Superintendent's Weekly Reflections

Hello Team FCPS!

I continue to appreciate these summer days (though wishing they were a bit less warm ;>) I appreciate all those who supported a successful first week of summer school classes, camps, and events. This programming requires many Team FCPS members to successfully accomplish the goals for our students. I plan to share stories in the coming week of the many lessons being learned; this work matters.  With close to 35,000 students attending, there is a great deal of energy in our schools. Thank you!!

During the Superintendent Matters segment of Thursday’s School Board meeting, I spoke about recent and upcoming events throughout FCPS. I’d also like to extend my congratulations to the winners of FCPS’ 2024 Outstanding Employee Awards, as well as Colin Powell Elementary School’s Laura Senturia, who was named Washington Post's Teacher of the Year, who were recognized during the board meeting. As distinguished employees, whether instructional or operational, each of them has had a profound impact on our students, our division, and our community. This work matters!

This past Sunday I attended the 70th anniversary celebration for Luther Jackson Middle School, along with community members, the Luther P. Jackson Alumni Association, and the family of the school’s namesake, Dr. Luther Porter Jackson.  The picture below includes the current award winning principal, Ms. Raven Jones and members of the families of Dr. Jackson as well as the first principal, Taylor M. Williams. In speaking to honor this memorable milestone, I recalled comments made by Mr. Williams at the school’s dedication seventy years ago.  He described this school, first opened as a high school as a “monument and expression of the American idea” and the spirits of cooperation, appreciation, and hope for the future generation.” Go Tigers!!

Dr. Jackson was an educator and a civil rights activist that advocated for the eradication of the economic, educational, political, social barriers, and injustices endured by African American students in Virginia during the 1950s. The school was named in his honor to acknowledge his commitment to equity and inclusion in education — you can learn more about Dr. Jackson’s life and legacy in this video.  I love the theme of ‘bridging the past, present, and future.’  It was great to visit with the many alumni that joined us for the celebration. 

The 70th anniversary was both touching and inspiring, with so much student talent on display through performances, a live wax museum, and art showcase — a living testament to the ideals that Dr. Jackson advocated for. Go Tigers!!

Cortney Sisson is a strings teacher at Colvin Run Elementary School (she signs her emails with “Musically Yours,” I just love that!) who recently reached out to me to share a note ;>) of appreciation for Leslie DuPertius. Leslie has just retired this year, and Cortney says that the two of them “have been the band and strings teacher duo for Colvin Run ES since the school opened 21 years ago. Not only have we been coworkers but have become friends, navigating life’s ups and downs together. Not sure if there has been a longer band/strings teacher duo in Fairfax, but I am going to miss her very much but wish her well in the future!!!” Best of luck, Leslie!! And thank you, Cortney, for sharing… How wonderful to have coworkers we can also count as friends! Any other dynamic duos out there who can beat more than 21 years together?

Craig Day, Falls Church High School alum (Class of ‘77) and substitute teacher, recently sent an impressive poster of the books authored by his fellow wordsmith alums! Craig says he “cheers not just for his fellow alum-authors, but also for our teachers who sparked them. Just recently, the author of “The Cicada Spring” dedicated her book to her English teacher, Betsy Harris. Betsy said it felt like she won the Nobel Prize!” 

Thank you for the touching reminder of how our teachers can inspire us, inside and outside of the classroom, Craig! And so, Craig has also issued a friendly challenge for other schools to get a headcount of how many other authors we have throughout our division… What a novel ;>) idea, and a great way for all of us to round out our summer reads! 

Andrew Sheldon, Safe Routes to School specialist, has graciously provided another update on the Fairfax County Public Schools Puzzle Hunt! We’ve had many thousands of participants from all six of our regions, as you can see below. 

Each puzzle is a chance to strengthen critical thinking, logic, and wordplay skills while also spending time outdoors and staying academically engaged while school is out for the summer. One aspect that’s especially exciting is the opportunity for puzzlers to discover new areas and activities right in their own backyards! Here’s what a few puzzlers had to say:

• “My family was working on the region 4 puzzles today. We really enjoyed solving them and going around to the parks to find the clues.” -Carolyn H.
• “Loved this activity! Solved it without visiting all of the places, but the first puzzles helped me discover some cool places/activities I didn't know we had in Fairfax (i.e., Go Ape etc.), and helped me make my summer bucket list of local places to go. Walked, biked, picnic so far. Will definitely be utilizing splash pads, visiting nature centers and other child-friendly outings/activities as summer continues.” -Christina S.
• “We had so much fun! Played at the playground and the splash pad.” -Jessica B.
• “Today we discovered a new park thanks to the puzzle! My kids loved playing at the playground that was clue number 3 in region 4 for the Fairfax County puzzle. It said, "Laurel Hill Park” on the playground.” -Kristen G.

We have a few more weeks until the Puzzle Hunt ends on September 15… Happy puzzling!

Thank you to Beth Boivin from our HR Communications and Employee Programs team for sharing that last Thursday, 82 people attended the Virtual Special Education Teacher Information Session. The information session featured the various pathways to becoming a Special Education Teacher, the variety of special education positions, benefits, and many supports in FCPS.

Beth says that her team is “working to not only fill current special education vacancies, but to prepare people to become special education teachers in FCPS in the future! We are also still working hard to fill the remaining instructional vacancies for the upcoming school year, and we have two upcoming in-person instructional job fairs on July 23 at Glasgow MS and July 31 at Mount Vernon HS. FCPS will also participate in the Virtual NAACP National Convention Job Fair on July 16.”

Thank you to Beth and our HR team for their help in attracting world-class talent to Team FCPS! I encourage anyone who’s interested to attend one of the job fairs listed above. This work matters!!

Congratulations to Louis Yang (pictured below), a rising fifth grader at Stenwood Elementary School and winner of the National Championship in the Elementary Division of a Go competition recently held in Korea!

Go is a board game with 3,000 years of tradition. The aim is to capture more territory than your opponent by fencing off empty space. It was invented in China and is widely played in China, Korea, and Japan. There are more than 20 million active players around the world. Despite its relatively simple rules, Go is extremely complex. Compared to chess, Go has both a larger board (19X19) with more scope for play and, on average, many more alternatives to consider per move. Some key benefits of playing include improved memory and concentration, problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, critical thinking, discipline, and adaptability. It also teaches humility even when winning.

Louis shared this with me, "This experience was truly remarkable. I had the opportunity to enjoy playing Baduk with many friends while learning from them. This is something I realize every time I compete: when I set my mind to just do my best and have fun instead of trying only to win, I always end up with a satisfying result. Whether I win or lose, I learn a lot of things in the process. Baduk makes me comfortable and helps me feel a sense of accomplishment. Lastly, I hope that Baduk becomes more widespread, and more people enjoy this amazing game."  I am excited to explore the possibility to pilot “Go” at several of our schools in the future.  Stay tuned for more information on this.  So many possibilities…

Finally, as I think about the tragic events of this past weekend, I am reminded of the importance of community and the power of love as we connect with one another, relationships matter. While we may have different perspectives on a variety of topics and strong disagreements at times, we do not need to be disagreeable. Violence in any form, particularly political violence, has no place in our democracy. As we process these events and their impact on our future, I invite you to join me in being both prayerful and reflective. Our children and young people are watching… In Our House, we will resolutely stay in the light and we will remember that when we have a choice to be anything, we can choose to be kind. And so, I contemplate the thoughts from a favorite neighbor; “I’m very concerned that our society is much more concerned with information than wonder, in noise rather than silence. How do we encourage reflection? … Oh my, this is a noisy world.” — Mister Rogers.

Take good care,

Michelle Reid, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Fairfax County Public Schools