School news roundup

School board seeks stay in TJ ruling – The Fairfax County School Board filed “a motion for stay pending appeal” on March 5 in response to the decision by a federal judge invalidating the admissions process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.

Judge Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court ruled that the admissions system adopted by the school board in 2020 amounts to impermissible “racial balancing” and that it discriminates against Asian students.

The motion for a stay calls for the current TJHSST admissions process to remain in place for the Class of 2026, while the school board prepares an appeal of Hilton’s ruling.

Related story: TJ admissions process discriminates against Asians, judge rules

Ending this process while the current applicant pool of about 2,500 students is being evaluated would cause “uncertainty and distress” to those students, said school board chair Stella Pekarsky (Sully).

She also said failure to grant the stay “would cause significant operational disruptions for TJ ahead of the next school year, including hiring decisions, course selections, teaching assignments, and the development of curriculum.”

Just World – Annandale High School leadership students and the Just World Interact Club are hosting the 16th Just World Festival at the school Friday, March 11, 4-6:30 p.m.

Just World features workshops and an interactive exhibition hall with vendors and food representing different cultures. Annandale High School’s Heritage Night, with student performances, begins after the festival at 7 p.m.

This year’s theme for the Just World Festival is “Reconnecting.”

“We hope to inspire youth that they are not only a part of their local community but a global one, as well,” the student organizers say. “We want to educate the community about global and environmental issues, fair trade, human rights, equality, and most importantly, social action.”

Innovation Hour – Students at Wakefield Forest Elementary School spend the last hour every Friday following their own creative or educational pursuits, FCPS reports.

Principal Sharyn Prindle launched Innovation House because she knew from research that giving kids an opportunity to be creative pays off long-term. She also hoped that Innovation Hour would cut the absentee rate on Fridays.

Students in kindergarten through the fourth grade bring in materials from home – such as egg cartons, empty cereal boxes, plastic utensils, yarn, and popsicle sticks – and use them during Innovation Hour.

“We ask our students to think about something they are interested in, how they can grow and develop, and how teachers can support you in getting there,” Prindle says. “There is a lot of working with other kids, there is a lot of building and hands-on activity, and a lot of mess making.”

Fourth graders incorporate a monthly bazaar, called “class store,” into Innovation Hour, where they sell and trade items they made. For currency, they use special tickets given by their teachers for working hard and helping classmates.

Neighbors donate food – Volunteers with Food For Neighbors collected over 17,800 pounds of food at Red Bag events March 5 at five locations in Northern Virginia, including the Falls Church area of Fairfax County.

Under Food For Neighbors’ Red Bag program, volunteers are given a red bag and asked to fill it with groceries. Volunteer drivers pick up the bags, and other volunteers sort and distribute the food to local schools the same day.

The donations collected in assist Falls Church High School and Jackson Middle School families.

The Falls Church area has 328 Red Bag donors and 216 volunteers. On March 5, 22 drivers collected more than 5,300 pounds of food.

Little food pantry – Borrowing from the Little Free Library concept, Woodburn Elementary School has a Little Free Food Pantry outside near the main entrance.

The little pantry provides free, emergency food for families who need supplemental groceries. It’s available 24/7, no questions asked.

The pantry box was installed by the Be The Good Project, a local, volunteer-run nonprofit. Community members are invited to drop off non-perishable items to share.

Virtual program to end – The Covid community transmission rate continues to decline, and rates of in-school transmission remained consistently low this year. Vaccines are widely available for children age 5 and older.

For these reasons, FCPS is dropping the option for virtual instruction at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

Homebound instruction will continue to be available for students with significant health risks that prevent them from attending school in person.