Fairfax Co. teacher arrested after police say search of her home turns up child pornography

A middle school teacher from Springfield, Virginia, is under arrest after police said a search of her apartment turned up child pornography.

Fairfax County police said the investigation into Kristine Knizner, 28, began on Tuesday, with a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children...

 https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/05/fairfax-co-teacher-arrested-after-police-say-search-of-her-home-turns-up-child-pornography/

Fairfax Co. bus driver, attendant charged with felony neglect after 3-year-old suffers head injury

A Fairfax County Public Schools bus driver and an attendant were arrested and charged last week with felony child neglect after a special needs student suffered a severe head injury, according to Vienna Police.

Authorities said Vienna officers responded to a school bus stop on March 18 for an argument between an FCPS bus driver and a child’s parent after the child had been injured on the bus riding home from school...

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/05/fairfax-co-bus-driver-attendant-charged-with-felony-neglect-after-3-year-old-suffers-head-injury/

Finalist for Fairfax Co. Public Schools superintendent withdraws

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/04/finalist-for-fairfax-co-public-schools-superintendent-withdraws/?fbclid=IwAR1QERFFz_KUb_d9zvocGBUnmzG0wBLX6gSRRV2oAtTeS_2swr5JiAgzlMc 

Recess expected to come to all Fairfax Co. middle schools next year

Virginia’s largest school system is expected to approve a daily recess requirement for middle school students that would go into effect next school year. The Fairfax County, Virginia, school board pushed a final vote on the measure to next month, but Superintendent Scott Brabrand said middle school principals are already working on how to incorporate the short recess period into daily schedules. The proposed changes to the student and staff health and wellness policy would require recess for both elementary and middle school students. Supervised recess would be offered to middle school students every day for 15 minutes and to elementary school students in two separate 15-minute segments “as practicable.”..

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/03/recess-expected-to-come-to-all-fairfax-co-middle-schools-next-year/?fbclid=iwar3g7lvbmlsdseewrgwgonjmpfxgelavihaliyh7doaooocqcaccyz4sv9w

Fairfax County School Board files appeal to ruling over Thomas Jefferson High School admissions policy

A U.S. district judge ruled the overhauled admissions process for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against Asian students.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Fairfax County School Board has filed an appeal to challenge a ruling that would prevent the school district from implementing a current admissions process at one of the most prestigious and competitive high schools. 

U.S. District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton recently ruled the admissions policy, which took effect in December 2020 following an equity review, for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology discriminates against Asian American students. 

He also denied a request from the board for a temporary stay of order to allow the application process from thousands of students for the Class of 2026 to continue without any disruptions. 

Hilton said it "does not treat all applications to TJ equally." The decision also read "Asian American students are disproportionately harmed" and "disproportionately deprived of a level playing field."..

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/virginia/fairfax-county-school-board-appealing-ruling-over-tj-high-school-admissions-policy/65-9916b9b9-e3e1-4f96-97b0-9b44ad58fd18?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

The Federal Government Gave Billions to America’s Schools for COVID-19 Relief. Where Did the Money Go?

The Education Department’s limited tracking of $190 billion in pandemic support funds sent to schools has left officials in the dark about how effective the aid has been in helping students.

After the pandemic shut down schools across the country, the federal government provided about $190 billion in aid to help them reopen and respond to the effects of the pandemic. In the year and a half since millions of children were sent home, the Education Department has done only limited tracking of how the money has been spent. That has left officials in Washington largely in the dark about how effective the aid has been in helping students, especially those whose schools and communities were among the hardest hit by the pandemic.

“We’ve been in the pandemic now for nearly a year and a half,” said Anne Hyslop, the director of policy development at the education advocacy group Alliance for Excellent Education. “There is a responsibility to the public to make sure the funds are spent responsibly, but also make sure that the funding that is spent is accountable to supporting students and educators.”..

...In January 2021, the federal education department opened up an investigation into Fairfax schools because of “disturbing reports involving the district’s provision of educational services to children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Asked on Tuesday about the status of the Fairfax investigation, the Education Department's press office did not have that information readily available...

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-federal-government-gave-billions-to-americas-schools-for-covid-19-relief-where-did-the-money-go

Fairfax Co. students offered livestream learning during COVID-19 quarantine

Students in Fairfax County, Virginia, public schools who are quarantined or isolated due to COVID-19 exposure will be offered livestream instruction starting no later than Sept. 27, the school system said Tuesday.

“StreamIN/CheckIN” is designed to provide instructional support to students “paused, quarantined, or isolated due to COVID-19,” the Fairfax County Public Schools website says...

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2021/09/fairfax-co-students-offered-livestream-learning-during-covid-19-quarantine/?fbclid=IwAR0JgMA-Jyv8Ztd5yWig7u-x1jvMG7a2MrKsvg4c_6EKfKoUyzKsX1DxuAQ

Fairfax County Schools to Require Masks

 https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/coronavirus/fairfax-county-schools-to-require-masks-heres-what-other-districts-say/2747634/?fbclid=IwAR3RQbjD8DoYAnSGAaR39rpSPiMiJF1RU9LEuRSO9NkNCG2b7iwFJvbLQns

Fairfax Co. schools cancel online classes for the week for ‘necessary updates’

Amid widespread technical issues preventing students from accessing distance learning tools, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia announced Wednesday that all teacher-led instruction has been canceled for the week in order to make necessary updates.

The school system and Blackboard, the county’s online learning provider, believe they have identified the root cause of the connectivity problems and that they involve a software issue...

https://wtop.com/education/2020/04/fairfax-co-public-schools-cancel-online-classes-for-the-day-amid-technical-issues/

Fairfax County, Virginia’s former schools auditor said that when a whistleblower brought her evidence that implicated Cenergistic as well as top school officials, both the whistleblower and the auditor were fired by those same officials.

A major “green” firm called Cenergistic says it’s saved more than 1,000 schools and local governments $5.5 billion in energy costs, taking portions of those savings as fees.

But a new lawsuit, a decade of government investigations, and news reports show that Cenergistic is an Enron-linked, for-profit company that has allegedly talked its way into no-bid contracts after secretly putting school officials on its payroll, and then billed districts for questionable savings whose basis it refuses to explain...

...In a lawsuit filed Nov. 1, 2019, the former auditor for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) in Virginia, Goli Trump, said she was fired by school board president Sandy Evans in retaliation for pursuing an investigation into Cenergistic that implicated superintendent Karen Garza as well as Evans herself...

… [Goli] Trump then obtained access to school system emails which showed that “it appeared that Platenberg had been paid to take numerous ‘marketing trips’ on behalf of Cenergistic.”..

https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/17/cenergistic-green-energy-enron/?fbclid=IwAR3IEZttRLKAZJXqKSg5817P7COB7PMS-E7w92-XQnduQwYgBFfFE06WF4A

7 ON YOUR SIDE obtains emails in crumb rubber controversy, Superintendent E-mails Excluded

...For concerned parents like Damm, the delay in addressing a potential concern is frustrating.
"These questions should have been addressed from the start," Damm said when ABC7 showed him the massive pile of emails.
But it appears some in FCPS were initially reluctant to explore other options. In one message one staffer says, "We have not nor do we intend to investigative alternative infills." He cites a Fairfax County Health Department study in the exchange, but no study was done. Instead, FCHD did a review of existing research.
And after concerns were expressed, one staffer wrote, "My primary concern is that it's not advisable to put the projects on the street and have the contractors expend time and money creating estimates if we are not moving ahead with the projects".
"It's your worst fear," Damm said while looking at that exchange, "You hope that's not the case but when you have documents showing that is the case, that that is the primary concern, it makes me feel terrible."...

 http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/7-on-your-side-investigates-crumb-rubber-emails

Fairfax County Superintendent Robert Spillane Dies

From the New York Times: Robert Spillane, Who Retooled Boston’s Schools, Dies at 80

Peter Baker, July 20, 2015 

Robert R. Spillane, who helped revive Boston’s troubled schools as superintendent in the 1980s and went on to become one of the nation’s leading education innovators as head of a large suburban district outside Washington, died on Saturday in Boston. He was 80. 

His wife, Geraldine Spillane, said he died from complications of pulmonary disease while being treated at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Over a long career, Dr. Spillane was superintendent of five school districts, including Glassboro, N.J.; Roosevelt, on Long Island; and New Rochelle, N.Y. He was also a state deputy education commissioner for New York and a runner-up for chancellor of the New York City schools in 1989. (Joseph A. Fernandez, of Miami-Dade County, got the job.)

As superintendent of schools in Fairfax County, Va., just outside the nation’s capital, Dr. Spillane received wide attention for pushing for merit pay for teachers, longer school days for children and more rigorous standards for both. President Ronald Reagan visited to praise his work and President Bill Clinton went shortly after Dr. Spillane’s departure to hail the district’s handling of immigrants and diversity.

To read the full story go here.

Fairfax Board Goes Public while MCPS Hides

As of September 24, 2012, the Fairfax County Public Schools Board of Education is live streaming the video of their WORK SESSIONS.  

Meanwhile, over here in Montgomery County, where our Board of Educaiton has dramatically increased the amount of off-camera work sessions this year, our BOE was once again in a lengthy off-camera meeting on Monday.  

The topic for our BOE off-camera meeting this week?  Goal setting for the Superintendent.  You know, boring stuff that the public doesn't need to hear about! 

Take a look at the Fairfax BOE work session.  Do you see a buffet like our BOE gets for these meetings? Maybe that's why our BOE hides. They don't want you to see the buffet that they bought with your tax dollars. 

MCPS can't install 1 dishwasher, FCPS renovates an entire kitchen

In Montgomery County Public Schools a group of students have been advocating for a dishwasher in their school cafeteria for over 3 years.  The Board of Education has said no to their dishwasher pilot project.  But, over in Fairfax County Public Schools...a whole new school kitchen is being piloted.  

The Washington Post: Fairfax schools push for more healthful food

...Students at George C. Marshall High School will have access by next year to a commodity not available to most of their peers in Fairfax County: a made-from-scratch school lunch......Most school kitchens across the county are equipped only to warm pre-cooked meals, not to cook them from scratch. The board told the food division to set aside $100,000 to test whether and how schools might prepare meals fresh on site.
The money will go toward renovating the kitchen at Marshall High next June, officials decided recently. Parent advocates and school officials are working to figure out what kind of equipment they need to buy and what kind of menus they can realistically offer...

Mickey Mouse ears for Fairfax schools administrators

From The Washington Examiner:

When they “graduate” from the Disney Institute's leadership workshop in November, 50 hand-picked Fairfax County Public School administrators will receive a certificate of completion and Mickey Mouse ears, complete with tassels. Fairfax County taxpayers will get a bill for $50,000 -- not including airfare to and from Orlando, Fla., $125 per diems for two travel days and hotel accommodations “comparable in quality to the Walt Disney World Resort hotels designated by us as 'moderate' “for Disney ‘cast members.”

The agreement, signed on March 5, 2012, by Terri Breeden, FCPS assistant superintendent for professional learning and accountability, specifies that non-FCPS employees cannot attend this private event without prior approval. Disney would not provide The Washington Examiner with a copy of the course catalog.

However, we did find this written description of the two-day course, which costs as much as a full year's salary for one beginning teacher with a master's degree: “Leadership Excellence explores strategies and tactics for delivering results through Disney's approach to values-based leadership, helping organizations to grow and succeed. Learn time-tested leadership principles for influencing significant change in your organization, your team, and yourself as a leader.”

And:

Unfortunately, Mickey Mouse mortarboards are not FCPS' only frivolous expense. The school system has a contract with Lands’ End for umbrellas, watches and leather laptop bags to reward public employees for longevity. An outside consultant is being paid $3,000 for each newsletter she writes for the Instructional Services Department. Another contractor, who lives in a $1.5 million mansion in Hawaii, was paid $17,000 in March for a two-day training course entitled “Teaching with Poverty in Mind.” And the school system even spent $27,610 “to evaluate FCPS participation” in a free federal grant program.

To read the whole story go here.

Lawyers called for public information requests in Fairfax Co Public Schools

Red Apple Mom: Highlights from Fairfax County School Board Trial

...Finally, here’s another factoid we learned today.  If you file a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) with FCPS [Fairfax County Public Schools], you won’t get a reply until FCPS consults with their legal counsel first.  I felt that is worth noting because as we have seen with FCPS’ current discipline policies, FCPS students aren’t lavished the same legal attention.  A student can be questioned without a parent present and bringing an attorney into the situation can make it even worse for the student.  But a FOIA request – now that’s a different story.  We learned today that FOIA requests get the best FCPS legal attention that taxpayer money can buy!

The public's right to know.

Oakton Patch: FCPS, Board to Defend Charges of Violating Open Meetings, FOI Laws

...Daniel Walsch, a spokesman for George Mason University who has worked with FOIA "more than my share of requests over the years," said costs involved "doesn't negate the public's right to know."

"...he laughed and said, "That's because we are better than they are.""

The Washington Post:  High-schoolers' 'recess': Benefit or brain drain?

Richard Moniuszko, deputy division superintendent for Fairfax public schools, says he knows of few such complaints. He says teachers are keeping all students on target. Struggling students need help during the school day so they can get to activities or jobs after school, or catch a bus home, he says. When I pointed out that Montgomery County, Fairfax's academic rival across the Potomac, doesn't do it that way, he laughed and said, "That's because we are better than they are."

Montgomery County data fails the test

The Washington Post: Letter to the Editor - Montgomery v. Fairfax You do the math

The Dec. 5 Metro article "Montgomery trumpets AP data" quoted schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast as saying his county's minority students outperformed Fairfax County's because "the number of passing AP scores among African American and Hispanic students in Montgomery - 3,235 - was higher than the total number of those students who took AP tests at all in Fairfax - 1,746."

To accurately compare minority students' Advanced Placement test performance in the two counties, we would need to know how many minority students took AP tests in Montgomery or the total number of passing AP scores among minority students in Fairfax...

...I suggest that Montgomery County mandate a course in statistics, preferably an Advanced Placement course, as a prerequisite for high school graduation.

Sara PacquÃ-Margolis, McLean

MCPS Parents Donate $ 2.6 Million to Public School Education

MCPS parents, give yourselves a round of applause!


Last year you paid approximately $2.6 million in fees for your students to participate in courses in Montgomery County Public Schools. 


And those were just the fees you paid to the College Board for AP (Advanced Placement) Exams (that includes the $230,000+ kick back to MCPS for "administration" of the exams). We aren't counting the illegal course fees or bizarre "magnet application fees" that you are paying. We don't have totals on those numbers. 


What's great about the AP fees is that even if your student can't use the AP credits in college (how many can?) Superintendent Jerry Weast can use the results of the AP exams for internal memos to the Board of Education that compare MCPS to Fairfax County! See the memo and attachment below. 


And that's what education administration is all about, isn't it? 

(Note that Superintendent Weast yanked MCPS financial data from the Washington Area Boards of Education annual report, no time to compare costs!)

December 3, 2010
December 3, 2010 Attachment