4/23/2026 - FCPS School Board Meeting

001This April 23rd, 2026 regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board will now come to order. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a moment of silence and a pre-recorded performance of the National Anthem by the Centreville High School's Symphonic Choir under the direction of Susan Craft. I pledge allegiance Good evening. My name is Annie Zizik. Can we have one more round of applause for our amazing students? Mr. Dunn has submitted a written request or a request to attend tonight's meeting remotely due to a medical conflict and is located in Roanoke, Virginia. I have performed an initial review of Mr. Dunn's request and having found it to be in compliance with the school board's remote participation, I have approved the request. Mr. Dunn, we see you. Can you please check your audio for

002us? >> Yes, can you hear me? >> Yes. I now ask all board members who are physically present to vote on the following. All those in favor of confirming the chair's approval of Mr. Dunn's request. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marron, Mr. Macelvine, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Moon, and myself. All those opposed, Dr. Anderson. Ms. Mekonnen has submitted a request to attend tonight's meeting remotely due to a personal conflict due to an academic commitment and is located in Lorton, Virginia. I have performed an initial review of Ms. Mekonnen's request and have been found have found it to be in compliance with the school board's remote participation resolution and I have approved the request. Has Ms. Mekonnen joined us yet? Okay, we will circle back. Oh, lovely. Ms. Mekonnen, can you

003please check your audio and video? >> Is my video on? >> I can hear you, I just can't see you. >> Okay. Thank you so much. >> Perfect. I will now ask all board members who are physically present to vote on the following. All those in favor of confirming the chair's approval of Ms. Mekonnen's request. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marron, Mr. Macelvine, Ms. Lady, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Moon, and myself. All those opposed? All those abstaining? Abstaining, Dr. Anderson. If you would like to review a copy of the meeting agenda, please see the back of the auditorium to obtain copies of any items or supporting materials being presented tonight. Please reference the QR code on the agenda or visit www.fcps.edu/boarddocs. Tonight's meeting is being broadcast on channel 99, Verizon Fios channel

00411, and live streamed on YouTube on and on our website at www.fcps.edu/livestream. Agenda item 3.03, proclamation honoring administrative support professionals month. I call on Mr. Frisch for a proclamation. >> Thank you. Whereas administrative support professionals provide key support in schools and central office throughout the Fairfax County Public Schools each day. And whereas our administrative assistants, executive assistants, executive administrative assistants, and senior executive assistants support our school-based administrators, central office executives, and leadership team members throughout the county to ensure smooth and efficient operations of their assigned offices. And whereas school-based and central office finance technicians and assistants, grants technicians, payroll and accounts technicians, and business operations assistants provide support for the auditing, budgeting, and purchasing processes that directly builds on FCPS's commitment to compliance and fiduciary responsibility. And whereas transportation assistants and technicians and food service

005assistants work in operations to provide safe transportation, attendance support, and nutritious food to approximately 180,000 students within FCPS. And whereas office assistants, student information and services assistance, school health services liaisons, and family liaisons work to welcome families to our schools and provide accurate student data, resources, and engagement for our diverse families in FCPS. And whereas in the school board office, our administrative assistant, staff assistant, staff aides, and support tech one and two roles provide crucial administrative and financial tasks to ensure the board meetings run smoothly and so board members can do the work necessary to collaborate and serve the students and community of Fairfax County Public Schools. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board recognizes April 2026 as Administrative Professionals Month and thanks the wide variety of Administrative Professionals for their

006vital roles in supporting the mission and vision of Fairfax County Public Schools. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> Thank you, Ms. Maren. I will call for a vote. All those in favor? Mr. Fresh, Ms. Maren, Mr. Mcllvain, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Danon, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. That is all That is unanimous for all board members. Agenda item 3.04, bus driver, bus attendant, and crossing guard appreciation month. I call on Mr. Dunn for a proclamation. >> Whereas, the celebration of school bus drivers, bus attendants, and crossing guard appreciation month honors the vital staff who ensure our Fairfax County Public Schools FCPS students travel to and from school in a punctual and safe manner. School transportation is an important issue for all citizens of Fairfax

007County as students, staff, parents, drivers, pedestrians, and neighbors. And whereas, our FCPS bus and van drivers must complete a rigorous training program of classroom instruction, student management, and behind-the-wheel driving. Our 1,113 FCPS bus drivers and 81 van drivers drive a total of 81,404 miles daily to safely transport our 131,000 FCPS student riders to and from 43,329 bus stops. They log in over 16 million miles per school year. And whereas our FCPS bus attendants accomplish their duties and often go beyond the requirements of their position as they regularly work and communicate with school administration, public officials, parents, and students in order to prioritize student safety and well-being. And whereas our FCPS crossing guards are at their post every day in all kinds of weather directing pedestrian, bus, and automobile traffic to ensure the safety of our

008students arriving at and leaving from their schools. They are often the first and last smiles as our students navigate to and from school. And now, therefore, be it resolved the Fairfax County School Board recognizes April 2026 as School Bus Driver, Bus Attendant, and Crossing Guard Appreciation Month and wholeheartedly commends them for their diligence in safely transporting and guiding the school children of FCPS. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Moon. All um I'm sorry, I'll call for the vote. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Danan, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. That is unanimous for all board members. Agenda item 3.06 Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah proclamation, school year 25-26. I call on Ms. Tick Zick

009for a proclamation. >> Whereas the Holocaust was the government-sponsored systemic slaughter of 6 million Jews who were targeted by the Nazis for extermination for the final solution directive, resulting in the annihilation of 66% of the Jewish population. And whereas for Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust is not an example of man's inhumanity to man. It is man inhumanity to Jews. And whereas the Holocaust was a genocide that specifically and intentionally targeted Jews, powered by anti-Semitism based on tropes and conspiracies perpetuated by four millennia in societies. And whereas a distinguishing factor of the Holocaust is the industrialization of genocide to exterminate mass quantities of Jews as efficiently as possible, including using gas chambers. And whereas between 1933 and 1945, and its collaborators also targeted Roma, people with disabilities, and Poles

010for destruction for decimation based on racial, ethnic, or national reasons. And millions more have also suffered grievous oppression of for and death, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political descendants. And whereas education about the Holocau- Holocaust is a prime method to ensure such atrocities never again occur, reverse growing anti-Semitism, and consider that Holocaust survivors and their descendants, including those who are the first generation from survivors, live here now in our FCPS and Fairfax County community. And whereas in FCPS, students receive Holocaust education largely in grades 7, 10, and 11 as per alignment with the state social studies standard for which FCPS educator received professional development with content from organizations such as the Jewish Community Relations Council, Capital Jewish Museum, and Virginia Holocaust Museum, the Anne Frank Museum, Smithsonian,

011Echoes and Reflections, and more. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board proclaims April 14, 2026 as Holocaust Remembrance Remembrance Day. In the memory of the victims for the Holocaust and its legacy from which learning community continues. And therefore, be it further resolved that the Fairfax County School Board encourages every member of our community to set set aside moments of their time each year to consider that over 6 million people murdered, the heinous result of unfettered hatred, and personal commitment to be upstanders for the people's freedom and right to live in peace. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Dannon. I will call for a vote. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Maren, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Moon,

012Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. That is unanimous for all board members. I would like to welcome all those here in support of the Holocaust Remembrance Day proclamation to please join the board for a photo in the front of the dais. >> I would like to welcome all those here in support of the school bus driver, bus attendant, and crossing guard appreciation month proclamation to please join the board for our photo at the front of the dais. >> I would like to welcome all those here in support of the proclamation honoring administrative support professionals month. Please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. Chairperson, that was our last photo. >> Agenda item four, board business. >> Our customary practice is to introduce new business at least one meeting before taking

013it up as action or board business item. However, due to its nature, it makes sense to consider new business item 10.08, resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade tonight as an item under board business. Thus, I ask to suspend the rules to take up new business item 10.08, resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade after all scheduled board business business items. Is there a second? >> Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Dr. Anderson. There's a motion on the floor to suspend rules to take up new business agenda item 10.08 resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade after all scheduled board business items. This motion is not debatable and not amendable. A 2/3 in a 2/3 vote in favor is needed to adopt the motion to suspend the rules to take up

014the new business item. If the agenda if the vote does not meet the threshold, then this motion will or this motion item will stay on the new business calendar. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marron, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn. All those abstaining. That's me. The motion is adopted and the clerk is instructed to reclassify agenda item 10.08 resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade as an action item 4.02. Agenda item 4.01 resolution dedicating the Von Lewis Field at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. I call on Dr. Anderson for resolution. >> Thank you. I move that the school board approve the following resolution dedicating the stadium field at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to

015to the Von Lewis Field. Whereas, Mr. Von Lewis served as the first head football coach Yes. Mr. Lewis is right here. Please rise. I apologize. I probably shouldn't have said that. Thank you, Mr. Moon. You You have to wait until after I say it. Okay, so let's go ahead and get started. Whereas, Mr. Vance Lewis served as the first head football coach at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology from 1988 to 1996, guiding the team to the playoffs in its inaugural season, and establishing a lasting culture of excellence. And whereas, Coach Lewis is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Hall of Fame and the Thomas Edison High School Hall of Fame, honors that reflect his outstanding contributions to the sport of football and to education. And whereas, Coach Lewis has mentored countless

016student athletes and assistant coaches, many of whom have been elevated to head coaches, thereby extending his influence across generations. And whereas, as an educator, physical education teacher, and assistant director of student activities, Coach Lewis has positively impacted the lives of students beyond athletics, while providing unwavering support to the athletic department. And whereas, Coach Lewis's distinguished coaching career includes a state championship at Thomas Edison High School in 2006, five consecutive regional championships appearances, numerous national district championships, and the mentorship of many student athletes who have advanced to collegiate opportunities. And whereas, Coach Lewis exemplifies leadership, mentorship, integrity, and a lifelong commitment to developing young people both on and off the field. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board hereby names the stadium field at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

017Von Lewis Field in honor of this extraordinary coach, educator, and mentor whose enduring legacy will continue to inspire generations of students and athletes. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Mr. Moon. Dr. Anderson, would you like to speak to your motion? >> Yes, absolutely. Firstly, I do want to say thank you to Mr. McKay, the principal of TJ, for bringing this to my attention and to that of Mr. Moon, because without his facilitation, we most likely would not have been in this conversation. The formal resolution that I just offered catalogs the many accomplishments of Coach Lewis's career. But while a resolution is really good at listing dates and titles, it cannot fully capture the heart that Coach Lewis poured into this division, and not just TJ. We are honoring a man who didn't

018just do a job. He fulfilled a calling. He inspired countless student-athletes to excel academically, athletically, and personally, guiding them as they developed into confident and successful young adults. Coach Lewis challenged, encouraged, and empowered his players on and off the field. One of his former students stated that Coach Lewis's emphasis on taking pride in your work, striving for perfection, playing with a positive attitude, staying humble, and committed to continuous improvement has served him throughout his life as a professional, as a leader, and as a person. Coach Lewis clearly has had excellent results on the field. But most importantly, his focus on the student part of student-athletes, and his emphasis on developing good character, sportsmanship, and integrity are the key findings of his work. Coach Lewis did not have a win-at-all-costs approach. Rather, he fostered the development

019of individuals with strong morals, with strong commitment to a work ethic, and perseverance through the sport he loved. Mr. Lewis, on behalf of the board and community, and most importantly, the thousands of students who have benefited from your dedication, thank you. >> Mr. Moon, would you like to speak to your second? >> Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Uh first of all, I want to thank Dr. Anderson for giving me an honor to work with you and developing this resolution. I'm happy to do this as a not only as a long-time serving school board member, but also as a parent of two former TJ students. I'm honored to second this this resolution. What stands out about Mr. Van Lewis is not only what he built within one school, but the impact he had across the entire

020region. His influence extended well beyond the single team or generation. I think Dr. Anderson talked about that. A being recognized in the Northern Virginia football community uh reflects something deeper than his work helped shape the broader culture of the sport in this area, setting a standard that others followed. That kind of impact is rare. It means his presence was felt not just on one field, but across many fields, through many programs, coaches, and students who carried forward what they learned from him. Tonight's action does more than honor a name. It connects your place to a legacy that has already reached far beyond it. It ensures that future students will be part of something larger than themselves, something built over time through dedication and purpose. And I want to thank you for helping many, many of

021our students and coaches and others, and it is my great honor to second this resolution. >> I call on Ms. Txit. >> So, I had the opportunity to meet Coach Juan Luis and his wife outside the school, and we had we had walked inside together. And that time, obviously, I knew this resolution's happening today, but just reading about it and and listening to my colleagues, I just want to say thank you for your service. Having a school field named after you, this is forever. It's a legacy you're leaving for the future generation, for all the student athletes that are coming to play there. And that's a legacy I would want to leave for myself one day. So, I really every I'm really thankful to what you have done for our school system. Thank you. >>

022Ms. Merritt. >> Coach Lewis, I want to say thank you. As I listened to the accolades, it reminded me that sometimes it takes a lifetime to do the work that you do. And from where I sit, things never seem to go fast enough, but when you look at the the arc of someone's career, it just reminds me that one person can make such a big difference. And I hope that these are the moments where I hope that more of the public could see the amazing educators that we have here, and how could we even question things like supporting after school sports or the arts. Um, I do have a budding seventh grader who is just starting flag football and he loves it and we love it and it's just I I just really personally thank

023you for everything you've done in the legacy. It helps me even tonight in my work. Thank you. >> Seeing no others, we're going to go ahead and call for the vote. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Meron, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Txit, Mr. Danan, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. That is unanimous. Congratulations. Agenda item 4.02, resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade. I call on Mr. Yes, we're going to do it after. Delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade. I call on Mr. McElveen for a a resolution. >> I move that the school board adopt a resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until eighth grade that reads whereas the Fairfax County School Board is committed to the academic success, well-being, and healthy development of all students. And

024whereas neuroscientific research confirms that the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain governing judgment and impulse control, continues to develop throughout early adolescence, making children under the age of 14 particularly vulnerable to addiction-like patterns of smartphone use. Whereas a growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates that early and heavy smartphone use is associated with significant negative effects on student sleep, behavior, mental health, susceptibility to cyberbullying, and academic engagement. And this research is consistent with and supports FCPS cell phone policies. And whereas the United States Surgeon General's advisory has warned of the risks of youth social media use, most often accessed via smartphones, recommending delaying access to social media until after middle school. And whereas research further shows that families are significantly more likely to delay smartphone adoption when they are not acting alone. And whereas schools

025are uniquely positioned to help establish healthier community norms through consistent messaging and community building. And initiatives such as the Wait Until 8th pledge have demonstrated that community-based approaches can effectively create shared commitment among families, reducing social pressure and enabling healthier decisions for children. And whereas supporting all students includes ensuring equitable access to resources that enable participation, communication, health, safety, and self-regulation, including assistive technologies for wide-ranging disability-related needs consistent with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And efforts to promote healthy technology habits should distinguish between non-essential smartphone use and the use of technology as an accommodation or support, and should be implemented in ways that foster inclusion and avoid stigmatizing students who rely on such tools. And whereas the School Board seeks to empower families with the resources and

026strength of community support needed to make informed decisions together, not mandate personal technology choices for any family. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Fairfax County School Board supports delayed, developmentally appropriate smartphone use as a community norm and recommends that FCPS families delay providing their children with smartphones for non-essential use until the completion of 8th grade. Encourages participation in community-based initiatives. And empowers the superintendent and staff to disseminate resources that promote delayed smartphone adoption. >> Is there a second? >> Second. Dr. Anderson. Uh Mr. McElveen, would you like to speak your motion? >> Yes, thank you, uh, Madam Chair. Uh, first of all, uh, I want to thank, uh, the community members who have been, um, such strong advocates, uh, over many years, but particularly this year, um, as this board has worked to develop

027and continue to advance, uh, its cell phone policies. Um, sometimes this board has to be pushed to do the right thing, not necessarily because we don't want to, but because social issues often impacts schools and school boards more before they impact other areas of society. So, it's, uh, incumbent upon us as leaders, uh, that preside over schools and school systems to lead, and that's exactly what we are doing tonight. We are taking a leadership role encouraging families to wait until 8th grade for self- for smartphone, uh, use and adoption. Um, so, I'm grateful, uh, to my colleagues for allowing this motion to be considered tonight, uh, and I look forward to the vote. >> Dr. Anderson, would you like to speak to your second? >> Yes, just very briefly. I do want to say thank

028you to Mr. McElveen for, one, bringing this up as a forum topic a few weeks ago, and two, bringing it up here as a resolution. Um, there were a couple of things that you did that I thought was really a great model for our work. Um, your inclusive nature, not just to get the feedback of everybody on this board, but also of community, because some of the components that showed up here were not part of your original draft. So, thank you for that. Um, having said that, we have all, in some form or fashion, have made reference to this kind of thinking, and it's nice to be able to collate that into a cohesive, um, statement that just lends our support to the fact that we do want our kids to have more of their

029childhood back and less of the screen time. I'm a big proponent of that as a parent. I even impose that on my teenagers. They don't love it. Um, but thank you for allowing us the opportunity to make the statement. >> Mr. Dannon. >> Thank you very much. I just want to take a moment and and share what my colleague Dr. Anderson said that we're really grateful that you brought this forward. Um, this is a a phenomenal, um, I think way of as you stated, um, bringing multiple groups together around something that I think we all agree is important. Not just, um, you know, to our families, but for educational outcomes, right? I think kids when they're on the bus, on the playground, if they're able to engage in that meaningful human-to-human interaction, um, it boosts

030the entire community. And, uh, I know there's a a number of ongoing discussions. I just want to call out I I appreciate the the input, um, from members of the, uh, disabilities advocacy community around this as well because, um, I want to recognize that that no two kids are the same. People don't use devices in the same way, and there are times when kids may need to use a device, um, to help communicate and so forth. Um, and so I really appreciate you working, um, and thinking through and being very, um, collaborative and, um, and thoughtful about the those the needs of uh, those individuals. So, thank you. >> Ms. Dixit. >> So, I'd like to support this with my colleagues, uh, and Mr. MacLean, thank you for bringing this to the board. Uh, I

031did I did mention that in the forum when we were discussing that that I actually believe in wait till ninth. Um, and, uh, my own child came to me and when he was younger, uh, student and said, "Uh, mom, I don't want a phone till I'm I'm in high school." So, and then it he and he followed through. He got his first phone when he was in ninth grade. So, I I think that students also have to understand the the benefit of or, you know, pros and cons of having a digital device. And actually, if they're really, uh, a school board cannot enforce this, we are just kind of guiding here, but it is our parent community. It's our our just just the world around us is is to become where you know, kids kids

032in third grade and second grade have phones now. You know, we lived without them, right? When we were growing up. So, I I think that's possible, but at the same time I would say any students who need the technology to ed for education, communication, and students with disabilities, and any anybody who has that need to support them for education or other I don't want to restrict them. We are not here to put any restriction anyone. This is simply the step in direction to work with you all as parents that you do that with your children that they can use less smart smartphones. So, thank you for your time and all the advocates have come here. >> Miss Lady. >> Thank you. Yes, I'm very excited to support this throughout my tenure as a council or

033director. I often held up a phone at every parent meeting and told people, "Please don't buy this." And if you do, charge it in your room. Don't let your children charge it in their room. And I've stood behind that all along. So, I think I also want to say, you know, really developmentally ninth graders aren't ready for this. The dopamine hits that come with it, the social media that you know, that comes with it, the gambling that our kids are doing on these phones now. All the things that are happening. So, the conversations need to be in your homes. I think we as adults need to do better jobs policing ourselves. You know, I know that you know, I carry two of these around because I have two jobs. And it's my kids who would

034call me out sometime. They're grown now. I have grandkids and they haven't put a tablet in front of any of them yet. Thank goodness. But, you know, it takes all of us. And it takes us demonstrating discipline. But even when the time comes where you do purchase one of these, please make sure you understand the controls you can put on it that you can, you know, eliminate them from doing certain things on their phones and build relationship and dialogue because you want them to develop healthy use and healthy use is not abuse of the phone, right? So that's just what I want to say. I'm excited about this. I'm glad that this grassroots is happening because I've always believed that it takes a community to raise kids. As a lifelong educator, we're in this together.

035We can't do it on the school side without the parent support and you can't do a lot of what you're doing without the school support. So we're one in the same and we're in this together and let's just let's help our kids get healthier, play more, create more, get outside more, go look for four-leaf clovers, you know, my wife can find one every time she walks in a clover patch and I've never found one. But anyhow, let's get outside and let's exercise and do things besides the phones. Thank you. Mr. Fish. >> Thank you. I'm grateful to Mr. McElveen for bringing this forward and Dr. Anderson. I've been putting this in my newsletter for a few months and I will say that of the things that I put in my newsletter, it doesn't matter where

036I put this in my newsletter, it gets the most responses from from parents. And so I echo the chorus of board members encouraging families to take the pledge and to take it a step further. Just because you're taking a pledge for eighth you know, for eighth does not mean that the floodgates open in ninth. You have an opportunity to select the right settings on your child's cell phone. If you don't know how to do that, you can look at Dr. Anderson's newsletter, you can look at my newsletter. We regularly share how you do this with a Google smartphone, how you do this with an iPhone so that you can lock it down and you can decide what types of things they can have on their phone. So you know, this is a partnership and I

037think this is a positive move in the right direction, but this resolution has no teeth unless parents help make it happen. >> Mr. Moon. >> Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just briefly, I'm happy to support this resolution. It is also worth repeating the a a negative impact this addictive nature of a smartphone has on all of us. All of us. Not just those below ninth graders, but all of us. Perhaps parents as well, right? Grandparents? When people family gets together at the dinner table, let's not bring smartphones. And it has to start with grown-ups. Uh, I still do not sleep well at night. That may be an aging thing. However, you know, a a a I gave up bringing my smartphone to my bed sometime ago and it has gotten better. And I'm sure

038many of you will agree with me on that. So, let's model behaviors for our youngsters. >> Ms. St. John Cunning. >> Um, so, I would like to want to echo what a lot of my colleagues have said. Um, as a parent liaison, a lot of my job was to speak with parents and particularly parents that were not familiar with technology and sometimes help them engage. I had parents that didn't even know how to turn on a computer. Um, and also with the phone, a lot of parents see other kids that have a phone and think that they have to get the phone for their kid to, you know, make sure that their kid has everything. And um, just like Ms. Lady, I would say once once you give a kid this, you're inviting a lot

039of things into your home that you would not open the door to. So, you do have to learn how to use the settings. You have to learn how to make sure that it's safe. Um what I want to echo is yes, take the pledge. I was one of those moms that never let my kids play video games. And later in life, um they told me, "Mom, everybody wants to play with us cuz they can beat us cuz you never let us play." Um but that's okay. They became very creative kids. Um but if you take the pledge as a parent, please engage in the practice because it doesn't help if you're telling your kid "You can't have this or don't use this." But you're sitting there using it. And that goes with anything. The way

040we model behavior to the kids we can help saying that we're going to encourage this at our schools. But if you're not engaging in the practice, then that's not supporting us. And as a family liaison, I would always say you are the best advocate for your kids. Our educators are the people that can help educate your kids and help them learn how to use tools. And I would always do the heart. You come together as the parent we come together as a school, and your child's in the middle. And I think that's the strongest partnership we can have. So, I really encourage all of our parents to model the behavior of not using the cell phone. >> Seeing no others, I will call for a vote. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marin, Mr.

041McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Danan, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn and I am abstaining. Um I would like to Oh, could the clerk please read the vote? Sorry. Missed my spot. >> It's 10-0-1. The motion carries. >> Thank you. Um I would like to welcome all those here in support of the resolution encouraging delayed smartphone adoption until 8th grade to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. I would like to welcome all those here in support of the resolution dedicating the Von Lewis Field at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to please join the board for a photo at the front of the dais. >> Madam Chair, that was our last photo. >> Agenda item 5.01 community participation. The next order

042of business is community participation. We welcome all community members who are here and those who signed up to speak this evening. Additional information about signing up to provide comments at school board regular business meetings and public hearings can be found on the school board's website at www.fcps.edu/schoolboard. During the sign up process, community members acknowledged that they were informed of the board's expectations for proper decorum when providing comments. These expectations are also available online and with the printed agenda and meeting materials in the back of the room. We ask audience members to be respectful of one another. Shouting and outbursts will not be tolerated. Please hold your applause until the conclusion of a speaker's remarks. Audience members may not join speakers at the podium and should remain in their seats including when recording video or taking

043photos. We are grateful to those who have come to speak to us today and thank you for your cooperation. School board members will be listening but not responding. Madam Clerk, please call the first speaker. >> Reva Sethi >> Good evening board members. My name is Reva Sethi and I'm in 10th grade at McLean High School. To start off, I would like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to speak here today about the wait until 8th initiative. If you give a young child a stuffed animal and they start carrying it with them everywhere they go and even sleeping with them for many years, it is normal to assume that the child will form an attachment to the object and after a certain period of time concerns will start to rise. So, why is

044the same sentiment not expressed in the context of cell phones? As we now live in a society where it is normalized to give a child a phone in middle or even elementary school. Phones have become a paramount part of our daily lives and we carry them around with them at all times and even sleep next to them. So, it would seem like common knowledge that giving a phone to a child is a direct pathway towards unhealthy attachment. Not to mention the billions of dollars each year that is put in by social media companies towards making their apps even more addictive. In my personal experience, I first witnessed kids my age getting a phone as early as first grade. While I did not receive one until fifth grade, I remember the years in between making me

045feel left out and anxious to get my own phone as I was sure I was missing out. Looking back, this seems almost ridiculous because what could a six or even eight-year-old or even 10-year-old possibly need with a phone? Most of my memories from middle school involved conversations and hangouts where almost everyone was on their phone or discussing something that had happened online. I wish that phones hadn't been such a dominating factor in our social and school lives. Conformity is part of our inherent instincts as humans. And this is the key factor that drives children to crave possessions of a cell phone at such a young age. While the choice to give a child a cell phone or not ultimately lies with the parents, the wait until 8th initiative is a way to change social norms

046across the country and increase the normalized age for giving a child a cell phone. Along with cell phones comes an increased use of social media. And social media use has been strongly linked to >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Savannah Nice. >> Good evening board members. My name is Savannah Nice and I'm a student at Westfield High School. I am here today to speak about the better understanding the need for better understanding and support for students living with chronic health conditions, especially those that are not always visible. Many students are dealing with ongoing chronic health conditions such as chronic pain, autoimmune conditions and other long-term health challenges. These students often come to school while managing symptoms that make it hard to focus, participate and even attend school consistently. However, because these conditions are not always

047visible, they are frequently misunderstood. Too often students in this situation are labeled as unmotivated or inconsistent when in reality they are doing their best to keep up while managing real health limitations. This misunderstanding can lead to students feeling discouraged or unsupported in environment where they should be encouraged to succeed. I'm asking the school board to consider ways we can better support these students. This can include clearer accommodations for attendance flexibility, more consistent communication between school staff, students, and families, and increased awareness among staff about chronic illnesses and invisible disabilities. No student These will not lower academic standards. They ensure that all students can meet those academic standards and have a fair opportunity to meet them. No student should have to choose between managing their health and accessing their education. With greater understanding and small but

048meaningful adjustments, we can make our school more equitable and supportive for everyone. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. >> Nalini Agarwal >> Hello. My name is Nalini Agarwal and I'm a sixth grader at Laurel Ridge Elementary School. I would like to talk to you about the Spanish immersion program that I'm in and I ask you to please continue when I go to middle and high school. For the last 4 years at Laurel Ridge and even before, I have been in the Spanish immersion bilingual program. At my house, we really only speak English. So, school is the only place that I have that I really have an opportunity to learn this new language. In school, I've had a chance to learn other subjects like science and math in Spanish. This is really great

049because I am learning the language while I'm also learning the subject in school. It's harder this way, for sure, but it also helps me do more than just read and write in Spanish, which I only do for half an hour each day. The extra time hearing and writing in Spanish in science and math means that I get more time to practice the language and really learn to use it. Next year, I'm going to attend Robinson Secondary School, sorry. Rob- Robinson Secondary School. At Robinson, I've been told that I can take more Spanish classes for another year or two if I want to. But, there aren't any classes where I can learn other subjects in Spanish. I'm afraid that I'm going to start to learn to lose what I've worked hard to learn. My mom tells

050me that learning is like a muscle. Muscle. You either use it or you lose it. I want to keep using it, but for me to do that, I need at least one class every year where I can learn a new subject in Spanish to really keep my Spanish strong by the time I graduate from high school. My mom has a job in technology in a technology company where she leads Latin America. I really hope that the language that I'm learning in school can help me get a job someday, too, like my mom. But, I need your help. I don't really understand why you give me teachers and classes to help me learn something more important in elementary school and then stop. Please consider Please consider growing the immersion program for me and maybe the other

051students beyond elementary school. I really want to help keep learning the >> Leslie Borkenhagen. Good evening. I'm here to speak about the removal of hybrid work and its real impact on the effectiveness of myself and my colleagues. I'm a former classroom teacher and now serve on the IT Fast Team helping teachers with the tech with tech support and supporting the systems they rely on every day. Long before COVID, IT and other departments had a form of hyper telework. Prior to this year, I personally have leveraged a hybrid work environment for about a decade to effectively and efficiently perform various roles in FCPS. On my in-office days, I collaborated with colleagues, and in the quietness of an empty house, I was able to complete tasks requiring deep thinking, concentration, and focus. Nearly all my work is

052done on a computer, and 90% of my meetings are still virtual. But now, I drive every day to the office to work in an open cubicle while my colleagues and I cycle between different Zoom meetings and calls with teachers, staff, and vendors. The constant overlap of conversations leads to distractions and interruptions. We have few options for quiet work environments, leaving some people to take meetings from the parking lot in their cars. And yet, our work still requires deep focus, such as our current meticulous review of every required training for teachers and staff for next year. We read every caption, take every quiz, check accessibility and functionality. I previously used my two telework days a week for this type of focused work, producing higher quality results more efficiently. Under pillar C of the strategic plan, FCPS

053commits to valuing staff voice and supporting balanced workloads. And yet, this policy change was implemented without employee input, and frankly, has made us feel devalued, demoralized. Leadership does not seem to understand our unique work and needs, and nor do we feel trusted. I urge you to restore the previous hybrid telework policy. It would be an easy, free, and powerful powerful way to demonstrate that we are valued as trusted professionals, allowing us to continue supporting FCPS. >> Liz Bassaliga. Good evening. My name is Liz Bassaliga, and I'm a teacher at Katherine Johnson Middle School. I'm here with the group Parents for Intentional Technology as a concerned educator and new parent. I'm here today to share what I have seen as a result of the FCPS one-to-one device model. These devices are a major disruption to learning.

054The intention for these devices is far from the reality that we observe every day in the classroom. In middle school, students live on their Chromebooks. And as teachers, we do not have the resources to ensure that students are on task. We have Lightspeed, the program meant to monitor students and block sites. However, Lightspeed frequently crashes, requires constant monitoring, and kids are coming up with new ways to circumvent it every day. Our school pulled data on referrals and found that acceptable use policy violations accounted for 34% of all minor referrals this year. Not reflected in the statistic are the many moments missed or unlocked by teachers and the pernicious culture of multitasking that comes with Chromebook use. The second issue with these these devices is that their constant use leads to low-quality learning and over-reliance on

055teacher support. For example, most of my students struggle to read basic instructions, and they flounder when they're given multi-step problems. They have been trained on gamified platforms filled with button clicking and frequent feedback. We are failing our students when we steal from them the opportunity to learn one of school's most important skills, independently working through challenging tasks. One-to-one devices also present an equity issue. I'm a general education math teacher, but all of my classes have English language learners. I see how they benefit from peer-to-peer discussion, writing with pencil and paper, and engaging frequently face-to-face with their teacher. These opportunities are significantly reduced when a Chromebook is in front of them. Many of us as teachers are doing our absolute best to limit screen time in the classroom, but it is not enough. I'm asking you

056today to shift away from the one-to-one device model at FCPS and support teachers in creating a tech-reduced curriculum. I also ask that you gather data in our district so that we can truly understand the clear problem we have as screen time. It's not just the phones, it's the computers, too. Thank you. >> Yela Baumgart. >> I'm here to address the FCPS Title I office budget proposal that 17 of our Title I schools will have a reduction in their social work support for next school year. Mason Crest, Bailey's Upper, Graham Road, Beech Tree, Riverside, and Timber Lane are just a few of the impacted schools. For the past 15 years, the FCPS Title I budget has allocated 5.4 FTEs for additional social work time in our Title I schools. The social work department divides that up

057into small parts, making so that a social worker who's normally 2 days can have 2 and 1/2 days, or a school that has 3 days of support can have 5 days of support. Additional social work support is a proven data strategy to support student learning with our most marginalized and vulnerable students and families. High expectations need high support. I know this board is committed to the students and families who need extra support for educational success. This reduction is not just a budget line, it's less mentoring for students who lack a sense of belonging, less engaging families who have a student who is not coming to school, less intervention with students on the path to violence, less help for families and students who are dealing with homelessness, food insecurity, lack of health care, and other basic

058needs which impact learning. Without this supplemental funding that has been provided for the past 15 years, our students in our most struggling Title I schools will have reduced access to social work services, which will lead to negative outcomes for our most at-risk students. I urge the board board to honor its commitment to equity and restore this funding and ensure that our most at-risk students do not lose their lifeline. Thank you. >> Anna Polyakov >> Good evening board members. My name is Anna Polyakov and I'm a junior from McLean High School. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for giving me this opportunity to speak here today and for passing the wait until eighth resolution. I am now speaking to the parents of Fairfax County to encourage this pledge at home. Before I begin, I

059would also like to thank Katie Sears and Lisa Winnick for shining a spotlight on this issue that impacts the students, more specifically the younger ones of Fairfax County. I can speak from personal experience that elementary schoolers and middle schoolers do not need a smartphone and having one will be detrimental towards their development, mental and physical health. I was 12 years old in seventh grade at middle school at Longfellow Middle School when I first saw the picture of a picture of a male genitalia. It was not from a weird internet deep dive. Instead, it was during lunchtime at school. A girl from my grade had air-dropped a nude picture to everyone at lunch. Except it was also not something that she found on the internet. It was a picture of another 12-year-old boy, one of my

060closest friends. That memory, that moment, still haunts him to this day. When I first got a smartphone, which was right before seventh grade, the first thing I did was get social media. The real reason why? Because all of my friends were on it and I didn't want to feel left out. I had no real interest otherwise. I had made my I had made my accounts public and began to post online. And I knew about digital footprint and dangerous predators online. Yet, I believed that I was an invincible 12-year-old and that consequences won't apply to myself. That was until I began to get messages. I had men messaging me on social media asking for money in exchange of pictures and other highly inappropriate messages. To conclude, it really just takes a couple of students to not

061have smartphones for others to begin to follow. We really appreciate your support. Thank you. >> Alana Yergendonic >> Hi, my name is Alana and I'm an FCPS parent who's been advocating for the appropriate use of educational technology for many years. Back in 2018, I attended FCPS on community meetings where Dr. Presidio was pushing a plan for rolling out one-to-one down to kindergarten. Parents in the audience advocated for the rollout to stop at middle school, listing reasons why giving a computer to every elementary school would be problematic. Back in 2019 and early 2020, I watched school board meetings where our school board spoke up with the same concerns pushing back against central office's plan one-to-one rollout to lower grades. I remember school board members, including some still on this board, highlighting potential issues with giving devices

062to older kids, such as whether we'd be able to track and prevent them from watching movies. Every one of those pre-COVID predictions of device misuse and harm has come to pass. Those problems were clearly foreseeable before the one-to-one rollout, but there was no evidence yet. Now, after years of Silicon Valley using millions of kids as edtech guinea pigs, the evidence is overwhelming and it was all collected at the expense of children. Eight years ago when a central office's justifications for one-to-one devices was to prepare our students for the jobs of the future. Coding was always top of that list. Well, from my understanding, coding is soon to be a job of the past before those 2018 kindergarteners are even in high school. Let's not make the same mistakes with AI that we once made with

063devices, listening to the Silicon Valley fair-based sales pitch of this newest thing as a necessity to prepare kids for tomorrow. To Silicon Valley, schools are a very lucrative market to enter. I hear school board members express concern about preparing our high school graduates for the job market, and I agree that we need to do that. But that can be accomplished by allowing them to work with generative AI in their senior year. That concern does not justify incorporating AI into younger grades. AI and its job impacts are evolving at breakneck speed. When AI industry experts have refused to predict more than 6 months out, we can't claim that IA prep for graduation must start more than a year out. Schools everywhere are realizing the mistakes that they made with EdTech and computers, mistakes which many of

064us here in FCPS foresaw before one-to-one was rolled out. Please don't ignore our warnings or repeat these mistakes with AI. Thank you for your time. >> Michelle Durst. >> Thank you to those of you who are listening and working for change. We appreciate you. The need for accountability is urgent, and right now it's not being met. In early March, a parent flagged a game called Five Nights at Epstein's. The game was available to students through a FCPS host site. It wasn't blocked until weeks later after multiple reports to IT. And this isn't isolated. Students are also able to play Grand Theft Auto and a gambling game on a school-based platform. In my own second grader's class, reading time was spent on Google games. This has been going on for years. Parents have been have repeatedly

065raised concerns about inappropriate sites, games, and streaming content. And yet, the same problems keep happening. They are not being fixed. I want you to pause for a moment and think about this. If this were your child sitting in that classroom, what would you expect from your school system? What would you do if your child received a dopamine-inducing device day after day after day, sometimes for hours? That impacts their focus and potential. And now you want to expand AI on top of it, an unsafe technology infrastructure that is not working as intended. Please don't. Last year alone, FCPS invested roughly 250 million in technology, supporting over 1,200 digital tools, plus online testing, e-library, digital curriculum, and technology staff. Tech spending has increased with promises to improve outcomes and close achievement gaps. This has not happened. Testing

066scores remain below pre-pandemic levels, and achievement the achievement gap has widened. In fifth grade, it widened by 16 points in math and eight in reading. So, we ask, where is the accountability? Please reduce one-on-one device use, allow parents to opt out of AI and Chromebooks, make evidence-based decisions, and create a parent and teacher technology advisory group. Our children deserve a safe learning environment and a school system that takes responsibility when it falls short. Thank you very much. >> Odetta Delsol. >> Good evening, members of the board. My name is Odetta Delsol, and I am the parent of two students in our district, to include a high schooler and second grader. I'm here today regarding an issue that affects not just my children, but many students across our schools. Recently, a teacher notified me that my

067high schooler was able to access TikTok and Instagram during class on his school-issued laptop. According to the teacher, these sites are supposed to be blocked. Yet, somehow students like my son are still able to access them. At home, I closely monitor my children's technology use. I manage screen time, social media access, and internet filters across all of our devices. But, when students are issued laptops, parents lose the ability to manage or supervise what happens on those devices. If the district If the district provides the technology, then the district must also ensure the safeguards actually work. Students will try to find ways around these restrictions. That's not new. I remember being a kid. But, it is the responsibility of the adults and institutions providing these tools to make sure appropriate guardrails are in place. If the

068district cannot effectively monitor and restrict access to non-educational or harmful content during school hours and apply meaningful consequences when students are in breach of the restrictions, then we should seriously reconsider consider whether full laptop access in classrooms is the right approach. I encourage the the board to review the district's filtering systems, enforcement policies, and accountability measures so that these devices remain tools for education. And I thank you for the resolution on WUA. Take care. >> Marie Maroon Good evening. My name is Marie Maroon, and I am a concerned parent of an FCPS elementary school student, still very much so. I'm also an employer. I have come before this board twice now to raise concerns about AI and EdTech in our schools. Tonight, I want to show you what happens downstream when we get this wrong.

069I'm seeing firsthand in the people being hired. Across industries, employers are raising the same alarm. Graduating classes are arriving less prepared for the working world than any generation before them. Not less educated, less capable. Three critical skills are eroding, all of which this board should care deeply about. First, collaboration. Young employees struggle to navigate a room, resolve conflict, or simply work through a problem with another human being. Screens don't teach you how to do that. People do. Second, critical thinking. When every assignment has been completed with a search engine, an AI chatbot, or an auto-graded app, students never learn to sit with a hard problem and think their way through it. That muscle atrophy or worse never develops. Third, problem solving. True problem solving requires discomfort, failure, and iteration. EdTech optimizes for frictionless answers. That

070is the opposite of what the real world demands. There's a growing national movement of families demanding a return to paper, pencils, books, and complete human instruction. Not because we fear technology, but because we understand what education is for. We are not saying don't teach our children how to use technology. We are saying do not make it the foundation of how they learn to think. Roll back EdTech and halt AI in our classrooms. Return to instruction that builds problem-solving, critical thinking human beings, not tech zombies. Our children's future depends on it. Thank you. >> Hudson Who? Hudson Who? Caldwell Duggan. >> Good evening. My name is Caldwell and I'm an operational employee at FCPS. I'm here to ask that policy 4417, the telework policy, be reverted to version 1. First, the history. FCPS has been a

071leader in hybrid telework since the early 2000s and I'm excited to see board members continue that history. From 2019, there's the guidelines for flexible scheduling. From 2018, there's the alternative working at FCPS. And in 2015, an HR time and attendance specialist clarified some rules around telecommuting. From before 2015, I have spoken with many FCPS employees, one here tonight, who have said that they were remote two to three days a week for decades. The norm at FCPS is hybrid telework. The unilateral changes made in July are a radical departure from that history. Second, the business case. Hybrid telework is not an operational concern. There are strong business and financial reasons for FCPS to embrace it. Research from many public and private organizations agree, including Stanford, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the US Bureau of Labor

072Statistics, a Founder Report, the HR Research Institute, and the science journal Nature. Research published by these organizations demonstrates quiet quieter working environments create increased employee productivity and efficiency, and that hybrid employees use fewer unscheduled sick days. They also show that telework increases employee retention by improving job satisfaction and flexibility, which has been identified as a top three factor in reducing involuntary turnover. Telework also increases business attractiveness to job seekers with over 60% of all job applications being submitted to job postings that include a remote remote opportunities. In conclusion, FCPS was once a leader in hybrid telework and can be again. Research agrees that it creates good outcomes that would positively affect FCPS's financial bottom-line. These gains can be realized by reverting policy 4417 to version one. Thank you. >> Derek Springer. >> Hello. My name

073is Derek Springer. I am a student at McLean High School, and I thank all of you for letting me speak in front of you. I wanted to address the topic of school starting times because it seems that every year there is a discussion on whether if we should ch- change the start time to elementary school start first, middle school start first, or just simply keep it the way it as is. And I wanted to um bring to your attention to see if it was possible for FCPS students, especially ones that are in high school, to talk about this issue because at the end of the day, we're the ones that go to school. We're the students. Um All in Yeah. That is all. Thank you for your time. >> Please play the video testimony submitted

074by Annie Zizi Kolakis. >> Good evening. My name is Annie Zizi Kolakis and I am a parent of a fourth grader at Stenwood Elementary School. Prior to moving here, I was a New York City public school teacher um of 17 years. Today, I am speaking as a parent because my voice as a parent is stronger than my voice as a teacher. My son is an early finisher and was recently recognized as advanced in some core subjects. As an early finisher, he would be given a one-to-one device as a reward or for independent work. At least twice a week minimum, he would be on 149-plus pages a day based on the weekly Lightspeed reports emailed to me. I did the math and taking into account the amount of time he spent on devices, lunch, and specials,

075my son was only getting two to three hours of teacher instruction on the days he was in school. That is completely unacceptable. In speaking with other parents at Stenwood, some teachers use the devices sparingly, others not at all unless required to. Some teachers allow certain school-approved apps while others don't. This inconsistency is also unacceptable. Where is the school-wide alignment? I emailed my son's teacher to ask her to stop giving him a device and sent him worksheets so he wouldn't be assigned a device during his downtime. She was very understanding and agreed to my points. But my question is, why is the common practice of giving extra practice worksheets, blank sheets of paper to draw, coloring pages, word searches, and such taken away? Why do we have to resort to giving or rewarding uh students with

076a one-to-one device as the only option? Just because millions were invested in these programs? The same programs that have been highlighted recently to hinder student progress? The same programs that collect personal information of us and of our children? The same programs that now have enough research to debunk EdTech companies' claims? We know better now. Thank you for the opportunity. >> Please play the video testimony submitted by Alexis Monahan. >> Thank you for the opportunity to speak. As an FCPS parent, I want to share a brief, research-based concern regarding developmental impacts of EdTech on our children. A growing body of peer-reviewed research indicates that while EdTech can have value, its early and intensive use may have unintended consequences for children's physical development, particularly in the foundational areas of gross motor skills. For example, a study published

077in JAMA Pediatrics followed more than 2,400 young children and found that higher screen time was associated with measurable delays in developmental milestones, including both fine motor skills, such as grasping, drawing, and handwriting, and gross motor skills, such as balance, coordination, and movement-based learning. Vision research reinforces this concern. A 2024 meta-analysis of more than 300,000 children found that each additional hour of daily screen exposure increased the risk of myopia by approximately 21% linking prolonged near-focus screen use with earlier onset and higher rates of nearsightedness. Taken together, the research suggests that unexamined or excessive technology use may unintentionally undermine foundational childhood development. That's why I'm proposing a constructive collaborative solution. Establish an FCPS technology advisory committee that includes child development experts, educators, and community and parent representatives to evaluate both existing and prospective technology tools. This committee

078would independently assess educational value and developmental risks and could create a proposal with appropriate safeguards to ensure that school technology policies are implemented in a developmentally appropriate and evidence-based way. This approach is not about limiting innovation. It's about ensuring that innovation supports rather than hinders the healthy development of our children. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Please play the video testimony submitted by Megan Durst. >> I'm Megan Durst from Parents for Intentional Tech. Thank you for your hard work drafting an effective policy to both guide and manage tech use in our schools. I recently spoke with several teachers. They fear retribution for speaking up but were willing to have me share the following. About the need for books to come back. Math and reading don't have as big of curricular changes as with

079say science or history. So, why can't we use some of the books that are already sitting cabinets in some classrooms and simply supplement with more to save money? Another statement. Math on computers is more challenging as a teacher. You don't see where students struggled and cannot see the erasures to know where specific students need extra review to ensure their comprehension. In our class we now have students use pencil and paper to allow us insights into their process. Even dry erase boards aren't as beneficial, but better than a device. My second grade daughter said the same thing about math on computers. I already questioned the efficacy and depth of retention from learning reading and math on computers. Is it most effective? Because I now hear she's learning about messaging, photo sharing, and non-educational videos on these

080FCPS issued devices. We are told it's the children's fault for not using the devices as intended. And that teachers and parents should know how to handle these little occasional blips. Neither teachers nor parents should be expected to police or report these problems. I'll add, these are known regular occurrences on school issued devices. Computers are the new school phone. Moving forward, we ask for age differentiated screen time guidelines grade by grade. Including elimination of one-to-one devices for youngest learners in kindergarten through second. An assessment to be conducted on effectiveness of devices and ed tech. White listing of approved websites for students grade by grade, and the ability to opt out of one-to-one in the meantime. >> Chair Anderson, that was our last public speaker. >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Agenda item 6.01. Student representative matters, I

081call on Ms. Mekonnen. >> Good afternoon, members of the board. I would like to begin with a recommendation. I recommend that the board push back the implementation of the new gradebook to the following school year in order to further evaluate its impact across all schools, subjects, and student groups. Moving forward too quickly risks creating confusion, uneven implementation, and unintended inequities. Delaying implementation by 1 year would allow for stronger alignment, clearer communication, and more intentional support for both teachers and students. If the system is meant to improve transparency and trust, we need to ensure that it is done right the first time. In parallel, I want to highlight the work of students through the student leadership development program. I had the privilege of directing a mock work session last Thursday for these topics. Students have proposed

082restructuring SAC, student superintendent advisory council, into a more organized student general assembly. Early menstrual awareness and student support in grade three. Improving sexual harassment response and mental health advocacy. A call to action on student vaping. Protecting student freedom of expression, especially for student journalists. Establishing clear policies for school responses to student-led protests. Quarterly student wellness check-ins. A comprehensive transportation review. And educating students on the misuse of artificial intelligence. Preparing students for the evolving academic and ethical challenges. I want to briefly speak to a few of these. Having served in SAC for 2 years before stepping into this role, I've seen firsthand both its potential and limitations. As it currently stands, SAC can quickly become inconsistent across schools. Because there's no standardized selection process, some students never have the opportunity to participate, often because membership is

083being tied to being in leadership classes, or meeting specific school-based requirements. Restructuring SAC into a more formalized student general assembly is a step in the right direction. It creates the opportunity for more accessible for more accessible representative representative system. I also want to highlight the proposal on AI education. As the division continues developing its approach to AI, this recommendation directly aligns with the work. Students aren't just asking for rules around AI. They're asking to understand it, how it should be used, where it's what its limits are, and what ethical responsibility looks like in practice. That kind of education is essential when we want policy to actually be meaningful in classrooms. Finally, the proposal regarding student-led protests calls for an FCPS reinterpretation of existing state policy. It recognizes that student expression is evolving, and our policy

084should reflect that reality. Creating clear, more structured guidance ensures that student voice can be expressed safely, constructively, and without the unnecessary without unnecessary ambiguity. Ensuring that students are collaborating with their schools instead of clashing with their administration. These proposals are reflective of the conversations happen happening across the county, and I want to commend all the students for the depth of thought and care behind their work. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Agenda item seven, action items. >> Uh I would like to move to suspend the rules to take up new business item 10.09, calendar motions, after all scheduled action items. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> There's a motion on the floor to suspend suspend the rules to take up new business agenda item 10.09, calendar motions, after all scheduled action

085items. This motion is not debatable and not amendable, and two-third and a two-thirds vote in favor is needed to adopt the motion to suspend the rules to take up new business item 10.09, calendar motions. If the vote does not meet the threshold, then this motion will stay on the new business calendar. All those in favor. Mr. McElveen. Dr. Anderson. Mr. Dunn. All those opposed. Mr. Fresh, Ms. Marron, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, and myself. All those abstaining, Mr. Moon. Will the clerk please read the vote? >> 3-7-1, the motion fails. >> The motion not being adopted, the agenda item stays on new business, the new business calendar, and will not be considered or will be considered at the May 7th, 2026 regular meeting. Agenda item 7.01, action item certification of

086closed meeting compliance. In order to comply with section 2.2-3712D of the Code of Virginia, it's necessary for the board to certify that since the Fairfax County School Board convened a closed meeting on April 23rd, 2026, to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements, and only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convened convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered by the board during the closed meeting. Do I have a motion? Mr. Fresh, do I have a second? Ms. Maren. All those in favor. Mr. Fresh, Ms. Maren, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. All those opposed. All those abstaining, Mr. Dannon. Agenda item 7.06, action item confirmation of action taken

087in closed meeting. I call on Ms. St. John Cunning for a motion. >> I move to deny the school reassignment appeal of a student who assaulted another student with an object at school and to confirm the disciplinary decision of the division superintendent. >> Is there a second? Thank you, Ms. Marron. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marron, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit from Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. All those opposed, all those abstaining. Mr. Dannon and Mr. Moon. Will the clerk please read the vote? >> 9-0, 2, the motion carries. >> Thank you. I call on Dr. Anderson for a motion. >> I move that the chair of the school board be authorized to execute on behalf of the board the contract for the chief of schools. >>

088Is there a second? >> Second. >> Mr. Frisch. All those in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marron, Ms. Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Dannon, Mr. Moon, Dr. Anderson, Mr. Dunn, and myself. That is unanimous for all board members. Agenda item 7.03, action item, strategic plan goal four report, equitable access and opportunity. I call on Dr. Reed for a presentation on strategic plan goal four report, equitable access and opportunity. >> All right. Um let me pull this up here. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good evening to our board and the public. Tonight, I'll be sharing highlights from our April 7th uh work session. And just a reminder to the public, we did spend several hours reviewing goal four, and And lot of questions, which we appreciated, and I think we have

089a little bit of feedback yet to provide um this evening and on the um Friday letter as well around the national national clearinghouse data. As a reminder to our public, goal four is our equitable access and opportunity goal, and this work is deeply connected um to all of the goals actually across the strategic plan. As we think about academic preparedness for post-secondary success um here in Fairfax County, we want to make sure that each and every student is able to be prepared for the career path in which they choose. Uh for the majority of our students to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow, the pathway has to include additional learning after high school. This can mean specialized training. Uh this could also be post-secondary education of some sort, the military, um or a wide variety

090of apprenticeship opportunities. As a school system, one way we prepare students for post-secondary success is through the courses they take. So, tonight's presentation is going to focus on two aspects of course taking, um and these are highly predictive of post-secondary readiness. The first is the successful completion of college and career preparatory courses. This data looks at students who complete a college-level course, including those taken in core content or elective areas. Uh and also students who earn career and technical education completer status. The second area we're going to look at is the academic intensity. As part of our work with ABL, or the firm that's helped us in this uh endeavor, the data looks at whether students complete college-level and or honors courses in English, social studies, math, science, or world languages. As long um as

091well as how long students persist in these subject areas across their high school years. So, let's first take a look at our college and career preparatory courses. Last year, 82% of our graduating seniors successfully completed college-level coursework or earned a CTE completer status. We did see a two percentage point decline from our baseline and several student groups did see declines. These are primarily due to decreases in successful completion of advanced courses while some of our CTE completer rates actually increased over the same period of time. Uh we do know that uh the freshmen in school year 21-22 were in middle school during the pandemic and a first cohort to not necessarily benefit from the verified credit flexibility. So, one of the things we want to make sure is that uh we continue to track this

092data and work closely uh with our school-based um educators to support uh increased success in this area. We monitor our advanced uh and CTE course taking in earlier grades. Last year, 94% of our 11th graders successfully completed at least one honors or a career technical education course in high school. One of the things that our data suggests is that the vast majority of students are accessing honors and our CTE courses by their junior year and that our students may need additional support in order to access and successfully complete college-level courses as they earn their CTE completer status before graduation. We're looking at a sample high school um and this again is some of the data chart work that our high school staff are working very hard on. This graphic is an example of an analysis

093that helps to contextualize why we're focused on honors coursework in earlier grades. The The The shows an example of English course taking patterns at one of our high schools. The left graphic shows students who began ninth grade in standard English. And as you can see from the chart, most stayed in that course sequence and very few um of those students accessed college-level English by their senior year. In contrast, the students on the right side who started in honors English were much more likely to persist into college-level English by their senior year. These patterns underscore the importance of the earlier efforts needed to increase student access um to college-level and honors courses before they graduate. Um so, we also monitor completion of honors courses in middle school. Last year, 77% of our eighth graders completed at

094least one honors course, which was up four percentage points from our baseline. All student groups in this case did make progress in this area. The next section is going to take a look at the measure of academic intensity in core subject areas. This shows our um this slide shows our combined baseline using data from the 24 and 25 cohorts. As you can see, 74% of our students met the academic intensity threshold for post-secondary uh readiness. And our high schools began piloting a tool actually last spring for course selection this year, and as a result, our first targets are set for the 2026 cohort and as shown or shown as stars on the slide. One of the things we've been able to take a look at is detailed information on course taking patterns by subject area.

095Our division-level data shows that advanced course taking and persistence are the highest in English and social studies. And they are the lowest in science, math, and world languages currently. We're now going to take a closer look at the three areas where we have the greatest opportunity for growth. Last year, we had 74% of our students graduating with four or more science credits. And I think that uh you know, again, we're looking at areas of uh interest and uh opportunity. Similarly, while the majority of our students are graduating with math credits beyond Algebra 2, it's interesting that we aren't necessarily seeing a continuation of that with some of our upper-class levels. As a part of this work, each school has used their school-specific data to identify an area of focus. And over half of our high

096schools currently, the teams have selected math persistence as an area of focus. This is in large part due to the fact that math currently is responsible for 84% of career choices uh following high school. We also are monitoring students graduating with three or more credits in a world language and saw a slight decline from baseline. However, the 77% rate you see on the slide is higher for several reasons because it's focused on a threshold of 3 years of world language completion and also includes credits earned in middle school through the 2 + 2 option. Finally, this evening, I want to conclude tonight's presentation with some highlights from our strategies. Our first strategy, of course, is preparing students for rigorous coursework in high school. And we continue to have teams at the school level that are

097working on that. While our second strategy is to revise uh um our scheduling and academic advising practices. In other words, how students are making decisions about courses is really a key area. Our final strategy focuses on helping students uh learn or, you know, encourage the courses and credentials that signal their post-secondary readiness through CTE certifications, dual enrollment, um and expanded access to world language and world language credit by exam. So, our key takeaways, we know that advanced and career preparatory courses can help students find success after graduation. 82% of last year's graduates completed advanced coursework or earned CTE completer status, and just under 75% of graduates demonstrated academic intensity in their core subjects. This year, we're going to be focused on preparing students for advanced courses before they enter high school. I think we talked

098about that often, that middle school really is a, you know, a prime time to have those conversations, and even pre-middle school as we look at um math trajectories. This year, we're going to continue to focus on preparing for students for these uh courses, and uh work on our academic advising practices. Madam Chair, this concludes the highlights from the goal four report, which again I want to remind uh those watching is in its full form attached to board docs uh connected to this evening's meeting. >> Thank you, Dr. Reed. I call on Ms. St. John Cunning for a motion. >> I move that the school board accepts the goal four strategic plan report for school year 2025-2026. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Uh Ms. St. John Cunning, would you

099like to speak to your motion? >> So, I I really just want to commend the work um that the leadership team has done, but more than that, I want to commend the work that is going on in our schools every day, and that our teachers are putting in, and I know that we see a lot of success with our students, we see a lot of growth. Uh we do have areas of improvement, but the overall are is towards meeting those goals, and I know what it takes every day for teachers to do that, and I know it's a lot of hard work by our teachers, uh our support staff, and also our students. So, thank you for this work um and thank you for all the data that you provide for us uh to the

100leadership team because that's also a heavy lift to give us all this information. Dr. Anderson. Yes, thank you. Um as I shared when we talked about this during um I guess a month ago now during the work session, um I was very pleased to see that there was acknowledgement of that our system, while very good, is not yet very good for all of our students and it's not their doing. It's our opportunity and our challenge and our responsibility to do something that's going to work for all of our kids. So, I I just want to make sure that I acknowledge that acknowledgement um that happened for the very first time. So, I'm grateful for that again. There were a couple of things that um were raised in that meeting that I know you were going

101to circle back on and some of these questions I did ask of Mr. Gearing and I'm just throwing it out there in case you had um just some information. One of the questions that I had asked um which was supposed to be checked on is if the data that we're seeing in terms of the academic intensity, um I had asked if we're seeing that we're if are we seeing different results across different areas of our schools? Um cuz he did say there were some dis- there were some disparities and that was supposed to be followed up. So, I don't know if you have any update. >> Well, I think yes. I mean, different high schools have different um data. So, the answer to that would be yes. I think um Ms. Neal, how are we

102going to uh reproduce that at this point? >> Ms. Dr. Anderson, so we did receive that data this week and we'll be um sharing that with the board. >> Okay, thank you. Um so, I could check that. It was a also a similar question regarding how our subgroups were able to perform, um um whether they were entitled one schools and non-title one schools. Do you also have that data that you'll be able to share? >> So, we only have one high school that's designated as Title I, but we do have an analysis that provides some of that information. >> Okay, very good. Thank you. Um another thing that we talked about, again, not sure if this is a a thing that we will pursue um with uh Mr. Garen in terms of the breadth of

103opportunities that Fairfax County provides in terms of courses and how that sometimes dilutes um students into being funneled into some of these courses. Is that a conversation that is going to be happening at senior ship at senior leadership level or are we just kind of going to let sleeping dogs lie um because we had talked about maybe pairing down um all of the options. >> Right. So, we have a standard course catalog that the board approves annually that lists all the you know, approves all the courses that are standard that are put on the registration, I believe, annually. Um so, I don't know that there's any current plan to pair that back because um we have you know, honestly, we do have a large number of options. I think part of the conversation was also

104providing um more advice advising on that. Sorry. Yeah, I don't think there's a plan to pair back the choices at this time yet. >> Okay, thank you. Um One of the things that I want to say is I I always bifurcate how I evaluate these um reports in two ways. One, what are the activities, which is you could put in the effort bucket. I think there's a lots of efforts. I I think there's so many things. There's a lots of conversations that are happening, lots of people moving, trying to get all of our kids where we need to be. So, that part for me is like, yes, I'm a I'm in. The other part is the impact of those efforts. I don't know if I'm there yet to kind of see that being moved. In

105some places we kind of got knocked back a little bit, but in a lot of places, and I went through this in great detail in the work session, and so I don't need to belabor the point here. The achievement gaps are growing still, or we're not making any movements, or we kind of tumble back just a little bit. So, for me that piece continues to be an area where I am concerned, um because some of the same subgroups just persistently continue to underperform. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Anderson. Uh Ms. Dixit. >> Thank you, Dr. Reed, for the presentation. Um overall, everything looks great because obviously our students are performing at much better uh rates, especially the the AP level courses and CTE courses. Um I'm like, you know, always look at the good

106numbers and feel very, you know, proud of our division and the work our staff and educators are doing. Um but I also see there is economic disad- disadvantage disadvantage kids and ML learners who are uh obviously kind of lagging behind. And especially for math and science courses, and we talked about that. Uh you know, introducing like more uh courses or ins- material in their native language. Uh I know we cannot do all of them, but maybe with Spanish or having like more wherever we have more immigrant population coming from. I think that's going to tremendously help, and um I that's the kind of only takeaway I see is that where we can do better. >> Yes, ma'am, and I I know we're trying a variety of things in native languages and home languages to provide

107content, uh particularly in mathematics this past year, and it's showing some real promise. So, that is one of the theories of action. >> And this on the slide 11, it talks about the advanced and persistent courses taken by subjects and just seeing is amazing to see our English and social studies students are consistently taking and persistently taking these courses. But when you when you look at science and math, it's not we're not there yet. Like we want to be as the number one division in the country. I really like to see those numbers also in the 70s and hopefully we'll get there with all the effort in in that direction. And I also wanted to make you get your opinion. I know we talked a lot about middle school, high school coursework and and the

108you know, advising and all that. But I think this and then this path starts early on in elementary school. And kids who are in AP courses or AP you know, placements, they automatically get to the advanced courses in high middle school and high school. And and we see the pattern, right? The parents are very engaged. They are like putting those kids in extra curricular classes and How do we even build bridge that gap? That's like the equity concern I always feel like that. I see the numbers of the Asian population, you know, I I am you know, being an Asian myself, I know it's different for for for a lot of these families. But how do we how do we big break that barrier? >> So, one of the things we know is starting younger

109makes a big difference. And I'm really proud of our division math team, Amy Dr. Amy Hunter and her team and the work of our educators in our elementary schools because that's where the groundwork is laid. Particularly at team kindergarten. I know uh as our young people come in, many of our children don't have an opportunity for preschool, which would also help prepare them for school. Um but the earlier we start um with our particularly math, science, reading, and writing um core content, the the more likely our children are to be able to take advantage of um more rigorous coursework as they get >> Yes, thank you for that. And I'm really liking the idea of having more DE courses, dual enrollment. It really helps a lot of students, especially the ones who are, you know,

110either from either from their financial background, they can't afford four year of college. They can literally get out of high school with two years of uh you know, coursework and and you know, credits. And I I just I see the our our division is doing really a lot more, but hopefully we we need to do more on these courses. Thanks. >> Yes, ma'am. I know the staff are working on the credentialing because right now that's been a bit of a challenge to make sure we have more dual enrollment credentialed staff. So, appreciate that feedback. >> Mr. Dunn. >> Yes, thank you. Um I I appreciate the tremendous progress made by FCPS. Um my question is what what efforts have been taken by FCPS to ensure that an honors course or an advanced placement course or

111an IB course in one high school has the same level of rigor as the same course in a different high school? >> So, thank you, Mr. Dunn. That's a great question. I will say AP and IB are externally scored. So, the calibration across the county is based on scoring that happens outside of the county. So, I know each year they review I assume our instructional team reviews the numbers of three, four, fives for example in AP and those who pass IB exams. And there is a a calibration across the county. So, we obviously would very quickly know if certain high schools aren't getting beyond, you know, a one or two versus high schools traditionally at a four or five on AP score for example. Dual enrollment is a little more challenging although often they are

112moving from the same syllabus because the course is really designed at the post-secondary level. So, I think you know, obviously those teachers are connected and collaborate but the AP and IB are as I mentioned externally scored. >> What about honors classes? >> The honors classes are sort of more internal. I'm going to turn to Dr. Presidio for that because that's more of a Fairfax design and Fairfax assessment. So, Dr. Presidio? >> Yeah, I think that's an excellent question and the honors courses actually use an honors framework that we developed in FCPS a couple years ago in response to some work that the advanced academic advisory committee to the board recommended. So, we have a similar level of standards guidelines that you might get with an AP or an IB course in terms of the expectations.

113So, we have to cover all of the state standards obviously in our honors courses but then there are extended standards that have to be provided as well as well as training the teachers receive in supporting student inquiry, depth and complexity of understanding. So, there's an entire framework that goes beyond just a standard level course and that honors framework is used consistently across the division. Thank you. >> Ms. Lady. >> Thank you. Uh and thank you for this work. I always get excited about the able reporting. Um and of course taking patterns is just my jam. So, I just want to talk about um and I really appreciate slide 11 that that breaks down the persistence in course taking. Uh I mentioned this at the work session, but I just want to put it out in

114ethos for the public. Um the advanced studies diploma for the state of Virginia requires students to take 3 years of one language or 2 years of two different languages. Um there are very few colleges and I love this comment, you know, like parents want their kids to go to a good college. Like, I don't I think they're all good. Um there is a selectivity chain, um but most colleges prefer to see 3 years. So, I would love to for how Fairfax County consider that make get an advanced studies diploma from Fairfax that you have to do at least three of one. Uh I think that will help with the persistence because when I talk to colleges, they're just like 2 years of a language is you've barely gotten into vocabulary and conjugations and whatnot. It's

115just you're not speaking it, right? It's like getting to a level of fluency. Um the other thing which my colleague talked about was more pathways in mathematics. Um I've been asking for this for a while, but like one thing that concerns me is that our IB schools, if you're a math applications student, you you're done at the end of junior year. And the only way to persist in math is to take something online cuz some of our IB schools don't offer AP stat or pre-calc or AP pre-calc. So, I'd like for us to evaluate that because if they're in applications, I believe it it ends junior year. Um the other thing is we we have added data science, but I think we've got more work to be done within math pathways, especially with kids starting

116earlier. So, data science, statistical modeling, discrete math. Um some schools teach discrete. We never taught at Chantilly, so I don't even know much about what it what it was or where it was in the continuum. Um financial math and quantitative literacy. Um and the post post-calculus pathways, which we have to expand on, obviously. We've got busy calc. We got to get to to multivar DBQ. Um but also pure math, right? We've never really done anything at that high high level of like number theory and mathematical proofs. Um I'm just throwing this all at you cuz we're you're a math guy and you love the math. >> Yeah. It's our love language. >> Yeah, and uh and also cross cross-departmental credits. We've talked about this. I don't know if this is something that we need to

117work with our colleagues at the state level to do that because it's a state credentialing issue, but for example, you know, AI math for AI would be a cross-credentialing. There's a lots of them we can do in that arena. Uh I am pleased and I know this year we added some classes. They'd be uh I business and from personal finance. And also we added some science courses. So we're talking about persistence in science, we're giving kids a little bit more options within the three buckets of biochem and physics. Um so I think that's great. Um it's great work. Um I you know, I also realize and I I won't take it go back um that, you know, we really have to be developing four-year plans that are specific to a child. Um and while we

118have opened up algebra to sixth grade, it's not for every sixth grader. Like we really need to be mindful of each kid and make sure we're available to do that work with families. So thank you for the work. >> Thank you, Ms. Lady. Uh Mr. Moon. >> Uh thank you, Madam Chair. As you stated that we spent hours at the work session on this. >> We did. >> You know, input on work. And something that I failed to ask at the time uh goes to slide number 14. Graduating seniors with a three-plus world language credits. And I was looking at the column for a multilingual learners, ML, right there, 1 through 4. ML, by definition, are students who know language other than English. And I see such a low percentage of them getting at least

119the three world language credits. I wonder why? Because we could take with students could get credits by taking an exam. Could somebody explain to me? >> Right. I know we've uh discussed not just the biliteracy um exam, but the uh making sure that our uh native speakers have an opportunity to take, for example, an AP language class. So, I know some of our schools, some of our high schools, I can't recall which principal talked about that. It might have been Principal Burke. But anyhow, um Dr. Presidio, go ahead and talk a little bit about kind of our plans with multilingual students being able to take world language courses um at a higher rate. Cuz I I do know that's been a strategy we've discussed uh you know, have someone who's natively speaking French, for example,

120should be able to take AP French and pass the exam as well to get dual credit. So, Dr. Presidio? >> Yeah, so we definitely have students that are doing that, and we're working through the academic advising process to make sure that students are aware of that option because there are some of those college-level courses that um many of our multilingual learners would obviously excel in. I think Mr. Moon, I think your question is maybe why isn't this percentage a little bit higher given the fact that students can take the credit exam for a language that they're proficient in. Um and I I do think it's an excellent question. I probably need to dig into that data and analyze it a little bit more in terms of where that this percentage is coming from. Is it

121students that are enrolling in some of those advanced courses or is it credit by exam? So, we could do a little investigation on that and and get back to you because we do offer the credit by exam in many, many languages. >> And you could take up to three credits, correct? Yes. >> Yeah. >> So, uh this is really positive to me. >> Yeah. We can take a deeper dive into that. >> Thank you. >> Ms. Agent Connie. >> Well, you just set me up perfectly, Mr. Moon, because I was going to commend what Mandy Brook is doing at Edison and I know that there has been a new shift and maybe there's not enough information out there for these students to know that they can take the exam. And just by looking at the

122report that we had that shift has been expanded to ha- to give access to these students to take that exam and the the figures say that in 2024-25, 6,000 um approximately 6,000 students have taken the new computer-based exam to get the credits and of those 61% passed. So, and they earned intermediate mid proficiency and earned the maximum three-year world language credit. I think that it's a new initiative and I think that we've got to get the message out to our students that they can take that. Uh and I know that that's being done at Edison right now and she has integrated multilingual learners and special education learners in that. So, that's a model we can use. But, I think that's been a new shift. But, I'm really appreciative of that because it looks at some

123of our multilingual learners and looks at them for the assets that they bring and I think that that's also very important in terms of self-confidence and self-esteem and they can earn three credits by not even taking the courses because they already have that proficiency. Which opens them to other courses that they can take where they need to use to go to um you know, going to what Ms. Lady was saying, the three years of world language, that they already have it and then they can maybe take advanced math courses. >> Right. It is a fairly I think also advertising and providing access to more students. I think is really important. >> Okay. Seeing no others. I'm going to go ahead and call for a vote on the motion that is on the screen. All those

124in favor. Mr. Frisch, Ms. Marin, Mr. McElveen, Ms. St. John Cunning, Ms. Lady, Ms. Dixit, Mr. Danon, Mr. Moon, Mr. Dunn and myself. All those opposed? Dr. Anderson. Will the clerk please read the vote. >> 10-1, the motion carries. >> Thank you. Agenda item 8.01, academic matters. I call on Dr. Reed for academic matters. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. In this evening, our academic matters presentation is focusing on how FCPS has expanded access to Algebra 1 and how we've strengthened the conditions for successful completion by the end of 8th grade. Uh this work aligns with measure C in goal three of our strategic plan, which focuses on successful completion of Algebra 1 by grade 8. So, just want to take a look at progress over time and kind of a key takeaway is that our

125enrollment in grade 8 Algebra 1 continues to trend upward and is actually on track for our 2030 strategic plan goal. Uh we have increased over the past three years by 18 percentage points um including a 10.1 percentage point over the prior year. And I want to say that these gains are the result of really hard work on the part of our middle school educators and also our uh you know, county math team. um, at the same time that we've increased the number of students who are um, taking algebra one by eighth grade, um, for final marks in school year 24-25, 98% of our middle school students enrolled still were passing the course. 98% were still passing the course. The percentage of students earning a verified credit also increased by more than 10 percentage points over

126the past year, even increasing the percentage of students in the courses. So, I think one of the things we can take a look at in terms of the trend by takeaway is that we're really excited. This is an area where we're working hard to note that enrollment has increased across every reported student group this year. In fact, the largest gains in enrollment were among our multilingual learners and our students with disabilities. Enrollment among our multilingual learners more than doubled, and enrollment for students with disabilities increased by more than 15 percentage points. These trends indicate that access is expanding is expanding more broadly across all student groups. It's a powerful data point, and I think it's one that, um, you as a board can be proud of. Uh, the work that's happening in our schools is

127incredible. Um, and I couldn't be prouder of our educators and those that support them. A key strategy that supported this, um, access, expanded access, is our algebra access network improvement community. The initiative also used improvement science to help middle schools strengthen processes for enrollment and supports, um, that are promoting success, not just access, but success once our students get there. Um, participating schools have reported gains in enrollment and verified credit attainment alongside positive student feedback about the support they receive. I want to share that um another important uh strategy is the use of data. I can't say enough about our data team. Uh they have been tremendous every time we discussed um information that we felt was necessary to make decisions around enrollment. Um our data team was right there and it really illustrates the

128critical cross-departmental nature of the work that we're doing right now in Fairfax County. Our strategic plan can't be siloed. Um as you look at the green, uh the light bulb indicators for possible enrollment, we look at different assessment data by student, which you can see grades, the course they're in. If it's green uh and green, what we noticed in '24, the fall of '24, is we had a lot of students who had highly successful predictive analytics who were not being enrolled in Algebra 1. These are not students that weren't ready, these are students that were actually more ready than some students who were actually in the course. So, um I couldn't uh speak more highly of our data team. Uh the dashboards they created were incredible. And we realized that we had to use leading

129indicators and not lagging indicators um because these helped uh our staff, our region offices, and our principals make sure that we identify students who would benefit. We also want to talk a little bit about um we recognize that to get to 100% of our students, we uh have to have a long-term curricular plan that helps to develop students' computation and algebraic thinking as early as kindergarten. And when you think about it, uh kindergarten does do algebraic thinking, right? 3 + box = 5. You're solving for an unknown. That's algebraic thinking in kindergarten. Um and the ideas that uh our youngest learners need to think about are on the screen here. Um these uh are not only essential for algebra, they're also the foundations of interpreting and understanding code. Um which is a skill students need

130in this current uh technical uh world. So, let's take a look for a minute what it looks like in action. In the video, um Madam Clerk, why don't you go ahead and play that? This is really exciting. >> So, in our problems here, what two operations were we using as inverse? Preston? >> Um addition and subtraction. >> Addition and subtraction. So, what do you think that means for multiplication and division? You think they're inverse? What do you guys think? Yeah. Yeah, they are. And we'll explore that more next week. >> One of the things that we're doing here at Rolling Valley is making sure that we're helping students be able to problem solve, not just solve for the answer, but really think through so that there's a true conceptual understanding. >> It's a decomposition. >>

131Decomposition means to break apart. Decomposition means? >> Break apart. >> apart. >> Computational thinking, for sure, has been a new implement for kindergarten students, for sure. But, I think it has opened their eyes to the problem solving that they're capable of doing even as young as five and six. They're able to find patterns in one task, and then we can use that same language when we're doing a completely different task. So, we might be counting one day, actually working with patterns another day, um or doing a completely different task, but we're able to notice across the board I'm using problem solving by noticing patterns. I can find the steps of my task um and break it down so I can approach any problem. >> You like how this person >> Um, did x's and I

132and I see one group of 10. >> Where do you see a group of 10 here? Go like this if you also see Henry's group of 10. >> I don't think it's something that's on their mind, but as I'm seeing them share more and communicate more with each other, I think the confidence is building at an earlier age. >> On your recording sheet, you're going to have a couple of different ways that you are going to try to come up with what could he have put in the piggy bank to equal $1. >> Even in second grade, um, we're focused on students using their computational thinking skills. Our students all the time are doing things like decomposing numbers to make problems more efficient to solve. They are doing algebraic thinking. Students use abstraction all the

133time so they take these really complex ideas >> and we work through it and we problem solve through it. And so that hard work and grit and problem solving that they are using now will really have a big impact. >> I see that the kids from an early age are practicing all of the skills needed for algebraic thinking. So by the time they get to me, everything's already in place. We're just really kind of like putting the language to it. >> I noticed it was different. Um, counters, they they didn't always have to be the same and they would always equal to the counters. >> I think with computational thinking the goal is how are you thinking about numbers and their relationships and you're applying and like making those generalizations that apply to so many

134situations, not just one problem. I believe that through computational thinking that they have all of the skills necessary to apply it to whatever is given to them. And so I really do believe they will all be successful because we've been building off of everything that they need to do algebra. >> Well, I mean I don't know what could be more exciting at this hour in the evening than looking at computational and algebraic thinking, but the students were demonstrating the use of decomposition to break apart problems and simplifying things also using algorithmic thinking to solve equations and pattern analysis to generalize big mathematical ideas. These skills will continue to benefit our younger students as they move through the system and are able to take more and more rigorous courses. In summary, I just want to share

135that enrollment continues to increase and our multilingual learners and our students with disabilities are experiencing improved access. As we move from 85% enrollment to 100% over the next 3 years, our curriculum in elementary will continue to develop students problem solving by embedding computational and algebraic thinking in kindergarten through math 6 advanced and this is going to continue to prepare all of our students for success in algebra by 8th grade and the work beyond. So, Madam Chair, that is academic matters this evening. >> Okay, Mr. Dan is going to kick us off. >> I'd like to point out this is the first time I've turned on my light before Dr. Anderson, so not that I'm competitive, but um I I do so though because before before I was elected, this is one of the issues I

136heard about a lot from all different parents, from educators, math teachers and so forth. Um and so there's a lot of interest in it and so I'll start with I I've heard from a lot of parents that were very excited about um their kids getting access to this in 6th grade, but then some frustrations about having to do it online or virtually. Can you speak to that a little bit and what things might look like again in the next year? >> Sure. I think that the key around the sixth grade access is that as a community we have by and large sixth grade still in elementary schools for the most part. And when sixth grade is part of a middle school, a 6-7-8, it's much easier for students to have an opportunity to take Algebra

1371, right? It's just you may go down a hall rather than not having credential staff. So, I know that this year we had over 200 staff work towards a micro-credential and certification to be able to teach Algebra 1. So, very proud, big shout out to those staff who've taken the extra time to get their algebra certification because over 200 of them have done that this year so that they can be prepared to teach Algebra 1 next year. Because we have more students that are ready, we needed more staff that are credentialed. So, big thanks to our staff that have taken that on. I think as we right now at sixth grade we want to make sure that every child has access if they're ready. We know not every sixth grader will be ready and we

138don't want to push children who are not ready, but we want it available to children who could benefit from it. So, some schools, I just received recently a couple emails from teachers teaching it. Some schools are seeing such real success and sort of better understanding what the flow of instruction is, so more and more children are going to be taking the course. And some schools where we have maybe only three or four sixth graders, we really can't have a full-time staff member working with them. So, the access is being provided online in some quarters. We think the longer as we work through the K-5 curriculum as well that we'll see more sixth graders maybe at each school that are ready. So, I think there will be a a transition of sorts at some point. Um

139but we'd rather have at least online access rather than no access. Um but we are looking at models with um Um what do we call them? Teachers that move around. Um itinerant, thank you. I was thinking transient, that didn't sound right. So, itinerant staff who move perhaps from building to building. And in some schools, there are enough students that actually they're a mid you know, utilizing staffing. So, Um also a big shout-out to our elementary AARTs. They've in many cases filled in and helped uh support students online. In other words, there's always somebody with them even if they are online. >> All right, I appreciate it. Um so, I I see the incredible growth. Um I was I think rigor and challenging kids is great. I think kids should should have opportunities to fail and

140and struggle and have that productive struggle. Um but I recognize a lot of folks have shared concerns around uh being pushed into this by eighth grade and kids not being ready by eighth grade. Can you speak to that a little bit, please? >> Sure. Yeah, I think that um one of the data points the Office of Civil Rights tracks is the students who complete algebra in eighth grade because we know that when students complete algebra in eighth grade, they're twice as likely to go on to post-secondary education and persist in post-secondary education. So, it's a really critical access data point. It also enables students by the time they're in high school to take um wider variety of science courses. Um and in some cases, we also know that our professional trades and technical uh apprenticeships

141and jobs after high school actually require a high level of mathematics because um algebra trig, for example, is a prerequisite for many um skilled trades exams and apprenticeship exams. So, we want to make sure that our students leave our high schools prepared for any uh career post secondary path they want to choose. >> I appreciate it. I'll share it from the from the work session. One of the the stories that that really struck me was you talked about looking at kids with um the same virtually the same or the same grading profile. And some kids that were being given access to this and some kids that weren't. >> Right. >> Um and that was really striking. So, I appreciate you sharing. Um can you talk a little bit to the with I I think you

142mentioned briefly about the the passing scores and what you're seeing in terms of of the data supporting the kids are able to take on this math. >> Right. So, I do want to I think it was going back to one of the earlier slides. Um Right. On slide two, we at the same time student outcomes were remaining strong. Uh we noted that in particularly in 2024-2025, 98% of our middle school students enrolled in Algebra 1 actually passed the course, right? >> 90%? I thought I heard that. >> Yeah. So, we believe um that our our students are continuing to score well even, you know, as eighth graders or in some cases as seventh graders or this will be, you know, a year ago we only had about 50 sixth graders accessing Algebra 1 and this

143year we have over 700. So, we're going to have an opportunity to see how our um sixth graders do sort of written large this year. Um but I think uh we've been doing some sort of assessments formative along over the course of the year. And my understanding is they're doing quite well in those formative assessments, but um we definitely want to make sure we take stock of what those scores look like and uh share those with you uh once they are back. >> That's great. Um can you speak a little bit One of the things that that came up as well was was there needs to be changes to the earlier levels of math, third, fourth, fifth grade, so that kids are ready. Can you speak a little bit to what's happening there and and

144what that looks like now and then what that's going to look like hopefully in a couple of years. >> Sure. Dr. Amy Hunter and her team have really been looking at the math curriculum K-12 quite honestly and recognizing that in some cases, and this is not unique to Fairfax County, but in the United States one of the concerns that has been raised even with the NCTM group is the amount of review that we sometimes engage in and just the need to make sure that perhaps that we're addressing more complex topics earlier because our students are ready. The computational thinking you saw in the decomposition with even our kindergarteners, the taking apart and putting together of numbers and thinking is work that our children are capable of doing. So, the math team is working with our

145educators to make sure that the curriculum early on is um you know, the the right content so that our students are ready. >> Um can you talk a little bit What does the the planning time You mentioned some staff getting micro-credentialing and things like that. What does the planning time look like for them? Do they have enough? Do they need more from us? >> Well, I think if you ask an educator do they need more planning time, I can't think of anybody that's going to say no. I think everybody I think I need more planning time, right? You all need more planning time as we I know you put in many hours reviewing uh an incredible amount of data. I will say that these the course work they did was certainly more often than not

146outside the school day. I don't know that I have anyone here this evening that can comment on that directly. We've but I can say that staff have put in a lot of of their own time to earn this algebra credential. >> Fantastic. Last question then. So, the I know that I'm I'm I forgive me. I'm I'm not sure what slide it was on. Talked about the growth in kids with disabilities that are taking um >> Next slide, three. >> So, the increase is great. Can you talk a little bit about what we're doing, continue to do to increase this, and what maybe challenges we're finding, and what of course what do you need from us to help in that effort? >> So, I think that part of the increase, I know with our multilingual students

147we've also done some work with textbooks in home languages, which as we develop as children develop their language, they also won't fall behind in content. So, we've had some real success in several of the schools where we've utilized those materials. Often our students with disabilities, it's really just access to the coursework. And I think that we're finding that some of our team taught models and some of the work that's occurring in classrooms, our students are actually doing quite well. Given the opportunity to be part of that tier one instruction, and with a model that's supportive, we're finding our students that's part of the whole universal design for learning, right? It's equitable access to coursework. And eighth grade algebra is really on grade level. It's not advanced, and it's not behind. It's really just being on

148grade level where eighth graders should be for mathematics. >> Yeah, and I appreciate you flagging that. My last point is that I was struck by the fact learning that Fairfax County has kind of been behind in this. Like this is catching up to where the rest of the the nation is. >> Well, we are excited about the work we're doing, and I think when we look at our data, one of the things to recognize, and we're so very proud of this data point, we actually educate 25% of the multilingual children in the Commonwealth of Virginia in our county. And we are very proud of the strengths our multilingual children bring to the classroom, and we know that when they're when they have access to the math trajectory sometimes in a home language for a little

149bit, um they're really able to you know, do extraordinarily well. >> I appreciate it. And as a as a former student with a disability who got to take advanced math, I really appreciate all your work with this. So, thank you. >> Yeah, you bet. >> Mr. Frisch. >> Thank you. Excuse me. Can we pull up slide three? Oh, it's already up. It's already up. Thank you for reading my mind. Um I had in my notes I wanted you to address the civil rights indicator aspect of this work. And I feel like because we talk so much about the results now, right? But we kind of gloss over what that means, the civil rights indicator. And this slide is a very good example of what that means. And so, it's an indicator because if we are

150not pushing all of our students to achieve at their best level by getting into more advanced math, then they have less likelihood of going to and succeeding in college. And when you look at the charts, and if you took this back a couple years, you'd see a very similar completion level or participation level disparity in populations. So, your multilingual learners, your students with disabilities, your special education students, your black or African American students, your Hispanic students, this is why it is a civil rights indicator, because of the progress that we're seeing in in this bar chart for those communities. Um and I I think that, you know, we often, you know, at least that was the big focus when we first started on this work. And now because of so much progress, um you know,

151we kind of just talk about the numbers, but that's where that civil rights indicator work needs to really be drilled down so that the communities that that is referring to are experiencing the gains as well. And so, I'm grateful to see this work continuing to grow. Um I actually had an opportunity to um visit one of our eighth grade algebra classes here at Luther Jackson last week um with Ms. Exner. She's #mathboss. And I know that because she has a giant neon sign in her classroom that calls her #mathboss, and I think they don't just give those away. Um and it was a wonderful experience seeing her engaging her students. And you talked a little bit about um and you've talked about this before uh about one of the problems with mathematics in the United

152States is that so much time is spent on review and repeating. Um how do we communicate to parents who are seeing a shift in the way we talk about the math courses that their children will be taking in middle school? Right? They're seeing math 7 going away, maybe, right? And they're wondering, well, now my kid is not going to have an opportunity to build those foundational skills. How do we build communications around the fact that they will still have that opportunity? It just might look different. >> So, I think that's a great takeaway, and I before I answer that directly, what I one of the things I want our community to understand is every single discrete group on this chart is improving. And I think often there's a there's a narrative that says, you know,

153if we're doing really intensive equitable access work, um then some students are going to not be that we're not going to come alongside every student to see them grow to their full potential, but every uh democratic student >> in one year for multilingual students. >> right. Yeah, so I will say that there's seventh-grade math still exists. It's not been It's It still exists. I think fewer students will be taking it because we're going to be able to provide the curriculum content in an accessible way for our students as they're younger. So it may look different. As you know, we're also looking at a basal math curriculum for elementary and of course budget has a play in that. But the mathematics the the math language and the math work is very much so looking different at

154younger and younger ages. >> You know, we've seen the information on testing showing that students you know, some said that these students wouldn't succeed if they were pushed and they are at least according to the testing. I'm curious if we're keeping track of how many of them are repeating algebra when they get to high school. >> I think that we're going to obviously we're keeping track of all these data points. I think that we absolutely want to make sure that every one of our students in the county gets through algebra trade before they leave us because we know that's a gateway course for future trajectory whether students are going to university or the military into private business or skilled trades. It's a It's a math course they need to really have understood. And we also

155know that as we think about CTE courses and that they've become more and more technical whether it's aerospace, cybersecurity whatever the the courses they're going to have to understand math at a higher level again because math limits 84% of our career choices. So I think that we're excited about the possibilities for our students for sure. If some of of need to repeat coursework, obviously we can provide that. Um but we also want to make sure kids can get through geometry and algebra trig minimally before they leave us. >> Thank you. >> Dr. Anderson. Thank you. I had no idea we were in competition with Sedona, but it's on now. Um I I I was very excited to see this video. You know academic matters is one of my favorite components. >> Yes, ma'am. >> And

156I'm an educator, so this is my wheelhouse. I love it all. One of the things I would be remiss if I didn't point out during that video are one, the use of academic language. Our students are not going to become more proficient in the use of English for those who are second language speakers or gain more understanding unless they have a chance to manipulate academic language and having it start very early at that kindergarten level where we are introducing terms that they will be using for years to come. It is it's such an important thing and I was very glad to see that reflected. Also, I was very glad to see reflected that students and there were several grades that were shown were manipulating what they were handling manipulatives. There was not a computer in

157sight. It was just tactile work that just led them to what they needed to. So, I thought these were really two awesome things. >> I was I was concerned about the little plastic bugs. >> Yes. >> It was I probably would have picked something a little different, but I was I could live with that. >> Who knows what they like? Who knows? If we could go to slide two, please. I think this is a slide that you mentioned that 98% of our students are passing the course. Do you have the data that speaks to the percentage of our students that are passing the associated SOL? >> I know we do. I don't know that I have it on here. It's been above 90% at the middle school. Dr. Presidio, do you happen to have it

158off the top of your head? >> No, I I don't have the data point off the top of my head, but we can get it for you. >> It would be nice to have because it'll just show a correlation. Um so, I would appreciate getting that. Um and the other thing I wanted to ask is, as you mentioned, um the benefits of sixth grade students who are in middle schools, that's, you know, pretty much in most of the places around the country, at least in Virginia. Um what are we seeing here with our sixth grade students that are in middle school? Are we seeing a a different um representation in terms of access because we do have the three schools where sixth graders reside? >> So, I think what we're seeing, um I was recently

159doing a walk-through with uh Principal Jerome um at Holmes uh Middle School, and uh they now have, I believe at least uh they have two geometry sections as well at the middle school, and there were very few middle schools a couple years ago that had geometry um as part of the middle school, and uh they'll soon have a section of algebra trig in eighth grade because their sixth graders have access to algebra. So, I think that uh we have other middle schools that don't have sixth grade that whose parents have, you know, paid for perhaps geometry in the summer or so forth, so they can We've had other middle schools that have a couple sections of algebra trig, but it's been very few, but I think as we move through our our odyssey here in

160math, we eventually, by 2030, every middle school should have at least one section of algebra trig, and I think our middle schools that include sixth grade, that's going to be a much easier move because students are all there on site. >> Sure. Um one of the things that you just talked about is the credentialing component where we may not have the the teachers with the right credentials in order to um deliver instruction in those advanced classes. Uh it makes me wonder, I believe and Miss Lady might know this um from working at TJ, there are in my understanding, there are a lot of teachers there who may come for very specialized courses and they're part-time. Um I don't know if this practice has been phased out, but it was one even up to a couple

161of years ago. I'm wondering can we employ some of the same mechanism where perhaps if a high school if a middle school is needing a very advanced course, maybe just employ somebody part-time just to do that if the credentialing is not made available in lieu of a screen experience for those students? >> Yes, ma'am. I I think that anything's possible right now and we would always prefer to have a a human interacting with our children. So, I will check into that. I know that our itinerant uh teachers have been very helpful. Um and I think as we have more and more teachers become credentialed, uh we actually had a shortage of our middle school teachers credentialed to meet the need of just eighth graders being in algebra. So, I think it's just been a real

162um it's a it's been a a real moment of paradigm shift for us and growth. But, I really again, I just appreciate how hard our staff is working to attain that. >> Sure. And my last comment, can we go to slide three? And I appreciate what you talked about regarding this is an Office of Civil Rights um data point that it's critical access. I appreciate what Mr. um Frisch has just shared. But, when I look at this chart, I I see tremendous growth. Um we have our if I may finish we have um our multilingual students. We have our students with disabilities that have double-digit growth. Similarly, with our Hispanic students, plus 15. The last group that we typically see that is underperforming and it's associated in this chart, uh black students, their growth is

163only just a little bit over five points. What can we do to get similar results for that subgroup that we're seeing with these other subgroups that have been underrepresented in this area? >> So, I think it's a good point. I think that as we continue, my understanding is our enrollment right now looks like 84% for next year. So, we would expect that the data points are rising again. I don't know what the exact for our African-American students what that looks like. I do know that the higher our numbers are, the smaller the growth. As you note, our Asian students went from 84 to 87, so that's 3%. So, I think as we go from 57 to 63, that's a 6% gain. We definitely want to see that accelerated cuz we need to get to 100%

164in 2030. But, I think that with this coming year's jump to 84%, we should see more significant gains. I'm going to I don't think we have the numbers yet though. But, we should see more significant gains. >> I'd like to go back, please. I don't know where we are. >> Miss Lady. >> Thank you. This is fantastic work. Obviously, I said this before. I'm sorry that I had no idea the discrepancy across our county when I worked as a director. It just was not something that came up and and I feel like I failed in that regard in supporting my colleagues around the county. I do have a question about the algebra readiness for the sixth graders. Because I've heard conflicting things. I've had some parents tell me that there's a utilization of I guess

165a math 7 SOL of a score of 400 qualifies you and then I had someone else tell me it's a score of 500. >> I am of the opinion that there really shouldn't be any barrier if a student or family really thinks their student is ready, we ought to give that a try. I don't know exactly uh where we are on a score. I know we've eliminated um an exam. We used to have an exam I think even to get into algebra in eighth grade. Um Right? Uh yeah, so you're right. It was the Iowa exam and what I think we found is that well, I mean, I think that does identify kids who could be successful. It also de-identifies a lot of children who could also be successful. So, um Mr. or Dr. Presidio,

166I don't Do you want to clarify what the sixth grade >> Yeah, we we eliminated a cut score. We are looking at pass rates on the SOL, so we are looking for students that passed the the SOL, but again, you know, families have the choice. Uh we're providing them with information about um you know, the opportunities, but we're also providing them with information about the acceleration of the course. So, we're not looking to create arbitrary barriers, but we also want families to have, you know, the informed information to make informed choices. >> Thank you. I'm a big believer that tests are not the, you know, best measurements all the time of readiness. Um but I do have another question that's related to that and that is um I've also been told by some families that

167their kid was put in it. And that they had >> grade? >> They were put in it if they quit if they believed that they met the metrics and they had to reach out to get them out of it. As as a default instead of reaching out and having a phone call about it, how is How does that happen? I I I do understand the importance of it in eighth grade, right? Like all the metrics point to readiness. I'm 100% fine putting the kids in algebra without a conversation. But when we're talking about sixth grade, I would to have a conversation and not a default pullout or even with seventh grade. >> Right. No, I the only and if we look at slide my pages aren't numbered maybe five. There we go. Thank you. Um

168if we look at this slide, we use this data for incoming eighth grade to make sure students were put in if they met the um indicator profile. Uh but at sixth grade that should not be happening. So, that is absolutely should be a conversation with the parent. >> want to make sure there's conversations. And then I heard um I guess let me put this as a question. If I'm an elementary principal and I have I you know, I don't even know what the threshold is, but how if I have 15 kids are you paying for you giving me a 0.17 in addition to my elementary staffing so that I can teach algebra? >> So, I think it depends on the school and the dynamic. I know Dr. Ponce, we've got about 50 schools involved this

169year and Dr. Ponce and his team are helping to facilitate those conversations. Um in some cases if you have 15 kids that are ready for algebra one you already have teachers in the building, right? So, you would redistribute perhaps your sixth grade students so that 15 of them would go be with a particular teacher during math and the other students would be with other teachers. I know some schools are using their AART to support that. Just depends on the credentialing. So, there's a wide variety of models right now because as you know, we don't have um tremendous budget capacity at the moment, but we're still trying to provide opportunities for >> Right. Right. I do I do know that. I just and I do believe there are very few schools hitting a threshold of 15,

170but I could be misinformed. Um but it's just something to elevate. The fact that it is staffing allocation and 15 is not a class of 30. >> Right. >> So, does that mean that there's, you know, 38 in two other math classes or I mean you only got so many bodies to spread it out. And we've got to take care of learners on all levels. So, and then the only other thought is I just want to make sure when we're planning with families, that's why I brought up all the math pathways, that we are doing a four-year high school plan. And if that means that you're taking high school courses in sixth grade, then it's becoming a seven-year plan. >> Right. >> And we have to map out math so they know what it looks

171like because if you're going to stay the course, you're going to be in Diffy Q as a senior. >> Right. >> If you're going to stay the course. And, you know, I know that the majority of my kids back in the day at Chantilly would take geometry over the summer because they wanted to get to algebra two by but the statistics were not good for them thriving up until multivar. >> Right. >> Okay. >> Right. And I I think the other thing is we need to make it we need to make multivar or Diffy Q available or linear algebra in high school so that our students don't have to find transportation to go to Nova or go somewhere else to take a course. It should be offered at our high schools. And as more students

172are able to take advanced coursework earlier, they're going to be able to take it in high school because that's been a barrier to students who don't have transportation or the finances to take a course, you know, at Nova or somewhere else their senior year or junior year. >> Right. My concern is we did have multivar. And the kids were on the path. They just fell off. >> I see. >> So, a lot of them took a summer class to jump ahead and then couldn't stay the course. So, we got to make sure that the how you do the math the what not. >> the math. I like that. I will say that I think the very short summer sessions are not probably as Um, they're not going to necessarily be as effective for a larger

173number of children then be able to take it for the full year. Um, and for a lot of our students, you know, math is their Friday night lights. >> Mr. Moon. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Wonderful presentation and makes me excited, especially when you talk about the growth by multilingual students. I don't know why I'm focusing on multilingual students, but I am. Uh, uh, a Having been a multilingual student myself when I first came, uh, uh, my school didn't know where to place me, in what math class they should have placed me. So, I went through, I think, three different classes in my first year, uh, and they could not place me into any higher class, so I got stuck there. For me, the challenge was it was not the math, it was not the

174content of the math, it was English language that was the challenge. Right, it wasn't the math. It was understanding, being able to understand whether I could understand what teacher was instructing, whether I could understand the textbooks, whether I could interpret what the problem was saying. That was the challenge. I bring this one up because there may be, not just I, other multilingual learners within the school system who could do their math, who want to grow in their math, but challenge is their language. How do we make it possible for these learners to be able to grow science, math in their content without having English language be something that hampering them. >> Well, you know, math is its own language. Math is a universal language, not unlike music. Um and I I think that uh there

175are a couple strategies. Obviously, our glad strategies, which provide academic context. Um which is one strategy to support multilingual learners in content deep classes. I think we are uh this year for the first time we're providing um math courses in home languages uh for at least Algebra 1. And I think that there are also textbooks that have text forms and features that are not as deeply language focused. Um so I think those are all strategies we're taking a look at right now. >> Okay, thank you. Uh because I mean this is something I probably don't have to say, but when you when you said equitable access, to me equitable access, equitable means to providing support and programs per each and every student's needs. >> Yes, sir. >> Thank you. >> I do think another area

176we're exploring um is AI has had some real application for translation and support in translation. So, I think we're trying to also navigate it are there ways to translate texts more easily uh for our multilingual students so that they can access the uh if you will academic content like mathematics. So, we're looking at every possible scenario right now because the math content is actually the simpler part of that. It's the academic vocabulary about math that is to your point very challenging at times. >> Thank you. >> And especially the story problems, right? The train is traveling 50 miles an hour and the wind is blowing, right? And the sun got in the eyes of the conductor, how many birds is it going to hit? I mean, you know, the >> Thank you. >> Right? And

177>> Thank you. >> Yes. >> Thank you. With the proper support, I will see this graph growing, maybe doubling next year. >> What? Yes, sir. We're We're looking for growth, that's for sure. >> I'm going to take a quick turn, and then we have a few people for a go back. Um I'm not going to belabor all of the points for my colleagues, cuz they took many of the things that I was going to talk about. However, um I have had some very interesting conversations about math 7. Um and that has led to some conversations that I've had with folks on staff that I think can help clarify some things for our families. Um I will say to start though, I think that we missed an opportunity here with the communication. I have a fifth

178grader who is one of the kids who is likely going has the possibility of ending up in algebra 1 next year. And I think that there's miscommunication coming from teachers around the division >> Oh. >> talking about the fact that we're going to be forced into this decision, despite the fact that it's been very clear communication coming to families that are saying, "You have You're given the option. Please make sure you decide carefully, come to this informational session." Like, we're doing all those things, correct? But I do think that even though we've been talking about this goal for a long time, I don't think that people saw it coming, which leads to the math 7 discussion. Because I had a I had a conversation with someone earlier that they were afraid that what we did

179is just eliminate an entire grade level of math. >> Oh, dear. >> And that didn't happen from what I understand, and I want to clarify that. I know that, you know, the tens of of of tens of people that are listening, I want to make sure that they understand that from my understanding, and Dr. Presidio, correct me if I'm wrong, we took math 7 and we split it so that half of it went to math 6 and half of it went to math 8. And or I'm sorry, precal- pre-algebra. And so the new math 7 class that is happening in 7th grade is really pre-algebra that is encompassing a lot of the skill set that is exactly what the kids need, but we didn't skip a grade to do that. We didn't skip a group

180of kids. We we worked that into math 6 this year. So those kids are ready. They just we didn't tell parents that they were going to be ready and I think that's where we missed it just a little bit. So I would love for you to talk just a little bit about that. >> You bet. I'm going to have Dr. Presidio explain because he's, you know, dealing with this day in and day out. So Dr. Presidio, let's set the record straight. >> Well, we will certainly give it our best try. Um, I appreciate the question and the opportunity. Um, what we're doing with our curriculum and Dr. Reed was kind of alluding to this earlier is we're compacting our curriculum so that students that accelerate aren't missing key standards, concepts, and skills, right? And at

181the same time we're not eliminating classes for students that maybe didn't master them when they experienced them the first time and might need to repeat some of those concepts. So as Dr. Reed said, traditionally in the United States math curriculum there's more repetition. Typically that's referred to as spiraling. So we teach a concept in one year, then we come back to it another year and review it and review it. So there were a lot of opportunities for us to compact our curriculum and have less spiraling. However, not everybody learns at the same rate and the same pace and you know, life variabilities happen. So maybe a student might need to repeat some of those concepts. We're not eliminating course work for them to be able to do it, but for the vast majority of our

182students with their compacted curriculum are able now to actually access that advanced math at an earlier level and we've done that mapping backwards from algebra in eighth grade as the default expectation and standard. So, students will be prepared when they get to eighth grade, they won't have missed content, but we still do have some other opportunities for students that maybe need to repeat some of that content. >> I will say, and thank you Dr. Presidio, this journey started 3 years ago. So, this is not something that began overnight. I think that many times we put a plan out there for the community. I think many communities are used to oh, it's a strategic plan. The difference is we're actually executing it. So, we're actually going to make the progress and do the work. So, our

183team recently brought a mid-year or a midpoint strategic plan report to senior leadership where we looked at all of our indicators and measurements cuz we're about halfway through our strategic plan. What's on track? What do we need to, you know, kind of move in a different direction? Where are standard deviations off or are they on? And so, this work is really 3 years in. So, this compacting work didn't happen like last month. It's been happening over time. And now we're seeing the benefits of that. And as you look at the benefits, I think you have to start slow to go fast. And once that, you know, flywheel catches, we're going to be in a place where that's sustainable because it's been structured and scaffolded. So, I I just want to clarify that the things we

184said we're going to do, we are doing and we are going to continue to do. And when you look back, in the moment it doesn't feel like it's making a lot of progress, but you look back over 3 years and wow, we really have. And it's due to the fabulous teamwork of our educators and our central office support staff. >> The other thing that I wanted to say is that the major barrier as as my cohort of parents are talking to me about this like, what What doing about this? Are we going to put them in um algebra next year or not? And one of the things that they keep saying is that they're not sure if they want to do it if it's virtual just because they're concerned. Um and so I think that

185having those conversations and what it's going to look like and I love the idea that I'm going to be able to go back and talk to them about the micro-credentialing that's happening. Um I did tell them there's strength in numbers and there's more likely for us to have a human teacher I mean I understand that the virtual classes are still human teacher but um a real teacher in the class. I think that there's a lot that comes with you know more kids deciding that they're going to try. But I will tell you I have a 10th grader, too. So I have fifth and 10th. And it's been fascinating to me that my perception of whether or not my child is ready to try something more advanced has shifted completely in that 5 years. >> Yes.

186>> And it's largely because of the work that we are doing on the strategic plan. So I am I am extremely grateful for the work that you're doing in the division. Um Okay, going back with Mr. Dannon for a go back. >> Um Just real briefly, I I appreciate uh Miss Lady uh raising the concerns around um the opt-out um scenario right now because I know a lot of parents and students have these have this anxiety, right? Cuz if you're a student and your colleagues are doing it but your parents are opting you out, there's that there's that so I appreciate you bringing that up. Um I did want to ask just for a couple data points um maybe not to put you on the spot but maybe in a Friday letter, I know um

187unless they're handy. Uh just data around just passing rates by grade um ideally year over year um and then the number or percentage of kids that are repeating it, right? I'd be curious about that. Um and I'm also curious uh in terms of um are you seeing in the data cuz I've I've heard a lot of stories of students that are getting frustrated cuz they're struggling and they're feeling like they're not good at math. And so are you seeing this downstream in algebra 2 and calculus in terms of enrollment and success there? And again, this take this in a in a letter if it's >> Yeah, and well, I'll start with the end first. I I don't think we have a lot of downstream data yet because we're still swimming upstream. Uh I think in

188terms of repeating courses, I think we've probably always had a certain number repeat, but I think I'll ask the team to check and see where we are, whether we're increasing that or not. Um I would say that even if we're repeating at a younger age, it is helpful in terms of getting to where we need to um to get by high school. Having said that, the pass rates I I know have continued to remain high, uh but we'll get that data for you as well. We have the 24-25, but I'll get the 25-26. Well, I guess they haven't tested yet in 26, but um we'll get that data for you. >> Dr. Anderson. Thank you. Just going back to the chart on on page three, we were in the middle of that conversation and you

189talked about how, you know, we need to make sure everybody gets to, you know, that promised land by 2030. Um and you've been very intentional to share some very specific strategies that I think have led to the great successes we're seeing with our students with disabilities and our multilingual students. So, can you speak very specifically to what are your targeted interventions for our black African-American students in order to raise that because there's a gap there, too. >> So, what we've been doing with all of our students um that uh don't require special intervention, which our multilingual students have required um often home language text um or our our students with a disability have required um the team teaching model in the sense of uh supporting an IEP, for example. Uh and all other student groups,

190we've really the the strategy we're using is the data predictive data analytics to make sure that our students who can, based on all of those analytics, be successful are put in the class and we're finding they are successful. I think with students um at this point following that strategy, we're going to have to make sure that the strategy of introducing the work earlier and gaining mastery of the work sooner is something that happens across all elementary schools that feed middle schools. So, that's become a pyramid strategy in many of our pyramids and it's that pyramid work that's going to make a difference, I think, for the uh remaining student populations that are not yet where they need to be. However, they are on track to get uh to the 100%. We're still moving in the

191right direction by 2030. >> Sure, thank you for that and I think that is a helpful strategy, but I would definitely encourage you to consider something that's a little bit more targeted because while everybody's growing, the gap may not necessarily be closing because everybody's growing and I didn't do the math to get the exact numbers, but I I just I'm looking for a little bit more um expedited growth in this area for that subgroup particularly because we see that it can happen in other places. Of the four lowest performing subgroups, it's the only one that has single-digit increases. Everybody else has double-digit increases and I think that's because you've been intentionally intervening with things that are specified for that population and I'd like to hear something very similar for that group as well. It It

192can't be that high-level that we're going to apply it for everybody because yes, some people will get it, but we have to be a little bit more intentional in order to really move that group the way that we are with others. Thank you. That's it. >> Thank you, Dr. Reed. >> All right. >> Agenda item nine, consent agenda. Our adopted rules of parliamentary procedure, Robert's Rules, provide for a consent agenda listing several items for approval of the board by a single motion. Many items listed have gone through board review and documentation has been provided to all board members and the public in advance. Items may be removed from the consent agenda at the request of any board member prior to the meeting. The consent agenda items are on the screen. Is there any objection to

193approving the consent agenda? Hearing and seeing no objection, the consent agenda is approved. Agenda item 10, new business. The following are new business items. There will not be a vote on these items this evening, but action is scheduled at a future meeting. Agenda item 11, board committee reports. I call on Ms. Merryn for a report of the Governance Committee. >> Thank you. The Governance Governance Committee has had two meetings since our last regular meeting, working overtime. Uh made considerable progress on two important policies, the calendar policy and the innovation in instructional tech policy, formerly known as the AI policy, at least for the moment. The committee has um opted to call it the innovation instructional tech. So, the calendar work uh is going to proceed on May 5th with the policy being the subject on

194the board's public agenda for the work session on May 5th. And the hope is that the policy will be finished and after so that it can guide the superintendent in creating updated calendars per our board vote on uh the last meeting so that those calendars are ready in July. And then the instructional tech policy, that is also going to continue. The Governance Committee has done work to really get uh focused on the purpose, the philosophy, and so we'll be returning with that work at our next meeting in May, and um that will be it for now. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ms. Marin. Uh uh I call on Mr. Frisch for a report of the administration committee. >> Thank you. We don't meet often, but when we do, we get a lot of work done.

195And so you'll see new business, I believe, tonight includes the first product of our efforts as a new committee, which is a revised evaluation calendar and process for specific school board office and school board member staff. Um uh looking forward to having that for action on the next for consent on the next uh board meeting. Um and then this past meeting we spent a great deal of time reviewing and discussing uh SOPs, standard operating procedures, for the school board office, and we are making progress on that front. And hopefully we'll be sending some things out of committee at our next meeting. Uh and we also had a closed meeting. That's it. Thank you. >> Thank you. I call on Ms. Ainge Cunning for a report of the public engagement committee. >> Uh so we held

196our meeting on April 20th and really primarily focused on reviewing and updating the committee's strategic governance manual regarding proclamations and recognitions. Uh as far as proclamations, we discussed maybe streamlining the annual list of proclamations. And there's also a conversation of whether we should combine certain observances to avoid redundancy. Um we talked about procedural improvements, uh coordinating with the school board's office standard operating procedures, creating a standard template for future proclamations to assist board members, and addressing community outreach challenges to ensure public attendance at these events. Uh we also briefly touched on the potential for uh new committee items which we had been discussing before. There's been a lot of interest in maybe adding a second student representative to the board and expanding the student leadership program. Though these topics were deferred for a future meeting

197due to budgetary and procedural complexities. So, that's about it. >> Thank you. Agenda item 12, superintendent matters. I call on Dr. Reid. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um this week is volunteer appreciation week. So, I want to take a moment and thank the countless volunteers that give of their time and talent in so many ways to Fairfax County Public Schools. Um all of our PTA volunteers, our uh volunteers with our athletics activities, our theater, our musicals. Uh it's just incredible. So, just a big thank you to our volunteers. They really make our school experience special uh for our young people. I also want to remind our community that uh 217 high school students were selected to perform in our 2026 Virginia Band, Chorus, and Orchestra uh events, and 56 students were selected for the All-Virginia

198Middle School Chorus event. Um and I do want to give a special shout-out to all of our elementary music staff. The 6th Grade Coral Festival this year was one of the best um that I have attended since being here in Fairfax County. It was a fabulous event. Uh I have had a chance to visit a number of schools since last we met, and also uh see some different theater productions. I see I've seen Grease at Langley High School and Sound of Music at Justice, and um The Play That Goes Wrong at Centreville High School. And I have to say, I don't know that I followed everything in The Play That Goes Wrong cuz so many things went wrong, but um it was really quite well done. Um I also uh had a lot of fun

199with uh the Taste of FCPS, and then I got to throw out the first pitch um at the opening day for the Great Falls Little League, and uh really excited to see so many young people out playing baseball and softball, and so many families out. So, let's have a great week, and it's going to be May very soon. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Reed. Agenda item 13, board matters. Next on the agenda is board matters. I'll call on each school board member to speak. Mr. Moon to kick us off. >> Thank you, Madam Chair. I I am not going to mention all those events and events and activities that I have attended, except for one something. I was able to share with Mr. Frishberg this evening as last week I was at ACE

200advisory committee meeting. It was relatively short meeting, which gave me an opportunity to make a visit into a one of GED classes at the Plum Center. And I was able to enjoy uh that Algebra 1 Algebra 1 level in a class right there. I thought that I was very good with my math and physics. However, in that Algebra 1 class, there was a something new I learned for the first time, and I'm going to share that with you some other time, not tonight, not tonight, but what I enjoyed the most was conversation after the class I had with three students on the way out. Two students been in this country for One student was 25 years, one of the students 20 years. Third student, one and a half. They were all pursuing high school degree.

201For those 25 and 20 years of living in the US, that's their lifetime dream to finish their education. I was just so proud of the fact that FCPS, our school system, is providing these opportunities to these grown-ups who are our community members who may be some of our parents. And I want to thank my colleagues supporting a program like this. >> Thank you, Mr. Dannon. >> Thank you. Um it this is I've just passed a a month and 4 days on the board and um I I I want us to start by by thanking everybody for all of the the time and wisdom, um guidance, um uh the these last uh several weeks. It's been very helpful. I've I've gathered up a lot of information and continue to learn and I appreciate um their their

202grace and patience as I keep asking questions, but it's very helpful. Um I had the chance to do a number of really great school visits uh the last few weeks. Um I helped overcome my fear of snakes and how they're really big fat snake that had just eaten a a rat apparently um at the Terra Centre Fun Fair and she's very very kind and apparently they're just like dogs. You could so um thank you to the to the folks who did that. Um I also had the chance to welcome a family of um uh I'll talk about this at the end. Uh I want a couple of calls to PTAs. This is the time of year uh if you're a parent, this is the time of year where PTAs are desperately looking for people to

203join as an officer, as a committee chair and I would say people are we're always like, "Well, I'll help, but I I don't want to lead it lead it. Lead it and run with it, own it. You'll get to do these bouncy events with your friends. Um there's really nothing more that goes into leading one of these things than being on the committee. And so if you're considering um leading a uh a PTA or serving as an officer, please uh you know, jump in and do it. Um I also appreciated um my new bandmate um Miss uh Miss Anderson. Um we got to visit Mr. Jay's, uh, classroom and play the cello and, uh, the kids were amazing. And that was one of the coolest classrooms I've been in. So, shout out to Mr. Jay.

204Um, when I was at White Oaks, I also got to meet with one of their, um, Watch Dogs volunteers. If you've never heard of this program, it's dads of great students. Um, and Mr. Dowds and the wonderful White Oaks team has been working to launch it there. And, uh, you basically get a get a dad or father figure to come in and volunteer. And it's very structured and I I really appreciate that, um, because, you know, they are just standing around the hallways. They give you a very good itinerary. Like, we need help here, we need help here, we need help here. And it is your your time is well spent there. So, um, you know, please again consider doing that if, um, if your school offers it. Um, I also got to observe the

205new Benchmark, uh, language arts curriculum, um, in action and I got to talk with, uh, some educators about ways to improve this. And the last thing I'll share is I I got to meet, um, families of rising kindergarteners. And, um, it was really special because I was reminded standing there that it was just a few years ago I was there. And it it's hard doing this job when you have young kids, but I recognize it's important to to represent those views. And so, um, if my kids are home watching at night, I'll I'll try to be home soon. I'll wrap this up quick. But, um, I was reminded of a couple years ago sitting in that same cafeteria and, um, my daughter was one of the ones that was terrified to go up and join

206the, uh, her her age mates as they went up to the classroom for 20 minutes. And I think about her today, so bubbly and happy and she's learning so much and advancing so much. And it's to all the wonderful work and the credit of the teachers and the staff every day doing that. So, I want to thank you and and welcome all of our new, uh, kindergarten parents. >> Thank you. Um, Ms. Dixit. >> So, I'll start off with, uh, congratulating the ninth FCPS student who awarded the 2026 corporate sponsors scholarship with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Out of the 244 students from 18 Fairfax County public school were amongst the finalists. Congratulations to Sean Kim of Centreville High School computer engineering track for being awarded national merit FTS intern international LLC scholarship. I recently

207last week attended the 2026 special education family conference with my colleagues and and it was a really powerful reminder that when families and school collaborate students achieve their full potential. Dr. Shelly Moore eloquently stated that the conclusion is not about any uniformity, it's about fostering a sense of belonging. And her stories, she's a great storyteller. I really enjoyed it. I got I felt very in the moment, present in the moment. But sometimes I felt like I was sitting in the room with her even though she was virtual that day. Um so in the in the I I kind of see that what she said about bats and um unicorns that we need more unicorns to welcome our our uh make the world a better place for our bats. Uh the Taste of FCPS Dr. Reid

208mentioned that. I was there at the event, too. And really we have really great um interesting food coming out. I met the the chef Sean and other team members. And I I feel like we are making more and more like better foods for our our students, healthier option. And I ate a quite a bit of that and I was very full after I left. So um I also attended the GMU National Northern Virginia Science and engineering fair with uh Miss Anderson. And uh it was uh for K8 students and there were hundreds of hundreds of students were there. And uh there were a lot of uh students, high school students from FCPS who were speaking out there and telling their experience about innovation and and and science fair competition, they want to give back and

209uh I had a pleasure of meeting a young Oakton High School senior there and she wants to give back to now other students who are competing in this in this science science fair. The key topic she mentioned was is be consistent, don't change your topic every year. I also attended the FCPS student leadership development program mock forum which was student leaders presented their topics and reached consensus on three priorities and then passing the motions moved to move them forward. These ideas will be taken into consideration in our policy work. Uh we're looking forward to Sully District 35th birthday celebration which will happen in the Sully Government Center next Saturday. Uh I don't know it's next yeah May 2nd from 11:00 to 2:00 p.m. If you are interested, please join and there'll be some county free

210shuttle buses will be provided. Thank you so much. Goodnight. >> Miss Seante Cunningham. So it's been a busy month and I really can't, you know, put all the school visits that I've done. I'll just note some of the activities we've been doing. I was really lucky to join Supervisor Lusk and his team for the Franconia Budget Town Hall uh meeting um and I really want to share my appreciation to Christina Jackson, the Fairfax County Chief Financial Officer, and our very own Lee Burden, our FCPS Chief Financial Officer, for sharing their insights and help deepen our understanding of the budget process. Um this I was fortunate to attend two ribbon cuttings in Franconia. First, the new Franconia District Government Center is open. This new center includes a regional library, daycare center, and is a beautiful and

211welcoming space with meeting rooms and multiple county services in one place, making it easier for residents to get support. I really invite people to go out and look at it. It's really an amazing space. I was also really excited to attend the Mount Vernon Park Mount Vernon Woods Park opening this past Saturday where I was able to tour all the new park features, walking trails, playground, basketball court, soccer field, and skate park. And there were community partners that came to support the event with free skateboarding and soccer lessons. The important thing about this park is it was going to be torn down. The community and students got together and said, "Please save our park." I worked at Mount Vernon Woods before I took this job, and to see this come to fruition for the community

212is amazing. I was invited to speak at the Greensbur- Green Springs community about sharing lessons of what I've learned since becoming a school board member, and I told them, "I am still learning." So, it's always energizing to talk to this group because they are so accomplished and have so much wisdom. Uh I in the mock school board forum, uh in our student leadership development program. I really want to congratulate Nuch- uh Showstack, uh the Franconia District student representative, for his leadership in advancing the student general assembly forum topic. I am really, really proud of him. He put a lot of work into that. Yesterday, I began my day with an interview by students at the Lewis Lancer Media Club. I was really impressed with how poised and thoughtful their questions were. Um I ended my

213day yesterday by joining Dr. Reed in her community conversations tour that was hosted at Crestwood Elementary by Principal Casablanca. We were joined by Lewis Centreville Principal uh Matthew Johnson and Supervisor Lusk, along with teachers, parents, and community members for what was a very lively and informative discussion with some really interesting topics that were brought up. Uh I have enough time to also uh uh focus on one event that we went to that I didn't get to mention last time, which was the Lewis Legislative um program. I was joined by several my school board members, and it was just really exciting to to meet with the kids and talk to them and uh our board of supervisors were there, members from our uh delegates were there, representatives and delegates. It was really fun. So, with that,

214I will say buenas noches. Mr. McElveen. >> Thank you. So, uh the benefit of coming after everyone is that everything has been said, but I will say that um I too enjoyed uh All County Chorus this year, and I understand a Friday letter topic will be coming to us tomorrow about uh how we can ensure that it is indeed an All County Chorus and not a 3/4 County Chorus. Um and then, I do also want to congratulate our our um student colleagues on their three forum topics, and just to share them all in one place, uh we did have the the one on restructuring the Student Advisory Council, um as well as uh bringing menstrual health education to third graders, uh and finally, uh protecting student journalists. Uh so, all very important topics, all of

215which really uh this board is um very interested in and in discussing. So, look forward to further conversation. >> Ms. Meron. So, I'm really getting ready for the big decisions that are coming before us. Like, I have this appetite to be ready to act and to put clarity into place. So, we've got Skyview, the community conversations are beginning. I'm really eager to attend them, and you know, really thinking about how to honor our policies, how to make sure we're clear about transportation and the phasing, and you know, I have asked staff um in the pre-meeting, um I'm one of the meeting managers, to have you know, ask the superintendent to come to the ultimate presentation with the proposals. We just really can't have it go down the way it did with the comprehensive boundary where

216there's a lot of confusion and back-and-forth. Like, tell us what the options are and then, you know, we will be ready to decide. Um, I'm also very, uh, passionate, interested about, you know, continuing to try to balance access of technology and the overuse of it. It was wonderful to see so many parents and kids and families here. You know, Arlington has a two-year plan on how to phase in appropriate device use. Los Angeles school board is looking at removing devices, the one-to-one constantly with young kids. If we want to lead, we have to make decisions on what we're going to do. So, um, the resolution tonight, thank you, Mr. McElveen, was a wonderful place to start. Now, how do we invest in action in that statement? Um, we must have the digital literacy leading the

217way. And, um, you know, choices are hard. Middle school after-school programs. You know, what can we do to make the least worst choice? Where can we find funds to keep that program going because it's very clear that it has been put on our laps and we either save it or we don't. Um, so, I've got some cool things ahead. I'm actually, uh, headed on Saturday, well, right here in Tysons to the American Mothers Conference. So, American Mothers is an organization started during Eleanor Roosevelt's, um, time in the White House and it was a time when, you know, the country needed everyone to step up and so an organization was created to help mothers and, uh, to join a friend of mine, Renee Brown, just restarted the Virginia chapter. There was no Virginia chapter, it had

218gone dormant. And she has actually been named the Virginia Mother of the Year. It could be the National Mother of the Year. Um, but so, I'll be speaking about, uh, raising our kids in an AI world. And, um, I just want to mention musical season. Oh my gosh, I already saw Beauty and the Beast at the middle school. Zombie Prom on Friday at Madison. Um, and I am going, I will say, with my daughter to go see the ultimate musical, Bruno Mars. Uh next weekend when he's in town. So, got to celebrate with music. Mr. Frisch. >> Is he at Madison High School? All right. Yeah. Uh in honor of administrative support professionals month, I want to take a moment to recognize the and thank Ellen and Eric uh for the extraordinary work they do

219in our Providence District School Board office. Um their dedication, attention to detail, uh and steady support help ensure that our office runs smoothly and effectively, uh and that we remain responsive to the needs of our students, families, and educators. So, I'm deeply grateful for their continued help and commitment to our community. Um and I mentioned earlier that I was at Luther Jackson uh just last week um observing an eighth-grade algebra class with Principal Sherrill and math boss Miss Exner. So, very much enjoyed that opportunity. Um and I also attended the Providence District Earth Day celebration and was so inspired by um a booth from the Merrifield Garden Center that I replanted my entire front yard with native plants. Um we'll see how they survive. Um and uh yesterday I attended the Oakton High School principal

220um community selection and community meeting. So, we're looking forward to making progress on that front. Um and hearing from the community about the types of uh characteristics they want in their school's next leader. Um huge shoes to fill from principal former Principal Lane. Um but I'm sure we can find a wonderful candidate. Um and then uh I also met recently met with Providence District constituents to talk about educational technology and related issues. We had at Providence District PTA round table this week. Um it's been a long week, so it seemed like maybe a more than a week ago. So, a lot of busy activity in Providence District. Um and also looking forward to some upcoming shows and uh it was a bit jarring arriving at Luther Jackson today and finding um some legs with ruby

221slippers on them backstage um and remembering, "Oh yes, Wizard of Oz is the production this year at Luther Jackson." So, if you've not been to a Luther Jackson production, I strongly encourage you to attend. They are fantastic. Um and you will rightly be able to see those legs with ruby slippers where they belong under a house from a tornado. And I hope I didn't just spoil it for anybody. Um but I'm very much looking forward to that and some of the high school productions as well. So, with that, I hope everybody has a great evening. >> Dr. Anderson. >> Thank you. I think I'm going to start with all of the productions that are happening this weekend in the Mason District, and there's quite a bit, and I don't know how to clone myself to

222go to all of these. Um Annandale High School is going to be presenting A Midsummer Night's Dream. Falls Church High School in their newly renovated theater is going to be presenting um Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Glasgow Middle School, Beetlejuice Junior is also happening this weekend. Po, Peter Pan Junior. And of course, there'll be more in the coming weeks including what is happening here at Luther Jackson that we get to see every other Thursday, which is The Wizard of Oz. Um and Woodson High School is going to be having Sweeney Todd very soon. So, those performances are wonderful. Our kids are amazing, and I'm looking forward to it. Um I do want to say thank you to um Erve um Vark Varkonyi, who is a CT the CTEAC um C-TAC chair for inviting me to

223a visit to Annandale High School just last week. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about all of our programs from culinary to business and have our students take us around. It really amazing to to better understand those programs to be better advocates for them. Also want to thank Dr. Hughton who is the PTSA president at Edison High School for inviting myself and um Ms. St. John Cunning was also there this just this this this week. Oh, yes. This Tuesday to to talk to the PTSA just to discuss all of the hot topics that are going on in our division spanning from budget to boundary. And also reminder to the Bren Mar Park community as well as Edison that the boundary conversation is tomorrow at Edison High School at 6:00 p.m. So, please be

224sure to attend. Um I have a slew of student congratulations. So, hopefully I can get through a lot of them in due order. Um but firstly, I'd like to start with Zoe um Lie Gary who is from Annandale High School and she is the co-editor-in-chief for the A-Blast. She has been recently named as the VHS VHSL journalist of the year. It's a super big deal. She's published nearly 75 stories over 3 years. And some of them on professional website and have covered a wide range of topics. We're very proud of your accomplishment and congratulations. Um we also have 52 Mason District students and I'm about to list every single one of their names um who were recognized at the recent regional science and engineering fair. Um they're coming from all of our schools Annandale, Falls

225Church, Justice, TJ, and Woodson. So, congratulations to that group. I also want to um give a special shout-out to the Mason District students who are identified for National Merit finalists. If you remember Dr. Reed, your first year here, I I talked to you about the number that we had from Mason District and I don't know if you remember what that number was. It was zero. And then subsequently it was one and now it is three and I am going to take the time to highlight those children. Young people, not children. The young people, young scholars. Jayda Newen from Falls Church High School, Joey Park, Grace Soprano and Rulan Wang from TJ High School. Very, very, very proud of the work that you doing and there'll be lots more kudos in my newsletter coming out very

226soon. Thank you all and have a good night. >> Ms. Lady. >> Thank you. Excited to welcome back to FCPS Ms. Meredith Norris as the Westfield new principal. I had the pleasure of working with Meredith at Chantilly. Um and feel connected to her for a long time since her father taught me seventh grade health and PE. She is a Chapman for those of you that know the Chapman family. Many of them have worked in our system and they're great educators. So, very excited for Meredith to be back at Westfield. It's going to it's going to be great. Um also congratulations to the first wave of National Merit Scholarship winners for corporation scholarships, especially to Rishi Risha, excuse me, Risha Pillori of Langley High School, Nicholas Lee of McLean and Rachel Do of TJ. Uh been

227busy around Great Falls. I really enjoyed last Monday going to Herndon Elementary School's family science night. Uh it was fun to see the children all interacting and getting excited and uh it really you talk about mathletes, that's there were science leads there. I mean there was there were some kids that were just geeking out and it was just awesome. They were so excited. Also enjoyed the student leadership mock school board forum and uh, my Dranesville representative Geonna Fernandez, um, in her presentation on educating students on the misuse of AI. I need to teach you how to whip up votes. I forgot to do that before she got there. Uh, she was a finalist of the top five but didn't make the top three, but she did a fantastic job. I enjoyed being at Kent Gardens

228for plantings in the back of the property where the temporary classrooms used to be, um, through the Fairfax County R3 Revitalize, Restore, and Replant program. There's other elementary schools in Dranesville that have the, uh, pollinator gardens. That's Coates, Lemon Road, and Clearview. Um, also attended, uh, Herndon Middle School's futsal tournament. That's f u t s a l. It, aka, was like indoor soccer. Um, but it was a tournament between staff and students and I would say it was quite intense. I was glad I was in the stands, um, and not, uh, thinking I could actually get out there and compete with kids again. Um, also enjoyed attending the Herndon boys baseball versus Marshall game and it was very close. Um, unfortunately or fortunately, I have both schools, but it was at Herndon but they they

229fell to, um, Marshall, uh, 9-8 in that game. And then also managed to see a Herndon versus McLean soccer game. Um, going to be at Footloose tomorrow at Marshall High School if anyone wants to join me. Um, get up and dance. Enjoyed having in-depth conversations yesterday, last night, um, with stakeholders including McLean and Langley pyramid principals the Safe Community Coalition Community Leaders Collaboration. Had great conversations around student mental health, safety, strengthening community knowledge about available resources across the county and schools. Great brainstorming about ways in which they can continue to support our students, um, and families. And then thank you for the Dranesville community advocacy on proving the calendar in support of arts at all grade levels including middle school theater. Uh, government's committee is discussing both of these issues in our upcoming meetings. Next

230meeting is May 19th. And um that's it. Thanks. >> Thank you, Ms. Lady. I am not going to keep us too much longer cuz I know I'm always the the last. Um but I did want to follow in Mr. Fisher's lead and first thank my staff um who definitely keeps me headed in the right direction many, many times. Um and I would be lost without both Andrea and Stephanie. So I am deeply grateful for both of their help. But I in my unique position as chair, I also spend a lot of time in our school board office and I would specifically we mentioned our clerks and um deputies, but I would like to thank um Tiffany Shepherd who is our administrative aid, Jeremy Day our support tech one, and Desiree Wonderland who's been with our

231office for a really long time and is now our support tech two. And I really appreciate all the work that they do to keep us running in the right direction. So with that, at 10:25 p.m. we adjourn.