Whew, it is so amazing to have the spring weather and the opportunity to be part of such an amazing season !!  I trust that each of you have taken the opportunity to get outside and revel in the sun and warmth; even with a bit of rain, it is so renewing …

I started my last week at Mantua Elementary School, home of the racoons, for a special Arbor Day celebration. Students, staff, and community leaders put on an informative and inspirational event complete with the planting of ten oak and elm trees on school grounds. 

Jim McGlone, Urban Forester representing the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) proudly presented Fairfax County with a Tree City USA award. This is the 40^th consecutive year we have won this award! To receive this annual Tree City recognition, cities must meet four overarching standards including; maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and lastly, celebrating Arbor Day! In addition to the wonderful wildlife artwork presented by the students (pictured above), we also heard from two talented fifth graders, Zoe and Pranavi, about what Arbor Day means to them. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful event. My heart beats strongest in our schools.

Monday evening, we hosted families, students, staff, and community members at Woodson High School for the second of our community events about fentanyl and other drugs. We had an important conversation about drug use in our community and provided helpful advice to families. Several of our high school principals shared experiences and offered ways families can support students and each other as we work to address this ongoing issue. All attendees received REVIVE! Narcan training and left with a supply of Narcan. This important conversation will continue. In the coming weeks, five high schools will host the Silent No More program presented by the Department of Justice. Visit our Opioid Awareness webpage for more information. Visit the Fairfax County Government webpage on opioids for details on how you can take action and get help for yourself or loved ones.

Tuesday night, I hosted two Teacher Town Halls at Herndon High School. I heard many of the same themes from the previous week’s events at West Springfield High School. Staff spoke about elementary planning time, compensation, student behavior and attendance, grading policies, the health insurance plan, OCR settlement concerns, and other topics.

I appreciate the trust our teachers and instructional staff showed by giving me such honest feedback. As a result, we have a team working on a plan to address elementary school planning time. We have already established a goal of equitable planning time for all teachers, including elementary school teachers, for the next school year beginning in August. More to come on that soon. Also, stay tuned for opportunities to gather in mid-May to share with me what’s working well and ways we can improve. By working together, FCPS can remain a world-class school division that delivers the best education for each and every child in Fairfax County.  Together, all things are possible…

Thursday afternoon, I had the pleasure of visiting the grounds of Aldrin Elementary School to see our Ignite partner Brightspot in action! Brightspot volunteers spent the day working with students and staff on a number of outdoor projects for their school’s annual Beautification Day.

In addition to ‘beautifying’ school grounds, Brightspot has collaborated in multiple other ways with Aldrin ES through mentorship programs and a back-to-school drive where they collected backpacks and school supplies. We are so appreciative of all of our Ignite partners and how they help our schools! I also spoke with members of the Green Team (pictured above) about their meaningful work teaching others about environmental sustainability and their schoolyard’s habitats. Each year their work stems from a theme. This year’s theme is trash and recycling. The Green Team is working hard to reduce waste and is using Get2Green as a resource. In addition, they want to continue to expand the habitats they’ve built and add more members to their team. They’ve noticed more wildlife in the area due to their efforts such as groundhogs and red tailed hawks – Our students will continue to lead us!

Our Strategic Planning process is moving from the feedback to the action phase as we held the final Core Planning, Alignment, and Faith Team meetings this week. On Tuesday, the School Board participated in a work session to review feedback and work to date. Please participate in the Final Feedback Opportunity Survey by May 17 to share your level of satisfaction with the draft goals, measures, and pillars. Feedback will be reviewed by the School Board at their May 9 retreat and prior to the regular May 25 school board meeting. Please continue to stay up-to-date on this work by visiting the Strategic Planning website.

During the Academic Matters segment of Thursday night’s School Board meeting, I spoke about an important service that we now provide to our high school students. We know that students cannot be open to learning without a feeling of mental health and wellness. There has been a lot of discussion around accessibility for mental health resources in our region, and we are proud to be able to provide this service at no cost to our families. Through Hazel Health, high school students in FCPS can access behavioral health services at home. 40% of Hazel providers are bilingual, speaking more than 15 languages. As of April 19, 442 families have opted in to Hazel Health services. Approximately half of the students who have initiated services have been referred by families, without school involvement. During the presentation, I shared quotes from Sara Brewer, a school counselor at West Potomac High School who said, “Many of our families, who don't qualify for other services based on income/insurance coverage, have been sitting on waitlists for MONTHS while students are in great need. It's been one of the hardest things to process this year as a school counselor. We were pleasantly surprised that our first referral was processed within THREE days because the family was so responsive and appreciative.” More information about this important service is available on our website.

Friday evening I had a great time cheering on the Glasgow MS students as they competed against the staff in the annual Hoop it up Night basketball competition.  The gym was full of exuberant students, parents, families and community members.  The competition was focused and intense!!  I am thinking that next year I will need to play ;>) !!  Thank you Principal Powell and staff for such a great community event. 

Later that evening, I had the opportunity to attend the Madison HS presentation of Mama Mia.  The show was amazing!!  As a fun and energizing musical, our performers and crew were amazing for sure.  It almost began to feel like summer!!

Saturday morning, I welcomed participants to the 18th annual Special Education Conference. I often say that learning happens best in community, and I’m pleased that this year’s theme was “Unity Within our FCPS Community. Every Student. Every Educator. Every Family.” This theme reflects our mission to not only meet the needs of each and every student, but also to celebrate the unique qualities that each and every student brings to our community. That is what makes our schools – and our community – exceptional. If you didn’t see it on the website, I’m pleased to share that FCPS has brought on three new experts to support students who learn differently. 

Kristen Haynor is the nation’s first neurodiversity specialist in a K-12 public school setting,  Nonye Oladimeji is Virginia’s first public school Twice Exceptional (2E) education specialist, and Rachel Rubio is our new dyslexia specialist. You can read more about them on our website.

Later Saturday, I spent time at several schools.  Fairhill ES students, staff and community members spent a great deal of time improving the grounds and planting trees.  Principal Ted Cooper welcomed me as school community members improved the school grounds.  Fairhill ES has an amazing partnership with the Fairfax Urban Forest Management Division (FUFMD) where they are donating 32 trees to our school over a three year period. Facilities come out on Friday and augured the holes and then Fairhill ES families came out on Saturday and helped “plant” the trees with FUFMD. It’s a super special experience and really highlights the partnership FCPS has with local government.  We remain confident that learning happens best in community; together all things are possible. 

Later on Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the musical Frozen at Langston Hughes MS.  The show was great and the crowd was energetic.  Director Cheryl Dewenter was thrilled with the performance of all involved.  It was a great afternoon.  Later Saturday evening, I had the opportunity to join the Falls Church HS production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  This dinner theatre was such an inspiring evening event.  The director, Beth De Marco, served up another remarkable show!!  This collaborative culinary experience was co-led by Chef Dustin Payne and the FCHS Culinary Arts student chefs.  Dinner was well served by FCHS Honor Society members.  I particularly enjoyed Mrs. Beaver’s homemade beef stew ;>) !! We have so many talented students and staff!!

I’d like to thank Julie Clinch and Shan Pillai for sharing this great news with me about their Academic Bowl team.

“The Gallaudet University Academic Bowl was established to foster academic excellence, healthy competition, and sportsmanship among deaf and hard of hearing youth – all while making lifelong friends. Every year, Gallaudet University hosts regional competitions for teams of deaf and hard of hearing high school students in addition to a national competition for the teams that qualify through the regionals.  Woodson’s team won 3^rd place at regionals in Austin Texas in February.  That qualified us for nationals held at Gallaudet University April 20^th -24^th. There were 16 of the best teams from around the country at nationals.  Woodson placed 4^th. Our team of three sophomores Karine Jelalian, Maggie Smallwood, and Sonan Sahgal worked hard to accomplish this strong finish to our season.  We look forward to next year!” I continue to be so inspired by our students and staff and their many achievements; it matters. 

 Congratulations to the team, and thank you Julie and Shan for giving your time and energy to this important work! It matters! You can read more about this event on the Gallaudet website.

I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to make it to the Transportation Road-eo last week at the Stonecroft Transportation Center, but I heard some wonderful things! About 250 school bus drivers, families and community members gathered for a day of friendly competition, team building and community connection.

The scale and importance of this team’s work cannot be understated. Our drivers and attendants are the first and last faces that our students see every day. These are critical connections! Our administration and support teams make sure our driver and attendants have everything they need to get our students safety to and from school. Congratulations to the winners of the bus 2023 Bus Road-eo:

Drivers of Big Buses:
1st – Mike Milburn.
2nd – Titus Nmashie.
3rd – Christal Mitchell.

Drivers of Small Buses and Attendants:
1st – Rebekkah Anderson and Munshi Kamruzzaman.
2nd – Oscar Enriquez and Mingzhu Tan.
3rd – Graham Saunders and Byung Taek Min.

You can read more about the day’s activities on our website.  Congratulations to all our transportation staff!!

As we wind down Month of the Military Child, thank you to Colin Verbicar, instructional assistant and after-school event moderator at Frost Middle School for sharing the special event the school recently hosted for military-connected families.

Colin said, "What struck me most was how connected the groups were. The intention was to honor Frost's 120 military students and the specific contributions of the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Space Force. The surprise was that students who participated who weren't technically 'military' found ways they were military -- and a rivalry as fierce as Army vs. Navy faded once guests started talking." Making connections is critical to building community. Great job, Falcons!

In keeping with the idea that humor and fun are part of the joy in our journey, I am reminded of one of my favorite comedians and her sage advice -- as timely today as it was years ago…"I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done."  -  Lucille Ball.     Hoping you enjoy the unapologetic joy of the season and upcoming week with no regrets !!

Best,

Michelle Reid, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Fairfax County Public Schools