Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Officials will sit down soon to discuss how to get kids early education -- and fast.
With more than 800 children — many living along the Richmond Highway corridor — on the waiting list for pre-kindergarten services, Fairfax County’s School Board and Board of Supervisors are committed to formulating a plan to solve the problem, they said Tuesday. Head Start provides early education and pre-kindergarten classes to kids from low income families, better preparing them to enter Fairfax County Public Schools. The program is funded by a mix of federal, state and county sources, but sequestration has the Board of Supervisors on edge and the Fiscal Year 2014 budget doesn’t include any funding for expansion of the program. For this reason, Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) has formally requested the two Boards sit down and …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Students from Mount Vernon and West Potomac High School will compete in the National Leadership Conference.
Five Fairfax County Public Schools Health and Medical Sciences students have finished in the top three at the 33rd annual Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference in Williamsburg. These students have advanced to the HOSA National Leadership Conference in Nashville in June. HOSA is a national student organization endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education that provides leadership development opportunities and recognition to Health and Medical Sciences students, according to a press release sent by FCPS. At the state level in the Physical Therapy category, Nena Abernathy of Mount Vernon High School won first place; Jordan Gooch of Lake Braddock Secondary School finished in second place, and Garrett Farmerie…
Monday, March 25, 2013
Morning field trips are canceled due to snow.
Spreak break activities at Fairfax County Public Schools are delayed for two hours Monday morning due to the snowfall, according to FCPS. All FCPS school programs and activities that are being held during spring break will begin two hours late. Offices will open on time. Morning field trips are canceled. SACC centers will be open by 7:15 a.m. Adult and community education classes will start on time.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Dr. Tish Howard and the WMES community celebrated her retirement Thursday night.
Washington Mill Elementary parents, students, faculty and alumni crowded the school gym Thursday night to bid farewell to beloved principal Dr. Tish Howard. Dr. Howard served as principal at Washington Mill Elementary School for 12 years. She has started her own educational consulting firm in conjunction with University of Virginia a little more than a year ago to help educators close the achievement gap and meet the individual needs of students. “It’s going to be less contact with children, but a continuation of the impact on adults who are going to be impacting children,” Howard said. “It’s called need by name – how do you diagnostically use data to figure out where a child is, and tailor education to meet those needs? It’s very …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Dr. Tish Howard will retire at the end of January.
Washington Mill Elementary School principal Dr. Tish Howard will be retiring at the end of January. Dr. Howard earned her bachelor's and master’s degrees in speech and language pathology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and received her PhD in education leadership and counseling from George Mason University. She has served as principal at WMES for more than a decade. The school will host a reception in her honor at 6:30 p.m. on January 17 at Washington Mill Elementary School. Parents, alumni, and community members are welcome.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Gregory A. Harris passed away Wednesday night.
Mount Vernon Woods Elementary School teacher Gregory A. Harris passed away Wednesday night. Harris taught sixth grade at Mount Vernon Woods. An email was sent by Interim Principal Molly Bensinger-Lacy to parents and community members Thursday morning announcing Harris' passing. The cause of death was not specified. Counselors and student services support staff members are on hand to speak with students and will be available through the end of the week, according to the email. Stay with Patch for more information as it becomes available.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
More sessions for public feedback coming next week as part of the schools superintendent search process for Fairfax County Public Schools.
Visionary leadership, instructional excellence and an advocate for all children. Those are a few of the characteristics residents told the Fairfax County Public Schools board they would like to see in a new schools superintendent. FCPS has hired consultants from Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA) to help find the replacement for Superintendent Jack Dale, who is retiring later this year. HYA presented its findings to the school board at its Dec. 20 meeting. To see the board's full list of desired characteristics click here. There will be opportunities for the public to give input on this list: Jan. 14, 4 p.m., Centreville HS library Jan. 14, 7 p.m., Hayfield SS (in middle school cafeteria 1535) Jan. 15, 10 a.m., Gatehouse …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Capital Improvement Plan proposes two new elementary schools in Route 1 corridor.
Elementary schools serving the northern portion of Route 1 and Fort Belvoir are expected to see significant overcrowding in the next five years. A potential solution, according to the recently released draft of the Fairfax County Capital Improvement Plan: two new elementary schools for the Route 1 corridor. The five-year CIP budget will total $871.2 million or roughly $174.2 million per year. Funds approved in the 2011 School Bond Referendum and previous referenda will address approximately $190.8 million of the five-year requirement, leaving a balance of $680.3 million unfunded. Officials expect another referendum in fall 2013. Along with two possible elementary schools in the Richmond Highway Corridor and the eastern area of Fairfax …
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Implementation of new online resources sparks controversy.
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
By Riley Bannon, Editor in Chief, The Em Vee Hi Fairfax County has incorporated new technology into schools this year, including Google Apps for Education, and online textbooks. The change has been brought concerns from teachers, students, and parents alike and all sides are waiting to see if the online resources will pay off. The county began phasing in online textbooks in 2010, with social studies textbooks for 18 schools, which were then implemented for all students from grade 7 to grade 12. This school year, all math courses were given online textbooks for all grades K through 12. New to the school system this year as well is the Google Apps program. The program is, according to the FCPS website, free to the county, unlike pricey …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Police say there is no threat, it's just for reassurance in wake of Connecticut shootings.
When children return to school on Monday, families should expect to see an increased police presence, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The move is a reaction to Friday's shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 schoolchildren and six teachers, according to police. The gunman also killed his mother at her nearby home. The following was posted by FCPD on its Facebook page on Sunday: As children return to school tomorrow, you will see an increased police presence at and around schools in the county. We want the community to know this is being done as a reassurance for parents, teachers and students and NOT because there is any threat. It is a result of the shooting in Newtown, CT. For …
John Farrell
9:01 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
When did Stu Gibson return to the School Board? After I went to all the trouble of the countdown and everything! Or is Patch making an editorial comment that, while the person in that chair may have changed, the near total deference to all things Gatehouse hasn't? ;-) more ›