posted Feb 1, 2012 5:56 PM by Bryan Woodcock
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Sandy Evans
School Board Update
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| Contact Sandy | |
ssevans@fcps.edu
Kathy Partlow,
Executive Administrative Assistant
571-423-1064
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Sandy's Office Hours
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New Hours Coming soon! Thomas Jefferson Library 7415 Arlington Boulevard
Falls Church, VA 22042 |
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Key Dates | |
Budget:
Feb. 2 - School Board Work Session on Budget,7 pm
Luther Jackson MS
Feb. 9 - School Board approves Advertised Budget at regular Board meeting,
Luther Jackson MS
"Lacey" ES Naming:
Feb. 9 School Board New Business
Feb. 23,
School Board Action Item
School Board Meetings:
Feb. 9, 7 pm
Luther Jackson MS
Feb. 13, 11 am
All-Day Work Session
Gatehouse Admin
Rm 1600
Feb. 23, 7 pm
Luther Jackson MS
Feb. 11, School Board Retreat
Fairfax High School
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Budget, Honors and a New School Name
Dear Friends,
I hope everyone had a wonderful first semester! Here are some updates on important School Board issues. There's a lot going on. The
Superintendent announced his proposed $2.4 billion FY2013 Budget on
Jan. 12, starting a budget process that ends in May. Among the major
items in his proposal were raises for teachers and other employees, more
funding for extended learning time for students either during the
school year or in the summer, and expansion of Foreign Language in
Elementary Schools. Much of the funding increases would go just to pay
for a continuing increase in students throughout the county.
The School Board has a budget work session scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 2,
when Board members will discuss amendments they would like to make to
the Superintendent's plan. It will be televised on Channel 21 starting
at 7 pm. On Feb. 9 the Board will approve an Advertised
budget to send to the Board of Supervisors. After the Board of
Supervisors determines in April how much the county transfer to FCPS
will be, the School Board will approve a final budget in May.
The
School Board held hearings on the budget on Monday night, with 46
speakers testifying. Some main themes of the hearings were support for
benefits for parent liaisons, expansion of foreign language programs,
increased teacher pay, a renovation for Falls Church High School,
increased custodial positions, pre-K programs, summer school, budget
transparency and later high school start times.
Here's a link to budget information: http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2013.shtml
Athletic Fees:
As in past years, I'd like to eliminate the athletic fees, though the
Superintendent's budget still keeps them. I'll be asking my colleagues
to support ending them in the upcoming fiscal year. Stayed tuned.
Capital Improvement Program:
On
Jan. 26, the Board approved the CIP, which this year includes a plan to
build another new elementary school in Mason District. Several of our
schools in Mason remain overcrowded, especially Bailey's Elementary
School for the Arts and Sciences, with most requiring trailers to use as
classrooms. FCPS expects to see continuing increases in student
enrollment, particularly in our area. One amendment to the CIP, which I
supported, asks the Board of Supervisors to increase the amount the
school system can spend in capital costs from the current $155 million a
year to $180 million a year so that we can speed up our much-needed
renovations. We have a unique opportunity to take advantage of low
construction costs and low interest rates if we can increase our capital
expenditures.
In
discussing the CIP, I pointed to the desperate need for Falls Church
High School to get a renovation. I will be discussing with my Board
colleagues ways to speed up renovations at all our schools in the queue.
At my urging, the Board will be reviewing the criteria by which
renovations are prioritized at a June or July work session.
Here's the link to the CIP and background information:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/cip.shtml
Boundary Change Impact:
One of the issues I plan to watch most closely this year is the impact
of the boundary changes approved by the Board last year for AHS and
schools feeding into the school at the Lacey site. As many of you know, I
had tried to keep Wakefield Forest and/or Bren Mar Park west at AHS and
remain concerned about the impact of moving these areas out of AHS.
Fortunately, we were able to "grandfather" in all current students, so
no one at AHS now will have to go to another school, as often happens in
boundary changes. I am having ongoing conversations with FCPS staff and
parents on ideas for helping students, families and the school as we
move forward, both in the Annandale pyramid and at those schools
affected by the "Lacey" decision.
Name for the New School at Lacey:
Yesterday I toured the new school, still under construction, along with
principal Brian Butler and a group of parents and community members.
It's looking great!
Soon
we'll no longer have to refer to the "school at the Lacey site," as
we'll have a real name for our wonderful new elementary school. As a
result of community input, I'm confident we will soon be receiving a
recommendation from the Superintendent to consider two possible names
for the elementary school, Mason Crest and Masonville.
The naming of the school will be put on the School Board agenda as New Business on Feb. 9 and will be voted on as an Action Item on Feb. 23.
In the meantime, I look forward to getting more public input into the
name, now that we are down to two candidates. I welcome hearing from
PTAs, community associations, individual parents and community members.
Please write to me at ssevans@fcps.edu.
In addition, you may sign up to testify at the Feb. 9 and Feb. 23
School Board meetings to express your view. Signup starts at 6 am the
Monday before the meeting. For more details and to sign up, here's the
link: http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/meetings/requestspeak.shtml
As
background, a community meeting was held at Falls Church High School on
Jan. 18 to discuss possible names of the new school and to have
community members voice their preferences. Citizens brought forth nine
names: Masonville, Mason Crest, Mason, Ruby Bridges, Crestview,
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Obama, Mason Hills and North Annandale.
After two rounds of voting, Mason Crest emerged as the top vote getter
and Masonville as the second.
I
appreciate all the thoughtfulness that went into the naming process. As
your Mason District School Board member, I'm happy to see that
whichever way we go, "Mason" will remain in the school's name.
Honors Classes:
At our Jan. 26 meeting, the School Board voted 11 to 1 to include five
specific Honors classes in the high school course curriculum for the
2012-2013 school year. The vote was part of a larger discussion about
whether we should have a two-tier or three-tier system for our students.
In recent years, the school system had been eliminating Honors classes
where Advanced Placement (AP) courses were available, leaving students
to choose between standard-level and AP (college level) courses. Many
students, parents and advocates came to us to say they needed a middle
offering between standard-level and AP courses.
I
strongly supported inclusion of the Honors courses. Students shouldn't
have to choose between being overwhelmed or bored, which was what was
happening to some of our students. One of my objections to the two-track
system was that too many students were being pushed into college-level
courses and then doing poorly in them and/or getting very low scores on
the final standardized AP test. I did not buy the argument that a
student was better off taking an AP course and doing poorly in it than
doing well in an Honors level course. That reasoning defies common
sense, research and what parents and students themselves were telling
us.
The
Board also decided to take a broader look at the issue at a work
session in February, including how International Baccalaureate (IB)
programs will be handled. I support offering several levels so that each
student can choose which is right for himself/herself. We need to
encourage all students to take courses that challenge them without
setting them up for failure.
School Lunches: I've
been working with a group called Real Food for Kids, which is
advocating for healthier school lunches, such as more fresh fruits and
vegetables, fewer preservatives, salad bars and freshly cooked food. The
Board will get a report soon on the results of a Nutrition Task Force
and will consider a request that we do an assessment of our food
services.
Biking, Walking, Bus Safety Education: The
Board last month approved my amendment to retain and expand our safety
education for students walking, biking and taking the bus to school. I
worked on the amendment with the Safe Routes to Schools citizens group.
Budget Timeline: |
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Community Office Hours:
Please
come visit me at my community office hours at local libraries. No
appointment necessary. Spring hours coming soon! Thomas Jefferson
Library on Rte. 50.
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PTA
Presidents and Civic Association presidents, please pass this on to
members or others you think might be interested in schools issues.
How to reach me: I look forward to hearing from you and can be reached at ssevans@fcps.edu or call my Executive Administrative Assistant, Kathy Partlow at 517-423-1064. The
views expressed in this newsletter are my personal views and do not
represent the policy of the Fairfax County School Board. I welcome your
comments and concerns about FCPS business. Please send messages to my
FCPS email address rather than my personal email address or this
newsletter: ssevans@fcps.edu
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Sandy Evans | 8115 Gatehouse Rd. | Falls Church | VA | 22042
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posted Oct 11, 2011 5:31 AM by Bryan Woodcock
Sandy Evans
School Board Update |
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Sandy's Office Hours
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Sat., Oct. 29
10:30 am-12:30 pm
Thomas Jefferson Library
7415 Arlington Boulevard
Falls Church, VA 22042
Del. Kaye Kory will be joining me!
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Key Dates |
EDUCATION SUMMIT
"Customizing Public Education"
Sat., Oct. 15
8 am to noon
Woodson HS
Mon., Oct. 17
9 am-5 pm
School Board All-Day Work Session Topics include Budget Priorities, Public Engagement Issues, Audits, Initiatives to Support Families in Poverty, Legislative Program, Citizen Advisory Committees
Wed., Oct. 19,
6 pm
Falls Church HS Parent Resource Night
Falls Church HS
Thurs., Oct. 20,
7 pm
Regular School Board meeting,
Luther Jackson MS
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Dear Friends,
I hope you're enjoying the fall weather and that the school year is going well for all of you. Here are some updates on School Board issues.
This Weekend! Education Summit on Customizing Public Education:
Come join the conversation about how to move to the next level of Customizing Public Education to suit your child's needs.
Time: 8 am - noon
Date: Sat., Oct. 15
Place: Woodson High School
Educators, parents and students join a panel on this subject. Breakout sessions will explore:
- How to help students keep balance in their lives
- Helping your student find his/her passion and gaining marketable skills
- Student goal-setting and learning plans
For more details and to register (we'd like to hear from you, but still feel free to attend if you haven't registered):
http://www.fcps.edu/news/summit.htm
Surveillance Cameras in High Schools: Thanks to all of you who responded to my request for your comments on surveillance cameras. All of the high schools are having dialogues with parents about this issue. I've attended two of them (at Falls Church HS and Thomas Jefferson HSST) to hear directly from parents, students and teachers. Annandale HS will have its dialogue at 6:30 pm on Tues., Oct. 18, and Stuart HS will hold a meeting on the subject at 7 pm, Monday, Oct. 24. For my previous report on the issue, please go to my web site at http://evansschoolboard.blogspot.com
After we finish getting public input, which several of us on the Board felt was critical before considering this further, I will report back to you on how the School Board plans to proceed.
"Lacey" Principal Selection: FCPS has started the process for choosing a principal for our wonderful new elementary school at the Lacey Center site by asking for parent and other community input on what type of principal will be the best match for this school. Parent and staff perspectives are used to screen resumes and develop interview questions. What skills, experiences, and leadership characteristics are needed at the new school? What are key challenges and issues? To give your input, please write to beth.boivin@fcps.edu.
The deadline for comments is Oct. 12.
The principal panel, consisting of parents and staff from the four schools where incoming students are attending now (Annandale Terrace, Woodburn, Beech Tree and Belvedere), will meet on Nov. 1. The principal will be announced two or three weeks later.
After the principal is in place, we will start the process of choosing the name for the new school.
In the meantime, some parents are already starting to organize a PTA. If your students will be attending the new school and you'd like to participate in the PTA, please contact Monica Buckhorn at monica.buckhorn@verizon.net.
Ad Hoc Boundary Process: If you were part of the Annandale Regional Study and have ideas on how the process could be improved the next time we go through a boundary study, please email me with your comments (ssevans@fcps.edu).
As the new chair of the Comprehensive Planning and Development Committee, I'll be asking for review of what worked well and what we can do better. I have ideas of my own, but want yours too!
High school students and parents:
Have a wonderful Homecoming Week!
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Sandy's Community Office Hours:
Please come visit me at my community office hours at local libraries. No appointment necessary. My next one will be on Sat., October 29, at the Thomas Jefferson Library on Rte. 50. Del. Kaye Kory will be joining me!
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posted Jul 16, 2011 2:01 PM by Bryan Woodcock
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Sandy Evans
School Board Update
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| Contact Sandy |
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ssevans@fcps.edu
Kathy Partlow,
Executive Administrative Assistant
571-423-1064
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Sandy's Office Hours
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Starting back up in the Fall
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Key Dates |
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July 18 (Mon) 11 am
School Board Work Session on Annandale/Lacey solutions
July 28 (Thu) 7pm
Regular School Board meeting, Final Action on Annandale solutions and Lacey boundaries
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SPECIAL: Annandale/"Lacey" ES
Staff Recommendations Posted
For School Board Work Session Monday
Dear Friends,
The staff recommendation for relieving overcrowding at Annandale High School and for creating a new elementary school at the Lacey Center site was posted yesterday, with maps and background information, in preparation for a School Board work session on Monday. Here's the link to the Recommendation and Background:
http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=8JJCPW320A99
Considering the challenges involved, there is significant good news in the staff proposal, much of this as a result of advocacy from the community. The staff recommendation, which would go into effect in Fall 2012, includes:
- Keeping the AAP Center at Glasgow MS
- Full grandfathering at Annandale High School for all students who enter AHS by fall 2011, so no high school student would have to switch after making the transition to high school. (High school changes would start with rising 9th graders in fall 2012.)
- Full grandfathering for all middle school students who enter their middle school by fall 2011, so in fall 2012 both rising 7th and 8th graders at our 6-8 grade middle schools would remain at their current middle school. (Middle school changes would start with rising 6th graders in fall 2012.)
- Grandfathering of elementary students who are entering the top grade at their school in fall 2012, allowing them to finish at their old school.
- Continued transportation for grandfathered students.
- Bren Mar Park ES will not have its own elementary school boundaries changed as part of this process, as was proposed in some earlier options.
- The Sleepy Hollow Woods community will remain assigned to Glasgow MS and Stuart HS.
- Beech Tree ES will remain at Glasgow/Stuart.
- The Parklawn ES split feeder, one area identified by the Ad Hoc Study Committee and in staff options for potentially moving out of AHS, will remain at AHS.
At the same time, as with any boundary change, there will be disruption and disappointment for some under this recommendation, including but not limited to:
- High school students who live in the Bren Mar Park ES area would be reassigned to Edison HS starting with rising 9th graders in fall 2012. I continue to work with this community on what options might be available to us to either modify the recommendation and/or to ease the transition to Edison. The main concerns I'm hearing are not about Edison HS itself, which is a fine school completing a beautiful renovation, but about traffic and travel safety issues as well as going from inside to outside of the Beltway to go to school.
- High school students in the Wakefield Forest ES area that now attend AHS would be reassigned to Woodson HS. Many in Mason District who will continue at AHS fear that the loss of both this area and Bren Mar Park could impact the vibrancy and special character of the school in the future. I share those concerns.
- Likewise, the loss of neighborhoods from Belvedere ES, Beech Tree ES, Woodburn ES and Annandale Terrace ES raises issues about maintaining and enhancing the level of energy and volunteerism at those schools. Keeping these schools strong and vibrant in the future will be a paramount issue to consider as we continue this process.
- The Annandale Terrace ES portion north of 236 would not only leave Annandale Terrace but would be split between the new school at Lacey and Woodburn ES, while all of the Woodburn island would be reassigned to "Lacey."
I'm looking at the possibility of amendments to the proposal to benefit Mason District families and schools, including of course AHS itself. In doing so, I appreciate the many emails I've received about the boundary issues as well as thoughtful conversations with community members and principals. In the next two weeks, I will be talking with other School Board members to determine what modifications to the staff recommendation are both desireable and feasible.
The School Board will hold its work session on the recommendations on Monday, July 18, at Gatehouse Administration Center, 8112 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, starting at about 11 am. This is open to the public but is not televised or recorded.
The staff recommendation, background material and maps can be found at:
http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=8JJCPW320A99
Of particular interest are the answers to questions posed by the public and School Board members:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/regional/pdfs/faq.pdf
http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/8JSPF5642F3C/$file/Work%20Session%20Questions%207-18-11%20FINAL.pdf
As always, I welcome your views on these recommendations by writing to me at ssevans@fcps.edu. The School Board is scheduled to vote on the staff recommendations on July 28 at the regular Board meeting, which is televised on Channel 21.
PTA Presidents and Civic Associations, please help get this information to your members.
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Sandy's Community Office Hours:
I've enjoyed visiting with people during my office hours at local libraries.I will be resuming them in the fall.
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PTA Presidents and Civic Association presidents, please pass this on to members or others you think might be interested in schools issues.
How to reach me: I look forward to hearing from you and can be reached at ssevans@fcps.edu or call my Executive Administrative Assistant, Kathy Partlow at 517-423-1064.
The views expressed in this newsletter are my personal views and do not represent the policy of the Fairfax County School Board. I welcome your comments and concerns about FCPS business. Please send messages to my FCPS email address rather than my personal email address or this newsletter: ssevans@fcps.edu
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Sandy Evans | PO Box 4336 | Falls Church | VA | 22044 |  |
posted Mar 19, 2011 7:46 PM by Bryan Woodcock
Reminder: TOWN HALL MEETING
TOMORROW, 1-3 pm, Sat. March 19,
Falls Church High School
Town Hall Meeting: To hear more from the Mason District community on how to help troubled teens and on student discipline issues, I will be holding a joint Town Hall Meeting with Supervisor Gross from 1-3 pm Saturday, March 19 at Falls Church High School, 7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church, in the Little Theater.
Special invited guests include School Board Member Tina Hone (at-large), who has led the effort on the School Board to review discipline policies; Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (Hunter Mill) and Del. Kaye Kory.
Student Discipline: The School Board held its first work session on the student discipline issue on Monday, March 14. To see some background materials used, as well as specific issues identified by School Board members, please go to this link.
We will be continuing our review and revision of these policies and practices in the coming months. I look forward to hearing your views. Whether or not you can attend the town hall meeting, you can always let me know your opinion by writing to me at ssevans@fcps.edu.
In addition, I've asked the Public Engagement Committee, on which I serve, to develop a strategy for including the public in the dialog on this important issue as we work on it in the coming months.
Annandale Regional Study: I'm delighted to let you know that the School Board agreed on Monday to pursue nonboundary options proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee on how to deal with overcrowding at Annandale High School (see link to report in left column), at the same time we investigate potential boundary solutions. This is an unusual parallel track approach, and I applaud School Board members and school system staff for embracing and recommending it. I will have more to report about this important issue, but for now you can see both the recommendation for how to proceed, including an excellent outlining of the issues:
http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=8EMQ3664ADBA
Also, a report on our decisions from the Work Session (note: I had to cut and paste this into a browser other than AOL to get it to work):
http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/8F3PVS65A531/$file/03-14-11%20%20Meeting%20Manager.pdf
We will be continuing work on this and the boundaries for the new elementary school at the Lacey center site in April.
AP/IB Fees: A majority of the Board also agreed at the Work Session that we should refund AP and IB fees collected this year. I strongly support doing this, as well as removing these fees in the future. That determination will be made as part of the FY 2012 budget decisions in May.
HOLLYWOOD COMES TO STUART! "I AM" FILM TO BE SHOWN
Tom Shadyac, graduate of JEB Stuart HS and successful Hollywood Director (Ace Ventura, Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty) is coming to Stuart on Wednesday, March 23rd at 7:30pm for a screening of his new documentary, "I AM". To see a clip of it go to: www.iamthedoc.com
The movie will be shown in the Stuart Auditorium and admission is free - no tickets needed.
Everyone is welcome to come - students, parents, teachers, alumni, neighbors, family, and friends. We want a big crowd to give Tom a warm homecoming welcome - so come join us and bring the family!
The film explores what is right and wrong with the world and how we can change it. It is a bit autobiographical as Tom explores his own life, which has changed in recent years. (He sold his mansion and lives much more simply). Tom will be here for questions and answers after the film.
Tom has generously agreed to allow the JEB Stuart Educational Foundation to accept donations at the event.
Please mark the date on your calendar - this is a BIG event for the Stuart community. Any questions please contact Susan Tull O'Reilly at sutull@aol.com |
posted Feb 7, 2011 6:09 AM by Bryan Woodcock
The Budget and Boundaries are the main news right now from the School Board.
FY2012 Budget: The School Board on Thursday, Feb. 3, approved a $2.2 billion Advertised Budget for FY2012 that:
· Has no increase in class size
· Gives teachers and other employees raises for the first time in three years
· Paves the way for eliminating AP/IB test fees imposed this year
· Continues the Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) program
· Continues the rollout of Full Day Kindergarten
· Requests a $48.8 million increased transfer from the Board of Supervisors, from which FCPS gets most of its funding.
· Is not a done deal yet by any means-that happens in May
The Advertised Budget now goes to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold public hearings March 29-31, before deciding at the end of April how much they will give the school system. The School Board will then hold more public hearings and pass a final budget in May.
AP/IB Test Fees: I've been opposed to these $75-per-test fees because of concerns that they are a serious barrier for some of our students to take our most challenging high school courses (Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate). Particularly at our IB schools, where parents wrote to me about receiving bills for $450 for IB test fees in December, on top of new sports fees that can total $300 per year per student.
The Virginia Attorney General recently issued an opinion saying that the testing fees are illegal. I was pleased when Superintendent Dale told the Board that, rather than try to find a way around the opinion, he would recommend eliminating these testing fees and refunding those that have been collected so far this year.
As a result, I withdrew budget amendments I had submitted to limit the fees and instead offered an amendment directing the Superintendent to bring us his plan for dealing with the fees for our March 14 work session. My amendment passed unanimously. Any plan would still need to be approved by the School Board.
Budget Priorities and Amendments: The Board has set teacher pay raises as a top priority this year, and I am committed to keeping our promise on this.
A full-day kindergarten (FDK) amendment approved on Thursday asks the Superintendent to come up with a plan to put FDK in the remaining 37 schools that don't have it over the next three years. While all of Mason District schools already have FDK, I supported this amendment as a matter of fairness for those schools that "waited" while schools with greater needs went first. Our new school at the old Lacey Center site will need to have FDK, as well.
We received scads of emails about keeping FLES, and we voted unanimously not to cut it from this Advertised Budget. Among schools attended by Mason District students, we have FLES in Sleepy Hollow Elementary School (Arabic), Beech Tree Elementary (Arabic) and Mantua Elementary (Italian).
Unfortunately, other worthy amendments didn't pass. One (offered by At-Large School Board member Tina Hone) would have reinstated summer school for our neediest students. At the Board table, we fashioned a revised amendment that would have simply called for a plan for more early intervention for at-risk kids at the elementary level, but that failed 7 to 5.
Another (also by Ms. Hone) would have provided more support and supervision for students while they are suspended from school. Right now these students all too often are on their own in unsupervised situations while they wait to return to school. This isn't good for the students or the community. But that amendment failed also. I do plan to continue to pursue this issue.
Overall, while this isn't perfect and we still have difficult decisions to make, I feel this is a reasonable budget, one that takes care of our school system's priorities. While we are asking for an increase from the Board of Supervisors, we also are dealing with a significant increase in students, including a higher percentage with special needs. The school system has an obligation to request what we believe we need to serve our students, and that's what this does.
I urge you to support our request for funding when it comes before the Board of Supervisors. To sign up to speak:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/speaker_bos.htm
For more on the budget, go to www.fcps.edu and click on the "Details" link in the FY2012 Budget section. There's a wealth of information there, including some interesting budget questions and answers, if you really want to burrow in.
A public Budget Forum will be held from 9 am to noon Saturday, Feb. 26 at Falls Church High School. The forum will include information about the budget, with opportunities for the public to ask questions and raise issues. I urge you to attend.
Annandale Regional Study--Critical Decisions Coming Soon: The School Board will be making critical decisions this spring and summer about how to deal with overcrowding at Annandale High School (AHS) and Poe Middle School. Whatever we do will affect many students and their families, both at these schools and potentially at several surrounding and feeder schools. One of my top priorities this spring is to make sure that potentially affected families are aware of what is being considered, so that they can express their views and be part of fashioning the solution.
The Ad Hoc Study Group on these issues gave its report on Jan. 10, with many creative options, including some that would not require a boundary change. The Board will hear what staff thinks of these nonboundary ideas at our March 14 Work Session.
Boundaries: The options presented by the study group for possible boundary changes to relieve AHS could impact 1) all students coming from the Bren Mar Park ES area 2) students from the Parklawn ES area who now attend Holmes/AHS 3) AHS students from the North Springfield ES area who live outside the Beltway, 4) some students from Wakefield Chapel. The options offered to relieve Poe included changing some students from the Annandale Terrace ES area to Jackson MS and some from the Belvedere ES area to Glasgow MS.
AHS/Poe Survey: After you've had a chance to read the report, please give your opinion in a survey, especially if you could be affected by the options.
The AHS PTSA has created a new blog to provide the latest information on these efforts. You can sign up for email alerts, keep up to date on the issues, and join the discussion. Sign up by going to www.annandalehsptsa.org -you'll find the blog by clicking on the "Overcrowding Options" tab on the right side of the home page.
Annandale Community Meeting Rescheduled: A community meeting to discuss the high school/middle school study has been scheduled for 7 pm, Thursday, Feb. 17 at Poe Middle School. I urge you to attend to get more information and raise any issues or concerns.
"Lacey" Boundaries: A new elementary school will open at the site of the old Lacey Center in Fall 2012, and the School Board must establish new boundaries for that school this summer. The Ad Hoc Study Group that studied boundary options for the new school presented its report to the Board on Jan. 10. It offered five boundary scenarios. All of the scenarios affected some families who are now within the boundaries of Annandale Terrace ES, Beech Tree ES and Woodburn ES. Four of the five would affect areas now assigned to Belvedere ES. One (Scenario B) would affect an area now assigned to Columbia ES. One (Scenario A1) would affect areas now assigned to Sleepy Hollow ES, Westlawn ES and Pine Spring ES.
The committee did an excellent job of considering different options and offering those that seemed the most viable. At the same time, these can still be changed or combined to create the best plan possible. Once parents, teachers and other community members have weighed in, the Board will receive staff recommendations and start making decisions.
Please take a few minutes to read the report and weigh in with your opinion. A new survey on the options is available at the FCPS web site.
"Lacey"/Annandale Time Line: The Board will have work sessions on the "Lacey" (in quotes because we don't yet know what the actual name will be) boundaries and the AHS/Poe overcrowding issues on March 14, April 4 and July 18. The scope of boundary studies will be approved by the Board at its regular meeting on April 28. Recommended solutions will be posted on June 23, public hearings held on July 11 and 12, and final action scheduled for July 28 at the Board's regular meeting that night.
It's important to me to hear from families that might be affected by the decisions being made. Please express your views through the survey, at community meetings and hearings and in emails directly to me. |
posted Jan 16, 2011 6:52 AM by Bryan Woodcock
Dear Friends, Happy New Year!
January is a very busy time for the School Board. Among the issues highlighted below are the FY2012 budget, the Capital Improvement Program and the Annandale Regional Study, which is very important to a number of schools in our area. One of the community meetings on the high school report is TONIGHT (Jan. 13), 7 pm in the Annandale High School Lecture Hall. Two more are next week (see below).
Annandale Regional Study:
The Annandale Regional Study reports--on ways to reduce overcrowding at Annandale High School and how to draw boundaries for the new elementary school being built at the old Lacey Center site--are posted on Board Docs now. I was very impressed with the work of the two committees in outlining options for the School Board to consider.
The high school/middle school group was very creative in giving us a number of non-boundary-change options, and I am looking forward to getting community feedback on these out-of-the-box ideas. While the focus of the study was to relieve AHS and projected overcrowding at Poe Middle School, other surrounding schools could be affected by the various proposals. If we do have to move toward boundary changes, it would affect other schools that would be receiving more students, for example.
The elementary group provided six possible boundary scenarios for the new elementary school at the site of the old Lacey Center (3705 Crest Dr.) in Annandale. The schools with the most potential impacts from various scenarios are Annandale Terrace ES, Beech Tree ES, Belvedere ES, Columbia ES and Woodburn ES. One scenario (A1) would affect Sleepy Hollow ES, Westlawn ES and Pine Springs ES.
That group also grappled with whether the new school should be K-5 (as most of our Mason District ES are now) or K-6 (as most ES in other parts of the county are). Their preference was for the new school to be a "clean-feeder" to Glasgow MS and Stuart HS. Another interesting option they explored and offered was for the school to be K-8, which would be unique for our county.
Please give me your feedback on the reports and the options offered by writing to my FCPS email address, ssevans@fcps.edu . Community input is critical to this process. One way to express your views is to attend one of the community meetings and fill out a survey form.
Next steps: FCPS staff will analyze the options, the School Board will start work on these issues in April, we will hold hearings on recommendations and plan to take final votes in July. While I was reluctant to have action on these important issues take place during the summer, taking a vote in June would leave less time for staff work and public input and waiting until September would give parents less than a year to plan for any changes.
Whatever we adopt is scheduled to become effective in Fall 2012, when the new elementary school opens.
Here's the links to the reports:
https://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/8CVKTL53587A/$file/ARPC%20DRAFT%20FINAL%20-%20ES%20Presentation%20%201-05-11%20SF.pdf
https://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/8CVKTA53456B/$file/Annandale%20Regional%20Planning%20Study%20Committee%20-%20MS%20%20HS%20%20Report%201-6-11.pdf
Community meetings are scheduled to discuss these studies tonight at Annandale High School (Lecture Hall), as well as Jan. 18 and 19 (HS focus on the 18th, ES focus on the 19th). Here's the link to more details on when and where:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/index.htm
Please let as many people as you can know about the community meetings. There will be other opportunities as we move forward to voice opinions, but these meetings offer a chance to see the presentations and ask questions about the Ad Hoc study groups' work.
To see more background documents, Frequently Asked Questions and who represented you school on the committee, go to this link:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/index.htm
FY2012 Budget: Superintendent Jack Dale released his FY2012 Proposed Budget on Jan. 6. It includes no increase in class size, none of the onerous program reductions we were facing this time last year, and a step increase and 2% salary increase for teachers and other employees. It would, however, continue the fees for AP/IB tests and for sports.
Next steps: School Board members will be asking questions and considering amendments to the Superintendent's budget. Public hearings will be held on Jan. 24 and 25, the School Board will hold a work session on Jan. 27, and the Board will adopt its Advertised Budget on Feb. 3. It then goes to the Board of Supervisors, which determines in April how much the transfer to the school system will be. The School Board then adopts a final Approved Budget in May.
I'll be communicating with you more on my thoughts about the budget as we go through this process, but do want to hear your views. If you'd like to testify on the FY 2012 budget, please sign up online at this link:
http://www.fcps.edu/schlbd/requestspeak.htm
Capital Improvement Program: The School Board will consider the Capital Improvement Program at our Jan. 20 regular meeting. For more information on the CIP:
http://www.fcps.edu/news/cip.htm |
posted Dec 21, 2010 5:57 AM by Bryan Woodcock
Happy Holidays! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. Here's an update on a few School Board items.
School Calendar: The School Board is getting ready to vote on the school calendar for the 2011-12 school year, and I would welcome your views on how we arrange our time, including student holidays, breaks and the start and end of the school year. Here is a link to the proposed calendar:
http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/8AGL945567F6/$file/2011-2012+School+Calendar.pdf
One of my colleagues plans to offer an amendment to remove Columbus Day as a holiday and instead use this day either to 1) add a day to the Winter Break (probably Dec. 22) or 2) end the school year a day earlier. What do you think of this idea? (I can be emailed at ssevans@fcps.edu )
The Board is also considering making a request to the state to allow Fairfax County schools to start school the week before Labor Day starting in the 2012-13 school year. The idea is to give our students a head start and a little extra time to prepare for spring testing and then get out a week earlier in the summer. As you may know, state law requires school systems to get state approval for any pre-Labor Day start. FCPS will survey parents, teachers, students and other stakeholders on this topic by February. Stuart High School and Glasgow Middle School were among the few schools in Fairfax County to have had a schedule that started before Labor Day for several years, and families in those communities are in an ideal position to weigh in on this issue. I hope everyone will offer comments when the survey comes out.
Here is what a calendar with a pre-Labor Day opening would look like: http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/8AWKP452C4CF/$file/2011-2012+Draft+School+Calendar+with+Pre-Labor+Day+Opening.pdf
(While this uses the 2011-2012 school year as the model, the sense of the Board at our November work session was to seek the change for the 2012-13 school year to provide enough time for stakeholder input, State consideration of the request and community outreach to prepare for any change.)
AP/IB Test and Athletic Fees: I continue to explore ways to eliminate these fees. Superintendent Dale at one point told the Board he hoped to recommend elimination of the testing fees in the next school year, which I applaud, but whether this can happen now is unclear. We will start considering next year's budget in January. At a recent meeting with several high school Boosters Club representatives-including those from Stuart, Falls Church, Woodson and TJ-we talked about the impact of the fees at different schools and plan to continue working together on this issue. One suggestion to moderate the impact was to have a per-student or per-family cap on the athletic fees, such as not charging for a third sport. If you have anecdotes to tell about the impact either fee has had on you and your family, please let me know. Sometimes the real-life effect of something like this can get lost in overall statistics.
To a "Healthful" Learning Environment: The Board recently overhauled its Operational Expectations, which sets goals for the school system. In the description of what kind of a learning environment the students will have-such as "safe" and "respectful"-the word "healthful" had been dropped. As you know, I feel strongly about the health of our students and wanted to see the word be put back into our goals. A healthful environment may include many important things-enough recess and physical activity for elementary children, nutritious food in the cafeteria, reducing excessive stress and bullying, or suiting schedules to students' body clocks so they can get enough sleep and be ready to learn.
Interestingly, when I first tried to get "healthful" put back in at a School Board work session, the Board split 6 to 6 on it, which meant it failed. Some who opposed it connected this to the later high school start time issue, where the Board remains split over those who want to look for ways to change our 7:20 am high school start times to later in the morning and those who do not. In my view, it would be wonderful if adding one word to the "OE"s would accomplish this long-time goal so students would be in school at times that suited their biology, rather than at times their bodies are begging to be sleeping. But it will take many more steps to achieve that change.
In the end, my amendment to add a "healthful" learning environment to our goals passed unanimously at the School Board meeting on Nov. 15.
Youth Risk Survey: We recently received the results of the annual Youth Risk Survey that looks at how Fairfax County teens are doing on both risky and healthy behaviors. It assesses alcohol, drug and tobacco use, sexual activity, bullying and harassment, weapons, gangs and violence, depression and other mental health issues. It also measures positive activities such as healthy eating and physical exercise.
For the first time, it assessed how much sleep our teens are getting. The results show just how sleep-deprived our students are, a risk factor that affects their physical, mental and academic health:
Two-thirds of our teen students get 7 hours or less of sleep on school nights (teens typically need 9 hours of sleep a night for good health)
The amount of sleep declines significantly between 8th grade and 12th grade: while 56.2% of 8th graders get 8 or more hours of sleep per school night, only 17.3% of 12th graders do.
Girls on average get less sleep than boys.
There are a number of other areas of concern, among them the fact that 28% of our teens report signs of clinical depression and 14% have seriously considered suicide.
There's some good news, too. Ninty-six percent of our students have never been in a gang, two-thirds have not engaged in sexual behavior, and substance abuse is on a downward trend (with the exception of marijuana use).
To see the full Youth Risk Survey, go to this link:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/demogrph/youthpdf.htm
Annandale Regional Study: This study of overcrowding at Annandale High School and Poe Middle School has meetings scheduled at Annandale High School on Dec. 1 and Dec. 15. The group is due to report to the Board on its conclusions in January. The study could have a significant impact on schools surrounding Annandale and Poe, and I urge everyone to keep on top of these proceedings.
To see background documents, Frequently Asked Questions and who represents you school on the committee, go to this link:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/index.htm
Groundbreaking at New Elementary School site: A new elementary school is set to open in Mason District in fall 2012 at the site of the Lacey Center (3705 Crest Dr.) in Annandale. Demolition of the old building is completed, and we broke ground at the site on Nov. 12. An ad hoc committee connected with the Annandale Regional Study is looking at how boundaries should be drawn for the new school, and this will have an impact on surrounding schools.
Sandy's Community Office Hours
I've enjoyed visiting with people during my office hours at local libraries. Del. Kaye Kory and I generally hold our office hours together. My next one will be from 10:30-12:30 am on Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Thomas Jefferson Library, 7415 Arlington Blvd.(Rte. 50). |
posted Dec 21, 2010 5:53 AM by Bryan Woodcock
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Dear Friends,
As we enter the holiday season, I wanted to focus this newsletter on what a few of our schools are doing to help children and families and let you know ways in which you can contribute to these generous efforts.
Bailey's Elementary Holiday Bazaar: This event serves 120 needy families and will be held on Dec. 20. Donations needed: New toys and books; new or gently used stuffed animals; $25 gift cards to Target, Safeway, Shoppers or Sears. Donations (take to the front office at Baileys, 6111 Knollwood Dr , Falls Church, VA 22041) are needed by Dec. 15.
Sleepy Hollow Elementary: Each year, the Sleepy Hollow School community provides holiday gifts anonymously for SHES families that may be in need of assistance. If interested, you may sponsor an entire family or individual children within a family. They want to make sure every child has two presents. You will be provided with the gender and age of a child in order to help you with purchasing the gifts. For information, please contact Mr. Devlin at john.devlin@fcps.edu or 703 237-7000.
Westlawn Elementary: An ongoing need at this school under renovation is to have enough umbrellas for students going to and from classrooms in trailers. If you have extras, please take them to the front office at 3200 Westley Rd, Falls Church, VA 22042
Stuart High School: Has an ongoing need for school supplies, including binders, notebooks, pens and pencils (the students particularly like mechanical pencils), highlighters and basic calculators. If you can contribute, please taken them to the front office at 3301 Peace Valley Ln Falls Church, VA 22044.
Poe Middle School: Has an ongoing need for books to provide plenty of reading material for students during Poe's DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) period. Please take any donations to the Poe office at 7000 Cindy Lane, Annandale, 22003.
Holiday Meals and Gifts for Fairfax County Families: Local non-profit Our Daily Bread, Inc. administers a holiday program that matches local families with donors who provide holiday meals, as well as gifts for the children in the family. For more information, to sign up or to donate to this effort: http://www.fcps.edu/mediapub/publicat/familygram/fall2010/page2.html#Holiday
And now a few School Board updates:
2011-12 School Calendar Set: The School Board approved the calendar for the 2011-2012 school year at its Dec. 2 meeting. I appreciate all the comments I received on the issue of whether we should eliminate Columbus Day as a holiday in exchange for more time at Winter Break or an earlier end to the school year. The reaction was decidedly mixed.
When we considered this issue on Dec. 2, I offered an amendment to delay the vote for two weeks before approving the school calendar to give us more time to get feedback--including a short survey--from parents, teachers and other stakeholders. My amendment didn't pass, the Columbus Day change was defeated, and the Board approved the calendar: http://www.fcps.edu/about/11-12cal.htm
PTA Presidents' Meetings: I recently had two meetings with Mason District PTA presidents and very much enjoyed their ideas and feedback, both on systemwide school issues and on school-specific concerns. Future meetings will be held every two or three months.
AP/IB Fee Payments: High school parents have received bills for this year's new $75 fees for AP and IB courses. Some parents have expressed concerns about the timing of these bills, coming as they have at a time when families often feel strapped due to holiday expenses. Please note: Superintendent Dale has advised us that no one will be penalized for payments after the first of the year. Further note: I continue to look for ways to eliminate these fees, which I'm concerned will discourage some students from taking high-level courses.
2012 Budget: The Board will start budget season in earnest in January. We will receive the Superintendent's recommendations on Jan. 6, hold public hearings on Jan. 24 and 25, and approve an Advertised Budget on Feb. 3. For more information and to take a brief County survey on the budget: http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2012.htm
Construction at Lacey Center Site: Construction has started at the Lacey site (3705 Crest Dr., Annandale) on the new elementary school, set to open in fall 2012. This elementary school will be the first in Fairfax County to have a geothermal cooling and heating system. That's great news, but it also means that we will be drilling wells for the system over the next three months. For more information and updates on this project (as well as photos of the groundbreaking ceremony): http://www.fcps.edu/cluster3/LaceyES/index.html
Annandale Regional Study: This study of overcrowding at Annandale High School and Poe Middle School has its last meeting scheduled at Annandale High School on Dec. 15. This meeting is open to the public and I urge interested individuals to attend. The group is due to report to the Board on its conclusions on Jan. 10. The study could have a significant impact on schools surrounding Annandale and Poe.
To see background documents, Frequently Asked Questions and who represents you school on the committee, go to this link:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/index.htm
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Sandy's Community Office Hours
I've enjoyed visiting with people during my office hours at local libraries. My next one will be from 10:30-12:30 am on Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Thomas Jefferson Library, 7415 Arlington Blvd.(Rte. 50).
How to reach me: I look forward to hearing from you and can be reached at ssevans@fcps.edu or 517-423-1083.
PTA Presidents and Civic Association Presidents: please share this newsletter with members or others who might be interested. | |
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