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Although most of us think of Christmas when we talk about the December holidays, there are eleven cultural and religious holidays celebrated worldwide this month. These holidays celebrated in some communities in Virginia and around the world include: St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 5 or 6): The birthday of Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus. Immaculate Conception Day (Dec. 8): A Catholic celebration of the Virgin Mary, believed to be born without original sin. Bodhi Day, or Rohatsu (Dec. 8): A Buddist tradition that honors the day in which the Buddha achieved enlightenment. Hanukkah (sundown Dec. 7 -18 in 2023): The Jewish festival of lights. Feast Day of Our Lady Guadalupe (Dec. 12): In honor of the patron saint of Mexico. Yule (Dec. 21-Jan.1): Wiccans and neo-pagans celebrate the Winter Solstice, the shortest night of the year, and look forward to the return of light as days grow longer. Christmas (Dec. 25): A Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. Boxing Day (Dec. 26) A British tradition that occurs the day after Christmas Kwanzaa (Dec. 26-Jan. 1): A cultural holiday honoring African-American heritage. Zarathosht Diso (Dec. 26): Honoring the death of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31): The last day of the year, often celebrated by parties, festivals, and fireworks. Virginia has a sizable immigrant population, with more than 12% of the Commonwealth’s population being foreign-born, making Virginia ethnically and culturally diverse. In an attempt to be more inclusive, some school systems in Virginia have started to adopt school calendars with more religious holidays. For example, Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) calendar has reflected the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Hindu holiday Diwali, and Orthodox Good Friday. Also, when the holidays Eid al-Fitr and the Lunar New Year fall on school days, they have been recognized with school closures. Another new school holiday is Veterans Day, when it falls on a school day.  These changes have helped some communities in Virginia to positively recognize the growing diversity of Virginians, as well as be more inclusive and welcoming. Principal Herman Mizell, of Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, VA said it best when he sent a letter to his community saying in part: Greetings to each of you and your extended families around the globe! We are so fortunate to be in a school community that blends many traditions and cultures. While events, words and decorations may be different, we can all find a common thread in our traditions among family, love, celebrations, and devotion to giving our students rich, robust, and meaningful learning experiences. The entire team at 4 Public Education wishes the Happiest of Holidays to all in our community and beyond.

December 14, 2023 School Board meetings have become ground zero for the culture wars. Our “School Board Matters” blog will include analysis and links to video, agenda, and votes that affect you and your student(s), including links to primary source documents to support involvement in your student’s experience and education. We hope this will provide better access to and understanding of the Fairfax County School Board, including their powers and duties, as governed by the Code of Virginia. Although this blog will primarily focus on Fairfax County, we will share school board meeting reports from around the state, when possible. The 12/14/23 Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) meeting began with a performance of the National Anthem by the Glasgow Middle School Band Wind Ensemble. Although the agenda was fairly short, the meeting ran quite long, because there were eight proclamations honoring the outgoing School Board Members for their years of service and dedication, some of whom had served for twelve years. Many in the audience learned new things about school board members. I, for one, learned that many of them have deep friendships and relationships that go back over a decade or more. Also, I learned of long commitments against discrimination, for equity, and in support of improving mental health. These proclamations gave a different perspective to each of these hardworking women–I strongly recommend a listen to better understand them. Many thanks for your years of hard work and steadfast desire to improve education, support students and teachers, and represent the interests of families and your constituents. Public Input Surprisingly, we lost very few speakers after close to two-and a half hours of proclamations. In fact, a few additional speakers were added to the list. Most of the speakers expressed appreciation for the dedication and hard decisions that the school board needed to make during and after the pandemic, including the Fairfax PTA and two leaders of 4 Public Education (Robert Rigby and Vanessa Hall). Quite a number of the speakers thanked specific school board members including speeches by two school board members’ husbands: most of us laughed out loud at a funny, poignant speech by Mrs. Corbett Sanders’ husband and I doubt that I was the only one with tears in my eyes during a sweet speech by Ms. Abrar Omeish’s husband. There was criticism also laid at the feet of FCPS by a student and her brother describing bigotry from and a lack of consequences for a teacher at Lake Braddock, and two fathers demanding action and accountability after a data breach exposed over 35,000 students’ data. A student from Oakton High School spoke of the need for a more robust driver’s education program and pedestrian safety after too many accidents and deaths involving student pedestrians. School Board Business Student Representative Matters. Strategic Plan Baseline Report on Goal 1: Dr. Ried provided an update on Strong Start, Goal 1 of the Strategic Plan, covering priorities related to the availability of pre-K programs and language progress for english-language learners that meet the community’s needs. Action Items: Three action items were on the agenda: FY 2024 Midyear Budget Review. Ten voted yes and two abstained (Ms. Omeish and Ms. McLaughlin). Strategic Plan Goal 1 Baseline Report:  Strong Start: Pre-K-12. After significant discussion, nine voted yes and three voted no (Ms. Heizer, Ms. Cohen, and Ms. Omeish). Amend School Board Policy 2418. Three votes were held regarding the policy: Amend School Board Policy 2418 to include that high-school credit-bearing classes will utilize the 100 point letter grade scale with pluses and minuses. Eleven voted yes and one voted no (Ms. Meren). Have the aforementioned policy to be effective August 2024. Seven voted yes, one abstained (Ms. Meren), and four were not present during the vote (Ms. Heizer, Ms. Cohen, Ms. Pekarsky, and Ms. McLaughlin). Direct the Superintendent to share the findings of the Grading Working Group in a work session for further evaluation. Nine voted yes and three were not present during the vote (Ms. Heizer, Ms. Cohen, and Ms. Pekarsky). This is the last meeting of the School Board elected in 2019. It adjourned at approximately 12:21 am on December 15, 2023, requiring part of the meeting to be on a different youtube video. The next school board meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2024. Starting in January 2024 School Board meetings will include the twelve newly elected FCSB members who were sworn in on December 13, 2024. All twelve took the oath of office and swore to uphold the Nation’s and Commonwealth’s constitutions with Fairfax Circuit Court Judge, the Honorable Robert J. Smith. It was a moving ceremony filled with solemn reverence for the important job they would hold for the next four years. Each school board member chose to individualize their swearing-in ceremony by the personal books they chose and who held those books. For more information about the incoming FCSB, please see our blog.

December 4, 2023 School Board meetings have become ground zero for the culture wars. Our “School Board Matters” blog will include analysis and links to video, agenda, and votes that affect you and your student(s), including links to primary source documents to support involvement in your student’s experience and education. We hope this will provide better access to and understanding of the Fairfax County School Board, including their powers and duties, as governed by the Code of Virginia. Although this blog will primarily focus on Fairfax County, we will share school board meeting reports from around the state, when possible. The 12/4/23 Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) meeting began with a performance of the National Anthem by the Spring Hill Elementary School Select Band. You should listen, because that was one of the best elementary school band performances that I have ever heard–and my own son played in the band in elementary school! There were six proclamations since the November 20th meeting was canceled due to lack of quorum; however, only four are presented below–please check out the agenda for the rest: National Inclusive Schools Week Proclamation: Inclusion means more than it did when this effort began in 2001. It now includes ensuring that schools are welcoming to all students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference, identity, and other factors. This year’s theme, “Draw Me In,” provides an opportunity to strengthen commitment to inclusive education, & redirect our talent, time and energy to improve outcomes for students & their families. Celebrating Our Local Native Tribes & Acknowledging Our Historic Origins Proclamation: From the first settlement of Jamestown, Native American Tribes are the original story of Virginia's sometimes tragic history with its then-over 50,000 native people, through 11 officially-recognized tribes who are indigenous to Virginia. The land known as Fairfax was home to thousands of indigenous people, including the Manahoac, Pamunkey, and Doeg nations. Tribal representatives of local native tribes were in attendance for this proclamation. National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Proclamation: Despite the wealth in our county, housing and food insecurity “remain pressing in our community,” particularly as “hunger has surged and the rate of unhoused families with children has increased by 33% in 3 years, with a quarter of those who are unhoused in Fairfax County being children.” This affects their education, opportunity, success, and health. Honoring the 2023 Citizen Bond Committee and the Mount Vernon-Springfield Chamber of Commerce: “Members of the 2023 Citizen Bond Committee, led by Chairman Len Forkas and Co-Chair Catherine Hosek, and the Mount Vernon-Springfield Chamber of Commerce, led by President Holly Dougherty, have dedicated their time, energy and resources in support of passage of the 2023 $435,000,000 school bond referendum with 68% of the county’s voters voting “yes.” (Bravo! And many thanks from this parent!) Unfortunately, the proclamations and meeting were somewhat derailed by words chosen by a school board member that referenced global issues in Israel and Palestine during the proclamation honoring local native tribes. Four of the eleven school board members present (one member was online) excused themselves from the room, and many in the audience were dismayed. Responses from other school board members ranged from gentle reminders of the purpose of proclamations to clear and justifiable outrage that politics was inserted into this otherwise respectful occasion. Before the vote, Chairwoman Tholen reminded everyone that the proclamation should be considered separate from the personal remarks by Ms. Omeish, which is likely the primary reason that the proclamation passed. As an audience member, I was dismayed that a proclamation would be used to push a unrelated political  agenda. Additionally, I felt that it was disrespectful to the tribal representatives to conflate a proclamation in their honor with the Hamas-Israeli conflict. Isn’t it bad enough that our ancestors perpetrated genocidal activities against the indigenous peoples of this land? Why insult them in person when you are meant to honor them? Public Input Since the November election, there are open speaking spots and fewer speakers, yet they are covering critical public school and school board issues like: A student from Annandale High School who applauds the educators at his school, but expressed strong concern about the heavy weight of tests versus class work (90% versus 10%), which he believes reduces interest in doing class work. Mr. Stuart Gibson, a 16-year former School Board member, condemned hateful social media posts from Ms. Omeish after Oct 7th, including posts that compared Jews to Nazis. He gave hard copies of the posts to the clerk. I’ve seen one of the posts. I’m astonished that a sitting board member in charge of ALL children’s education would post such things on Facebook (note: these were Facebook stories that were up for 24 hours). Representatives from UUCF and Fairfax AHAC declared support for the Hunger and Housing Proclamation. Both asked for continued collaborative community action because students who are hungry and unhomed cannot do their school work, much less focus in school. Two women spoke to Native Tribes proclamation. One asked that people stop erasing the Tauxenent/Doeg and Pamunkey tribes from history and the other reminded the room that the One Fairfax policy is critical for the inclusion of heritage of all people. School Board Business Academic Matters: Dr. Reid discusses youth survey results from the 2022-2023 school year which shows moderate improvement based on decreases in students reporting substance use, feeling sad or hopeless, suicidal thoughts or attempts, but persistant food insecurity with little variance since 2010. This generated significant amounts of discussion. (Note: a loss of Wifi and internet required a short 10-minute break.) Strategic Plan Update: Dr. Ried provided an update on Academic Excellence and Growth, goal 3 of the Strategic Plan. Student Representative Matters. Strategic Plan: Baseline Report presentation on Goal 3 covering priorities related to Academic Excellence in Education (i.e., reading by 3rd Grade, Algebra by 8th Grade, and advanced coursework in High School). Mid-Year Budget Presentation: Presentation by Ms. Burden, FCPS Chief Financial Officer. Action Items: Four action items were on the agenda: McLean Elementary School Capacity/Boundary Issues (formerly known as Kent Gardens ES Capacity Issues). No vote taken. 2024 FCSB State and Federal Legislative Program. Eleven voted yes, one was not present at the vote (Ms. Meren). Strategic Plan Baseline Report: Ten voted yes, one voted no (Ms. Omeish), and one was not present at the vote (Ms. Meren). Revisions to  the Monthly Report on Employee Separation to present disaggregated data, etc. Eleven voted yes, one was not present at the vote (Ms. Meren). Consent Agenda. No objections to approval. New Business: Action will be provided on these items at a future meeting: FY2024 mid-year budget Amendment to policy 2418 (i.e., high-school credit-bearing classes will utilize the 100 point letter grade scale with pluses and minuses) Policy 1421 (guidelines for retaining consultants) Policy 2202 (change role of “parent” to “parent or guardian”). Board Committee Reports: Ms. Keys-Gamarra discussed results of discussion of the engagement process for Capital Improvement Projects. The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:56pm. The next meeting will be on 12/14/23 at 7:30pm. Changes to the School Board Matters Blog I know that this blog is less detailed than usual, so I apologize if I missed something that you care about. I like to be thorough, but like many of you, I’ve been a little consumed with family crises, the upcoming holiday, normal life, work, and the recent data breach revelations, so bear with me. We, at 4 Public Education, are having discussions about how to present this information, as this blog is quite time-consuming. If the meetings are nearly 5 hours long, you can imagine how much time must be spent to watch, digest, and analyze what happened.

Like tens of thousands of parents, I received a letter this week indicating that FCPS inadvertently released my child’s private information to a local parent. Like so many parents, I am angry at FCPS for being so careless when someone gave a parent access to the private information of many students besides theirs. In addition, I am angry at the parent, who not only took advantage of the blunder and copied the private data, but who now refuses to return the private information. To make matters worse, the letter to parents about the data breach was both terrifying and useless, because 1) it did not reveal what specific data was released about my child, and 2) the 1-800 number in the letter was less than useless because those who answered read from a script and provided no useful information to parents who called. Not only is there little information about this situation, but some are sharing misinformation; therefore, here are known facts based on the November 1, 2023 74 Million report: A parent went to her local FCPS high school over three days in mid-October 2023 to gather records on her child who had already graduated. She was supervised by a central office paralegal as she copied information to a thumb drive and scanned paper documents. Also, she was given boxes of paper files, thumb drives, and CDs with personal, sensitive data from 2019-21 on tens of thousands of FCPS students, which she has refused to return even after their return was demanded. She noticed unredacted information about other people’s students in the files, but claims she was unaware of the full extent of such data until she arrived home. She initially did not report this data breach to FCPS. Subsequently she promised that she would not publish student private information, but has contacted some parents of children named in the documents and provided children’s personal data to www.the74Million.org. After investigating the extent of the breach, Superintendent Michelle Reid sent letters to the affected families and posted an official statement regarding future plans and her discussions with the parent who took the private data. This data breach involves private information from at least 35,000 children, most of whom receive special education services from FCPS. It is well-known that there are nationwide concerns about student data security at all schools, public and private. Around the country, parents and guardians have accidentally received data on other students intermingled with their own child’s information. However, state and federal governments have done little to solve this issue, despite the existence of federal law on the subject (e.g., Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment). Many parents in the Fairfax County community are justifiably angry and scared about this breach, particularly in light of misinformation and rumors. The social media platforms Next Door and Facebook, as well as parenting and neighborhood groups, and the online forum DC Urban Moms are afire about this subject. Specifically, parents are angry that: FCPS released this private and sensitive data to a person who is not authorized to have it. There is no excuse for this to happen, particularly in light of the fact that well-documented data breaches have happened before. The parent took the data without permission because of inadequate monitoring. The parent refuses to return the information for which she is not authorized The parent is sharing information with some parents and a media company, while she is publishing redacted student information in her blogs and in a public report (74 Million). She claims she will never “publish” the private data, but that doesn’t make anyone feel safe, considering her actions to date. It is likely that the Fairfax County School Board, Superintendent, and local schools are being inundated with calls and emails. Not surprisingly, lawsuits are being discussed against both FCPS and the parent who took the data. This event has eroded trust in the school system because FCPS has the responsibility to protect our children and their private information. It is distracting to all involved, including our students who should be focusing on learning, because there is no way of knowing how personal information in the wrong hands may be used in the future. This is a potentially serious issue that can have ramifications many years into the future. Personally, I had trouble working yesterday, because I was consumed with fear and anger over what may happen next and whether my child’s personal information could be used against me or her. Hopefully, this situation can be resolved by the offending parent returning all copies of the sensitive and private information on FCPS students. In addition, we must insist that FCPS solve the data retention and data sharing procedures which permitted this to happen. On a related note....Last night, a lovely neighbor distributed cards and gifts to kids on our block. When my daughter opened hers, it contained a 50-dollar bill. Astonished at her generosity, I quickly called the neighbor, who said she meant to give $20 to each child. Immediately, I ran down the block to return the money in order to fix the mistake. I would hope that any ethical neighbor or community member would do the same.

One of Governor Youngkin’s many promises to Virginia was to expand charter schools in Virginia, taking desperately needed funding from our public schools. He failed to convince the legislature to give him these funds. He’s now pivoted to promoting and expanding lab schools throughout Virginia. His strategy seems to be that any program that claws funding from the schools actually educating the overwhelming majority of our students is a win for his objective of creating doubt in and distrust of our public school system. The 2022 General Assembly appropriated $100 million for planning and start up grants for lab schools with no plan for ongoing funding. Currently the Department of Education is on a publicity tour to drum up support for lab schools. The last stop was in Bedford County on December 7th. Lab schools, like charter schools, circumvent local school board oversight and drain money from our public school system. The Virginia Education Association has published an excellent lab schools factsheet on the significant issues with this plan. These include: Lab schools have been allowed in Virginia for many years and have failed to organically grow through mutual interest between school divisions and colleges and universities. The current state budget includes a one-time allocation of $100 million for lab school planning and starter grants and per pupil funding for approved schools during the current biennium only. Higher education institutions will take a large risk establishing lab schools and should be prepared to shoulder the full cost of operating these schools into the future without any sustaining funding from the state or local level. While setting aside $100 million to establish lab schools, legislators cut more than $100 million in At-Risk Add On funds which should have supplemented our highest poverty schools, reaching hundreds of thousands of students. The benefits of investing in At-Risk Add On far outweigh the one-time investment to establish lab schools, that realistically will only support the start-up of a handful of new schools and serve a relatively small number of select students. The biggest argument against the proliferation of lab schools is that we don’t need them. This push didn’t come from universities yearning to pilot innovation. It’s come for politicians eager to create chaos and disruption in our school system--one ranked as the 4th best school system in the country. Listen to parents. We don’t need or want more gimmicks. We want funding for teacher pay, support for staff, infrastructure improvements, and local control. We have a lot of problems in Virginia. Isn’t time to focus on what’s wrong and stop fixing what’s right? For more VEA position papers and fact sheets, please check out the VEA website.

A Review of the Northern Virginia VDOE Accountability Listening Session I don’t know if any of you have attended any of the VDOE listening sessions on accountability changes around the state, but Marianne Burke and I drove 45 minutes out to the Hylton Center on the GMU Science and Tech campus in Manassas to participate in one on Wednesday, December 5th. We had read the VDOE August 2023 announcement (Item F) which erroneously compared NAEP and SOL results (again), and thought that it was a public input session similar to the History SOL sessions earlier this year, so each of us took time to prepare remarks. Marianne and I were both prepared to fight for our schools, particularly after Youngkin’s anti-transgender “Model Policies” and other efforts to harm our public schools. Marianne planned to publicly remind VDOE (yet again) that NAEP and SOL scores are not comparable–see her letter to VDOE below–while I was going to demand accountability from the VDOE to Virginia parents, teachers, and students. Yet, we were woefully unprepared for what we found, because this was (seemingly) not another farcical public input opportunity by Youngkin’s appointees to undermine the public will of Virginians. This was a completely different experience. Unfortunately, the purpose of the meeting was unclear and/or misrepresented by the public notice from VDOE, which focused on revising accreditation and adding accountability measures. The majority of the public is unaware of current accountability measures and how schools are accredited, so few parents would have the background to participate or follow the conversation. So neither of our speeches were necessary, much less appropriate for this venue. Fortunately, under Dr. Lisa Coons, the newly appointed Superintendent of Instruction for the Youngkin Administration, this VDOE session was a completely different experience than the cramped, rushed, check-the-box History SOL listening sessions earlier this year. It truly was an interactive listening session where Dr. Coons, staff, consultants, and a parent representative presented plans, asked for input, and held an informed and open discussion. It didn’t feel like they were merely checking off the boxes to satisfy public input requirements. Instead, they seemed to understand and value the input of education professionals, parents, superintendents, and principals in the room. In summary, VDOE is proposing to change the accreditation system to make it more transparent to parents, reduce the number of assessments in a year, provide actionable data to stakeholders, and rely more heavily on the SOLs, which she said VDOE intends to overhaul. Dr. Coons stated that these eight listening sessions are merely the middle of a process to update Virginia’s public school accreditation system, a process that began in 2022 and expects to be completed in 2025. The public can also provide online input here: Both Marianne and I were pleasantly surprised by Dr. Coons’ gracious greeting, level of knowledge, and interest in learning new things. It was so refreshing after nearly two years of culture wars, scandals, and disingenuous solicitation of parental involvement by her predecessor, Jillian Balow, and our Governor. It is important to note that Balow receives full salary and benefits for a year following her March 2023 resignation, paid by Virginia taxpayers despite her poor performance, which is something to note next time school districts are accused of wasting money. According to Virginia Dogwood Balow is “slated to receive almost $300,000 of taxpayer money over the coming year despite having no responsibilities or obligations to the commonwealth; further, the severance agreement guaranteeing this money allows her to take other paying jobs.” Nevertheless, I wonder: What is the true purpose of revamping Virginia’s public school system accountability and accreditation? In my experience, accountability is often applied only to public schools, whose processes, personnel, and performance is already transparent and excessively scrutinized while private and charter schools get a pass on any measurement of accountability–don’t even get me started on the lack of metrics on homeschooling. Efforts to make accountability measures “more transparent” to parents and VDOE make me question the purpose: is it to ensure that all families have access to the best schools by providing funds and other resources to schools whose metrics are less satisfactory? Or, is “transparency” merely a trojan horse for voucher efforts that suck more money from our public schools and taxpayers for unaccountable private institutions, charter schools, and homeschooling efforts? Only time will tell.

Preparing for the 2024 General Assembly: Public Education Priorities The verdict is in. Not only is Virginia seriously underfunding its public schools, but the pipeline for K-12 teachers has proven to be inadequate. A recent nonpartisan study of school funding has confirmed just how badly Virginia public schools are underfunded, and a review of the K-12 teacher pipeline revealed the reasons why we have a shortage of qualified teachers in Virginia. Now that we know the facts, local governments want things to change. These reports by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) were produced at the direction of bill SJ294 that was passed in 2021 to review the funding formula, and at the direction of the JLARC administration in 2022 to review the teacher pipeline. JLARC is authorized by the Code of Virginia to conduct program evaluation, policy analysis, and oversight of state agencies on behalf of the Virginia General Assembly. JLARC recommendations can have a high impact but it is up to our legislators whether the recommendations become bills and eventually law. In recent years only about three-quarters of the recommendations have been implemented by the General Assembly. The Commonwealth is underfunding Virginia’s public schools by billions of dollars because the formula that determines funding “needs to be significantly improved and modernized.” As per usual, Governor Youngkin blamed the underfunding problem on previous administrations, but Senator Ghazala Hashmi responded that it was: Unfair to criticize the previous two administrations given the fact that the democratic governors worked with Republican majorities in both Chambers, and these Republican majorities consistently blocked measures to fund public education at the levels needed. In 2020, when Democrats had the first opportunity to make historic changes to the public education budget, significant funding was introduced but sadly had to be put on pause because of the unexpected and uncertain economic future facing us all with the global spread of the coronavirus. Regardless of where the blame lies, it is clear that the way Virginia funds public schools needs to be fixed. The JLARC report provides details and a gameplan that legislators can use to develop legislation that would improve school funding. The main findings of the study are provided in the drop down below, and JLARC’s proposed recommendations to appropriately fund schools can be found here. The second JLARC review reported that, “Having enough, high quality teachers is among the most important factors necessary for a quality education system” and that the current pipeline for qualified K–12 teachers is not adequate. The main findings of the study are provided in the drop down below, and JLARC recommendations for improving Virginia’s pipeline for qualified teachers can be found here. 4 Public Education, in collaboration with Fund Our Schools and the Virginia Grassroots Coalition, offers what they consider priorities for Virginia’s legislators to develop into bills. Each priority is taken from the JLARC recommendations. The priorities are provided in this drop down. This blog has also been published in Dogwood--see below.

November 9, 2023 School Board meetings have become ground zero for the culture wars, so 4 Public Education is introducing a new blog called “School Board Matters” for 2023-24. It will include analysis and links to video, agenda, and votes that affect you and your student(s), including links to primary source documents to support involvement in your student’s experience and education. We hope this will provide better access to and understanding of the Fairfax County School Board, including their powers and duties, as governed by the Code of Virginia. Although this blog will primarily focus on Fairfax County, we will share school board meeting reports from around the state, when possible. The 11/9/23 Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) meeting began with a performance by Kilmer Middle School singers of the National Anthem, after which the FCSB certified the closed meeting and voted to approve assistant superintendent contracts discussed during the closed session. The FCSB recognized two newly elected school board members in the audience: Sandy Anderson of Springfield and Matteo Dunne of Mt. Vernon. Newly elected at-large FCSB member Ilryung Moon joined the meeting later. The FCSB also recognized the Garrison Commander from Ft. Belvoir, Colonel Jones, who was attending in honor of the Purple Star school recognitions. I don’t know if it was just me, but the feeling in the room was lighter and brighter than it has been for years. The FCSB seemed relaxed and happy to be seated together and ready to get business done. Honestly, the feeling in the room was electric after the election of 12 FCSB members on Tuesday, November 7th. All 8 new and 4 incumbent school board members support our schools, students, and educators, and they wish to make our schools more equitable, inclusive, and successful during their four-year term that begins in 2024. I am lucky enough to have personally met each of these individuals and I look forward to covering them in the new year. The FCSB shared three proclamations: Renaming the gymnasium at Cedar Lane School, “The Tom Lundy Gym,” in honor of Mr. Lundy, an “inspirational leader, colleague, and friend. Mr. Lundy’s legacy at Cedar Lane School spanned over 20 years, starting as an intern and returning to lead the school through the pandemic as its principal. A celebration of School Counselors, Social Workers, Nurses and Psychologists Month honors those who ensure the physical and mental health needs of our students. I agree with Ms. Cohen’s statement that many of us have kids who might not have survived school without school counseling. “Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11th in the United States in honor of all those, living and deceased, who served with the U.S. armed forces to protect the freedoms that are so important to our nation’s democracy….Fairfax County Public Schools has strong ties to our Veterans, as our division serves over 14,000 military-connected students and their families. FCPS also proudly employs many Veterans who now serve as teachers, administrators and support staff for our schools and division departments.” In honor of the recognition of the 18 Purple Star schools from across Fairfax county, Colonel Garrison Commander Messina highlighted the importance of this program and shared the experience of students who move so regularly for their parents' job. The photographs for all of the schools recognized took close to 10 minutes; however, this is insignificant in relation to the need to support students of military families. Public Input There were fewer speakers than normal during public input; however, all of them raised important issues and none of them yelled or said demeaning things, which was a nice change from the last couple of years: An FCPS employee detailed concerns about warehouse supplies of toilet paper and paper towels and a complicated purchasing process that seems to have failed since schools are suffering shortages. Rick Clayton of 4 Public Education spoke about the impact of three years of attacks on our schools and the FCSB. He thanked the school board members for their work in the face of personal attacks. He stated that the recent election was a referendum on the culture wars and book bans, and requested that public school opponents, who champion “parents rights”, listen to parents, because parents have spoken at the polls. He echoed the oft repeated statement, “Make school board meetings boring again.” A South Lakes dad declared that it was a great week to be a progressive parent in Virginia. He thanked them for their service to the schools and celebrated their wins. He described in detail the culture wars and their awful impact in comparison to the successes of FCPS. He also advocated for boys volleyball, which is very popular. A South Lakes Spartans mom asked for support for boys volleyball as a varsity sport. She shared the personal impact on her son: friendships, team building, leadership, skills growth. She said that 20 of 25 schools have signed interest forms so far. Robert Rigby speaking on behalf of FCPS Pride asked that we all be allowed time to heal after so much divisive rhetoric. The voters rejected the politics of excluding and banning those less powerful. The election showed that transphobia, racism and disrespect of disabled people are not Fairfax values. He asked that the FCSB heal, listen and continue to do work, but cautions them against appeasing bigotry. An elementary school mom shared that kids and our communities need to feel safe before they can heal from trauma. Mental health care is necessary and respect is something every single student deserves. FCPS must foster safe connections for all children and insist that every child access a safe, diverse, and inclusive environment. A speaker thanked Dr. Reid for being the first Superintendent to support middle schools sports, which are related to equity, mental health, and school climate. He asked that FCPS expand basketball in middle school. School Board Business Academic Matters: Dr. Reid covered attendance and absenteeism. She shared how chronic absenteeism is directly related to poor performance and low academic progress. As much as missing two school days a month can be considered chronic absenteeism (i.e., missing 10% or more of school). Prior to the pandemic, FCPS’s absentee rate was less than 10%, but since the pandemic, there has been a spike up to 17% in 2023; however, some of this is due to illness. She shared that the impact of absenteeism can be huge, especially for younger kids, which can increase drop out rates. FCPS has created a multi-tiered support plan, and are involving families in these efforts. Check out the full presentation for more information. Dr. Reid shared that the absentee rate is lower this year for the first quarter so far. FCSB members discussion points included: Medically fragile children: Dr. Anderson discussed pressure on medically fragile children, and how outreach from the school can feel like pressure for families that are already under too much pressure. State Accreditation: Ms. Keys-Gamarra asked about state efforts to tie accreditation with chronic absenteeism. Dr. Reid shared that the calculation evaluates the percentage of students that miss 10% or more (e.g. 2 days/month) State guidance and funding: Dr. Reid shared that the Commonwealth of Virginia has not provided any funding to improve chronic absenteeism, despite it being a state-wide issue. Additionally, she shared that state guidance included sending kids into school even if they were sick. (Oh, hell no!) Other Challenges: Dr. Reid and the FCSB discussed other challenges for kids, including caring for ill parents and food insecurity. Ms. McLaughlin noted that a one-size fits all obviously doesn't work, and that we need to speak to the families and to kids to find out why a student is chronically absent. Ms. McLaughlin reminded Dr. Reid that there is a negative impact related to scolding letters sent to families who are struggling. Dr. Reid agreed with this assessment. Student Representative Matters: Ms. Karim gave updates on student efforts: She reported on the Portrait of a Graduate program at Woodson that occurred on November 10th.vShe asked that Career Day be expanded beyond Woodson High School. (Note: My own kids are uninterested in this program. I have yet to figure out why.) The Student Advisory Council is continuing to focus on food waste and inconsistency in grading policies. TYE, a 501(c)(3) program run by the SEALS, has expanded to include camps focusing on expanding STEM in Title 1 schools. Overwhelmingly, students support renaming Woodson High School to “Carter G. Woodson High School.” Superintendent Matters: Dr. Reid outlined her school visits around the county during November, Family Engagement month, since families are an integral part of our schools. She discussed Purple Star school efforts, the passing of the School Bond, and the commended scholars announcement (628 Commended Scholars in FCPS). A quick aside on the Commended Scholars. Many of you may not remember the 2023 hullabaloo from far right media about delayed notification of National Merit Commended Scholars. It took over the national news cycle until the media discovered that it was a non-issue to most FCPS parents and after FCPS released a summary report of findings. Unfortunately, Virginia’s Attorney General pursued a costly lawsuit against the FCSB on this subject–fortunately, he lost his case. I plan to examine this more thoroughly, as we are approaching the anniversary of the first far right media reports on the subject, and because I sat through hours of hearings on two politically-motivated cases related to it, which increased the legal bills of our school district. Board Matters Many thanks to the FCSB who moved the vote on renaming Woodson High School after the audience patiently waited for two-and-a-half hours. Dr. Reid presented the two months of community input results, including two surveys and two community meetings which found that there was overwhelming support for renaming W.T. Woodson to Carter G. Woodson. There was some giggling (and maybe a snort from me) when Dr. Reid mentioned that Phase II feedback included “82 responses that did not pertain to the question”--I can only imagine those responses. School board members shared their own experiences with Woodson constituents who overwhelmingly supported changing the name to Carter G. Woodson. Ms. McLaughlin introduced the motion to rename Woodson to Carter G. Woodson High School. She gave a beautiful speech highlighting her own family’s two generations at Woodson and the connection of the community with the school. She shared that although Massive Resistance forced segregation, W.T. Woodson's papers show that he personally supported segregation, and that many current Woodson parents cited this as a reason to change the name because Superintendent W.T. Woodson wouldn’t have allowed their kids to attend school. Ms. McLaughlin listened to parents, alumni, boosters, and students who felt a deep sense of pride in the school, but had difficulty reconciling this pride with our segregationist past. She noted that 2024 will be the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, which is the perfect time to change. The FCSB unanimously voted to change the name to Carter G. Woodson! In my own view, we cannot right the wrongs of our past, but we can learn from them and celebrate Carter G. Woodson who preserved Black History for our nation. This is especially important in a time when some are trying to remove that history from our classrooms and libraries. Many thanks to Ms. McLaughlin, the rest of the FCSB, Dr. Reid, the principals, and staff for their efforts on this renaming process. This was a smoother process than previous renaming efforts, and also worked to be inclusive of many voices across the generations and county. If you would like to learn more, please read 4 Public Education’s blog “A Tale of Two Woodsons.” The FCSB took a brief recess after the name change. Most of the audience (including me) left the room. Here are the rest of the agenda items discussed: Superintendent’s Relationship with the Board (EE-8) Monitoring Report Consent Agenda and votes New Business: School bonds, Legislative Program, Strategic Goal Baseline Report. Due to the late hour, board members chose not to give board reports. The meeting ended around 11:30 pm. Additionally, there was a 11/14/23 FCSB Work Session that lasted nearly 6 hours, focusing on Strategic Plan Goal 3 (Academic Growth and Excellence) and FY 2025 Fiscal Forecast (agenda).

Election analysis from 4 PE Leadership continues with Public Testimony at the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board meeting on Thursday, November 9th. Read the remarks and watch the video clip below: Good evening, I am Rick Clayton on behalf of 4 Public Education. I don’t need to be a fortune-teller to interpret the results of this week’s election . I can read the tea leaves. Chaos, transphobia, anti-CRT and lack of civility were trounced by the voters, by the parents, in favor of inclusivity, in support for teachers, and excellence, hand in hand with equity for all. This Board has stood up to crude, personal, vile attacks in order to protect our students and our public school culture for 4 years. For some of you, this will be the last time I will speak at this podium. On behalf of 4 Public Education . … I want to say thank you . Through this storm, Fairfax has remained at the forefront of excellence in education. Of course, we still have work to do. I hope those who have been most critical of your work will be true to their word of wanting to “listen to parents”-as parents have spoken loudly and clearly. Parents want all kinds of books in their library- they told you this on Tuesday. Parents want all kinds of truthful history taught- they told you this on Tuesday. Parents want trans kids protected and listened to- they told you this on Tuesday. Parents want teachers supported-emotionally and financially- they told you this on Tuesday. Parents want civility when we do disagree, not performative politics- they told you this on Tuesday. Parents have sent a clear message. I hope everyone, now, will listen to them and, ….as one school board candidate said in another county “Make school board meetings boring again.” I, and the rest of our group 4 Public Education , look forward to working with the new Board next year. View the video testimony here:

Pundits cast Virginia’s Tuesday general elections as a referendum on abortion rights. It was more than that. Further down the ballot those votes also sent a strong message to those trying to disrupt public education: listen to parents. Parents who came out to vote in Fairfax, Loudoun and even Spotsylvania, the epicenters of vitriol and fantasy, voted with a resounding “no” to candidates who focused on anti-CRT, book bans and transphobia. Parents overwhelmingly voted for moderate candidates campaigning on safe schools, feeding hungry kids and supporting our teachers. After almost four years of vile accusations of racism, pedophilia, incompetence and more, voters in Fairfax rejected the lies and returned Rachna Sizemore Heizer, Melanie Meren, Ricardy Anderson and Karl Frisch to the School Board, along with a sweep of all pro-public education newcomers. Rachna Sizemore Heizer said “Today, Fairfax County resoundingly rejected the GOP's divisive politics and relentless attacks on our schools, students and staff, and stood strong in support of public education. It has been a tough four years on the school board, but we've stood strong knowing the majority of Fairfax County shared our values of an excellent education in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Now on to work making our great schools even better for every child.” Spotsylvania County, with one of the most “toxic” school boards in the Commonwealth, flipped from MAGA extremist to centrist, teacher-focused sanity. Carol Medawar, a newcomer to politics, and part of the wave that flipped the Spotsylvania school board, stated “I'm just so happy for the students, families, and educators who really get to breathe a sigh of relief for this race. It's a huge flip on the Spotsy school board.” In Loudoun County, the genesis of the politization of public education, pro-public school supporters held their ground in a clear referendum on Youngkin’s plan to dismantle public schools, drive out teachers and humiliate trans-kids. The acrimony and chaos of the last four years drove every member of the prior school board out of the race. However, the new board, with all new members, will maintain a strong pro-public school majority, despite Youngkin’s concerted, last minute attempt to influence the race. According to Loudoun public school advocate Andrew Pihonek, “a brand new school board will be a breath of fresh air for many in Loudoun.” Albermarle-Charlottesville followed the same trend as Loudoun, Fairfax, and Spotsylvania, rejecting candidates who tried to re-write our history and ban books. If Glenn Youngkin and his minions truly want to listen to parents, now is their chance. Parents across the Commonwealth, in their first opportunity since his election to send a clear message, have rejected fear-mongering, white-washing, transphobia, sabotage and lack of civility. The question is no longer will we listen to parents, but will he? As Carol Medawar, successful Spotsylvania candidate, pleaded a few weeks ago, “Let’s make school board meetings boring again.” Sign up for the 4 Public Education weekly newsletter for more analysis, news, calls to action, events and more in support of public education!