Update - Distance Learning and the FCPS Budget

I hope your family had some time to enjoy the spring weather over the last week and took a little time out to celebrate spring break. For those of you who celebrated Passover or Easter, I hope your celebrations went well.  

Thank you again for all of your emails and questions as we navigate the impacts of COVID-19. At times I can feel the exhaustion and frustration and uncertainty coming through, and I want you to know you are being heard. All of your concerns and ideas are being funneled to staff for consideration as we move forward. School board members have a running list of questions from constituents, many of which have been answered and are available to see on the FCPS FAQ page.

I’ve been impressed with the town halls and virtual coffees held by our schools for parents and students. I have found listening in to be a great way to gather information and pass along questions and concerns to staff. Please make a point to participate if you can.

I am also impressed with the way our pyramid principals have been collaborating to work with families. The recent letter from the Langley pyramid principals said it well when talking about starting Distance Learning this week. The distance learning packets will continue to evolve as we move forward. The first packet was a very quick turnaround and is meant to cover review materials.

“Along with your ongoing support of this dynamic change in instruction, we ask that you remain flexible and understanding as we continue to evolve and gain traction with online teaching. Our teachers are learning alongside their students while trying to balance their commitments at home, and your presumption of positive intent during this time is greatly appreciated!  Collectively, we all care about our students’ growth and progress, and intend to continue to do our best to make learning meaningful, engaging, and fun!”

Our teachers are excited to get started on the 14^th and worked hard these past weeks during their training. I am sure many of you have heard from your student’s teachers already. Teachers and staff working with special education students received additional training, and here is a message for special education families.  

I want to hear how you are doing and help to answer any questions you have. I am collaborating with the at-large school board members to set up joint town halls in which you can participate. I also set up a Facebook page specifically for my school board work, so please like that page — https://www.facebook.com/DranesvilleFCPS/

Stay healthy in mind and body and please, stay safe!

Elaine

Upcoming Town Halls

April 16 -- Town Hall with Karen Keys-Gamarra and Elaine Tholen, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Guest link:  

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/64f2c6e0d29145aab82ae5485f387e84

Session dial-in:  Call in anonymously. Attendees using this PIN appear as anonymous callers in the session. 

April 20 -- Town Hall with Rachna Sizemore Heizer and Elaine Tholen, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Guest link:

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/36455c32ad5d49baacbaa70d88cfb187

Session dial-in:  Call in anonymously. Attendees using this PIN appear as anonymous callers in the session. 

April 29 -- Great Falls Citizen Association Meeting at 7:00 pm, Details coming soon

New FCPS and Fairfax County Budget News

On April 7, the County Executive put forward a new budget proposal given the economic uncertainties the pandemic has caused. This new budget proposal eliminates all proposed tax increases, and spending has been refocused on essential expenditures only. This eliminates any compensation increases. You can see the entire proposal here.

In response to this, Dr. Brabrand issued a new budget proposal for the schools in his presentation on April 9. This was presented to the school board at our second public virtual meeting. In addition to cuts in the county budget, FCPS is anticipating less state and federal funding. The exact impact of that and of possible incoming funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund are unknown at this point in time, but our budget staff is monitoring this daily.

The new FCPS budget mirrors the county strategy of focusing on keeping existing staff, eliminating compensation increases, and preserving our classroom and student focused supports. We are still focused on funding school needs for anticipated increased enrollment and increased needs for special education and English language learners. School Board members all expressed the need for continued and enhanced social/emotional supports for our students, staff, and families as we deal with distance learning and the stresses COVID-19 has put upon our families. Supporting everyone as we return to our school buildings will be imperative. I also expressed the need for continued focus on our enrollment and capacity numbers as we may see changes/shifts in enrollment as people move out of private schools, employment needs shift, and people move as our economy changes. Accurate numbers are needed as we make multi-million dollar decisions and hire staff to cover our classroom needs each year.

We are developing a new budget timeline with times for you to give input.  The schedule we have now can be found below.  Please watch our website for updates.

FCPS Budget Timeline

Distance Learning Packets (150,000 packets per week for $4M)

To support continued learning for students during this extraordinary time, FCPS is providing Learning Packets through FCPS 24-7 Blackboard and printed versions as one part of the distance learning plan. Families can expect learning packets to be mailed to their home and posted to FCPS 24-7 Learning.

If you plan to access the learning packets online by logging into FCPS 24-7 Blackboard, you can choose to go paperless and opt out of receiving the mailed copies. By opting out of the mailed learning packets, it will help FCPS save money on printing and mailing costs.

Families who opt out will be notified by email and will have the opportunity to opt back into receiving printed packets by following the instructions on the email.

To stop receiving the printed packets, you will need your student's FCPS student ID and the enrolling parent’s email address.

• The student ID can be found in your SIS ParentView account

• Yes, I want to go paperless:  Opt-out Form

Please expect to receive at least one additional printed learning packet after your request to go paperless is entered.

Week 2 packets will begin arriving on Saturday, April 11.  Families who do not receive their packets by Tuesday of each week should contact their child’s teacher or principal.

If your student has a temporary address during the school closure, please notify your school of the student’s temporary change of address. The School Registrar or Administrator can update the student mailing address. Schools will update the student mailing address only. After we return to school, the student mailing address will be changed back to match the home address. To receive previously sent packets, please email FCPSlearningpacket@fcps.edu and provide your student’s ID and address.

McLean High School Overcrowding Update

FCPS was ready to send a letter to all McLean and Langley HS pyramid families about the potential boundary change and other remedies for the overcrowding at McLean HS just as our schools closed due to COVID-19. An updated version will be going out to families soon. Please watch your email.

Some Really Good News

Langley High Students Win STEM Excellence Award

http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2020/apr/07/langley-high-students-win-stem-excellence-award/

Resources During COVID Closure

Wi-Fi Access

• All Fairfax County library locations have exterior wireless internet access. Access is in parking lots from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., seven days a week.
• FCPS Schools also have Wi-Fi Access in the parking lots for those who need it.

Please be mindful of social distancing requirements. Be sure to stand a minimum of 6 feet apart from others. Ideally, if you have a car, please remain in your car while accessing the Wi-Fi. Thank you for keeping us all safe.

Wellness Resources for You and Your Family

Maintaining your and your family's health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic is about more than just protecting against the virus. Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children.

30-Minute Phone Consults for Parents and Middle or High School Students

Any FCPS parent may schedule a 30-minute phone consultation with a school psychologist or school social worker, for either themselves or their middle or high school student. More information is here.

In case you didn’t see this in John Foust’s newsletter---The County has compiled a range of resources and information on a newly created Wellness Resources webpage: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/covid19/wellness-resources. 

This page includes resources for:

• Maintaining Youth Mental Health and Coping with Substance Use Issues 
• Keeping Your Loved Ones Safe 
• Adjusting to Telework 
• Adjusting to No School/Distance Learning 
• Maintaining Your Physical Health 
• Emergency Services and Hotlines
• It is important to practice self care, both physically (with social distancing) and emotionally. This new resource page strives to make that a bit easier.

Things to Do While Social Distancing 

Take Classes Online through the Library

If you have a Fairfax County library card, you have access to more than 500 courses online through Universal Class. Classes cover everything from math and science to parenting and "how to" projects. Learning Express is another library-supported resource that offers online test prep, career support, and other success-oriented resources for users.

Don't have a library card? No problem! Sign up for a card online now and have immediate access to this and all of the library's resources. You can finalize the application process later.

Learn to Code or Experiment at Home

Follow @FCPSSTEAM on Twitter for dozens of online and at-home projects for families who want to work on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. 

Engage Your Kids in Environmental Education and Projects

The Fairfax County Office of Energy and Environment offers kid-friendly environmental activities. Learn about the power of the sun with these fun experiments or learn more about water science and conservation.

Take a Virtual Vacation

This is the perfect time to explore places you have always wanted to visit from the comfort of your couch. Visit Fairfax offers virtual tours of sites across the D.C. region, including Mount Vernon, Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, Arlington Cemetery, and more.

Find Your Next Big Read—Fairfax County Public Library

Overdrive provides County library users with the ability to access hundreds of books and audiobooks for free without having to step foot in a physical library. Look online to see what's available and to learn how to use Libby and other apps to access materials on your phone or computer. Magazines are also available to read online.

Join a virtual book club or discussion group through the Fairfax County Public Library. Talk with others about what you are reading and meet authors virtually, too. Participate in Big Library Read, which connects readers around the world with the same eBook at the same time without any wait lists or holds.

All Fairfax County Public Library full-services locations are closed indefinitely. While branches are closed, wireless internet access is available from parking lots from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week.

Visit https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/unlimited for more information about library services while branches are closed and for answers to frequently asked questions.

The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.

© 2020 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia

E-mail: Elaine Tholen  |  Phone: 571-423-1087

Melanie Turpin, Executive Admin Assistant, 571-423-1070, maturpin@fcps.edu