Hello Team FCPS,

What a great week!! I love this fall season and all the abundant joy it brings. 

And so, like you I have often looked up this past week as the geese are doing fly-overs in formation. Over the years, I am pleased to be reminded that to all things there is a season. There is a definite comfort to nature and the predictability as well as the gifts of so many creatures, great and small. The story of the geese and their tight formation  is one that still inspires me in my work. I trust that you too will find inspiration in their natural team commitment. Together, all things are possible.

Thank you to everyone who has come out or registered for our Employee and Community Conversations! I hope you’ll find, as I do, that these events are an important way to make sure all of us on Team FCPS are seen, heard, and recognized for our thoughts and experiences.

We touched on many topics at Monday's event at Stone Middle School — so many great questions and ideas around the teacher shortage and what we can be doing to value, support, and retain our wonderful educators! Thank you to Claudia Thomas, family engagement region representative, for sharing this photo with me.

Our next Employee Conversation is Monday, October 9, from 4-5:30 p.m. at Twain Middle School, and following that we have opportunities on:

• Monday, October 16, 6:30-8 p.m. at Hughes Middle School
• Thursday, October 19, 4:30-6 p.m. at Langley High School

I hope you will join me. If you’re interested in participating as a family/community member, our Community Conversations are open to all (rather than just employees). More information and registration links for Community Conversations in your region can be found on our superintendent engagement webpage. 

October is National Principals Month and so I would like to personally recognize our fantastic FCPS principals. I want to share how important our principals and assistant principals are to the achievement of our core work in the schools. I applaud their instructional leadership and would invite you to share your own personal thanks sometime during the month with your school principals. Our collective work in this amazing field of education is so transformative; I firmly believe it is only through the power of public education that our communities and country will remain strong. Each of us plays a role and together, all things are possible ...

Tuesday evening, I met with a lively group of staff, families, and community members at the Community Conversation at Glasgow Middle School with Mason District School Board Representative Dr. Ricardy Anderson. I was so happy that the group shared the same energy and excitement that I have for our new middle school cross country program! We know that participation in extracurricular activities is an important way to keep students from engaging in risky or unhealthy behaviors. 

On Wednesday I had a great visit to Bryant High School with students and Karen Hertel, who was recently appointed to principal after five years as Bryant’s assistant principal. 

The student leaders and ambassadors were inspiring in their thoughts and comments.  I enjoyed being in the classrooms and meeting staff in a number of content areas. I so appreciate the energy and inspiring work that our educators do each and every day and the work our students do to meet expectations. I was inspired by the stories of student work and commitment. The stories of Sea Scouts experience and the energy committed to air quality were but two examples. Go Bears!

Wednesday evening, I was joined by the Fairfax County School Board representative for the Mount Vernon District, Karen Corbett Sanders at Whitman Middle School. A great group of engaged families attended the event. One focus of the evening, and something that I believe impacts us all, was discipline in our classrooms and schools, and how we can encourage our young people to make the best choices.

Thursday morning, I attended a Digital Equity Summit, with a focus on expanding access to digital hardware, connections, resources, tools, and skills for all Fairfax County residents. The summit was a collaborative event with county officials and local partners to discuss how we can keep our community residents connected

That includes our students, who are learning to navigate and innovate within our interconnected digital world. Equitable access to technology, as through our FCPSOn program, supports learning and ethical digital citizenship. Digital literacy is also one of the measures of Goal 5 (“Leading for tomorrow’s innovation”) of our 2023-30 strategic plan. We are preparing our students for careers that don’t yet exist and these discussions are critical to that work.

Thursday night, I had another great conversation at Kilmer Middle School with parents, current and former teachers, PTA leaders and principals that touched on everything from how school boundaries are set in FCPS to our strategic plan goal of increasing the number of students who complete Algebra I by eighth grade. I was especially impressed by the interest and input from so many in attendance on how we can better recruit and retain teachers – learning happens best in community!

This coming week, October 9-13, is the 60th annual National School Lunch Week. This yearly observance was created in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy with the aim of increasing “public understanding and awareness of the significance of the school lunch program to the child, to the home, to the farm, to industry, and to the Nation.”

In the years since, research has shown that school meals have a significant impact on the nutrition and outcomes of our young people:

• The CDC reports that:
  • Students who participate in the school meal programs consume more whole grains, milk, fruits, and vegetables during meal times and have better overall diet quality, than nonparticipants.
  • Eating breakfast at school is associated with better attendance rates, fewer missed school days, and better test scores.
• Better quality school food is linked to improved cognitive function, longer attention spans, better grades and test scores with particular improvement among low-income students.

Our Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) team recognizes the importance of school nutrition in supporting student academic achievement and fostering a lifetime of healthy eating. This includes the nutritious start to the school day that Maria and Jack (pictured above) were preparing for our youngest learners during my recent visit to Beech Tree Elementary School. With a number of new initiatives this year focused on elevating student voice and diversity in meal choice, I'm proud that Team FCPS has been recognized as a national leader in school nutrition (more to come on that next week). This work matters!

As we head into this fall week ahead, please enjoy the colors of the changing season and the warmth of friends and family. And so, "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." --- Robert Brault ...  

Warmest regards,

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