New group supports public education
A new grassroots advocacy organization, called 4 Public Education, is speaking out against the increasingly aggressive attacks against public education.
Mason District resident Holly Hazard, chair of 4 Public Education, announced the launch of the group during the community participation portion of the Feb. 10 Fairfax County School Board meeting.
“Negative forces are at work today to undermine our democratic system of government by using our public education system to divide us, terrorize elected officials, and destroy our collective commitment to our public education students,” Hazard told the board.
“4 Public Education will inform and engage communities and support educators and policymakers who are committed to freedom of speech, equity, and inclusion,” Hazard said. The organization will “bring back truth and civility to conversations about education and create a community of informed voters who embrace truth in our education system.”
4 Public Education supports and promotes the right of every child to an exceptional public education that is welcoming, inclusive, safe, relevant, and nurturing. When all students’ needs are met, the group says, society benefits from a successful workforce, vibrant culture, and healthy, resilient individuals and families.
Members of the public interested in joining 4 Public Education can sign up on the organization’s website. Supporters can also sign a petition.
Related story: An early win for school boards in mask mandate suit
“Strong public schools are an important foundation of our democracy,” Rose Conde, a 4 Public Education founder and the mother of a child at Belvedere Elementary School and another at Bailey’s Elementary, told the school board.
“I want my children to learn in an environment where every child is nurtured, challenged, and inspired. Public schools are our best hope of leveling the playing field and ensuring our democratic ideals are passed along to the next generation.” Conde said.
Eddie Conde, Rose’s husband, told Annandale Today that a small number of community members, mostly opposed to the face mask requirement, have been disrespectful and loud at recent Fairfax County School Board meetings. “They clap and cheer for each other.”
Some school board members have been the subject of recall attempts and some have been targeted in hateful emails.
And while the opponents say mask mandates affect kids emotionally, most kids are not bothered by having to wear a mask and are more negatively affected emotionally by having to learn remotely, Eddie said. The opponents of masks “are using our kids for their political advantage.”
The mask requirement is an important step in keeping schools open during the pandemic, Rose Conde said, noting that FCPS hasn’t had to close a single school.
Just say no to critical race theory and gender ideology propaganda.
Education, not indoctrination.
There is no CRT taught. This misinformation is sad. History is taught. I’m not sure how that is “indoctrination.”
Exactly! It is disappointing to see how the misinformation has become so entrenched so rapidly into our community. Kids in FCPS schools are taught to be responsible community members. There’s nothing indoctrinating about that.
It is not propaganda or indoctrination, even though politicians and culture warriors are feeding the outrage machine and apparently, from your statement, convincing people of these lies. If we don’t learn from our history we will repeat the mistakes. Our kids need to learn complete history, not just the comfortable stuff, so they can think critically and learn from what has happened. BTW, it would be nice if people were courageous enough to use their whole names if they want to weigh in.
Holly and 4 Public Education members, Thank you so much for doing this! We need to stand up to bullies who think their way is the only way. The K through 12 years is the exact time when young peoples’ hearts and minds are open and they are able to accept all kinds of people. What are these bullies so scared of?
Here is your proof that the indoctrination your far-left “grassroots” group supports is indeed part of FCPS curriculum
https://web.archive.org/web/20210722123818/https://baileyses.fcps.edu/node/4887
No, that is not proof. These are resources teachers can use (or anyone for that matter). Please show me where it is documented that it is a required part of the curriculum and i’ll be happy to believe you.
the very top of that explicitly says for “These resources are for teachers and adults to explore and expand their learning”. TEACHERS and ADULTS. Nowhere does it say “teach this” or “add this to your lesson.” You are purposely spreading misinformation.
Still waiting on someone, anyone, to provide examples of those in the curriculum.
Meanwhile, books are being banned across the country, because of political reasons. The books are the problem apparently yet where is the same level of outrage for violent/graphic video games or movies? What about what is available on the internet? Oh wait, that doesn’t align with their political goals. These poor kids are caught in the middle of a certain parry’s goal to win at all costs. How about just being a better parent and teaching your kids instead of blaming others for all of your mistakes and fears?
Sounds like Holly wants a group that will rubber stamp whatever the FCPS School Board does, as long as they spend money on Justice HS and leave Justice Park alone. Lots of other people have very legitimate grievances with this School Board, and “4 Public Education” and their friends (almost all with close ties to the FCDC) want to silence them.
I also saw this and immediately saw this as an effort to silence critics of the school board and FCPS – and I am NOT talking about CRT or any of the national attention grabber issues. I have and continue to be critical of this school board for reducing avenues of public comment while ignoring the public feedback it does get. Once again, I am not talking about the race issues here, but am talking about issues such as the Justice HS addition and the Justice HS pyramid elementary school boundary change. I am also critical of how long it took this county to get back into school and for missed opportunities for in classroom education. I am highly critical of our leadership for declaring that FCPS did not experience a learning gap/loss during the pandemic after test scores showed soaring failing rates, presumably because many other school systems similarly fell behind. I am critical of the lack of serious effort it has put into remediation of the learning loss, and the lack of attention that issue has gotten from the school board.
This group would have us just cheerlead the school board and FCPS without taking a critical look at the incredible failures that have caused so many in the school system to abandon it and make the changes necessary to address those failures.
I am 100% for public education. I believe we must have a robust and vibrant public school system as not only an equalizing force for society, but also in practical purposes because a robust public education system attracts higher paying companies and jobs to an area, which in turn help reduce poverty.
But the creation of such a public education is not done by cheering failed leaders and failed practices and shielding them from legitimate critique.
You make a lot of excellent points, Jeff.
The School Board elected in 2019 has made a hash of all three of the boundary/capacity related issues it took on.
In the case of the Glen Forest ES overcrowding, Ricardy Anderson basically shifted the problem away from Glen Forest to Parklawn ES, so it’s inevitable that we’ll be right back at it in a few years.
In the case of the Shrevewood ES overcrowding, Karl Frisch reallocated FCPS funds to renovate the Dunn Loring administrative building, when a simpler boundary change involving only three schools could have been quickly implemented instead. He then offered this up as a solution to the future growth in Tysons, when the Dunn Loring site is nowhere near where that growth is occurring.
In the case of the McLean HS overcrowding, Elaine Tholen rejected a staff recommendation that would have called for the county’s wealthiest high school (Langley) to take on some of the increasing volume of multi-family housing in Tysons, and instead moved only some million-dollar single-family homes in Vienna to Langley instead.
All these decisions were bad, and they were all endorsed by School Board members who should have been paying more attention (but were not). Yet “4 Public Education” wants us to put these folks on a pedestal and raise money to mount campaigns that anyone who criticizes their decisions must be “astro-turfing” or funded by the Koch Brothers. It’s as partisan as it gets, championed by folks who love inside baseball.
👍👍 education…..not indoctrination
Just say you voted for Youngkin and go. Please. Enough. Boundary issues will ALWAYS be sticky, fraught, and people will fight to their last gasp to stay at the schools that they deem palatable. Teachers and their health and wellbeing matter too, not just your need for a babysitter.
School Board members get away with bad decisions because they are endorsed by a political party and then the party stalwarts like Holly and Donna back them up with excuses no matter what.
And, Donna’s response is largely irrelevant to whether the School Board mishandled the overcrowding situations at Glen Forest, Shrevewood, and McLean – which it absolutely did, for reasons that have everything to do with their inattention to their basic responsibilities and nothing to do with her snide suggestion that parents think of schools as little more than day care.
“teachers and their well-being matter too, not just for your need for a babysitter”
You’ve got some nerve, Donna. The only teachers that spoke during public comment spoke out against the magnitude of adjustment that was done, one of which was a teacher that taught at both Parklawn and Glenforest.
And you’ll never be able to convince me that a plan that moved parklawn to be ~70% used while making Sleepy Hollow and Parklawn both over capacity until they removed pull out rooms for sped and esol and convert them to general education to make the numbers work.
Yup.. that’s right… Ricardy Anderson put the screws to disabled kids and esol kids in order to put a school well under capacity – and she made sure that none of that information was made public either before public comment or the school board vote.
Langley vs McClean can be described as a “sticky situation”. Two rich pyramids fighting over which high scoring high school their kids go to.
Donna, if you are a member of the local democratic committee and you think asserting on these forums that parents of kids with IEPs are just interested in a babysitter and are not interested in the education of their children… well, you should feel the weight of this last election loss on your shoulders, because it is this kind of messed up messaging that drove so many away, and if it continues, it will drive me any my family away as well.
I will read more about the Parklawn/Sleepy Hollow situation, I don’t know what is going on there, but I do remember being impressed with how quickly the school board moved with the Bailey’s capacity issues years ago at this point, I don’t know if you were around for that.
And let me guess. You are quite comfortably working at home, safe from COVID, but don’t think others who work for school systems should be extended the same comfort, particularly before the vaccine was available. That is a disgusting take. Teachers are professionals with advanced degrees. Treat them and think of them like the teleworking professionals that you work with.
It is time to move on. Kids have been back in school since September. Good luck to you and others getting your IEP accommodated at a private school, since they are not required to do so.
Hi Kim.
We’re not cheerleaders for anyone. We recognize the board made mistakes these past two years…as have many. However, we also believe there is a strategy to many attacking the SB and it’s not about education at all. And we want to preserve public education. We welcome you to join us.
Pushing identity politics has and will always be a losing proposition.
This “grassroots” organization is led by woke wokester democrats and is using all the latest Newspeak like “equity.”
Teach our kids, stop indoctrinating them.
There is no CRT taught. This misinformation is sad. History is taught. I’m not sure how that is “indoctrination.”
Ms. Hazard,
I believe Richard said “identity politics.” Is it your position that identity politics is not taught?The definition of indoctrination is “the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.” Indoctrination seems an appropriate term to me, as no public schools are allowing, let alone introducing, counterpoints to this toxic (imo) instruction. It seems to be a one way street. Am I mistaken, Ms. Hazard? Can you cite one instance in all of Fairfax County schools, where teachers introduce conservative counterarguments to identity politics and woke studies? Ms. Hazard?
What examples did you provide that show these things are being taught that you disagree with? Please cite the specific part of the curriculum so we can see exactly what you mean. No hearsay or opinion articles, actual documented proof.
Can you offer a conservative counter-argument to whatever it is you are calling identity politics?
Anything other than White victimhood? No identity politics there though.
I am not white, and I can offer suggestions. Let us focus on our similarities rather than our differences. Let’s assimilate rather than divide. Let us cherish being Americans instead of separating by race, and assigning value or lack of value by race. Let us return to traditional moral values and elevate the family. Let us build each other up instead of tearing each other down. Let us have equal protection under the law instead of favoring groups based on their color. Let us keep merit based programs and not lower standards. Respectfully submitted.
That isn’t a conservative counter argument, so much as a statement of opposition to imagined ills.
If people really believe that schools aren’t doing those things you say you want and are doing those things you say you don’t want then they are either ignorant or misinformed.
I do not see Holly’s reply…….
I am sorry you feel that way. I have to tell you that you are incredibly incorrect. I hope one day you will finally understand,
…Additionally,in response to Mr. Richard H.(see previous post) . It’s important to make sure all kids get a fair shake and chance to succeed. No matter what their zip code is.
Please provide proof of your accusation that she is incorrect. I’ve yet to see anyone show me a curriculum which explicitly states these topics are being taught. Stop with the vague comments and hearsay and provide some proof, it’s not too much to ask… or is it?
The rainbow flag and buzzwords and the backgrounds of the founders of this effort do not ring like a grassroots effort to me. But then again, we are redefining and misusing terms for political gain, constantly. For example, the United States is a constitutional federal republic, not a democracy. It blows my mind that elected officials at all levels don’t know the difference. Follow the (political) science.
Well, if you feel that way. I can assure you, this group is completely locally grown. Now we have the opportunity to bring common sense and decency back into the school environment. I hope that one day you see that as well.
Oh no! Not the “rainbow flag”! I can think of a few flags I prefer less than the Pride flag. Like the ones they were carrying in Charlottesville and during the Capitol insurrection. But by all means, let’s not have the “rainbow flag”.
Agree – no rainbow flags that say “equity” on them at school. That’s a good first step!!
It is not propaganda or indoctrination, even though politicians and culture warriors are feeding the outrage machine and apparently, from your statement, convincing people of these lies. If we don’t learn from our history we will repeat the mistakes. Our kids need to learn complete history, not just the comfortable stuff, so they can think critically and learn from what has happened. BTW, it would be nice if people were courageous enough to use their whole names if they want to weigh in.
There have been many headlines by local and national media that use “Parents” as a descriptor for those disrupting elections and public meetings. Now there is this new “Group”– made up of actual Fairfax county Citizens — parents, taxpayers, residents.
I welcome a group that is not funded by outside groups such as N2 America Inc in order to overturn legitimate elections by Fairfax County Residents. ($75000 to OpenFCPS – https://www.vpap.org/committees/374310/donor/374371/)
I welcome a group that clearly states that history should not be shied away from just because it might be horrifying.
I welcome a group that will protect public schools from the privatization efforts by for-profit charter schools.
I welcome a group that stands up against the theatrics of those who want democracy for themselves but no one else. I welcome a “Group” that understands, irrefutably, that Democracy and Public Schools are inexplicably entwined.
I personally know of a middle school civics teacher who insists he is very impartial in his teaching, yet has an enormous BLM sticker on the back of his car. I’m sure none of that racist garbage seeps into his teaching.
If Black lives mattering is racist…well, I know what you really think of Black people. And ha, right you “personally” know him. This is more like a Fox OANN news fantasy.
The left’s response to the uproar over CRT and divisive identity politics is that it isn’t happening. Amazing. Keep up that narrative, and you’ll get demolished in the midterms. Independents have moved double digits to the right expressly because you lefties mixed cause and effect (it’s the police’s fault that some demographics commit more crime), created a problem (let’s tell all the criminals it’s not their fault and blame white people wholesale) and then denying the problem exists (we’re not teaching your kids about “white privilege” or “systemic racism”… those are conspiracy theories!). Really, please keep it up.
I agree that the left has many problems right now and they don’t have many solutions. They lack a clear message and it’s killing them.
As someone who has voted for both parties in my lifetime, I’m simply asking folks on the right to provide some proof of their gripes about schools teaching topics they disagree with. The problem with the Republican Party now (and I wish they would fix it so I could consider voting for them again) is that they provide zero evidence of anything and let folks like Tucker Carlson speak for them. He’s making $25m+ per year and doesn’t care about facts, he cares about riling up the base so they watch his show, he doesn’t get paid to have accurate reporting.
So I ask you (I’ve asked multiple others with not a single response), if you believe CRT is being taught in schools or something related, provide some actual documented proof. Time to step up and be honest. I’ll wait…….
I am honestly sick of the CRT nonsense. It isn’t being taught in schools. What it seems clear to me that conservatives are really upset about is that any unflattering history about our past be taught. They want the civil war to be taught as a “states rights” thing. It’s pure bullshit when you look at the secession documents.
That being said, I wish FCPS wouldn’t spend money training teachers in CRT, given that CRT is not in the curriculum. They spent what – 20,000 for Dr Kendi to speak for an hour? How much more do they spend for other training material related to CRT that has little to nothing to do with the curriculum?
While I’m all for unconscious bias training, it seems clear to me that FCPS has some priorities backwards. I cannot fathom a good reason to spend that kind of money on ANY speaker for that amount of time, especially when so many of our students are so far behind and we have such a learning gap.
If this group truly wants to stand for public education, it will press the school board to drive focus on addressing the incredible loss of learning that occurred over a year+ of virtual learning. The reasons why people are fleeing public education is because they see their kids aren’t getting the education they need. I know several people who pulled their kids when fairfax stayed virtual and they found that the difference in education quality was night and day in the private schools they went to where their kids got in-person education, so they haven’t gone back.
To lure people back and return faith in the system, we need a renewed focus on quality and closing the losses of learning. By doing that, it also furthers the goals of equity and will do far more than any CRT training can ever do.
Will this group press the school board to return to its core of ensuring all students have equitable access to a quality public education? Or will it just be a counter to the CRT shrills? If it is the former, then maybe it will surprise me and truly be a voice for public education. Sadly, so far it looks to be the latter.
I wonder why not a single person I know in education works for a private school. Probably because the pay and benefits are a “night and day” difference from private schools. I’ve known more people to leave education entirely rather than work for a private school, and I have genuinely wondered why this is.
Perhaps some of the “quality” that people are seeing is a lack of diversity, but I digress.
At least two of the families I know attend a local Catholic school which is heavily hispanic. They enjoy lower teacher to student ratios and they stayed in person throughout most of the pandemic, which dramatically reduced the loss in learning. There is also obviously a religious element at play as well.
Perhaps the reason why you don’t know many private school teachers is because public schools vastly outnumber private schools around here (which is as it should be).
I’d suggest you check the race-baiting and actually talk to people who have left the school system since the pandemic began. You may get yourself an education in the process.
Any curriculum that acknowledges the existence of enslaved Black people is CRT, according to the right. It is frightening.