The Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Virginia, James Lane invited superintendents all across the state of Virginia to a literacy summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. Citing “Virginia’s steady decline in reading test scores over the last five years” Lane convened the conference on Monday, February 24th, 2020, according to an article by Katherine Knott from The Daily Progress. According to Knott’s article, Lane spoke of Virginia’s standard of learning decline in reading pass rates and how that steady decline doesn’t generate the “same urgency as a precipitous drop.”   Any parent of a child with dyslexia can tell you all about the difficultyRead More →

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Can We Talk About An Equitable Education System? Falls Church City Public Schools, (FCCPS), no doubt, like other school districts across the country, are working to respond to the ever present demand for more rigorous standards and the call to meet the needs of “twenty-first century” learning.  In addition to the force and promise from technology, is the focus on STEM in our classrooms. Alexa will tell you that children “with a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics will go on to play an integral role in our nation’s global competitiveness and economic stability.”  Talk education here in Falls Church and the focusRead More →

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The Falls Church City community has always been told that there would be ample opportunities for input into the design of the new school and that the design process would be transparent.  The recent community discussion about the auditorium, the changing size of the stage and the news that there will be no full fly rigging system has brought these promises into serious question. Many in the community would really like to understand the decision making process associated with the development of not only the footprint for the Performing Arts Space but details about the space itself. By reviewing the proposal documents it looks likeRead More →

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Friends: The votes are in and counted.  While the results were not what I was hoping for, I had such a wonderful experience meeting so many fellow residents of Falls Church and I am proud of my campaign and the conversations it created.  I am thrilled that the principles transparency, budget transparency, accountability and leadership with integrity which I was one of the first to articulate in our community have become part of the vernacular here in Falls Church! I want to thank everyone who supported me, from hopeful donors to my indomitable poll watchers.  I appreciate all the help, love and moral support IRead More →

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Alison Kutchma Requests Board Assess Funding Equity Letter to School Board Reveals Spending Allocations Class section sizes of IB program classes detailed Editor’s remark:  Falls Church resident Alison Kutchma, as part of her request to assess all programs across the school district, has requested that FCCPS fund a special education program audit.   In one of two recent emails sent to the board, both of which included video clips from recent Special Education Advisory Committee meetings, Ms. Kutchma asked the board to take a closer look at resource allocation issues.  One of those letters is reprinted below. At the March 21st school board meeting, the FCCPSRead More →

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The FCCPS School Board convened this past Tuesday, January 10, to reorganize as it does every January. Lawrence Webb was voted in as Chair.  All members present voted for Mr. Webb with the exception of John Lawrence, who abstained. He offered no explanation. Phil Reitinger was unanimously voted in as Vice Chair. They did not choose advisory committee liaisons as former-chair Justin Castillo suggested; it is the tradition that the Vice Chair weigh in on those choices and by waiting, the incoming vice-chair Phil Reitinger will be afforded the opportunity to do so. They moved on to the budget work for the upcoming year. The principals of ourRead More →

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