Fort Hunt Elementary School in Mount Vernon celebrates diverse student body.
Fort Hunt sixth grader Elizabeth Hutchison was looking forward to principal Thomas Fitzpatrick’s soda bread. With her family also representing Ireland, she planned to bring some herself, as well as some shamrock decorations, to the elementary school’s second annual Dance Around the World winter festival.
Mount Vernon and West Potomac High School Students Attend Amundson Institute
Earlier this month, six students from West Potomac and Mount Vernon High Schools traveled to Richmond to experience state government first-hand.
Storck Talks Schools at Mount Vernon Town Hall
These things Dan Storck knows: Elementary school students are now in class the full day on Monday and older students will start later beginning next school year. The Mount Vernon school board member lead with these recent accomplishments in his presentation at the Mount Vernon Town Hall Meeting on Saturday Jan. 31.
Mount Vernon High School Hosts ‘Care Packing’ for Deployed Soldiers
There are all kinds of flash mobs. Instead of a marriage proposal or elaborate dance routine, more than 200 Mount Vernon High School students and members of the community descended on the school’s cafeteria on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to assemble care packages for deployed soldiers.
Schools to Expand by $856 Million
Capital Improvement Plan approved, rising enrollment causes concerns about classroom space.
Five more school buildings and renovations for several existing ones may be approved by 2020. The Fairfax County School Board approved the $856 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at the Jan. 22 meeting to set priority on the projects the school system wants done in the next five years.
West Potomac High School Receives Grant To Support At-Risk Students
The Virginia Department of Education awarded West Potomac High School a $68,000 grant, to be used this school year to benefit 50 students with college and career preparation.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bulova Releases 2015 State of the County Address
Despite a projected shortfall of nearly $100 million facing Fairfax County going into the FY 2016 budget, Board of Supervisors chairman Sharon Bulova remains encouraged by a 2014 that she said was full of accomplishments.
Mount Vernon School Board Member Dan Storck Addresses Concerns Over CIP
It was standing room only at one point in the Sherwood Regional Library. Parents concerned over the significant boundary changes outlined in Fairfax County Public Schools proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for FY 2016-2020 had gathered on Jan. 10 to hear from School Board Mount Vernon representative Dan Storck.
The $2.4 Billion Question
FCPS Superintendent presents next year’s budget.
Fairfax County Public Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Karen Garza is proposing a $2.4 billion budget for the 2015-16 school year. The proposed Fairfax County Public Schools’ budget includes funds for full-day Mondays, teacher compensation and later high school start times while still finding room for $55.4 million in cuts.
Irresistible? How Karen Garza Creates Change in Fairfax County Schools
Karen Garza is a good listener. And once she’s listened, she is, admittedly, not very patient. “If there's a real issue, I don't think it has to be debated for 10 or 15 years,” Garza said in an interview. “Either we're going to do something about it or not.”
FCPS Chief Karen Garza and Her Previous Life in Texas
“When I hired Karen in 2005,” former Superintendent of Houston Independent School District (HISD) Dr. Abelardo Saavedra said, “the position of chief academic officer had been open several months. I went looking for her. I’d never met her but I’d heard about her. There is a big difference between a mid-sized district and a larger one; the dynamics are completely different. I was taking a risk because she came from a mid-sized one of about 40,000 in Corpus Christi, and ours was much bigger. She adjusted very quickly.”
Fairfax County Public Schools Needing Community’s Help
Superintendent Karen Garza begins and ends her Listening Tour meetings with a plea to those in the room — parents, teachers, employees, unions — to help her achieve what needs to be done for their school system. “I am going to need your help,” she says to audiences who voice concerns about class size, resources for special education, and teacher salaries.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza Bio
Current Position: Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent
Timeline of Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Karen Garza’s career in education.
1986-1991: Elementary School Teacher, Yoakum, Texas (1,539 students, 38% white and 50% Latino and spends about $8,000 per pupil).
An Essay To Remember
Local educators offer advice on acing independent school admission essays and interviews.
While many are knee-deep in wrapping paper and eggnog, some students are holed up with computer keyboards and books of quotations. In addition to driving to the mall for holiday shopping, some parents are throwing rapid-fire questions at their children to make sure they are fast on their feet.