Below are my comments to the FCPS School Board on July 14th, 2022. The meeting video follow at the end of this blog. See my colleagues comments at a previous meeting that also speak to co-ed FLE at this blog post . I’m a member of FLECAC, Family Life Education Curriculum Advisory Committee. I’ve heard people, most of whom are not FCPS parents, grossly misrepresent the committee and curriculum . Frankly, they seem to want to eliminate FLE altogether, thus I must address their

Conservative media is portraying public schools as indoctrination camps. They pejoratively call them “government schools” while continuing their attack on civics teachers and librarians. They make so many factually incorrect statements that no one has enough time to research and contradict them all. Suffice it to say, where the right-wing critics see indoctrination camps, I see public education’s critical role in our society, which involves teaching students to think for th

We are in the middle of a civil rights battle, fighting for the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our living room...

My Facebook feed is full of proud parents and high school seniors in full graduation regalia, celebrating this important life passage. School is (almost)out for summer! This year is an important one as schools, and their ceremonies, are finally back to normal. However, the political backlight on our schools is anything but normal. The pro-charter, anti-public schools forces are growing—not simply with conservatives, but in progressive circles as well. The Supreme Court is lik

Speech on comprehensive sex education given by Marianne Burke to the Fairfax County Public School Board, May 26, 2022. Text slightly changed to be more widely applied. Original speech is available upon request. After reviewing decades of research on the subject, adolescent psychologists have concluded that co-ed (comprehensive) sex education is beneficial to students. Nevertheless, the decision to separate students by gender in Family Life Education is often made by sch

Our hearts go out to the families who lost family and loved ones in Uvalde and the other gun shootings over the last three decades. We suffer along with them, as we feel powerless to stop school gun violence that has occurred at more than 27 schools this year. With pain and fear in our hearts, parents sent our children back to school. We don’t know when or where gun violence will strike again on school property. We just know it will happen again. What can we do to stop this?

On May 19, Governor Glenn Youngkin, Secretary Aimee Guidera, and Superintendent Jillian Balow held a press conference to release their...

Virginia is the top state for businesses, in large part due to outstanding education.

For years charter proponents lamented the tight control local boards kept on their school dollars in Virginia towns and counties, and how...

Former Fairfax Superintendent W.T. Woodson and noted historian Dr. C.G. Woodson are two Virginians who both became supervisors of large...

Since Virginia’s infancy, African-Americans have advocated for, built, and championed public education for all Virginians. This support...

Across America, a small minority of people seeking to undermine our schools point to individual books and declare unilaterally that they...

Hate sells headlines, but the screaming parents in the media do not represent the majority of families involved in our public schools.