Our Work

We built on existing expertise by inviting all 198 Fairfax County Public Schools Principals to one-on-one meetings to learn more about each of our schools' unique strengths and needs, connecting with them one-by-one.

We secured funding for essential programs and supports like Social Emotional Learning resources, ESOL Summer Schooling, and more school social workers, psychologists, and counselors.

We supported student organizing and advocacy to prioritize lower-income families and consolidate a county-wide database of resources and supports through the initiative ASAP: Advancing Student Accessibility Project.

We put an end to the racist legacy of Confederate-named schools in our community by renaming Robert E. Lee High School and Mosby Woods Elementary School to John R. Lewis High School and Mosaic Elementary School, respectively.

We also moved to formally recognize religious and cultural holiday observances, Indigenous People’s Day, and Juneteenth.

We revised our Students Rights and Responsibilities policies to increase transparency in discipline reporting.

We engaged with the Instructional Services Department to undergo an anti-bias and anti-racist review and update of our current curriculum and resources.

We secured funding to replace teacher laptops and to provide new laptops for all third, fourth, and fifth graders. In March 2020, we ensured all middle and high school students had the technology they needed to support their virtual learning.

We advocated to both the Virginia General Assembly and the U.S. Congress about prioritizing Environmental Sustainability projects, Early Childhood Education policy, and English Language Learner programming. More information can be found here: FCPS legislative advocacy

We moved to pass an “opt-out” model of assessing students for admission to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, thereby increasing opportunity for all students with passions in STEM. We also moved the screening process from central office to schools to enhance access.

We eliminated the disciplinary use of seclusion in all our schools and we committed to implementing positive behavioral interventions and support strategies to prevent the need for the use of physical restraint.

We reviewed our Advanced Academic Placement admissions procedures to ensure opportunity and access for all of our diverse students. We brought forth a motion to adopt national best practices.

We formed a student climate justice working group and partnered with curriculum staff to bring forth ideas that would transform environmental curriculum locally.

We voted to move forward with a solar program. This will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions & electricity costs. We continue to advocate for expansions on the state level.

We shifted the community conversation by exposing budget deficiencies in best practice staffing ratios for school psychologists, school nurses, social workers, reading/math specialists, parent liaisons, and counselors. More work in this area is needed and continues.

We assembled a mental health working group of high school students from across the county. After months of research and collaboration with staff, we secured a division commitment to incorporate tele-mental health plans in the budget. See slide 16 of the 2022 Budget Priorities.

We organized a coalition of faith and community partners to advance, for the first time ever in Fairfax County history, a calendar that reflects the diverse needs of our community. This calendar included enhanced academic days, professional development and planning time for staff, as well as new holidays like Eid, Yom Kippur, Diwali, and Veterans Day. It also included Observance "O" days to avoid any major activities or lectures on other community holidays.

We advocated to modify the pending Trust Policy to ensure undocumented families are protected and not misled into a false sense of security before our system is ready. We also worked as a team to enact Middle School recess.

We ensured the inclusion and use of student success data on both achievement and mental health within our COVID response accountability metrics, demanding inclusion of a fourth factor in staff planning.

We worked with the Auditor General to enhance accountability, oversight, and fiscal responsibility around federal COVID relief dollars by initiating an audit of ESSER money disbursed at the school level. This will continue for the months ahead.

As part of negotiations to reach compromise in work of the Public Engagement Committee, we introduced bi-annual public hearings that allow community members to bring forth concerns about any topic without limits for the first time ever.

We brought forward a bold resolution Honoring Public Schools to insist that kids must come first. We made it clear that despite the political and personal attacks, we are committed to speaking up to defend all students, support our educators, and have all of their backs.

We made sure all of our school staff had appropriate religious accommodations and were able to take leave on religious/cultural observance days without burdensome procedures or supervisory discretion.

We heard the call from our bus drivers and put forth a motion to retroactively correct the disparity in their pay bonuses. We made the case for its importance in recruitment and retention amidst shortages and were recognized by educators and unions as the only ones to do so.

We partnered with staff and community to codify, for the first time ever, documentation of inclusive spaces in each of our schools to include prayer/reflection spaces, gender-neutral/single-use restrooms, sensory/deescalation spaces, and lactation rooms. See page 241 of the 2022 Capital Improvement Plan.

Through the Comprehensive Planning Development Committee and liaising with the Fairfax County Planning Commission, we worked with staff to redesign community outreach protocols to employ tools that ensure breadth and depth across languages, literacy, and disability/access levels on any divisionwide initiative in the future, starting with facilities decisions and the superintendent search.