and other criteria, is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed against the county school board by the Coalition for TJ, a parent and community group that opposes the changes.
The Fairfax County School Board intends to approve policy revisions next month that would make recess a requirement at all elementary and middle schools.
Under the proposed changes to Fairfax County Public Schools’ student and staff health and wellness policy, all middle school students would be guaranteed at least 15-minute, supervised recess breaks during the day. Elementary school students will get two recess breaks per day, totaling at least 30 minutes.
Fairfax County Public Schools is moving forward with plans to convert the Dunn Loring Administration Center into an elementary school, despite questions from some school board and community members about the project’s urgency.
The Fairfax County School Board voted 10-0 with two abstentions on March 10 to let staff re-negotiate an existing architecture and engineering contract with the firm Samaha Associates, initiating a planning process that typically takes about two years, according to FCPS Executive Director for Facilities and Transportation Services Jessica Gillis.
