My most recent blog, Essential Boundary Policy for a New Century , identified some “interesting” school boundaries in our area. Any rational person would look at those boundaries and wonder how they came to be. Of course, those non-contiguous, gerrymandered boundaries are a developer’s dime a dozen in Fairfax County. Nevertheless, I did a little research (shared below), but first I want to discuss the recent history of Policy 8130. I was surprised by recent history and previo

It Is Time For Some Real Change After months of debate, the Fairfax County School Board is finalizing a comprehensive overhaul of the county’s current boundary policy  which was originally adopted in 1986 and last revised in May of 2013, despite 5-year review requirements. This all followed a February school board meeting  on Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) amendments, when most of the school board members expressed strong concerns that one-off boundary adjustments at individu

Historically, school board elections have received little attention from voters, but recently extremists have begun trying to take over...

The Financial and Emotional Costs of anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric In the first two weeks of Pride month, I have been struck by increased hate,...

June is only two days away, so you might want to pull out the rainbow gear (and some sunscreen!) to attend local pride events, most of...

Science Fair is More Than a Competition Science Fair has inspired students around the world for over 100 years , from the tiniest...

While we are celebrating that our K-12 education funding priorities are funded for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, we must remember that,...

In collaboration with the Virginia Grassroots Coalition , 4 Public Education initiated a letter to Governor Youngkin about the upcoming...

Best Schools Update 2024 “Above all, I believe every child, no matter their ZIP code or their parents' jobs, deserves access to a quality education.” - Betsy DeVos 2016  “A child's course in life should be determined not by the zip code she's born in” - Barack Obama “Literally nothing is evenly distributed by zip code, except having a zip code.”  - Elon Musk Part I: Rankings v. Zip Codes “All children should have a great education regardless of zip code,” is perhaps one of th

A Strong Student Production of Kinky Boots While several hate groups descended on the FCPS high school last weekend, the students, teachers, and families of West Potomac High School chose to work together, put on an excellent show, and have a great time. Like their shirts said, “You can change the world when you change your mind.”  The administrators, parents, students, and educators who put their hearts, souls, and bodies on the line for this production should be commended.

You can’t just ignore problems away. Author's forward: I wrote this piece on a snowy day in January. Dr. Claudine Gay had just resigned,...

Thursday, April 24th, was a beautiful day for a moving experience of shared trauma, survival, triumph, and advocacy. Many thanks to Lisa...

Give the Boot(s) to critics and let the show go on! Thousands of Fairfax residents are looking forward to seeing an amazing student...

Glenn Youngkin and Secretary Aimee Guidera’s constant narrative since taking office is that Virginia public schools are failing: In spite...

The National Merit Commended Certificate "Crisis" School Districts are Under Fire School districts across the country are under fire. The...

Improving support for K-12 public education to help students thrive is a widely shared goal. Students across Virginia deserve funding...

This week is Public Schools Week, so it’s a great time to share some of the things that make public schools important and wonderful....

Join Fuse4Fauquier  this February 13th, 2024 at 6:00pm  to hear from Katie Lang and Darcy Kreutz, founding members of FUSE, on how grassroots advocacy has taken hold in Fauquier Public Schools.  FUSE is a group that believes public schools are essential to the community and our democracy, and that educators and parents should work together as partners who treat each other with mutual respect. FUSE believes that students learn best when they feel safe and supported! Katie Lang

The pace has picked up in Virginia’s General Assembly as we approach some key deadlines.  ‘Crossover’  is February 13, the deadline by...

School Board Matters, January 25, 2024 meeting School Board meetings are ground zero for the culture wars. Our “School Board Matters”...