Roots, Resilience & Renewal - Week 32 Updates

SUPERINTENDENT’S UPDATES

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Dear FCCPS Families,

Spring Break is upon us! I hope you all have great plans for the week off with your family. Over the next week, if you find yourself in a bind and looking for something to do, our amazing Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment team has put together a fun “Spring Break Challenge” that your younger kids may enjoy. Find it in English here. Find it in Spanish here.

Just a few updates for you…first, on Tuesday night, the School Board took action to support the process of developing a Collective Bargaining Resolution Agreement for their consideration later in the year. Over the next several weeks, staff, faculty, and leadership in FCCPS will be working collaboratively to develop the outline of what collective bargaining units may exist, what may be negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement (to be drafted later if the School Board approves the resolution agreement), and other legal requirements of a Collective Bargaining Resolution Agreement. I am sure that the School Board would like to know where our community stands on collective bargaining, and, as always, you are welcome to submit your thoughts to the School Board at SchoolBoard@FCCPS.org.

FCCPS, along with many school divisions in the US, had the incorrect date for the holiday of Eid al-Fitr. This is an important “heads up” that the school calendar holiday for Eid is changing from Tuesday, May 3, 2022, to Monday, May 2, 2022.  FCCPS and surrounding school systems originally scheduled the day off for the 3rd. I want to thank our employees and community members who celebrate Eid al-Fitr for educating us on how Islamic holiday dates are determined based on the lunar calendar.  We will continue to provide notice of this important date change.  I am asking the School Board to make it formal in an upcoming meeting. Further, if you have already made plans for May 3rd, we will work to modify due dates and assignments so that this shift doesn’t adversely impact students.  To be clear…May 2nd will be a day off, and May 3rd will be a school day.

We hope you have a spectacular spring break. As you can see from the data below, our case counts in FCCPS are rising. Please be safe, and if your child has symptoms of illness, please be sure to keep them home.

See you in 11 days!

Peter Dr. Peter J. Noonan, Superintendent

#BetterTogether #WeAreIB #IBforAll

COVID Reminders & Information

Falls Church Covid Status –LOW

Symptomatic Students/Staff

  • Any student/staff member who is displaying COVID-like symptoms should not attend school/work until symptoms are resolving (including being fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication), AND 

  • They provide a negative COVID test (lab, proctored, or home tests are accepted) OR an alternate diagnosis or clearance from a medical professional. 

  • Adjustments will be made for students with known health conditions based on the guidance of our nursing staff.

BinaxNow Rapid Testing

  • Proctored rapid tests are available in each school health clinic.

  • Please contact the School Health Aide or go to the health clinic to get a rapid test. 

  • All BinaxNow tests are proctored tests. Users must set up a Navica account and visit http://virginia.emed.com/ to begin the “test for school” process. FCCPS BinaxNow Tip Sheet.pdf 

  • Each school health clinic has an iPad to help support testing. Parents (not school staff) must administer the test to their students.  FCCPS BinaxNow Tip Sheet.pdf 

PCR Testing

  • Free PCR testing is available to students and staff every Tuesday and Thursday.

  • To join, register here!  It only takes a minute and continues to be an essential part of our Covid-19  mitigation strategy.

FCCPS COVID By The Numbers

Weekly updates to the data below ensure that all community members are informed about positive cases and testing. 

Data:

Number Positive of Cases for Weeks 31-32

Cumulative Since August 1

# of Student Cases:

31

430

# of Staff Cases

5

90

# of Students in Quarantine as a Close Contact

0

203

FCCPS Rate of Transmission

LOW for Falls Church City

LOW for Fairfax Health District

Please note that this data is just a snapshot of FCCPS in total and is adjusted based on the outcomes of each contact tracing investigation. 

All FCCPS positive cases are included regardless of source. These data include parent/staff reports, ViSSTA results, HD notifications, and healthcare providers.

ViSSTA Testing Data Weeks of

Number Tested

# Positive

Week of March 28 - April 1

Tuesday

Thursday


216

248


1

1

Week of April 4-8

Tuesday

Thursday


235

259


9

TBD

Important COVID Links for Parents:

Important Mental Health Resources for Families:

  • Call 911 should you need immediate support in a life-threatening situation.

  • CrisisLink Regional Hotline: 703-527-4077 CrisisText:  Text HOME to 741741

  • Mobile Crisis Unit: 703-573-5679 

  • Merrifield Center Emergency Services: 703-573-5679  

  • National Hope Line: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)

  • LGBTQ Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

  • SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357)