Hello Team FCPS!

I trust this note finds you having enjoyed a joyful summer holiday weekend. This warm and active season is so important in the rhythm of our lives.

Last Tuesday we had visitors from Seoul National University of Education. The Korean delegation visited several of our schools, along with our Region 1 Assistant Superintendent Douglas Tyson. I had an opportunity to meet with them as a part of their visit and learned about the work being done at the university in Seoul.  These global connections continue to be so important for all involved.  

Recently, Emily Owens, Chemistry teacher at TJHSST, shared that four of our FCPS schools traveled to Michigan State this summer to compete in the National Science Olympiad tournament – TJHSST, Langley HS, Longfellow MS and Cooper MS. All earned medals! (See Virginia Science Olympiad’s post on it here). Longfellow took 7^th overall!   As both an FCPS teacher and the state director for Virginia Science Olympiad, Emily shared. “I’m so excited for these teams and I’m also immensely excited for the initiative next year to have all Title 1 FCPS schools participate in Science Olympiad.”  We are looking to host a number of the tournaments in the fall and spring in FCPS schools and I can’t wait to attend one and cheer on our science competitors!!  

I wanted to share an update on our online tutoring offerings. Effective June 30 (in conjunction with the end of ESSER funding for school districts nationwide), we discontinued our contract with Tutor.com. Though we received positive feedback about this service, the participation rates haven’t been high enough to justify the cost.

Starting in school year 2024-25 we are replacing Tutor.com with Varsity Tutors. Varsity Tutors:

• Is available at no cost to families.
• Includes weekly live online classes, on demand 24/7 chat tutoring, essay editing, study resources such as recorded content, practice problems, and diagnostic tests.
• Is available in English and Spanish.

You can learn more on FCPS’ Varsity Tutors webpage or Varsity Tutor’s website. 

Other tutoring options at FCPS include Schoolhouse, a free online, peer-to-peer tutoring service for students aged 13 and older which was founded by Sal Khan of Khan Academy. We have also implemented a high impact tutoring program offered to identified students in grades 3-8 funded by the All in Virginia Tutoring Initiative. We are committed to continuing to provide an array of tutoring options for our students in order to support their academic success inside and outside of school hours!

Last week, I also met with Speech Language Pathologist Susanne Cook about a virtual reality app (called withVR) which allows users to practice communicating within various virtual reality scenarios and with customizable avatars. Though the scenarios are all virtual (via a headset), it’s interesting to note that users report experiencing real emotions and reactions (nervousness, anxiety, relief) during their sessions. While the app’s current focus is on speech therapy for fluency disorders such as stuttering and cluttering, it may also prove to be useful for students by providing opportunities to practice social interactions and communication skills. It’s an exciting time for public education, as emerging technologies help us reimagine how to best support our students. We have much to consider — the possibilities are endless!! 

On Tuesday evening I hosted a Community Conversation at Woodlawn Elementary School about our limited early release Mondays for elementary school students during the 2024-25 school year. Thank you to everyone who attended and participated — your questions, ideas, and feedback are critical to the initiative’s development and implementation (and evaluation!) processes.

We’ll keep communicating on this throughout the summer, and I’m looking forward to sharing updates from our Steering Committee (comprised of teachers, principals, central office staff, support and operational staff, and parents) who are supporting this work. The committee’s first set of priorities include topics raised during our feedback sessions. For more information, be sure to read through our Early Release Mondays webpage or please email [email protected].

And so, as you each experience this summer season, I encourage you to find some time to reconnect with nature – our national parks are a great way to do this.  John Muir famously shared; “In every walk with nature one receives far more than one seeks….When one tugs at a single thing in nature, one finds it attached to the rest of the world.”  I have often found this to be true and am spending as much free time as possible outdoors.  Wishing you an abundantly joyful summer week ahead.

Take good care,

Michelle Reid, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Fairfax County Public Schools