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Fairfax County Schools
With Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002; 1 p.m. EST
Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech leads Fairfax County Public Schools, which serve more than 160,000 students.
Recently, the school system received word that 90 percent of schools met the state standards for accreditation, up from 80 percent last year. (Read the article.) Domenech also helped students and staff cope with the recent sniper attacks and the uncertainty they brought.
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washingtonpost.com:
Thanks for joining us today, Dr. Domenech. How did the sniper attacks affect students and schools? Are things back to normal?
Daniel A. Domenech: What is "normal" for us has forever been changed by September 11 and by the sniper crisis. We all live with a sense of "what will happen next?"
Fortunately, we did not have a tragedy affecting our student population. Nevertheless, our children experienced a great deal of anxiety and fear.
We are extremely grateful to our law enforcement personnel for the great job they did in protecting our schools. I am also very proud of our staff. Parents repeatedly told me of how many of our staff members placed themselves in harms way to help our children in the streets and upon arrival and dismissal at school. Clearly, protecting our children became the number one priority for our entire community.
Alexandria, VA:
A lot of kids play sports for the alleged purpose of gaining an athletic scholarship to college.
Would not these kids be better off financially if they worked after school instead of playing sports and saved the money for college?
Do the schools inform kids that only a small percentage of the very best players can earn scholarships?
Daniel A. Domenech: Not all of our children participate in a sports program for the sole purpose of gaining an athletic scholarship.
On any given Saturday you will see thousands of children playing on our fields for the sheer love of the sport and the comraderie.
For the more talented athletes, a scholarship may provide them the opportunity to attend a school that might otherwise be out of their reach financially. Sports is a good deal and part of a well rounded education, for all of our kids!
Centreville, Virginia:
In these very tight budget times, I believe we must ensure that every child (K-12) is given a quality basic education. In the year 2002, what do you consider a "quality basic education?"
Daniel A. Domenech: It depends on the child. According to the new "No Child Left Behind" legislation recently passed by congress, we must do everything we can to ensure that each child meets the minimum standards imposed by each state. In Virginia, that means passing the SOLs and qualifying for a high school diploma.
For that to happen, we will need to provide our language minority students, our disabled students, our economically disadvantaged students and our ethnic minorities with the programs that will assure their academic success. These students will require more resources and programs to meet their needs than what we ordinarily offer.
Fairfax VA:
Whay does Montgomery County have an abundance of money for gifted and talented choruses and Fairfax is making cuts?
Daniel A. Domenech: I am not aware that we are making cuts in our chorus program. However, since you bring up the issue, Montgomery County is blessed with greater financial support for its schools than we are. We estimate that we would have about another $90 million to spend on our schools if our per pupil allocation ($8900)were the same as Montgomery's ($9645).
Centreville, VA:
Mr. Domenech:
The elementary math curriculum is very weak in foundation skills in preparation for algebra. More and more parents are going to outside sources to prepare their children for advanced mathematics. What is being done to address this?
Daniel A. Domenech: Actually, our math program of studies is very strong and does an outstanding job of preparing students for Algebra. Our content exceeds both state and national standards. 87% of our students have passed the Algebra SOL. Better than half of our students take Algebra as 8th graders and a fair amount as 7th graders. Algebra is a 9th grade course. You can view the Program of Studies by going to our web page at www.fcps.edu/dis/omsi/mathematics
Burke VA:
I keep hearing about budget cuts for the state. How is the budget looking for next year?
Daniel A. Domenech: Not good, not good at all! We lost $46 million in state aid this year and we are anticipating an additional $10 million cut. For next year, we will probably be reduced an additional $30 million. If you do the math, that's an $86 million reduction over two years. Yet, our student population keeps growing and we have unfunded mandates like the No Child Left Behind act to contend with.
Alexandria, VA:
Someone recently asserted that in Fairfax County public schools, that Christmas cannot be celebrated but that Hannukah and Kwaansa can be. Is this true, and if so what is the justification?
Daniel A. Domenech: Not true. Because the students and employees in FCPS reflect our increasingly multifaith community, teachers and administrators ensure that instructional and extracurricular activities have been carefully planned to be as inclusive as possible. Guidelines are provided to principals for appropriate classroom activities during the holiday season. One of the guidelines states that "attention given to Christmas is proportionate in time and substance to that given holidays in other religions."
Reston:
Do think it's fair that inclusion of disabled children in regular classrooms takes away from the teaching of the other 20+ students in the class?
Daniel A. Domenech: To begin with, inclusion is the law. Those children have the same right to attend the neighborhood school and be in a regular classroom as any other child. Only the Committee for Special Education has the right to determine that a child's condition warrants their exclusion from a regular classroom.
Often mainstreamed children come with the additional support of an aide or another teacher.
Alexandria, VA:
This business of allowing students to transfer out of failing public schools into other public schools seems to offer no solutions for failing schools. Yet I think the system should have a little flexibility for parents who want to send their child to a school outside their attendance zone. When a school is "failing," why don't teachers and administrators transfer out instead of students? There has to be a better way than the status quo.
Daniel A. Domenech: Fortunately, we have no "failing" schools in Fairfax County. However, I agree with you that allowing children to transfer out is not the solution. The goal should be that we provide the school with the resources they need to adequately meet the needs of all of their students.
Springfield VA:
With the amount of armed forces in Fairfax, why wasn't Veteran's Day a school holiday?
Daniel A. Domenech: The school calendar only provides for a limited number of holidays. Veteran's Day is a very special day in our school system and all schools offer some type of activity to recognize and pay tribute to our Veterans. In many cases, community members are invited into the schools to share their stories with our students. The schools are closed on Memorial Day, the day we remember those who gave their all for our country.
Springfield, VA :
What is the process for assigning a new principal for a school? Is it a next in line for the latest opening or is there specific matching criteria for a candidates and specific schools?
I ask because the principal at my daughter's school, North Springfield Elementary, is leaving after 10 years. She has done a great job and we are concerned about this small neighborhood school taking a step backwards with a new principal who does not have experience with a demographic situation like we have in the neighborhood.
Many thanks!
Daniel A. Domenech: We have an excellent process in place, you'll be glad to know. The position is advertised and parents are given ample opportunity to participate in the selection process, including specific criteria for that particular school. Mrs. Owner has done an outstanding job, but I am sure that the staff and community will select a highly qualified replacement.
mt vernon va:
What plans are underway to help Mt Vernon High School become fully accreidted?
Daniel A. Domenech: Over the past four years we have dedicated many of our resources to improving the quality of instruction in our Mt. Vernon area schools. Most of the elementary schools in the area are designated as Project Excel schools and they receive approximately a million dollars a year more per school for full day kindergarten, reduced class sizes, technology, and other programs. We plan to also focus on the needs of Mt. Vernon HS to ensure that it will be fully certified. I have no doubt that it will be.
washingtonpost.com:
That's all the time we have today. Thanks to Dr. Domenech for joining us.
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