School news roundup

Dental health – Students at the Falls Church Academy’s dental careers program conducted dental screenings at Annandale Terrace Elementary School.

The high school students created posters, games. and hands-on activities to show kindergarteners and first-graders how to properly brush and floss their teeth, how a dentist checks for cavities and infections, and what foods and drinks are good for the teeth. 

Stronger families – A seven-week interactive series at Annandale High School brings teens and parents together as facilitators teach them coping skills, help them build communication skills, and strengthen their bonds through games, projects, and discussions.

The Strengthening Families Program is run by the Stop Child Abuse Now organization at several Fairfax County schools. It brings together administrators, family liaisons, the food pantry liaison, and nonprofits to support families. The fall series at Annandale was conducted in Spanish; sessions in English will be held this spring.

Tree sales – The Justice High School PTSA is conducting a Christmas tree fundraiser. Members of the community can order a 6-7-foot, 7-8-foot, or 8-9-foot Frasier fir tree online. The deadline is Nov. 21.

According to the PTSA, these trees are priced similarly to those sold at Meadows Farms but the profits will support programs at Justice.

Trees can be picked up at the school parking lot between 4 and 7 p.m. on Dec. 1.

Career boost – Educate Fairfax awarded a grant to Annandale High School to support students interested in launching careers in international development around the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This experience will allow students to analyze career options in international development with large organizations such as the World Bank and a hands-on opportunity to volunteer with DC Central Kitchen.

Students who served on the Annandale Equity Team and the Just World festival will be able to talk to professionals involved in responding to humanitarian needs.

Dads at school – Belvedere Elementary School encourages fathers and father figures to take an active role in their student’s life. The Dads at Belvedere program calls for dads to volunteer at school at least one full day a year, spending time in the classroom, at lunch, and at recess.

“Our kids love seeing the grownups in their life at school,” states a flyer. By showing up, dads are “demonstrating that education is important.”

Atom innovators – a team of female students from Annandale High School won first place in Audi of America’s Drive Like a Girl engineering contest. The competition calls for high school girls to design and present a project focused on the automotive industry. Congratulations to Carolina Valenzuela Rodriguez, Ava Sweall, Fatmata Musa, and An Pham.

Citrus fundraiser – The Falls Church High School band boosters are selling citrus fruit from Florida Indian River Groves to support the school’s band. Various packages of navel oranges, mandarin oranges, grapefruit, and other goodies are available. Click here to order. The deadline is Nov. 24.

Suit against St. John Cunning dismissed – School board member-elect Marcia St. John-Cunning (Franconia) successfully fended off two Republican attempts to have her candidacy disqualified. On Nov. 13, the Fairfax County Circuit Court dismissed the second case filed by the 8th Congressional District Republican Committee.

Following the first lawsuit, St. John-Cunning got 61.46 percent of the vote on Nov. 7, beating Republican opponent Kevin Pinkney.

“It’s astonishing that the GOP wasted so much money and time on two baseless court cases to prevent more than 17,000 voters from having their values represented in our schools,” St. John-Cunning says. “As we’ve seen across the country, this is another example of the GOP’s undemocratic attempts to disenfranchise voters to secure an election they could not win at the polls.”

Schools underfunded – A study conducted by the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found Virginia school divisions are underfunded in large part due to flaws and inadequacies in the state’s Standards of Quality (SOQ) funding formula.

The SOQ formula is the primary way the state determines the amount of K-12 education funding for each jurisdiction.

According to the study, Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average and the regional average.

The SOQ dramatically underestimates the actual costs of public education, the report states. The formula provided $6.6 billion less than what was spent by local school divisions in Virginia in FY 2021.

The formula does not adequately account for local labor costs or high-needs students. Over the last 10 years, per-pupil state funding for special education students has declined by 16 percent.