School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC)
Community Advisory Committee
Contact Us
School Board Liaison
Robyn Lady
Staff Liaison
Lea M. Skurpski, Director, Office of Operations and Strategic Planning, Department of Special Services
[email protected]
Committee Purpose
Va. Code §22.1-275.1—Each school board may establish a school health advisory board of no more than twenty members which shall consist of broad-based community representation including, but not limited to, parents, students, health professionals, educators, and others. The advisory board shall assist with the development of health policy in the school division and the evaluation of the status of school health, health education, the school environment, and health services.
Committee Charge
To address the broad range of challenges affecting student health identified by the Fairfax County Youth Survey, we suggest studying how the FCPS 2023 Strategic Plan can support technology and extracurricular activities for brain health with a focus on cognitive, emotional, and social skills. Incorporating neuroscience into the FCPS Strategic Plan can provide a comprehensive lens toward improving student outcomes. Reports of suicidal ideation among elementary students (see Appendix D) suggest the current challenges are becoming more severe without a dedicated focus over the next six years.
SHAC proposes researching the following topics to determine the impact of neuroscience on improving student outcomes:
Fostering brain health for all - students, families, and staff countywide
Enabling preventive support for developing and maintaining brain health
Identifying innovations to pilot and evaluate brain health initiatives with students
SHAC also would like to meet with student groups to obtain their feedback as to the best ways to build and nurture their brain development and growth. Questions for them may include, “What cognitive muscles are they concerned about?” and “How can school environments help and hinder who they are growing into?” SHAC would like to obtain student feedback on how technology, extracurricular activities, sleep, and stress management affect them. SHAC hopes that the data collected can be used to place FCPS at the forefront of holistic student development in the coming years.
FCPS Wellness Policy
Participation, Implementation, and Support of the FCPS Wellness Policy
The Fairfax County School Board will engage members of the school community and the general public to develop, assess, review and/or revise the FCPS Wellness Policy and Regulations. The School Health Advisory Committee will assess and review the Wellness Policy and Regulations to make recommendations to the School Board and serve as a vehicle for engaging the public.
- FCPS Health and Wellness Partnership Program
- FCPS Wellness Leadership
- FCPS Wellness Newsletter (Subscribe)
- FCPS Wins Award for Wellness Program from VSBA
Reports, Policies, and Regulations
Meetings
Meetings will be held at 7 p.m. in Conference Room 5055 at the Gatehouse Administration Center (8115 Gatehouse Road, Falls Church, VA). Parking is available on site in the parking garage at the Gatehouse Administration Center.
Agenda
Download the September Meeting Agenda
Location:
Superintendent’s Conference Room 5055
8115 Gatehouse Road
Falls Church, Virginia 22042
Minutes
Download the September Meeting Minutes
Voting Members Present | Voting Members | Non-Voting Members | Non-Voting Members | Guests |
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Call to Order meeting at 7:08 pm. Called to order by Lea Skurpski.
Public Comment
- No Public Comment
Welcome and Introductions of Committee Members
Co-Chairs from SY 23-24 (Kelly Fernandez and Robert Goldel) helped with the development of this evening’s tonight’s agenda as co-chairs had not yet been elected for SY24-25. Introductions among attendees.
Review of SY24-25 Committee Charge
Lea Skurpski reviewed the SHAC charge for SY 24-25 and shared how this will drive the work of the committee for this year. The charge was read into record for the group.
Election of SY24-25 Chair/Co-Chair
Lea Skurpski provided an explanation of how the committee functions according to Robert’s Rules of Order, voting and advisory roles, and how we plan to work together for this school year. The SHAC public webpage was shared as a resource for committee members and for the public.
Role of the Co-Chairs described by Lea Skurpski, Brenda Silvia-Torma, Ilana Yergin-Doniger, and Robert Goldel.
- Kelly Fernandez was nominated and declined.
- Jen Steiner was nominated and declined.
- Katie Moyer was nominated by Ilana Yergin-Doniger and seconded by Kelly Fernandez. Nomination accepted.
- Keena McAvoy nominated by Robert Goldel, second by Tuc Nguyen. Nomination accepted.
- Robert Goldel nominated by Tuc Nguyen, seconded by David Behar. Nomination accepted.
Ilana Yergin-Doniger shared nomination concerns related to SY23-24. Ilana then made a motion to elect Keena McAvoy and Katie Moyer as Co-Chairs for SY24-25. Motion seconded by Brenda Silvia-Torma. Keena McAvoy and Katie Moyer were elected as Co-Chairs; approved by a majority of 16 votes with three abstentions.
Approval of Prior Minutes- April and May 2024
Jen Steiner made a motion to approve the April minutes. Seconded by Brenda Silvia-Torma. The minutes were approved by a majority of 17 votes with one abstention.
Jen Steiner made a motion to approve the May minutes. Seconded by Ilana Yergin-Doniger. Motion passed with unanimous consent.
Approval of Meeting Schedule for SY24-25
The drafted meeting schedule was reviewed by the committee. Proposed dates included November 13, December 11, January 15, February 19, March 19, April 16 and May 21. The October 16 meeting was meeting was added to the proposed dates listed on the agenda.
Brenda Silvia-Torma made a motion to approve the dates listed with the exception of April 16 being changed to April 23. Kelly Fernandez seconded the motion. Motion passed with unanimous consent.
FCPS Updates
Wellness Reporting- SY2023-24 Wellness Reporting has been completed and is available for the public at https://www.fcps.edu/community-resources/mental-health-and-well-being/wellness-leadership/wellness-reporting. This includes reporting from each school in the division.
This year, FCPS also had to complete the 2021-2024 Triennial Wellness Assessment, as required by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The FCPS Triennial Wellness Assessment is available for the public at https://www.fcps.edu/system/files/forms/2024-06/wellness-triennial-assessment-21-24.pdf and from our Wellness Reporting webpage. This information will also be shared with the public in our upcoming Fall Wellness Newsletter in September.
Cell Phone Policy and Pilot Program Update-FCPS' cell phone expectations for students help foster engagement, learning, and positive social behavior in the classroom. The FCPS usage policy is available at: https://www.fcps.edu/cell-phone-policy.
Young people report that they have difficulty self-regulating their own technology use, even when it gets in the way of socializing, school or home obligations, or getting a good night's sleep. Educators and mental health professionals advise that students who don’t use their phones to communicate during the school day.
FCPS encourages families to talk to their student about the FCPS cell phone policy and support their student by:
- Contacting the school’s front office (rather than the student directly) if there is a family emergency.
- Only communicating about non-urgent matters before or after the school day.
- Waiting to respond to non-urgent texts from students until the school day is over.
The usage policies apply to all FCPS students, with the exception of schools participating in the school year 2024-25 cell phone storage pilot program. More information on the storage pilot program can be found here.
Pilot Program- Starting school year 2024-25, select middle and high schools at FCPS. The purpose of the pilot program is to create a more engaged learning environment for students, free of distraction from cell phones and social media. Studies show that students who use their cell phones during instructional time focus less, learn less, and achieve lower grades. More information is available at https://www.fcps.edu/cell-phone-storage.
Middle Schools- Middle school students will receive a locked storage pouch, called a Yondr pouch. The pouch is magnetic and stops students from using their phones, including for social media and text messages/phone calls. Each student is responsible for their own personal pouch and will bring it to school each day. Phones stay in the pouch for the entire school day.
Pilot Schools: Frost Middle School, Irving Middle School, Jackson Middle School, Poe Middle School, Robinson Middle School, Thoreau Middle School , Twain Middle School
High Schools- High school students will place their cell phones in central storage units located in each classroom during class time only.
Pilot Schools: Edison High School, Falls Church High School, Justice High School, Lewis High School, Madison High School, McLean High School, Robinson High School, Westfield High School
Members of the community may provide feedback on the cell phone policy at https://www.fcps.edu/submit-cell-phone-policy-feedback
New Business
Robert Goldel made a motion for a presentation by FCPS staff at October meeting on school wellness survey and youth survey information. Jen Steiner seconded the motion. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
The committee discussed the option for virtual meetings. It was share that new VA legislation passed in July 2024 allowing the option for additional virtual meetings, up to 50% of total meetings. A drafted policy will be shared with the committee during the October meeting for the committee to review and vote on.
Review of SHAC Members Survey Results
Robert Goldel reviewed the results of the SHAC Members survey.
Closing Remarks
Kelly Fernandez made a motion to adjourn. Brenda Silvia-Torma seconded the motion. Unanimously approved. Meeting adjourned at 9:01 pm following a motion of unanimous consent.
Location:
Superintendent’s Conference Room 5055
8115 Gatehouse Road
Falls Church, Virginia 22042
Agenda Item | Person(s) Responsible |
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Call to Order | All |
Public Comment | TBD |
Approval of prior minutes, September 18, 2024 | Keena McAvoy and Katie Moyer |
FCPS Updates | FCPS Staff |
SHAC Virtual Meeting Policy for SY24-25 | Committee |
FCPS Wellness Survey and Youth Survey Presentation |
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Committee Discussion:
| Committee |
New Business | Committee |
Closing | Keena McAvoy and Katie Moyer |
Meeting information will be posted here.
Meeting information will be posted here.
Meeting information will be posted here.
Meeting information will be posted here.
Meeting information will be posted here.
Meeting information will be posted here.
Meeting information will be posted here.
Time is set aside at each meeting for public comment and the committee looks forward to hearing from parents, educators, students, and the greater Fairfax County community.
Fairfax County and City residents who would like to make public comment may attend the meeting in person at the location indicated above or may submit a video or audio testimony in advance of the meeting by email to [email protected]. Please submit video or audio testimony by 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday evening prior to each meeting. A maximum of 5 slots are available, first come, first served. Video and audio testimony should not exceed 3 minutes in length.
2024-25 Membership
An asterisk (*) indicates voting members.
A double asterisk (**) indicates Associate members. Associate members are non-voting staff members that support the various offices identified as part of FCPS Wellness Leadership. Associate members serve in a consultative capacity to the committee and support the broad scope of the Student and Staff Wellness Policy and Regulation (P/R 2100).
School Board Member Representatives - Term Expires June 30, 2025
Keena McAvoy*, Co-Chair, At-Large – McElveen
Katie Moyer*, Co-Chair, Braddock District
Li-Hui Ueng*, At- Large – Moon
TBD*, At-Large - McDaniel
Robert Goldel*, Dranesville District
Mary Rogers Kirby*, Hunter Mill District
Jen Steiner*, Franconia District
Kelly Fernandez*, Mason District
Dave Behar*, Mount Vernon District
Liz Royal*, Providence District
Ilana Yergin-Doniger*, Springfield District
Marija Mladenovic*, Sully District
Alyssa Hughes*, Megan Sawant – Student Representative
Luke Han*, Megan Sawant – Student Representative
Brenda Silvia-Torma*, Fairfax City School Board
Cara Shirley*, Fairfax County Council of PTAs
Brian Hochstrasser*, Fairfax County Health Department
Dr. Tuc Nguyen*, Medical Society of Northern Virginia
Kevin Greata*, HSPA (High School Principal) Representative
Ann Manderfield Smith*, MSPA (Middle School Principal) Representative
Jessica Peterson*, FAESP (Elementary School Principal) Representative
Robyn Lady**, School Board Member
Lea Skurpski**, Director, Office of Operations and Strategic Planning, Department of Special Services
Dr. Terri Edmunds-Heard**, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Special Services
Bethany Demers**, Educational Specialist, Department of Special Services
Carrie Reynolds**, Senior Manager II, Instructional Services Department, Department of Special Services
Saray Hanson**, Special Projects Administrator, Department of Special Services
TBD**, Department of Human Resources
TBD**, Department of Food and Nutritional Services