Wednesday, May 16, 2012
School board will hold a work session on the budget Thursday
A week before the Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to approve a fiscal year 2013 budget, community members advocated Tuesday for closing achievement gaps, increasing funding for employee compensation and providing benefits to parent liaisons at a public hearing for next year's spending plan. Superintendant Jack Dale presented his adjustments to the $2.4 billion budget during a markup session Monday, which removes step increases for eligible employees and calls for a 2 percent compensation market rate adjustment (MRA). The payment changes come in light of this year's General Assembly legislation requiring public school employees who participate in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) to pay a 5 percent employee contribution, which …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A cocaine ring, school security cameras and more in the news this week across Fairfax County.
Here’s a look at some of the top Patch stories of the past week from across southern Fairfax County and a look at what’s coming up: Cocaine Ring More than two dozen people from Northern Virginia were arrested in connection with a Honduran cocaine ring. According to case documents, those charged — largely Honduran immigrants who have lived in Northern Virginia for the past seven years — hired couriers to smuggle cocaine to the United States, usually through wooden shoes or picture frames. In other crime news, police arrested Gloria Alfreda McMillan and charged her with a felony hit and run that resulted in the death of 21-year-old Shelinda Delores Arrington earlier in May on Harrison Lane in the Groveton area. School Security Cameras The …
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Horses stabbed in Herndon, Dyke Marsh preservation, Chick-fil-A fans and more were in the news this week across Fairfax County.
Here’s a look at some of the top Patch stories of the past week and a look at what’s coming up in the week ahead. Student Discipline Revisited Fairfax County Public Schools is revisiting its disciplinary policies. This may include peer mediation and restorative justice as methods of resolving disputes and addressing student behavior and expanding the section on bullying to include electronic communication. Crime Another person, allegedly a member of the Underground Gangster Crips, was charged for his involvement in orchestrating a high school prostitution ring. Fairfax County police released a mobile app called TipSubmit for residents to report crimes quickly and easily. Horses Attacked Someone attacked three horses that were part of the …
Friday, April 27, 2012
Parental notification still absent from proposed changes, but could be introduced through amendments
Nearly a year after overhauling the student disciplinary system, the Fairfax County School Board is preparing to make several more adjustments to its Students Rights and Responsibilities handbook, among them, adding synthetic marijuana to the list of substances which result in a five-day suspension and mandating principals immediately notify police after alcohol, assault, firearm, bomb threat and certain drug violations. Among other significant modifications proposed, according to board documents, are the inclusion of peer mediation and restorative justice as methods of resolving disputes and addressing student behavior; expanding the section on bullying to include electronic communication; and allowing cell phone and use of other …
Friday, April 13, 2012
Our mild winter gives students two extra days of summer vacation.
The Fairfax County School Board voted Thursday to shorten the 2011-12 school year by two days. The board voted unanimously to set Friday, June 15, as the last day of school for students. Monday and Tuesday, June 18 and 19, will serve as teacher workdays. "I believe that converting June 18 and 19 to teacher work days will be a better use of those two days," School Board Member Ilryong Moon (At-large) told Oakton Patch. "They will provide the teachers with much needed time to complete end-of-the-year assignments, school improvement planning, teacher planning and collaborative team planning and any other workload relief that can be accomplished." The schedule for the rest of the school year, including graduation ceremonies, remains the same.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
New progress reports for elementary school students start countywide in fall 2012.
Fairfax County Public Schools will begin using new progress reports for elementary school students in fall 2012. According to FCPS, the new progress report will be based on curriculum standards and will: Community meetings about the new progress report will be held in April on the following dates and locations: Tuesday, April 10 7–8:30 p.m. Herndon High School - Cafeteria Wednesday, April 11 7-8:30 p.m. Hayfield Secondary School - Cafeteria Wednesday, April 18 7-8:30 p.m. Robinson Secondary School - Recital Hall Wednesday, April 25 7-8:30 pm Falls Church High School - Cafeteria B To attend a meeting, register online in English or Spanish; or contact your school’s parent liaison. During the 2011-12 school year, selected elementary …
38.81609
-77.308679
Robinson Secondary School
5035 Sideburn Rd, Fairfax, VA
/articles/fcps-holds-community-meetings-about-new-progress-reports
1788051
/locations/6748917
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Officials provide information, receive community input after two sexual assaults in the Braddock District.
In response to two recent sexual assaults in the Braddock District, Supervisor John Cook held a community awareness meeting at Robinson Secondary School Monday. Representatives from the Fairfax County Police Department and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) joined more than 100 concerned residents in a review of the incidents and discussion of safety procedures in place and proposed. A 24-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in the woods off Commonwealth Boulevard in Kings Park West on March 14. Less than a week later, on March 19, a 16-year-old W.T. Woodson High School student was assaulted while walking home from school near Frost Middle School. Capt. Joe Hill of the West Springfield District Police Station said increased police …
38.81609
-77.308679
Robinson Secondary School
5035 Sideburn Rd, Fairfax, VA
/articles/community-discusses-recent-assaults-proposes-woodson-high-school-security-fence
1788051
/locations/6730928
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
With six new members, Fairfax County board explores time shift for system schedule
Three years after the Fairfax County School Board voted against a schedule shift that would accommodate later high school start times, members will revisit the issue next week with a vote on a resolution to develop a system-wide goal of starting high schools after 8 a.m. The resolution, scheduled to come before the board at its April 12 meeting, calls for the adoption of that goal but also directs Superintendent Jack Dale to identify and report on school divisions that have traditionally had and have transitioned to later morning start times, including neighboring Arlington and Loudoun counties along with Minneapolis, Minn; Wilton, Conn.; and Brevard, Fla. Dale would present his findings to the board at a June 11 work session. County buses…
Friday, March 23, 2012
As national outcry over ammonia-treated beef continues, county schools say they'll replace hamburgers served in schools next month.
Amidst a national outcry over U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to purchase ammonia-treated ground beef for national school lunch programs, Fairfax County Public Schools has plans of its own to kiss the substance — dubbed "pink slime" — goodbye. While FCPS does not receive beef products from the USDA, schools spokesman John Torre said the beef patties sold to county schools by another vendor do contain Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB), the "waste" meat and fat that is often ground and turned into processed meat products or combined with higher quality meat to make low-fat ground beef. Because beef trim is often filled with E. Coli and salmonella, it's treated with ammonium hydroxide, creating "pink slime," a term coined by some …
Saturday, March 17, 2012
The ensemble yearly visits local elementary schools to promote music.
- SCHOOLS
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Saturday, March 17
The Lake Braddock Secondary School Woodwind Ensemble recently performed at several local elementary schools to introduce students to music and band instruments. “It is good for all kids to be exposed to music, and what a great band to do it," said June Holder, band instructor for Cherry Run and Sangster Elementary Schools "Lake Braddock has one of the best music programs in our country.” Lake Braddock's Woodwind Ensemble is composed of 7th and 8th grade students directed by Louis Bean, who has been teaching at Lake Braddock since 1992. “We're neighbors to the best bands in the country — the military bands. With their influences and the support of the parents, teachers, and community members, we are able to have a very strong music …
38.80299
-77.26224
Lake Braddock Secondary School
9200 Burke Lake Rd, Burke, VA
/articles/lake-braddock-woodwind-ensemble-introduces-music-to-younger-students
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38.76716
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Cherry Run Elementary School
9732 Ironmaster Dr, Burke, VA
/articles/lake-braddock-woodwind-ensemble-introduces-music-to-younger-students
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/locations/6605464
Kathy Keith
6:51 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
I'm pretty sure that the School Board has reinstated Honors classes for next year. I know it was a topic at one of the meetings a few months ago and I think the vote was in favor. more ›