MEETING NOTES
Fairfax County School Board Community Leadership Council (CLC)
Gatehouse Administration Center I
October 17, 2008
MEETING OPENING
Linkage Committee Chairman Center convened the Community Leadership Council (CLC) meeting at 7:50 a.m. The following members were in attendance:
• Mary Kimm, The Connection Newspapers
• Michele Menapace, Fairfax County Council of PTAs
• Scott Surovell, Fairfax County Democratic Committee
• Jeffrey Parnes, Fairfax County Federation of Civic Associations
• Lynne Crammer, Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board
• Han Jin Do, Korean American Association of Washington
• Jane Quill, Northern Virginia Realtors Association
Also present were Board Members Brad Center , Lee District; Ilryong Moon, Member at Large; Phil Niedzielski-Eichner, Providence District; Kathy Smith, School Board Vice Chairman and Sully District; Janie Strauss, Dranesville District; Tessie Wilson, Braddock District; Jack Dale, Division Superintendent; Richard Moniuszko, Deputy Superintendent; Dean Tistadt, Chief Operating Officer; Barbara Hunter, Assistant Superintendent for the Department of Communication and Community Outreach; Phyllis Pajardo, Assistant Superintendent for Cluster II; and Pat Charbonneau and Linda Sabo, Deputy Executive Assistants and Deputy Clerks of the Board.
DISCUSSION
Mr. Center welcomed everyone and introduced Mr. Tistadt for a brief update on the proposed purchase of the building at 8111 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church (Gatehouse II).
Comments included:
• The Fairfax Federation of Civic Associations had already endorsed the purchase;
• This was a good time to purchase commercial real estate; although commercial real estate had not plummeted like residential real estate had, renovation costs were lower now than in the future;
• The CLC was asked to share with their constituencies the facts of the building purchase, that money for the building was not money diverted from the classroom;
• The FCCPTA position in September was neither in support of nor opposition to the building, but to extend the process for more community input; there was no current position without seeing a revised plan and timeline;
• The timeline was nebulous with updated market information available December 5 or 6 and the current lease between the owners and the Red Cross expiring at the end of November, after which the owners may be more open to renegotiating the sale price;
• Devonshire must be vacated by staff no later than late summer or early fall 2009 to not impact its reopening as an elementary school;
• The question was raised about the size and capacity of the building, and the response was that Gatehouse I was 208,000 square feet housing 650 employees, construction of a new building would be 170,000 or 208,000 square feet housing 700-750 employees, and 8111 Gatehouse Road would have 275,000 square feet and house 1100 employees, with 1100 employees currently in leased space or buildings needed for return to elementary schools;
• Savings of $7.5 million a year for three years would be achieved because payments on the building purchase would not begin until renovation was completed in 2013; and
• LEAD certification for the building renovation was encouraged to maintain the building's value, with the response that LEAD certification was expensive and would add to the cost of renovation, but planned renovations would be completed with the goal of environmental stewardship and being LEAD certifiable.
Mrs. Pajardo reviewed a PowerPoint presentation on Student Achievement Goal 3, Responsibility to the Community, with particular focus on Goal 3.2, Be respectful and contributing participants in their school, community, country, and world.
Two questions provided for the CLC to consider with regard to responsibility to the community:
• What kinds of opportunities exist within your organization that can help FCPS students attain their “opportunity to give back”?
• What does your organization need to support FCPS students in attaining this goal?
Comments included:
• Evaluations, currently scheduled at grades 6, 8, and 12, should also be conducted at grade 10;
• Interest was expressed in focusing on “volunteering” or “community service” rather than “service learning,” which had a negative connotation for some;
• Service projects should be self-initiated, not assigned;
• Service needed to be seen as a continuum and ongoing, not just as a project that students needed to complete only at certain grade levels;
• The question was asked whether projects completed for outside organizations—such as Boy or Girl Scouts, or church—would also be eligible for school service credit;
• Involvement in the Student Government Association or the Student Advisory Council could be valuable service learning through which students lobbied the School Board or legislators;
• Student interests—such as music or sports—should be tapped for opportunities to mentor/coach younger children as a way to give back;
• It was important to develop a sense of empathy from a young age;
• Students could volunteer as interns in some organizations, completing tasks that the organization had a need for, such as maintaining a membership database;
• The United States had great diversity but service was unifying—it could be done irrespective of the language spoken or difference in cultures, it says “We care!”;
• Need to emphasize the positive of what students were doing and provide an opportunity to share those positive outlets instead of focusing on students' negative behaviors;
• Service was a way to teach networking;
• Activities and programs are needed that emphasize resiliency and prevention;
• Opportunities to communicate and interact with the community would take place at an assembly or fair during which community organizations could provide information on the needs of the community;
• Service should count for school credit, not just during certain periods or have to be delayed until a project was approved; and
• Students were more capable than we realized if we gave them an opportunity.
Mr. Center requested each CLC member to complete a short questionnaire that requested names of other organizations whose input might be beneficial to the CLC and dates or times that might be preferable for meetings.
The meeting adjourned at 9:07 a.m.
Attachments: Gatehouse II Update
Student Achievement Goal 3: Responsibility to the Community