Saturday, April 20, 2013
Schools attended by Oakton students among top feeders for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology's Class of 2017.
Three area middle schools that draw from Oakton's attendance area are sending a number of students to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology next year. More than 80 of the 480 students accepted to TJHSST's Class of 2017 are from schools Oakton students attend, according to data from Fairax County Public Schools: Carson, Thoreau and Jackson Middle Schools. It's not clear which of those accepted live in Oakton versus other parts of the schools' attendance areas. Carson Middle School had the most students accepted, a total of 64, for the class of 2017. Longfellow Middle School in Falls Church and Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly each had 55 students accepted. Luther Jackson Middle School had 15 students accepted, while …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Superintendent from Lubbock, Texas will step in as leader of Fairfax County Public Schools on July 1.
Karen Garza was officially appointed Thursday as the next superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools. Garza, currently the superintendent of the Lubbock Independent School District in Texas, will start July 1. The school board approved Thursday a four-year contract for Garza, through June 30, 2017. Read: New Fairfax Superintendent: 'I Am A Constant Learner' In remarks after the unanimous vote, Garza said her primary focus will be on teaching and learning, "for that is our core work." "To our stakeholders, our employees, our parents and our business and community partners, I pledge to be responsive and accountable to all Fairfax County schools stakeholders," she said. Garza also said she planned to be "very visible," noting the best …
Fairfax County Public Schools new leader says she'll focus on teaching and learning as she succeeds Superintendent Jack Dale, who retires June 30.
In her first public appearance in Fairfax County, incoming superintendent Karen Garza said her focus would be on teaching and learning and responding to students and their needs — a philosophy she intends to continue if she begins work here this summer. At a press briefing late Thursday afternoon, she said she'd seek input from a wide range of stakeholders when approaching difficult situations. "I think every decision you make and every challenge that you face, having various voices included in those solutions ... makes for a much better decision," she said. Garza, currently the superintendent of the Lubbock Independent School District in Texas, was officially appointed the next leader of Fairfax County Public Schools at the school board's…
Monday, April 15, 2013
Seventy-six percent of applicants were from Fairfax County.
Students admitted this year to one of the country's most prestigious high schools — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County — will predominantly be Asian and male, according to statistics released Friday by Fairfax County Public Schools. A total of 480 new students will comprise the class of 2017 at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST). Students residing in Fairfax County, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William counties and the City of Falls Church were offered admission to the governor’s school this week, according to a news release from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). Of the 3,121 students who applied, 76 percent are from Fairfax County, with the remaining 24 percent …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Fairfax County School Board, community members, share hopes for Karen Garza, likely the system's next superintendent.
Hours after Fairfax County Public Schools announced Karen Garza would likely become its next superintendent, school board leaders and other stakeholders spoke to the number of "unique qualities" they looked forward to seeing at the head of the system — chief among them, her ability to work collaboratively to find solutions. In a county that's home to a "highly demanding community and high expectations and different groups with strong voices who are not shy about expressing their opinions," that's an incredibly coveted trait, school board chair Ilryong Moon told Patch. "It's good to have a superintendent who believes in collaborating with a wide number of groups and does it well," Moon said, noting the former elementary school teacher was …
Karen Garza, currently a superintendent in Texas, will likely become the next leader of Fairfax County Public Schools.
A "strategic planner, a systems thinker, a stellar manager, and a highly effective communicator" is how the Fairfax County School Board described Karen Garza, the Texas superintendent leaders announced as their preferred candidate for superintendent Wednesday. Garza, who for the past four years has led the 30,000-student district of Lubbock, Texas, will assume the role pending final negotiations and a board site visit to the Lubbock Independent School District (ISD). She will become the system's first female superintendent as she takes the place of current Superintendent Jack Dale, who retires June 30. Garza was selected from 47 applicants for the position, and came out ahead of the 18 other candidates who were interviewed largely because…
School board asks Fairfax County supervisors for more money Tuesday to deal with growing pains and teacher pay.
Fairfax County Executive Ed Long has recommended giving the county's school system a 2 percent increase in funding over the transfer it received last year. But at Tuesday night’s public hearing on the county’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan, schools officials and advocates said it still wasn't enough. Fairfax County School Board Chairman Ilryong Moon kicked off the first day of public input on County Executive Ed Long’s proposed $7 billion budget plan, asking the Board of Supervisors for a higher transfer to the school system. Long’s budget, which raises real estate taxes and cuts funds to parks, libraries and some other services, provides the school system with $1.72 billion – approximately $62 million less than the school board was hoping …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Debate heats up as school board weighs community and staff recommendations before coming school year.
Two weeks after a community committee detailed 52 recommendations to overhaul discipline practices systemwide, Fairfax County Public Schools staff has presented its own proposal for policy changes. But the plan leaves out two programs some see as key to a years-long push for reform — sparking a debate Monday on what role both groups would play in how the system moves forward. Staff leaders backed many of the ideas put forward by the 40-member Ad Hoc Community Committee on Student Rights and Responsibilities, including initiatives to make the discipline handbook easier to understand, keep students in school as they appeal a suspension and give principals tiered, age-specific approaches to a range of offenses. But staff members said they …
Monday, April 8, 2013
School board agrees on a number of measures to re-evaluate teacher workday, but associations say teachers "need relief now."
Fairfax County School Board members agreed Monday on four initiatives to address the system's years-long teacher workload issue, including the creation of a committee charged with returning to the board with recommendations on reducing teacher time demands by the end of the month. But the board did not agree on specific actions to relieve teachers in the short term, as teachers associations and some school board members had hoped. More analysis and discussions, they said, are "not enough" — and continuing for much longer without concrete action will begin to impact student achievement, if it hasn't already, they said. "I'm not happy. ... This has been the No.1 issue in my tenure," Michael Hairston said of his time as president of the …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Results of survey, which runs through April 12, will be used in Virginia's efficiency review of the system.
If you've ever had feedback on Fairfax County Public Schools operations or organizational decisions, the time to give it is now. A survey designed by Gibson Consulting, Inc. is giving residents, parents, community groups and educators alike a chance to weigh in on a wide range of issues, from whether the system is up to date on technology and if it has safe bus stops to if the community is adequately involved in the school board's decisions and whether leaders spend money appropriately. The survey is open through April 12. The online questionnaire is part of the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget's School Efficiency Review Program, which assesses efficiencies and potential savings in school systems across the state each year. The …
Anoneemous
9:42 pm on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Now, to finish off this unproductive exchange of views, let me ask anyone: Why don't blacks and hispanics compete intellectually even after Fairfax County's meaningful attempts to groom pre-high school hispanic and black students? What causes this continuos lack of intellectual achievement? I am not making a statement, but asking two fair questions. more ›