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Fairfax County Public Schools reported encouraging early-literacy results and announced plans to bring robotics teams to every school as Superintendent Michelle Reid highlighted a busy week of student competitions, classroom visits and community events.
The latest state screening data showed 52.6% of FCPS students in kindergarten through second grade were at low risk of needing reading intervention this winter, up from 42.6% in the fall. FCPS said the change means 13.6% more students demonstrated the foundational skills needed for grade-level success.
The results follow the introduction of Benchmark Advance, the division’s new K-6 language arts curriculum. Students were assessed using the Virginia Language and Literacy Screening System, or VALLSS, which classifies foundational literacy skills as low, moderate or high risk. Reid planned to share additional findings during the March 27 School Board meeting.
Robotics expansion starts with 46 schools
At the FIRST Robotics Competition at Hayfield Secondary School, Reid announced a four-year effort to establish robotics teams throughout FCPS. The expansion will begin with 46 additional schools during the coming year.
The competition brought together 37 teams, including six from FCPS. Students had three months to design, build, test and repair their robots, with assistance from more than 90 mentors and volunteers.
Hayfield student Alex guided Reid through the competition, while Oakton High School students demonstrated how their work applied mathematical concepts. Reid also recognized Hayfield robotics instructor Joseph Kerns and emphasized the collaboration occurring among competing teams.
The weekend’s other major academic event was the 70th annual Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair at Robinson Secondary School. Hundreds of students presented projects covering a wide range of scientific and engineering subjects. Reid encouraged participants to view findings that do not support a hypothesis as opportunities to learn and improve.
The Fairfax County Council PTA also held the annual Fairfax County Spelling Bee on Sunday, drawing students, employees and parents.
Five FCPS teams capture state championships
FCPS closed the winter sports season with five teams and 36 individual competitors winning Virginia High School League Class 6 championships. Five teams and 35 individuals finished as state runners-up.
The championship teams were:
- Lake Braddock Secondary School gymnastics, which earned its fourth consecutive title.
- South Lakes High School boys basketball, which won for the second year in a row.
- Chantilly High School boys swimming and diving.
- South County High School girls indoor track and field.
- West Springfield High School boys indoor track and field.
Reid also attended several athletic events during the week, including a Lewis High School soccer match against Wakefield and a Woodson-Westfield boys baseball game.
At Annandale High School, the annual FanQuest event placed inclusion and respect for students with disabilities at center court. Annandale’s Special Olympics basketball team played Marshall High School in a showcase game, and Annandale raised its Unified Champion banner.
Assistant Principal Jae Lee said the banner reflected the school’s effort to create a culture in which every student feels valued and included. FOX 5 News covered the event.
Students turn cereal donation into a spectacle
Beech Tree Elementary School students collected 471 cereal boxes for Cereal4All, which supplies cereal to Food for Others. After completing the drive, students arranged the boxes through the school’s hallways and stairs and toppled them in a large domino display.
Music and performance also filled the week. More than 100 fifth- and sixth-grade students from schools in the Lewis and Edison pyramids performed at Lewis High School as part of the Greater Springfield-Franconia Area Honor Band. The students rehearsed weekly after school for 10 weeks before the concert.
Mount Vernon High School later hosted its annual Atlantic Indoor Association Indoor Guard and Percussion competition. Sixty-five school ensembles presented seven- to 10-minute productions before nationally known marching-band and drum-corps judges.
FCPS participants came from Mount Vernon, Fairfax, Thomas Jefferson, Westfield, Herndon, McLean, Oakton, West Springfield, Hayfield, South County and Kilmer Middle School. Three college groups also performed, including George Mason University Indoor Percussion.
The competitive season, held on weekends throughout February and March, was scheduled to conclude at the A.I.A. Indoor Championships at Hampton Coliseum.
School visits span cooking, Congress and fitness
During a visit to Frost Middle School, Reid observed students in Amy Hansen’s family and consumer sciences class baking chocolate-chip cookie cakes. Students in Jennifer Murphy’s classroom were cutting fabric and sewing aprons for later classroom use.
She also visited Megan Fowle’s Algebra 1 students as they divided polynomials and a seventh-grade math class taught by Lorenda Wieder and Mark Perlin. Frost is led by Principal Anthony Harris.
At Fairfax High School, Principal Georgina Aye, administrators and student ambassador Myles accompanied Reid through several classrooms. Heather Davids’ AP Seminar students were preparing research-based essays and presentations, while biology students taught by Caroline Mikhail and Alaina Willis studied proteins, the pH scale and other elements of biochemistry.
In Candi Freeman’s English class for multilingual learners, students practiced vocabulary and speaking. Reid also watched a “Paws Up!” presentation recognizing positive student behavior.
The visit ended in the weight room, where physical education teachers and football coaches Richard Taylor and Matthew Frank conducted a testing day for a personal fitness class. Students checked their progress toward fitness goals, while Reid lifted a 45-pound squat-rack bar with student spotters assisting.
Oakton High School seniors spent Thursday learning how legislation moves through Congress during the school’s annual 12th Grade Model Congress. Each student researched an issue, wrote a bill and presented it. Participants also sought leadership positions, joined committees, debated proposals and voted.
At Glen Forest Elementary School, Reid returned to an early-literacy setting as a guest reader in Ms. Vega’s first-grade classroom. The class read Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, a story centered on friendship.
Crisis resource teacher honored for student support
Twain Middle School crisis resource teacher Samantha Vivian-Beck received the second FCPS CARES of the Quarter award. The recognition is presented through a partnership involving Educate Fairfax and the school division’s employee-recognition team.
Vivian-Beck serves both Twain and its Comprehensive Services Site Program. Her work includes directing the school’s student-mentoring program and developing a life-skills class for students with emotional disabilities.
She also created the Hype Cafe, a student-operated business that sells hot drinks and baked goods to employees twice a week. The program helps students practice management and customer-service skills.
The nomination praised Vivian-Beck for offering additional care to students who had not yet experienced success and for consistently supporting both students and staff.
Leadership programs connect students and employees
Reid met with members of the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Committee at Kilmer Middle School. Every school has a representative on the committee, which gives instructional employees a route to provide feedback and raise concerns with FCPS leadership. Representatives then report meeting results to colleagues at their schools.
She also met with the newest members of the Fairfax County Youth Leadership Program, now in its 25th year. The competitive program prepares high school students for civic participation through educational sessions, internships in county departments and visits to middle school civics classes as program ambassadors.
Students learn how local government affects everyday life and meet county leaders and policymakers. Reid discussed her path into educational leadership and the importance of collaboration and inclusion before answering questions.
During a virtual conversation with the FCPS Aspiring Leaders of Color Affinity Group, Reid again discussed her professional path and offered guidance to employees preparing for future leadership roles.
FCPS also held a virtual instructional job fair Saturday, with hundreds of teacher candidates seeking positions. Human Resources employees, principals, assistant principals and other school staff participated.
Public-education discussions focus on funding and AI
Reid met with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, along with FCPS employees, parents and community members, to discuss national developments and their effects on the school division.
At Leadership Greater Washington’s Education Day, Reid joined other superintendents for a panel with elected officials and representatives from businesses, nonprofits and community organizations. The discussion covered education funding, artificial intelligence, emerging technology and partnerships among schools and the public and private sectors.
Reid also hosted the Quad 2 Family Vision Group at Shrevewood Elementary School. Employee and Community Conversations were held at Haycock and Cunningham Park elementary schools, with participants discussing literacy and college enrollment.
The next Employee Conversation was scheduled for April 29 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Providence Elementary School.
Gala and arts program highlight community partnerships
Reid attended Edu-Futuro’s “Empowering Voices, Transforming Lives” gala Friday evening. The organization assists the community through college and career preparation, scholarships and financial support, family workshops, classes, leadership development and self-advocacy training.
She also recorded an episode of Our Voices, Our Future with Madeline Deveney, a third-year art teacher at Clermont Elementary School. Deveney discussed her route into arts education, her use of classroom curricula in art projects and her work nurturing the creativity of approximately 500 students.