The Falls Church School Board celebrated engaged parents, doubled down on anti-hate, and took a deep dive into the amazing results of ESOL growth rates. Plus, a two-term Board member announces his upcoming resignation.

Superintendent Peter Noonan presented a first look at the Fiscal Year 2024 FCCPS projected budget revenues, expenditures, and staff requests before the annual joint Budget Work Session of the School Board and City Council. Dr. Noonan says staff compensation will remain the key priority for the coming year. "We believe the best school division in Virginia should have the best-paid staff."

Falls Church School Board Considers Calendars, Start Times, and Enrollment Projections

During a combined Work Session and Regular Meeting for November, the Falls Church School Board took one more look at proposed school calendars for the coming two years before they come up for approval in December.  The Board also received a presentation on challenges the division would face if school day start times were pushed to later in the morning.  And with the annual budget-building work set to begin next month, the Board reviewed the latest Enrollment Projections from UVA's Weldon Cooper Center.

During the Falls Church School Board October Work Session, FCCPS Legislative Representative Lilla Wise, presented a draft of the school division's Legislative Priorities in preparation for the upcoming Virginia General Assembly session. Rebecca Sharp, Executive Director of Special Services, and nine FCCPS Special Services Support Staff provided a detailed review of the amazing array of Special Services provided to students at FCCPS. With the annual budget-building work on the horizon, Superintendent Peter Noonan reviewed the City & Schools Revenue Sharing approach and principals. The Board then discussed a response drafted by Board Member Dr. David Ortiz as the Board's public comment to the Virginia Department of Education's proposed 2022 Model Policies on the treatment of transgender and nonbinary students in public schools. The comment reiterates and expands on the position made in last month's Joint Statement of the Board and Superintendent on the matter that "we believe all students deserve a community that promotes inclusion and celebrates authenticity and assure you that FCCPS will maintain consistency with settled law and our adopted nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies."

The Board, on a 6-1 vote, finalized its months-long work of refining and tweaking its Policy CC - School Calendar, which establishes guidelines for building future academic calendars. The policy requires starting two weeks before Labor Day beginning next August and ending ideally no later than June 10, with most breaks scheduled around federal holidays. Fall, Winter, and Spring Breaks remain unchanged. Calendar adoption this December will include TWO academic years, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. In December 2023, the School Board will adopt a calendar for the 2025-2026 academic year and then continue to adopt one calendar annually, each December.

The Falls Church School Board received a much anticipated, detailed presentation on student performance data for the past academic year. Chief Academic Officer William Bates and Dr. Peter Weilenmann, Director of Assessment and Accountability, presented results in three buckets; International Baccalaureate, Standardized Assessments (SOLs), and Whole Child Data. There were lots to celebrate as well as opportunities for growth identified.

The Board also continued its months-long work of refining and tweaking its proposed Policy CC, establishing guidelines for building an academic calendar. The policy includes starting two weeks before Labor Day and ending no later than June 10, with most breaks scheduled around federal holidays.

The policy also calls on the Superintendent to adopt a regulation that instructs staff to refrain from scheduling exams and special events on religious holidays.

Look for an update to the draft Policy CC, including last night's tweaks, and a draft of the Superintendent's Regulation in the coming days. The School Board is scheduled to vote on Policy CC during its October 11 meeting. The Board continues to receive feedback from the community. You can email the School Board.

The Falls Church School Board approves the First Reading of a new policy that codifies the development of future school calendars.

In addition, the School Board received a presentation of results and analysis of the Employee Climate Survey administered last Spring. It also approved resolutions recognizing September as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and October as Falls Church City School Board Bullying Prevention Month.

On August 24, 2022, Falls Church City Public Schools Superintendent Peter Noonan hosted a Welcome Back to School webcast. He shared some exciting things happening this coming year and some considerations.

NOTE: Due to technical difficulties, the first 15 minutes of the meeting are not available.

During its August Work Session, the Falls Church School Board received the latest update on CDC and VDH Guidelines. In short, there will be no changes from the end of the previous school year.  No vaccination requirements for sports, nor distancing or masking rules as COVID becomes endemic.

The Board also continued its discussion of codifying the school calendar process, reviewed two sample calendars, and is expected to consider the First Reading of a new policy at its next meeting on September 13th.  If approved, comments on the draft will be received before final approval.

During its August Regular Meeting, the Falls Church School Board appointed Ms. Karim Daugherty as Principal of Oak Street Elementary.  The Board also continued its discussion of codifying the school calendar process. Board members appeared to settle on a two-week-before-Labor-Day start date beginning in 2023, but other issues remain unresolved, and public input is still being sought.

Editors Note: This meeting included a Closed Meeting and interruptions due to technical difficulties.  All have been edited out of this to provide the listener with a seamless experience.  No meeting content or discussions were removed.