Over the last two years, students in grades K-2 in Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) 20 Project Excel schools moved rapidly toward established benchmarks, according to the evaluation data presented by FCPS Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech to the School Board. Recommendations from the interim report include continuing Project Excel and focusing efforts on increasing the gains of Excel students, particularly in grades 3-6.
The report reveals that the largest achievement gains were made by students with one or more risk factors, including students enrolled in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes and students who receive free or reduced-price meals (FRM). Forty-eight percent of students in Excel schools receive free or reduced-price meals, and 35.6 percent receive ESOL services.
Results for students in grades K-2 indicate that full-day kindergarten and the Waterford Early Reading program, an early intervention program for students in grades K-1, are improving the reading skills of at-risk students.
Additional findings include:
Seven of the 20 Project Excel schools are fully accredited by the state of Virginia, based on Standards of Learning (SOL) test results; six schools are provisionally accredited/meets standards; and seven schools are provisionally accredited/needs improvement. None of FCPS' Project Excel schools is accredited with warning.
The 13 Project Excel Gold Award schools for 2000-01 include Annandale Terrace, Cameron, Fort Belvoir, Glen Forest, Graham Road, Groveton, Hollin Meadows, Hutchison, Hybla Valley, London Towne, Mount Vernon Woods, Westlawn, and Woodley Hills. Seven schools were Project Excel Gold Award winners for the 1999-2000 school year.
Recommendations from Domenech include continuing to fund Project Excel, increasing time for learning via full-day kindergarten and the extended day program; and enhancing academic programs involving technology-based phonics.
Project Excel began in 20 schools for the 1999-2000 school year to promote high student achievement via three major program components-accountability, increased learning time, and an enhanced academic program-and to help these schools meet accreditation standards. A full program evaluation will be available in 2003, when the first group of students who entered kindergarten at the beginning of Project Excel take the grade 3 SOL tests.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has improved its alumni web site to allow users to search by school, graduation year, and name. These new functions make it even easier for graduates to keep in touch with each other and their alma maters.
The FCPS alumni web site is linked from the FCPS public web home page, www.fcps.edu. The direct address of the site is www.fcps.edu/alumni/alumnidir.htm.
All FCPS alumni are invited to register their names, e-mail addresses, and graduation information at the site. Alumni may register all FCPS elementary, middle, and high schools graduated as well as their graduation years. Participation is completely voluntary.
The alumni registry has been a feature of the FCPS public web site since 1997. Previously, names, schools, and e-mail addresses were listed in static web pages, making it difficult for alumni to sort through the directory to locate classmates. Based on the feedback of site users, work on an improved site began in May 2001. The changes have been refined and tested and the new site was officially launched on March 13, 2002.
The alumni site also lists events of interest to alumni, including reunions. There are also links to alumni sites for individual high schools.
For more information, contact Jill Kurtz, web services coordinator, Office of Community Relations, at 703-346-4380 or at Jill.Kurtz@fcps.edu.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech will host a discussion forum on Live Online at www.washingtonpost.com on Thursday, March 21, from 1 to 2 p.m. moderated by Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher.
Domenech will be available on March 21 to discuss the current budget crisis affecting Fairfax County Public Schools, and will talk about two upcoming town meetings, scheduled for April 3, designed to actively solicit input from Fairfax County residents on the fiscal year 2003 budget.
The interactive online forum offers an opportunity for parents, area residents, educators, and journalists to engage in an interactive dialogue with Domenech. Questions may be submitted in advance at www.washingtonpost.com.
Note: For more information, contact Kitty Porterfield at 703-246-2877.
FCPS Superintendent Invites Residents to Town Meetings on FY 2003 Budget
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech is inviting county residents to attend town meetings on Wednesday, April 3, to provide their views on how to address major deficits in the school system's fiscal year (FY) 2003 budget. Two concurrent meetings are being held on that date to allow residents in different parts of the county to attend. One will be at Lanier Middle School in Fairfax and the other at Edison High School in Alexandria. The concurrent meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m.; Fairfax County residents are strongly encouraged to attend and participate in the budget process.
The meetings are part of a series of planned events to solicit public opinion about the budget challenges facing the school system.
Residents are not required to preregister for the town meetings. FCPS staff members and School Board members will be on hand to facilitate the meetings and to answer questions about the budget process. Results of the town meetings will be posted at each site that evening and will be collected and posted on the FCPS web site, www.fcps.edu, the week following the meetings.
Lanier Middle School is located at 3710 Bevan Drive, Fairfax. Edison High School is located at 5801 Franconia Road, Alexandria. The meetings are open to the public, and all Fairfax County residents are encouraged to attend.
Note: For more information, contact James Johnson, operational
improvements administrator, at 703-246-4717.
Chantilly and Fairfax High School Academies, two Fairfax County public schools, are teaming up with the Fairfax County Office for Women for a pilot program pairing female high school students with professional women. The program, called Shop Talk Brown Bag Lunch, offers female high school juniors and seniors enrolled in advanced technology and graphic design courses the opportunity to interact with professional women in information technology and engineering careers. The program is scheduled for Monday, March 18, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center.
Approximately 35 female students will have the opportunity to discuss professional opportunities with 12 working women representing a variety of careers. The students will visit Fairfax County's Group Decision Support Center to learn about its innovative use of technology and will participate in a problem-solving activity: developing a list of recommendations for school administrators on how to increase the number of girls taking technology classes in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).
The Shop Talk Brown Bag Lunch will give girls the opportunity to hear about promising technology careers and the best strategies for pursuing them. A panel discussion on educational strategies will be followed by small group roundtable discussions with women in these career fields. The program is being underwritten by Freddie Mac.
Note: For more information, contact Beth Berger at Chantilly Academy at 703-222-7464 or Lesley Persily at the Fairfax County Office for Women at 703-324-5730.
Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) Red Apple 21 and the Fairfax Network have captured five finalist Telly Awards for 2000-01 productions. The Telly Awards, similar to the Emmy awards, recognize exceptional nonbroadcast cable programming, and are one of the most sought-after awards in the television, commercial, and video industry. Top entries are named winners or finalists, based on the number of points scored on a ten-point scale and are judged against a standard of excellence.
Receiving awards are "SchoolScene," produced by Ted Brawner; a promotional spot for "TV That Counts," produced by Margaret Kivlen; "Creating an Inclusive School," produced by Karen Mersereau, Margaret Kivlen, and Tina Utz,; "Houston, We Have Another Solution," produced by Michelle Dumas; and the electronic graphics series opening for "edtv ," produced by Tina Utz.
The "School Scene" episode won the finalist award in the miscellaneous TV or cable program category. "School Scene" is the longest-running regularly scheduled program on FCPS' Red Apple 21 and is in its 16th season. The show is a half-hour news program that is broadcast twice a month and, features 9 to 12 short, informative stories about FCPS happenings including school system events, excellence in the classroom, and upcoming activities.
A promotional spot for "TV That Counts" took the finalist award in the miscellaneous category. "TV That Counts" is an hour-and-half block of community
information shows, including "School Scene," "edtv," and "InSight"; the promotional spot advertises the "TV That Counts" block of shows and their air times.
"Creating an Inclusive School," which was named a finalist in the education category, was produced for the 2001 FCPS Leadership Conference in cooperation with the FCPS Department of Special Services.
"Houston, We Have Another Solution" was named a finalist in the miscellaneous TV or cable program category. It was produced in cooperation with the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in support of Space Day 2001 and was distributed via satellite to schools across North America under the banner of Fairfax Network, Fairfax County Public Schools.
The electronic graphics series opening for "edtv" was named a finalist in the miscellaneous category.
These programs are produced by the FCPS Department of Information Technology in collaboration with the Office of Community Relations. Substantial funding for FCPS programming and production comes from Cox Communications. The winning programs will be rebroadcast over the summer; watch the Fine Tuning program guide for dates and times.
Founded in 1980, the Telly Awards represent a highly respected competition founded to showcase and give recognition to outstanding nonnetwork and cable commercials; the awards program was expanded a few years ago to include film and video productions. Winners and finalists are from a cross-section of agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operations, and corporate video departments. In 2001, there were 11,114 Telly Award entries. Producers of the winning spots will receive statuettes and certificates.
Note: For additional information, contact Donna Tait, manager, teleproductions services, at 703-503-7520.
Last update: March
15, 2002
Curator: Therese Payne -- Therese.Payne@fcps.edu