Saturday, January 19, 2013
Fairfax County School Board supports legislators' proposal to repeal, or make better exceptions to, "King's Dominion law."
By Erica R. Hendry and Kristen Smith, Capital News Service Lawmakers from across Virginia are pushing a half-dozen bills this legislative session to let public schools start classes before Labor Day. Del. Kaye Kory, D-Falls Church, is among legislators sponsoring bills to repeal Virginia’s “King’s Dominion law,” which prevents local schools from opening before Labor Day unless they get special permission from the state. Kory’s proposal, House Bill 1491, “makes local school boards responsible for setting the school calendar and determining the opening day of the school year.” Currently, school boards can start classes before Labor Day only if they show “good cause” (such as a history of snow-related school closings) and get a waiver from …
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Parents at Laurel Ridge Elementary School meeting expressed concern about the negative impact the proposed bell schedule will have on students, parents and teachers.
Fairfax County Public Schools parents are unhappy with the proposed changes to the FCPS 2012-2013 bell schedule which will change more than 60 schools’ start and end times. During a meeting Monday night at Laurel Ridge Elementary School in Fairfax, with Braddock District School Board representative Megan McLaughlin and Dean Tisdadt, FCPS chief operating officer and head of facilities and transportation services, parents listed a variety of reasons they're opposed to the new bell schedules. Laurel Ridge has seen a change in their bell schedule twice in the last six years and parents are frustrated that the start time will once again be pushed back from 8:50 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. Although the meeting was largely about Laurel Ridge and parents of…
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
With six new members, Fairfax County board explores time shift for system schedule
Three years after the Fairfax County School Board voted against a schedule shift that would accommodate later high school start times, members will revisit the issue next week with a vote on a resolution to develop a system-wide goal of starting high schools after 8 a.m. The resolution, scheduled to come before the board at its April 12 meeting, calls for the adoption of that goal but also directs Superintendent Jack Dale to identify and report on school divisions that have traditionally had and have transitioned to later morning start times, including neighboring Arlington and Loudoun counties along with Minneapolis, Minn; Wilton, Conn.; and Brevard, Fla. Dale would present his findings to the board at a June 11 work session. County buses…
Sonia Baker
5:44 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Can anyone please tell me how much money we will be spending on this study? I have 2 high school students and whether they start later or earlier will not impact them. This is the schedule they are given and they will do what is necessary to adapt. How can anyone support spending more money on this issue. They have the research and the knowledge if it is feasible-they need to make their decision … more ›