Tag: school board
Lubbock, Texas, Superintendent Karen Garza selected FCPS superintendent
Garza Karen Garza, the superintendent of the Lubbock, Texas, school system, is the “preferred candidate” to be the next superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, “pending final negotiations for employment and a successful site visit,” the school board announced April 10. Garza would succeed Jack Dale, who is retiring, effective July 1. The school board … Continued
Fairfax County/school board exploring opportunities for shared facilities
A joint working group made up of Fairfax County supervisors and school board members is exploring the county’s capital needs and creative ways to fund new projects—including opportunities for shared facilities. The Capital Facilities and Debt Management Working Group was convened by Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova to respond to concerns raised by the … Continued
FCPS School Board approves scaled-back plan on AAP centers
Rather than totally restructure the Advanced Academic Program (AAP), the Fairfax County School Board voted Jan. 24 to adopt a scaled-back plan for just four new centers—none of them in Annandale or the Mason District. A FCPS staff report had recommended putting an AAP center in every middle school and adding centers to more elementary … Continued
Parents urge school board to build new school at Willston, not Glasgow
Parents at school board hearing oppose building a new elementary school on the Glasgow Middle School athletic fields. There seems to be widespread agreement that a new elementary school is needed in the Bailey’s Crossroads area to relieve severe overcrowding at Bailey’s Elementary School. The problem is there isn’t any available land. At a school … Continued
Mason/Annandale parents weigh FCPS proposal on AAP Centers
School board member Sandy Evans (Mason) is concerned that Fairfax County Public Schools’ plan to restructure the Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Centers might not meet the needs of Mason District students and parents. She called it a “cookie-cutter” solution to a problem that schools in our area might not necessarily have. The plan calls for … Continued
Major changes proposed by FCPS for Advanced Academic Program centers
Parents from Braddock Elementary School support the proposal. A proposal by Fairfax County Public Schools to restructure its Advanced Academic Program (AAP) centers is upsetting lots of parents, and a series of FCPS last week drew huge crowds. Many parents were concerned that adding lots of new centers would dilute the program and urged the … Continued
Most speakers at school board hearing support charter school
Current plans call for the FLA to be based at the Graham Road Elementary School building. Speaker after speaker at a Fairfax County School Board hearing last night on the proposed charter school spoke out in favor of the Fairfax Leadership Academy (FLA). The vast majority of the 47 people who spoke at the hearing … Continued
TJ admissions process is discriminatory, federal complaint charges
The entrance to Thomas Jefferson High School on Braddock Road, Annandale The Coalition of The Silence, an advocacy group formed by former Fairfax County school board member Tina Hone, has filed a federal civil rights complaint charging the admissions process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) unfairly excludes black and Latino … Continued
FXCO School Board to consider later start times for high school
By Laurie Lindberg As you may have heard, the Fairfax County School Board passed a resolution in April that requires the superintendent to report back to the board about how other school systems have been able to provide high school start times after 8 a.m. The school board directed the superintendent to identify successful approaches … Continued
Falls Church HS in dire need of renovation, parents tell school board
A light fixture ready to fall A Fairfax County school board hearing on the school system’s capital improvement program (CIP) Monday night was dominated by parents and students who spoke about the urgent need to renovate Falls Church High School. A parent advocacy group, UPROAR (United Parents to Renovate our Academic Resource), was formed to … Continued
New FXCO school board sworn in
Braddock school board member Megan McLaughlin (center in blue) with family and friends at the swearing-in ceremony Members of the new Fairfax County school board—sworn in to office at a ceremony at Luther Jackson Middle School Dec. 19—will need to hit the ground running. Among the most pressing issues facing the new board are the … Continued
Kory, Evans defend need-based funding
Del. Kaye Kory and Fairfax County school board members Sandy Evans (Mason District) and Tina Hone (at-large) have issued the following statement in response to an Oct. 13 Washington Post article about GOP strategist Catherine Lorenze, who wants FCPS to do away with the needs-based formula. According to Lorenze, poorer schools, like those in Annandale … Continued
FXCO School board candidates address needs-based funding formula
From the left: Nell Hurley, Lin-Dai Kendall, Lolita Mancheno Smoak, and Ryan McElveen When deciding which school board candidates to vote for Nov. 8, one possible factor to consider is whether they understand and support the issues faced by schools in Annandale and the Mason District, which serve diverse populations with larger numbers of … Continued
Candidates clash over roads, taxes, and environment
Saslaw Voters Fairfax County’s Braddock District got a close-up look at some of the candidates running for office in November at a forum Tuesday evening sponsored by the North Springfield Civic Association. Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, who has been in the Virginia legislature since 1976, reminded the audience of some of his accomplishments: bringing … Continued
FX CO teacher unions weigh in on school board candidates
The two unions that represent Fairfax County teachers have endorsed school board candidates running for election in November, and in some cases are supporting newcomers over incumbents. Both the Fairfax Education Association (FEA) and the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (FCFT) are supporting a mix of candidates who have been endorsed by both the Democratic and Republican … Continued