My Endorsement For Mount Vernon School Board Representative 2023

In the last four years, Northern Virginia's teachers and students have become a political punching bag for Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares.  The Fairfax County School Board has been under siege with politically-motivated lawsuits and political investigations for the last four years.  As a result, only four incumbents are running for re-election and our Mt. Vernon School Board Member Karen Corbett Sanders is not running for re-election.

Karen has done an amazing job fighting to ensure that students in our part of the county get the attention and share of resources that they deserve.  I am exceptionally proud of her efforts to reform the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson H.S.S.T. which previously rarely admitted students from Carl Sandburg Middle School, Walt Whitman Middle School, Hayfield Secondary School, or Mark Twain Middle School. Before the reforms she led, two middle schools made up 20% of every class.  She led the charge to obtain funds to renovate our schools.   You can read more about her accomplishments in the Commending Resolution I passed this session:

Senate Joint Resolution 409 Commending Karen Corbett Sanders 

I joined with Mt. Vernon District School Board Member Karen Corbett Sanders in endorsing Mateo Dunne to serve as the Democratic endorsed candidate for the Mt. Vernon District seat on the Fairfax County School Board. I join in my endorsement along with Delegate Mark Sickles, Former Delegate and Fairfax County School Board Chair and Mt. Vernon Member Kristen Amundson, Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay, and Former Fairfax County Board Chair Sharon Bulova.

   

www.mateodunne.com/

Fairfax County Change on U.S. 1 1960-2010

Fairfax County Channel 16 has come out with a new video featuring some historical highlights of the U.S. 1 Corridor 1960-2000's. 

The video features discussion of change on U.S. 1 through the years has some nice segments on Gum Springs, Mount Vernon High School, Montebello, and Woodlawn.

Great cameos by area history buff Michael Bohn, Gum Springs History Curator Ron Chase, SFDC Executive Director Edyhe Kelleher, Pamela Hess Executive Director of Arcadia Center for Food and Sustainable Agriculture which is about to launch a major initiative at Woodlawn, and a few clips of me.

Great production which summarizes our local history.  You can watch below.

School Boundary Changes Discussed in the FCPS Capital Improvement Plan

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has a public hearing tonight on the approval of their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) which decides how FCPS spends about $155 million per year in renovation and construction monies created by bond referenda passed by the voters. 

For the first time, this year's CIP included references to possible school boundary adjustments including approximately seven school changes in the 44th District including adjustments at Stratford Landing ES, Hybla Valley ES, Hollin Meadows ES, Groveton ES, the creation of a new GT/AP center at Bucknell ES and a new Arts & Science Focus School at Virginia Hills.

I lived though boundary changes when I was a student.  My original elementary school (Hollin Hall) was shut down in 1980, my intermediate school (Stephen Foster) no longer exists, and I was at West Potomac HS on the day it opened.  I am very aware of the effects these changes have on students and the interest the community takes in these issues.  These issues are completely controlled by the FCPS School Board.

Several constituents brought the proposed CIP to my attention last week and an impromptu meeting was held last night at Stratford Landing Elementary School that approximately 200 people attended. 

I have spoken with Mt. Vernon School Board Member Dan Storck and School Board Chairmen & Lee District Member Tamara Devereaux Kaufax and both have assured me that the CIP is not a an actual vote on boundaries.

There is a public hearing tonight where the FCPS School Board is taking public testimony regarding the proposed CIP:

January 6, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting Information & Agenda

Luther Jackson Intermediate School
3020 Gallows Road

Falls Church, VA 22042

Online Signup to Speak

I have attached three things below the fold:

• My letter to the FCPS School Board
• An email that was sent to Stratford Landing parents by their PTA for with information on the process
• School Board Member Dan Storck's latest communication to the Mt. Vernon District on the process.

Weekly Column: Virginia Education Official’s Visit Focuses on Improving Student Testing

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of December 3, 2014.

Virginia Education Official’s Visit Focuses on Improving Student Testing

Two weeks ago, Virginia Education Secretary Anne Holton toured Walt Whitman Middle School and Hybla Valley Elementary School at my invitation as part of the state’s effort to change the way we assess school progress.

 

Virginia school accreditation is largely based on student performance on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, tests created in 1995 by then-Governor George Allen.  

Thirty schools in Fairfax County were accredited with warning and seven of those schools, including Mount Vernon High School and West Potomac High School, are in the 44th Delegate District along the U.S. 1 Corridor.

Weekly Column: Annual School Accreditation Reports a Mixed Bag

The following is my column that will appear in the Mt. Vernon Gazette and The Mt. Vernon Voice in the week of October 2, 2014.

Annual School Accreditation Reports a Mixed Bag

The Virginia Department of Education has issued accreditation reports on our public schools. For our area, the results are mixed.

First, it is important to understand that the state instituted new math tests this year. Statewide, 32% of schools were not fully accredited, largely because of new math tests. In Fairfax County, 171 of 191 schools (11%) were not fully accredited - 7 of the 20 Fairfax County schools with accreditation challenges were in the U.S. 1 Corridor.

Hybla Valley ES returned to full accreditation this year notwithstanding having the highest free and reduced lunch (90.3%) and limited- English proficient populations (66.96%) in Fairfax County. Hybla Valley shows that committed teachers, principals, students and families can meet accreditation’s steepest challenges.  They deserve a round of applause. 

44th District School Report Cards

The Virginia State Board of Education has issued its academic report cards for all of the schools in the 44th District.

I will write more later on the significance of these results.  The schools that changed status from last year are West Potomac HS, Whitman MS, and Hybla Valley ES.

44th District Schools 2012-13 Academic Report Cards 

School	Accredited	FRM Population	Limited English Proficient	Link
Overall Fairfax County	Fully Accredited	27.83%		Report  Card
West Potomac HS	With  Warning	42.22%	16.03%	Report  Card
Mt. Vernon HS	With  Warning	55.8%	16.83%	Report  Card
Hayfield Secondary	Fully Accredited	32.16%	9.32%	Report  Card
Carl Sandburg MS	Fully Accredited	44.82%	17.74%	Report  Card
Whitman MS	With  Warning	60.45%	22.54%	Report  Card
Belleview ES	Fully Accredited	33.64%	23.22%	Report  Card
Bucknell ES	With  Warning	78.09%	44.17%	Report  Card
Fort Belvoir ES	Fully Accredited	30.5%	4.14%	Report  Card
Fort Hunt ES	Fully Accredited	32.31%	12.65%	Report  Card
Groveton ES	Fully Accredited	72.29%	54.66%	Report  Card
Hayfield ES	Fully Accredited	10.93%	11.66%	Report  Card
Hollin Meadows ES	Fully Accredited	54.15%	34.77%	Report  Card
Hybla Valley ES	Fully Accredited	90.39%	66.96%	Report  Card
Mt. Vernon Woods ES	With  Warning	84.3%	53.18%	Report  Card
Riverside ES	Fully Accredited	66.04%	40.27%	Report  Card
Stratford ES	Fully Accredited	18.96%	5.84%	Report  Card
Washington Mill ES	With  Warning	56.4%	34.86%	Report  Card
Waynewood ES	Fully Accredited	1.66%	4.28%	Report  Card
Woodlawn ES	With  Warning	63.29%	25.10%	Report  Card
Woodley Hills ES	Fully Accredited	69.64%	52.16%	Report  Card

Three Amundson Fellows Featured on Patch & Graduation!

Every year, I invite five or six area high school students to come with me to Richmond to learn about state government called Amundson Fellows.  It's a program that was started by my predecessor Delegate Kris Admunson. 

This year two of my Amundson Fellows were featured by Patch after graduation due to their achievments.  You can read their inteviews below.

Patch Inteview Of E.J. Coleman, Mount Vernon High School
Patch Inteview of Django Szilagi, West Potomac High School

I was very proud to see all of the success they've had! 

Walt Whitman Middle School's 50th Anniversary!

Tonight, I had the honor of attending the Walt Whitman Middle School 50th Anniversary celebration.  It was a great event.

Principal Jean Bell recapped the history of the school which was founded in 1961 on the site of the current Mount Vernon High School.  It moved to old Mount Vernon High School in 1973 and then into the former Stephen Foster Intermediate School (where I went) in 1985.

Famous alumni include Governor Bob McDonnell, successful author Matt Bondurant whose novel will be a Hollywood Movie this fall (The Wettest County in the World), and local powerhouse Lavern Chatman-Brown who was recently one of five women given the Women of Power Award by the National Urban League. 

The Age of The 44th District's Schools

I'm a local history geek. One of the things I do is keep track of significant anniversaries in our local schools and draft commending resolutions for significant anniversaries.

Here's a list that I've compiled for the founding and closing dates for our area local schools.  Woodlawn Elementary and Groveton Elementary are the oldest followed by Mt. Vernon High School.  There's a great history of Woodlawn Elementary School here.

If you're talking about the actual buildings, I'm pretty sure that Woodlawn Elementary is the oldest in continuous use.  The old Mount Vernon would be second if it were still a school.  I'm pretty sure that either the Bryant Building (originally Groveton High School) or the older part of West Potomac High School (originally Bryant Intermediate) would be next. 



I have some schools here on the bottom that have come and gone through the years including some from a very long time ago.  The Gum Springs School and Springbank School were small black schools that preceded desegregation. 

If you have any of the dates that I'm missing or any corrections, shoot me an email. 

Young Leaders in Richmond Today

Today, six students from the 44th District came to Richmond for my Young Leaders Program.

The Young Leaders Program was started by my predecessor Del. Kris Amundson to introduce Mount Vernon's students interested in government and public policy to Richmond and state government.

The group consists of four students from West Potomac High School and two students from Mount Vernon High School. They are meeting with state policymakers, touring the Capitol and the Executive Mansion, observing a floor session, and watching me present legislation in committee.

This morning, they attended a fascinating meeting of the Privileges & Elections Committee, Constitutional Subcommittee. The Subcommittee docket is here.

It was an interesting coincidence, but all three delegates that represent West Potomac High School actually had bills in that subcommittee this morning. The young leaders were able to observe debate on five separate amendments to allow felons to vote, an amendment to constitutionalize our debt limit, Del. David Englin's three amendments to repeal the state's gay marriage ban, Del. Mark Sickles bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, create a "lockbox" for the Virginia Retirement System, allow for our Reconvened Session or "Veto Session" to be adjusted for religious holidays, and my amendment to allow localities to repeal state law. Most of our committees are not that exciting - they picked a good day to come.

Here is my introduction of our Young Leaders on the floor today.

FCPS Numbers to Think About

Student's in the 44th District go back to school next week. Here's some Fairfax County numbers to think about.

Total Students: 175,333

* Next Closest VA Jurisdiction: Prince William 76,874

* 12th Largest System in United States

Free & Reduced Lunch Students: 39,019
* Would Be 8th Largest School System in VA of 132 Jurisdictions
Students Receiving Special Education: 24,363
* Would Be 11th Largest School System in VA of 132 Jurisdictions
English as Second Language: 21,347
* Would Be 14th Largest School System in VA of 132 Jurisdictions

Operating Budget: $2.2 Billion
* Would Rank as 123rd Largest Country Budget in World (or 122nd)
* Larger Than 100 Countries

* Larger Than 5 State General Fund Budgets (2007)
Cost Per Student: $12,597
Total Employees: 22,150
Total Teachers: 14,000+/-
School Based Positions: 92.8%

High Schools: 21
Alternative High Schools: 2
Secondary Schools: 4
Intermediate Schools: 19
Middle Schools: 3
Elementary Schools: 139
Alternative Programs: 46
Buses: 1,540

Demographics
White: 45.3%
African American: 10.4%
American Indian: .3%
Asian American: 18.8%
Hispanic: 18.1%
Multiracial: 5.9%

Four-Year Graduation Rate: 91.2%

I gave a floor speech during the 2010 General Assembly Session about some of these facts in response to some of my colleagues who suggested that all of Fairfax County was wealthy and did not have as much need as the rest of Virginia especially when it came to school funding. Here it is below.

Mt. Vernon High School Class of 2010

Today was the really fun part of being a Delegate. I got to shake the hands of several hundred very happy Mount Vernon High School graduates as they walked across the stage ready to move on in life.

The Student Body President, Tracy King, gave a great speech followed up with a big hug from her mother, Mt. Vernon High School Principal Nardos King, when she walked across the stage.

The dual Honor Graduate Speakers, Natalya Dyhouse & Andrew McKellips also gave terrific talks about following your dreams, including a reference to Yoda's timeless advice - "Do or not do . . . there is no try." My kind of speech.



The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lisa Jackson, gave the keynote address and talked about her New Orleans roots and the challenges of the recent spill at the Deepwater Horizon. She extolled the graduates to focus on serving others.

Plus, I got to sit next to Mike Skinner who was attending his 52nd graduation, was Mt. Vernon Basketball Coach when my father graduated in 1962, and is who they named the Field House after.

It was a great day.