This Partnership Strikes a Chord

The short video linked above crescendos! It’s the story of our Ignite Partnership with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and it includes passion, thoughtfulness, inspiration, humor, teamwork and more.

It will make your day.

An Ignite Partnership Begins with Be The Good

A locally hatched not-for-profit organization called Be The Good recently signed an Ignite Partnership agreement with FCPS.  

Be the Good’s mission is to provide safe and easy ways for volunteers to help feed neighbors experiencing hunger and food insecurity through:  

• Care Packages: Be the Good organizes the donation of almost 3,000 “Care Packages” for families across the region including through Fairfax County Public Schools. Care Packages are bags of non-perishable foods that weigh approximately 17-20 lbs., and often also include grocery gift cards. Care Packages delivered to FCPS schools are delivered to the school’s family liaison or other designated point-of-contact, who determines and manages distribution to students directly.
• Little Free Food Pantries: Since March 2021, Be the Good has planted 11 “Pantries” at FCPS schools to provide emergency access to non-perishable foods 24/7, 365 - no questions asked.  

Founded and led by Amber and Sterling Marchand, Be The Good is 100% volunteer-run with a network of more than 1,500 local volunteers, including FCPS teachers, staff, administrators, students, and families. 

The partnership agreement allows for expansion to every Title I school in FCPS.

Planes, Trains, Donated Automobiles and Workforce Development

On Thursday June 8, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Leadership from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Fairfax County, Fairfax County Public Schools, and the Foundation for Applied Technical Education gathered for an Automotive Showcase, a special event showcasing the successful collaboration between the FCPS Career and Technical Education program and the Airports Authority.  

At the event, students shared with community collaborators their workforce skills and thanked the Airports Authority for supporting that work through donated vehicles which have provided hands-on education into Full Lifecycle Management.

MWAA recently donated 20 vehicles to FCPS. The vehicles have been placed in each of the Fairfax County Public Schools’ 13 high school auto technology classrooms where they have become dynamic tools for teaching and learning. 

Some of the vehicles, once refurbished by students, will be sold through Foundation for Applied Technical Education (FATE), the not-for-profit connected to FCPS student training programs on auto sales and entrepreneurship.

This event showcased to students employment opportunities with the authority available at Reagan National and Dulles International Airports.

Think Big for Kids Planning Progress

The national not-for-profit Think Big for Kids and Fairfax County Public Schools are making strides towards an Ignite Partnership involving several middle schools.

Since 2016, Think Big for Kids has served over 3,500 students nationally by providing opportunities for career exploration, mentorship, and job readiness and placement. In the new Fairfax County chapter, local businesses have the opportunity to work with Think Big for Kids through Fairfax County Public Schools to present interactive sessions designed to raise awareness and expose students to a variety of industries and potential career paths. This initiative is a long-term plan made by FCPS starting at the middle school level and later expanding into high schools to ensure our students are prepared for their path in our workforce. 

The local steering committee for Think Big for Kids, made up of local businesses, is looking forward to engaging students as soon as September 2023.  Those business are: 

• Bohler Engineering
• Capital One
• GOROVE SLADE
• Granicus
• ICF
• MetLife
• Microsoft
• Navy Federal Credit Union
• PWC
• Virginia Tire and Auto

The genesis of this partnership came through collaboration with the Fairfax County Development Authority (FCEDA).  More on this partnership and an announcement of participating schools will follow.  

If your business is interested in learning more about Think Big for Kids, please contact Layla Mailoudi, [email protected] at Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

Capital One Coders Culmination

In May at Glasgow, Herndon, Key and Poe middle schools, the Capital One Coders mentor team huddled to judge student produced coding projects. 

The categories judged were: 

• Most Readable
• Most Creative
• Most Technical
• Best Design
• Crowd Favorite

The student’s projects were built over a 10 week period where they learned coding concepts including Bootstrap Cards, Carousel, CSS, HTML, Hrefs and more.  With a nearly one-to-one volunteer mentor:student mentee ratio, the lessons always find success and unique student creations.

At each of the 4 schools, the Capital One mentors developed meaningful relationships with their mentees and their colleagues. Along with the workforce development gains in a program like this, the basic human connections are also high value, especially following isolations from the pandemic. In fact, the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects on Social Connection and Community, recently posted a report entitled: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation (2023). In the report, there were recommendations for philanthropists, businesses, community groups, and educators about the value of social interactions like those found in partnerships.

Thank you Capital One and Capital One’s volunteer associates for connecting with students in Fairfax County Public Schools. Your work matters.

Genesys Works Breaking Through Awards Gala

Proud business leaders and family members recently celebrated the success of several FCPS students and some staff members at the annual Genesys Works Breaking Through Awards Gala. Ignite partner Genesys Works, provides pathways to career success for high school students, through skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships at local corporations and within the Genesys Works alumni network.

Students participating in the Genesys Works program engage in paid internships during their senior year in high school. The year-long internship puts their eight week summer training into practice and further refines their skills as information technology professionals – while providing valuable service to the company.

Congratulations to all the 2023 Breaking Through awardees:

Intern of the Year

Faduma Abukar, Herndon High School, FCPS

Breakthrough Student of the Year

Mohammed Hasan, Springbrook High School, MCPS

School Partner of the Year

John R. Lewis High School, FCPS

Corporate Partner of the Year

Children’s National Hospital

Matt Pellowski Supervisor of the Year

Josh Morin, American Alliance of Museums

College & Career Coaching Award

Christian Rodriguez, Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School, DCPS

Building Futures Award

Laura Giangiuli, CALIBRE Systems, Inc.

GrandInvolve On A Grand Scale and Big News

In an effort to get AmeriCorps Seniors (Age 50+) back into schools as volunteers, the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS) invited Ignite Partner GrandInvolve to their national conference to share their process and successful experiences working with FCPS.

Dorothy Keenan, GrandInvolve Executive Director; Anu Mittal, GrandInvolve School Liaison; and Jay Garant, FCPS Director for Business and Community Partnerships served as panelists.  

The conference, in Arlington, Virginia gave GrandInvolve time to highlight the strength and flexibility of their partnership model to an audience of not-for-profit and education leaders with common goals. Developed by GrandInvolve and deployed together, the model places a strong school liaison at each school who serves as the point of contact for volunteer coordination and issues that arise. “The single point of contact,” says Anu Mittal, “helps take the burden off already busy school staff members.” It also built relationships.  

With strong pre-pandemic relationships, a quick pivot to virtual volunteering occurred in 2020, and another back to in-person volunteering in 2022. Today, the partnership between GrandInvolve and FCPS is in-person and 25 schools strong!

At the time of the event, Ms. Keenan was Executive Director of GrandInvolve. On June 1st she assumed her new role as GrandInvolve Ambassador. 

Dorothy has been an Ambassador for GrandInvolve since the moment we met,” says Jay Garant, Director of Business and Community Partnerships for FCPS. “She’s been an Ambassador and an advocate for the people GrandInvolve serves -- students and seniors – plus the people who help lead, manage and support the organization. Dorothy, or Dot, as I’m encouraged to call her, cares about all her relationships and GrandInvolve therefore is a lasting reflection of her exceptional work.”

Fairfax County Public Schools is grateful for the dedication to excellence that Ms. Dorothy Keenan has applied to all her work with GrandInvolve.

While it is not possible to truly fill Ms. Keenan’s shoes, GrandInvolve’s Board of Directors has appointed Michele Duell to the role of Acting Executive Director. Ms. Duell has held numerous roles at GrandInvolve since the beginning days at Crestwood Elementary School. Ms. Duell has most recently been GrandInvolve’s Volunteer Coordinator, responsible for operations tasks. Thank you GrandInvolve. 

Thank you as well to Ms. Dorothy Keenan for her unwavering support for people of all ages.

Building Our Future: Fairfax County School Board Approves Proposed 2023 School Bond Referendum

During one of the regular May meetings, the Fairfax County School Board approved a resolution requesting the Board of Supervisors to approve a School Bond Referendum that supports the division and county’s commitment to providing safe and welcoming learning environments for all students. 

Great schools are great for businesses and the community.  

“This collective investment is part of building our future,” said Dr. Michelle Reid, FCPS Superintendent. “Safe, healthy and up-to-date schools are critical to student success. The projects in this bond package will ensure that each and every FCPS student has an opportunity to learn and grow in world-class facilities.”

The School Bond Referendum will be on the November 2023 general election ballot in the principal amount of $435 million, pending the approval of the Board of Supervisors.

“The School Board is committed to ensuring that our facilities support our current education programming and anticipate our future needs,” School Board Chair and Member-at-Large Rachna Sizemore Heizer said. “We are grateful that the Board of Supervisors have partnered with us to show support for our students.”

The funding provided by voter-approved bonds will provide construction funds for seven elementary schools, planning and design funds for eight elementary school renovations and one middle school renovation, and funds for three modular relocations, security vestibules, and inflation adjustments for prior bond projects. These projects are identified in the FY2024-28 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) approved by the School Board in February this year.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will vote on the School Bond Referendum in June.