Tuesday, April 23, 2013
In ranking of top U.S. high schools, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology remains the top school in Virginia, but slips in national standing.
Fairfax County is home to the top five public high schools in Virginia, according to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2013 Best High Schools rankings. U.S. News generated the rankings through a partnership with American Institutes for Research, looking at students’ performance on standardized tests and how successfully schools educated black, Hispanic and low-income students. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was once again ranked the top school in Virginia. It was ranked No. 4 of all schools nationally, down from its No. 2 post in 2012. Replacing TJ at No. 2 was BASIS Tucson in Arizona, which jumped from No. 6 in 2012. Langley, James Madison, McLean and W.T. Woodson rounded out the rest of Virginia’s top five high …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Morning field trips are canceled due to snow.
Spreak break activities at Fairfax County Public Schools are delayed for two hours Monday morning due to the snowfall, according to FCPS. All FCPS school programs and activities that are being held during spring break will begin two hours late. Offices will open on time. Morning field trips are canceled. SACC centers will be open by 7:15 a.m. Adult and community education classes will start on time.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
More than 500 trucks will be out salting roads, officials say.
Northern Virginia woke up to a blanket of snow Thursday and began preparing for Round 2 forecast for Friday. Weather forecasters say to expect more snow to start falling Friday, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. There is a 70 percent chance that Northern Virginia will get hit with snow, said Steve Goldstein, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said it won’t be a lot but will fall through Friday's rush hour. “We’re looking at another inch or maybe an inch and a half,” Goldstein said. The region was coated with about an inch of snow Thursday morning. Virginia Department of Transportation salted main roads to help ease the morning commute. Joan Morris, a spokeswoman for VDOT, said crews will pre-treat main roads Thursday night into …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Dominion Power is urging their customers to be prepared with food and an emergency plan.
With a National Weather Service winter storm watch in place for Thursday morning for Northern Virginia, personnel at Dominion Power, Fairfax County Public Schools and the Virginia Department of Transportation have their eyes glued to the weather forecasts. Le-Ha Anderson, a spokeswoman with Dominion Power, said the company is making sure their trucks are gassed up and ready to respond if there are any power outages. She said the utility company has a team of meteorologists that are tracking the storm for them. “Wet snow with some wind could cause some power outages,” Anderson said. “We do urge our customers to be prepared with an emergency plan with phone numbers and nonperishable food just in case there are some outages.” As the forecast …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Police say there is no threat, it's just for reassurance in wake of Connecticut shootings.
When children return to school on Monday, families should expect to see an increased police presence, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The move is a reaction to Friday's shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 schoolchildren and six teachers, according to police. The gunman also killed his mother at her nearby home. The following was posted by FCPD on its Facebook page on Sunday: As children return to school tomorrow, you will see an increased police presence at and around schools in the county. We want the community to know this is being done as a reassurance for parents, teachers and students and NOT because there is any threat. It is a result of the shooting in Newtown, CT. For …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Students at Thomas Edison High School are performing this weekend in 'The Man Who Came to Dinner'
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Friday, December 7, 2012
Students from Thomas Edison High School's theater department will be performing this weekend in "The Man Who Came to Dinner." Go here for information on attending one of this weekend's performances. For the Cappies review of the play, go here.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Fairfax County Public Schools does; should others follow?
There has been a shift in thinking about technology in our schools. For decades now, schools have played a role in introducing technology concepts to students. From the computer labs of the 1980s to the single computer on the teacher's desk to classrooms with multiple stations for students to work on, we have seen multiple approaches on how we should use these tools. We no longer view technology for technology's sake as a goal in itself. We've seen that the integration of new tools has to make sense. Teachers and students both have to 'buy in'--the technology has to make things easier, more engaging, more comprehensive, more efficient and yes, more fun. Otherwise, the resources spent and the time spent learning yet another system are …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Deadline to sign up for admissions test to science and technology high school is Oct. 19.
Applications for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), the Governor’s regional school for science and technology in Northern Virginia, are now available both online and in paper form, Fairfax County Public Schools announced. Earlier this year, U.S. News named the high school second best in the United States and the best high school in Virginia. The school is highly competitive, drawing an average of 3,300 applications for fewer than 500 open slots every year. Over the summer, the Fairfax County School Board started to discuss what a different admissions process may look like to alleviate concerns about some lack of diversity and some slippage in test scores. Here are the details on the admissions process: …
Thursday, September 6, 2012
From email to e-newsletters, Blackboard to e-books at the library, tech tools are very much a part of the back-to-school equation
Back to school 2012 is a bit different than in earlier years. While some things will always be handled via paper and pen, technology tools are helping to make sure that parents are informed on the issues big and small. Here are a few ways that FCPS and your child's teacher will use technology to keep in touch and provide resources to help your child learn. KIT and KIT-Plus KIT (Keep in Touch) and KIT-Plus are the e-newsletter services that provide up-to-the-minute information for the public on school delays or closings, emergencies, information about FCPS programs and news stories. Parents, students and employees are automatically enrolled via their contact information provided to the schools. Parents and community members can also select …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Fairfax County and UPC encourage parents and community members to report underage drinking.
Fairfax County Public Schools will partner with the Unified Prevention Coalition this fall at high school stadiums across the county. New banners will be going up in stadiums that encourage parents and adults in the community to report underage drinking and parties where underage drinking is happening to the police. The FCPS and UPC campaign encourages parents and adults to support alcohol free events. The banners were donated by UPC of Fairfax County as part of its Parents Who Host, Lose the Most campaign. According to a press release from FCPS, there has been a decline in reported alcohol use by high school seniros from 2005 to 2010. The 2010-11 Fairfax County Youth Survey showed that 36.5 percent of high school seniors reported using …
Scott Surovell
8:09 am on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
These rankings are nothing more than proxies for wealth and to a lesser extend demographics. The 2012 free & reduced populations in these schools are the following: TJ - 2.55% Langley - 1.55%. James Madison - 8.6% McLean - 10.1% W.T. Woodson - 9.9% Oakton is 10.5% and the other Fairfax County high schools are 13.3% up to 60%+. US News should have just said the wealthiest schools in the country … more ›