Strengths
• A large organization that has the advantage of a lot of resources that can serve students
• Ability to serve the needs of all students
• Accountability and audits are strong
• Advocacy groups
• Ahead of the curve on most issues
• Alternative programs
• Amazing teachers
• Arts programming
• Awesome educational opportunities are provided
• Breadth and depth of instructional services
• Bureaucracy works well
• Business involvement and support
• Cadre of quality teachers
• “Change-ready Division”
• Choice of AP and IB programs
• Clear vision for the school division – PLCs, closing the achievement gap, and best practices
• Community is well-educated, informed and engaged
• Community with very high expectations
• Continuum of services
• Could be a national leader on educating the whole child
• Curricular initiatives – foreign language, technology, arts, the Academy programs, programs for students with disabilities
• Curriculum
• Customized education in each community
• Dedicated staff that really cares about kids
• Desirable place to work
• Discipline is generally well handled and children are safe
• Division is committed to community engagement
• Diversity in county and school system is a great asset and is highly valued by many
• Diversity is multi-layered – cultural issues, socio-economic diversity; limited-English speakers
• Diversity / Pluralism: racial, ethnic, socio-economic, ability, etc.
• Division offers a complete spectrum of services and course offerings to meet the needs of a wide range of students
• Economic status of families
• Educated populous
• Employers relocated here due to the quality of the schools
• Engaged parents
• Excellent teachers
• Existing on the cutting edge of educational initiatives
• Fairfax County enjoys a good economy
• Fairfax is a “though leader” in this country and across the world
• Fairfax is always on the cutting edge
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates Page 42
• Fantastic school system
• Gifted and Special Needs students are well served
• Good administration at the school and division levels
• Good Board of Education that listens respectfully, even though they may not always agree
• Good cooperation between parents and administration
• Good job of teaching talented and challenged students
• Good job of meeting the needs of a range of students
• Good job of working with the County supervisors
• Great teachers
• High quality of education for all students
• Highly educated populous
• History of strong academic programs
• Increasing levels of community engagement
• Incredible variety of and access to programs to meet varying needs
• Individual schools and communities have their own character and some freedom to do things differently in each community
• Innovative system – always looking to do better
• Intelligent community with a lot of will power
• Keeping the whole child in mind
• Kennedy Center connections to Fairfax
• Kids and teachers have great relationships
• Kids want to go to school and seem to really enjoy it
• Majority minority community
• Many active stakeholders
• Middle School after school programs
• Music program and the arts programs
• National reputation and ranking of the Division
• Orchestra program
• Partnership between PTA and the superintendent
• PLCs
• Private school education at a public school price
• Professional development opportunities
• Public relations programs promote what is working well
• Quality of education
• Recognition about the need to improve
• Relationship with George Mason University
• Reputation
• Resources are abundant
• Rich curriculum on paper
• Ripe opportunity for someone to come here and make substantive changes
• School Division and County have cooperated on establishing Opportunity Neighborhoods with wrap around services provided at the school
• School is open and transparent with information
• Schools have different personalities that are recognized and honored
• School produce quality-educated kids that are well-prepared for the future – college and careers
• Strong academics and athletics
• Strong family support for children
• Strong graduation rate
• Strong parent advocacy groups working to improve programs and the health and safety of students
• Strong staff development
• Student body is great asset – motivated, dedicated, and wants to learn
• Students are held to high standards and the teaching level is high
• Students are well prepared for college
• Superintendent and school board members recognize that this is a people business
• Support for schools from folks who don’t have kids in the schools
• Supportive governmental body
• System implements best practices
• Taxpayers have always supported bond efforts
• Teachers
• Teachers are incredibly dedicated and well prepared
• Teacher retention
• Tremendous teaching corps
• Trying hard to be on the cutting edge of innovation
• Variety of choices
• Very political community that takes its cues from Capitol Hill
• Visibility of superintendent
• Volunteer efforts across the schools
• Weighted staffing
• Well-educated group of parents and students
• Wide breadth of educational and co-curricular offerings
• Working on bullying issues and making progress
• Working to close to the achievement gap
• Youth surveys are strong and there is good cooperation between county and school division services
Challenges/Concerns/Issues
• A growing school system and crowded schools
• Achievement gap is enormous and not accurately reported
• Addressing the school start time issues – high schools need to start later
• Administrators seek power
• Adversarial system
• Advocacy groups are competing for resources and attention
• Advocates want to work to improve the system but are not welcomed or encouraged
• At-risk populations
• Backroom deals are of concern
• Beaten-down employees who have been bullied and disrespected by parents and elected officials
• Board members represent their own district’s needs rather the needs of the whole system
• Board needs to have independent auditors
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates Page 44
• Board of 12 is too big
• Board only gets the information that the superintendent wants them to get
• Boundary issues
• Budget, fiscal, and funding challenges - there is not enough to fund all the initiatives that the system wants to implement; there is a budget deficit – the deficit needs to be managed; making sure that Fairfax gets its fair share of the state budget
• Budgetary, including funding and inequitable distribution of resources
• Buildings in need of maintenance
• Business partnerships are not consistent across the Division
• Capital improvement budget
• Changing community demographics
• Children do well because they come from good families, not because the system is good at educating children
• Class sizes need to be smaller to enable teachers’ ability to meet the needs of all students
• Closing the achievement gap
• Communication difficulties between the administration and the community
• Communication speed is often a problem – it is often hard to get in front of an issue
• Complexity of the county
• Computers and cell phones should not be brought to school
• Cost of living in Fairfax far outpaces the salaries of teachers
• County supervisors have lost confidence in school division
• Differing expectations for different schools
• Discipline
• Discontinuation of advisory groups
• Disparity and disproportionality across the county in drop out rates and discipline
• Disparity of resources across the districts
• Division asks supervisors for more money rather than trying to solve a problem
• Division does not really listen when they ask for community input
• Division’s density, growth and land mass
• Diversity – changing student demographics require more services and support
• Diversity of all kinds
• Division does not always confront the brutal facts
• Drop out rates are a concern
• Dysfunctional system
• Economic diversity of the community
• Efficient and effective use of funds
• Electronic textbook issue
• Energy management is needed
• English language learning
• Equity and access to programs
• Everyone wants a piece of the superintendent’s time
• Excessive pressure on kids to be academically high
• Facilities needs are increasing
• Fad programs are implemented without adequate input from parents
• “Fairfax County’s biggest problem is itself”
• Fairfax is a squeaky wheel gets the grease kind of place
• Fairfax is somewhat a pariah in the State of Virginia
• Fairfax is very traditional and doesn’t want to change – “Fairfax hires lots of consultants, but then doesn’t listen to them.”
• FCPS is caught up in its own ego – need authentic parent engagement
• FCPS policy on welcoming parent volunteers is needed and should follow PTA standards
• FCPS values loyalty more than new ideas
• FLES is not working well
• Food quality in cafeteria is poor
• Fractions within the board causes a loss of confidence in leadership
• Funding
• Gap between administration and staff
• Global citizenship is equated with world languages
• Growing minority population
• Growing technology gap
• Growth and changing demographics
• Growth in student population
• Habit of implementing the fad program of the day without examining outcomes
• How a superintendent can lead a system when there is a significant amount of building level autonomy
• How parents are treated – some feel disrespected and dismissed
• How to address the needs of ELL students
• Implementing programs with fidelity has been challenging
• Importance of reading by 3rd grade but no plan on how to get there
• Income disparity
• Inconsistency of IB course offerings at IB schools
• Increasing number of students who don’t speak English
• Increasing levels of poverty in the county
• Inequities and disparities in resources among schools across the Division
• Kids and parents are highly competitive
• Kids falling through the cracks especially in 7th and 8th grades
• Kids in the middle do not get enough enrichment
• Knowledge of special education by principals
• Lack of a change management process for the system
• Lack of diversity in the leadership
• Lack of responses to FOIA requests
• Lack of science being taught at the elementary level
• Lack of support and training for teachers before new initiative are rolled out
• Lack of trust in the Board and the Superintendent
• Large class sizes
• Leadership doesn’t reflect the diversity of the population the Division serves
• Leadership team decisions are made in a vacuum
• Leadership team members should be in classrooms
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates Page 46
• Loud vocal minority
• Low level of expectations for minority students
• Maintaining programs
• Making everything the “Fairfax way” causes problem – need to look at best practices used in other systems
• Managing state and federal regulations
• Math program issues including over-acceleration, testing and Calculus courses
• Meeting the needs of regular middle of the road students
• More communicated needed between superintendent and parents – need to develop respectful relationships
• More preschool services are needed
• NCLB, RTTT, and Common Core
• Need for better internal auditing
• Need for a better reading program especially for seriously disabled readers
• Need for greater consistency among schools
• Need for improved communication and transparency between division and county government
• Need for meaningful involvement of stakeholders in decision-making
• Need for more after school programming
• Need for more consistency across schools
• Need for more schools in the appropriate population centers
• Need for more STEM educational efforts
• Need for technology and work-ready skills
• Need more long-range planning in many areas
• Need more teacher accountability
• Need more transparency in building the budget
• Need to align resources
• Need to audit and analyze approaches
• Need to be culturally excellent as well as academically excellent
• Need to clearly define success for the system
• Need to closely look at the procedures utilized to identify students for gifted programs
• Need to create a second STEM school
• Need to embrace minority parents; Fairfax is culturally segregated
• Need to evaluate the effectiveness of all programs
• Need to formulate an effective plan for community engagement
• Need to get back to the basics
• Need to get word out about what is working well
• “Need to harness the best of everything in order to compete”
• Need to keep academically talent programs and services in centers and maintain a program that really meets the needs of highly gifted students
• Need to meet the needs of children within his/her own community
• Need to put real dollars behind STEM programs
• Need to step up academics for the more average student
• Need to retain strong teachers
• Need to stay focused on priorities
• Needs of academically talented students are not addressed adequately
• Needs of minority children are ignored
• New Programs and initiatives are being implemented poorly, i.e., the online textbook in math – good idea, but the program is not functioning well
• No STEM strategy or plans in place
• Obstacles are placed in front of parents when they are trying to address problems
• One size fits all doesn’t work
• Online textbooks are a problem and implementation was done poorly
• Opportunity gap
• Overcrowding at some schools
• Parent involvement varies from school to school
• Parents don’t always know what to ask for to have their children’s needs met
• Parents of students in the middle sometimes feel their children are neglected
• Parents who are self-appointed politicians
• Pending discrimination complaint at the DOE regarding lack of African American students in gifted programs
• People in Fairfax County are not loathed to tell the superintendent what to do
• Poor and ineffective communication
• Pressure on children for testing and grades
• Prevention budget at the county has been slashed
• Private school flight
• Punishment mentality to discipline and lack of understanding regarding child development
• Racism
• Re-distribution of students to other schools
• Scheduling and transportation and their impact on recess and start times
• School administrators are very insular and do not hire well
• School and class sizes
• School based management is problematic because it cause inconsistency
• Schools needing modernization
• Shifting student needs
• Size and growth in different parts of the county
• Size of the county
• Some administrators do not treat people with respect
• Some advisory committees have been eliminated
• Some board members do not treat people with respect
• Some parents and teachers are resistant to participate because they feel their voice is not valued
• Special education is supported by inadequate number of staff
• Staff is overworked and overstressed
• Staff morale issues
• Student population vastly different than it was 10 years ago
• Student Rights and Responsibilities Committee needs to recommend major changes to the discipline policies
• Summer school programs have been cut
• System is too much guided by “fear of liability”
• System puts up a wall when pushed
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates Page 48
• System-wide silo mentality with little collaboration between departments
• Taxpayers are vigilant on how money is spent but are supportive of education
• Teacher evaluation based on student achievement is wrong
• Teacher salaries
• Teachers are leaving
• Teachers are still teaching like they did 20 years ago
• Teachers do not know basic skills
• Teachers feel overwhelmed with all of initiatives and things they are asked to do
• Teaching to the test is problematic and overburdening teachers – there is too much emphasis on high stakes testing
• Technology gap – children are allowed to bring Kindles and computers to school but minorities do not have the same tools to bring
• Technology inequities among schools and technology issues, i.e. a lot of tools can’t be used and are not allowed to be used by teachers; teachers feel they don’t have time for technology because “there is too much curriculum to cover;” students will not be able to compete globally
• The division is transforming from a suburban school district to an urban school district
• The forgotten middle children
• The pull of various interest groups
• Time to eat lunch
• Too many administrators in the system
• Too much emphasis on testing
• Too much emphasis placed on test prep
• Transitions between school levels is sometimes a culture shock for children
• Transparency
• Transportation – crowded buses, long bus rides, tight schedules
• Trust concerns with leadership
• Trying to do too much
• Using calculators when taking tests
• Vast group of silent stakeholders
• Waiting until 2030 for a new school is unacceptable
• White flight
• Working with the highly-educated and successful parents in Fairfax County
• Zero-tolerance blamed for student suicides
• Zero-tolerance discipline policy needs to change – problems needed to be addressed individually based on the circumstances
• The zero tolerance policy and how it is being meted out – student suicide and superintendent’s comment was very insensitive – the policy is too rigid and has lost common sense
Desired Characteristics
• A diverse background to be able to deal with all advocacy groups in the county
• A non-educator
• A person whose first commitment is to the education of the child
• “A personality who is capable of creating good relationships”
• A strong academic leader
• A strong woman
• A superintendent who will be active with the PTA and understands and welcomes family engagement
• Ability to articulate a clear vision
• Ability to bring partners (federal, state, corporate, university) together
• Ability to collaborate at the highest levels to bring everything together to benefit students
• Ability to connect with teachers
• Ability to deal with a transitional district
• Ability to delegate
• Ability to discern and articulate
• Ability to engage constituents
• Ability to formulate a good business model for the system
• Ability to harness the energy and knowledge of parents and use this to enhance the system
• Ability to learn from your naysayers
• Ability to look at bottom-up and top-down
• Ability to manage budgets
• Ability to manage competing interests
• Ability to move an idea from conception to implementation
• Ability to make and stand by tough decisions
• Ability to partner with the business community
• Ability to pull together partnerships – federal, state, local colleges, business, etc.
• Ability to see the big picture and do what is best for students
• Ability to see the Division in the wake of funding challenges
• Ability to see the need to think urban
• Ability to work well with the Board
• Ability to work with all internal and external stakeholders
• Able to effectively address the achievement gap
• Able to manage conflict
• Able to stand up to political pressure
• Accountable and holds others accountable
• Advocate for athletes
• Advocate for better / fair share of state funding
• Advocate for early childhood education
• Advocate of charter schools
• Agent of change
• Appreciates diversity and has a track record of success in closing the gap
• Arbitrary at times
• Bases decisions on all what is best for students
• “Be able to woo and speak to those citizens who do not have kids in the school”
• Belief in educating the whole child
• Believes in judgment in discipline policy
• Believes that every student matters
• Bilingual or multi-lingual
• Bridge builder
• Business acumen
Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates Page 50
• Business manager
• Can tolerate push back
• Can work with the County Board of Supervisors
• Candid – straight shooter
• Capable of dealing with county, state, and federal legislators
• CEO mentality
• Change agent
• Charismatic
• Clear vision
• Collaborative
• Collegial
• Come with new ideas and willingness to evaluate the status quo
• Comes from within and preferably a female
• Comfortable being a leader not just a manager
• Committed to developing business partnerships
• Committed to later start times
• Common sense
• Concerned about kids in the middle
• Confident, without being arrogant
• Consensus builder
• Considerate of the whole child
• Considers the point of view of teachers, parents and students
• Considers where administration can be cut
• Courageous
• Creative and knows how to measure what’s really going on
• Creative, courageous leadership style
• Creative ideas and proven experience in closing the achievement gap
• Culturally sensitive
• Data-driven decision maker
• Deep experience with special education
• Does not have to be right all the time
• Does not have to be right all the time