Fairfax FLAGS

Welcome Message

2009-11-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Expansion of World Language Programs Proposed
What You Can Do Now to Show Your Support & Influence School Board Decisions

The expansion of elementary World Language programs in Fairfax County Public Schools may be a possibility according to the recently-released FY 2013 proposed school budget by Superintendent Jack Dale.

It’s exciting that expansion of elementary World Language programs may be back on track, but note that the final approved budget involves a process and expansion is contingent on funding and prioritization of the current School Board, which is composed of six newly-elected board members. If expansion does not remain in the advertised budget adopted Feb. 9, it is highly unlikely that it will be added back into the FY 2013 budget at a later date.

What You Can Do:

With so many new board members, it’s key they hear from the community--that will impact their direction and priorities. If you want to help expand our elementary language programs and/or provide feedback on the many other areas of the budget, here’s what you can do and when:

● Jan. 30 (and Jan. 31 if needed): Speak at the FCPS budget public hearings. Student speakers make a great impact at hearings, so don’t forget to see if your student would like to speak! Visit the School Board’s website to sign up, and please email us to let us know. Sign up deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27.

● Before Feb. 9: Write to the School Board to provide your feedback before they vote. Email SchoolBoardMembers@fcps.edu and copy JDDale@fcps.edu. Be sure to include your school or address. If you are writing in support of elementary foreign language expansion, please copy fairfaxflags@gmail.com for our tracking purposes.

● Now and anytime: Invite School Board members to visit your school’s immersion or FLES programs to see them in action and learn their value.

● Ongoing: Stay informed and learn more about the budget. See informative links below.

Two years ago, over 100 speakers spoke in support of immersion and FLES--and that was key to saving our existing programs. It would be great for our group to help bring these programs to other FCPS elementary students.

FY 2013 Budget Highlights:

The proposed budget requests a $202 million, or 9 percent, increase from last year and includes:

● Expansion of FLES or Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools to eight new schools (proposed to be fully implemented in all grade levels) and expansion of foreign language partial immersion to two new schools ($0.9M) No decisions yet on specific school implementations or languages.

● Re-introduction of summer school ($5M)

● A staffing reserve to address large class sizes ($2M)

● Increase in employee compensation (see below links for details on $ and many more budget items)

Thanks again for your continued support of our programs and our schools. Please contact us if you have any questions or thoughts for moving forward through this FY 2013 budget cycle.

Remember, to stay informed--check out these links!

● Vienna Patch: Overview of Proposed Budget

● Vienna Patch: Breakdown of the Numbers

● FCPS: Detailed Budget & Presentations

● Budget Development Calendar & Timeline

Benefits of Early Foreign Language

2009-11-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

BENEFITS OF BEING BILINGUAL & EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE
(From FCPS and Center for Applied Linguistics)

Learning a second language at an early age...

• Has a positive effect on intellectual growth.
• Enriches and enhances a child's mental development.
• Leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and a better ear for listening.
• Improves a child's understanding of his or her native language.
• Gives a child the ability to communicate with people he or she would otherwise not have had the chance to know.
• Opens the door to other cultures and helps the child understand and appreciate people from other countries.
• Gives the child a head start in language requirements for college.
• Increases job opportunities in many careers in which knowing another language is a real asset.

Quotes from educators & research findings
(Compiled by Brookfield & Fox Mill Elementary parents)

“Studies have shown repeatedly that foreign language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility of mind in young children. Students who are learning a foreign language out-score their non-foreign language learning peers in the verbal and, surprisingly to some, the math sections of standardized tests.” -- Therese Sullivan Caccavale, president of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL)

“Foreign language learners have better listening skills and sharper memories than their monolingual peers.” -- Lapkin, et al 1990, Ratte 1968

“Children who are adequately exposed to two languages at an early age experience gains: they are more flexible and creative, and they reach high levels of cognitive development at an earlier age than their monolingual peers.” Hamayan -- ERIC Digests

“Children of color, children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and English Language Learners make the greatest proportionate achievement gains from foreign language study. Early foreign language study is less dependent on previous verbal learning than most other elements of the elementary school curriculum and this allows some students to succeed who have otherwise experienced repeated failure in school.” --Curtain & Dahlberg 2004

“Foreign language study can alter the trajectory for children of average intelligence and narrow the achievement gap.” --Garfinkel & Tabor, 1991

“Foreign language study is an area where children not accustomed to achievement in school are able to excel. The resulting benefit to self-image, self-esteem and satisfaction with school experience are enormous. Evidence from several studies show language students have a significantly higher self-concept than do non-language students.” -- Masciantonio 1977, Saunders, 1998 Andrade, et al. 1989

“Research has shown that through foreign language study, elementary school children receive the opportunity to expand their thinking, to acquire global awareness, to extend their understanding of language as a phenomenon, and to reach an advanced proficiency level in that foreign language. Parents, educators, and policymakers should find these reasons more than enough to prove the benefits of beginning foreign language study in the elementary school.” -- ERIC Digests

“Beginning foreign language instruction early sets the stage for students to develop advanced levels of proficiencies in one or more languages. In addition, younger learners still possess the capacity to develop near native-like pronunciation and intonation in a new language.” -- Martha G. Abbott, Director of Education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

“Language learning skills transfer from one language learning experience to another. Knowledge of one foreign language facilitates the study of a second foreign language.” -- Curtain & Pesola

“The key to becoming proficient in another language is a long, continuous contact with the language. Until we have a well articulated PK-16 second language ‘buy-in’ from legislators, school boards, administrators, and parents, the U.S. will continue to lag behind other nations, thus prolonging monolingualism.” -– Ken Stewart, 2006 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year

What does research show about the benefits of language learning?
(From American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language – ACTFL)

For in-depth research information on the benefits of foreign language check out ACTFL's three major areas of studies:

•How does language learning support academic achievement?

•How does language learning provide cognitive benefits to students?

•How does language learning affect attitudes and beliefs about language learning and about other cultures?

Additional resources on foreign language benefits

•Duke Gifted Letter (on cognitive benefits)

•The Language Flagship

•“The Language Flagship Presentation on What Business Wants: Language Needs in the 21st Century”

•Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)

•National Network on Early Language Learning (NNEL)

•Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA)

•ERIC Digests

•National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSL) – Benefits of Second Language Study (NEA)

•NCSSL – College Board Position Letter

Testimonials & Speeches

2009-11-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

Testimonials & Speeches

Check out the following testimonials and speeches. If you would like to submit a testimonial or public hearing speech to share on behalf of early foreign language programs -- immersion or FLES, please email us at fairfaxflags@gmail.com.

Former student testimonials

Life-changing benefits of foreign language: This video features William & Mary college student and Fox Mill alumnus Cara Ferraro. Her testimony is in Japanese so be sure to turn on the closed caption for subtitles if you need them!

Need subtitles? Start the video, then on the bottom right on the video screen, hover over the up arrow and click on CC (Closed Caption).

Alumnus Now Living in Japan Says Immersion is Not Just a Language Program

When I heard that Fairfax County was considering ending the partial Japanese immersion program at Fox Mill Elementary School, I was shocked. That fact that such a wonderful and enriching program could be in danger of being cut is a travesty.

I was lucky enough to spend my six years of elementary school immersed in Japanese, and I now even live in Japan teaching English. One of my greatest aims is to instill in my students the same joy of learning language that I felt learning Japanese.

Even beyond language, the immersion program is invaluable because it exposes kids to a completely different culture. I grew up singing Japanese folk songs and playing Japanese children’s games, and I came to identify with the Japanese.

In this way, the program not only cultivates bilingualism in children, which is already reason enough to celebrate it, but it also encourages biculturalism as well. What normal language class can boast that?

I sincerely hope that the county can come to realize the inestimable value of this program and reconsider ending it.

Lisa Howe

Alumnus Attributes Japanese Immersion Program for Current Success

Dear Dr. Dale:

I am writing in support of the Japanese Immersion Program in Fairfax County Schools. I am an alumnus of Fox Mill Elementary School’s Japanese Immersion Program and am now working at BlackRock in New York where I am on the Japan desk covering Japanese institutional clients.

I believe the Japanese Immersion Program is very important in keeping students in Fairfax County competitive in the international job market. My interest in Japanese culture and language started in the Japanese Immersion Program. I went on to study abroad in Tokyo during college where I landed an internship at BlackRock’s Tokyo office before receiving an offer to start full time in the BlackRock’s headquarters in New York.

I attribute the success in my early career to my Japanese language abilities which wouldn’t have been possible with the early education and interest in Japanese culture that the Immersion Program fostered in me.

My fellow alumnus, Jamie Ferrer, has also had a similar experience. Jamie’s interest in Japanese culture and art began in the Japanese Immersion Program. He recently started his own advertising agency in Japan and is now living in Yokohama.

With local and state government budgets decreasing I understand the pressure your office is feeling to cut programs. However, I urge you not to cut the Japanese Immersion Program.
I believe that the Japanese Immersion Program is vital in keeping Fairfax County competitive and will make America richer culturally and stronger economically in the future.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any help. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

John Martyn

Parent Testimonials

Barrett Family urges officials to keep foreign language programs: This video spotlights the Barrett family of Lake Anne and features classroom footage of Kent Gardens, a school with both immersion and FLES programs. Many thank you's to the Barrett family, Kent Gardens, and Jason Smith and Washington Video Marketing, LLC, for producing this video!

FLAGS Barrett Family Profile from Jason Smith on Vimeo.

Rich Sargent, PTA president at Kent Gardens, urges citizens to contact elected officials to help save world-class FCPS programs like foreign language

More Testimonials & Speeches

Georgetown & George Mason Universities’ Evaluation of Fox Mill Elementary Immersion

FCPS Elementary Foreign Language Programs

2009-11-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

FCPS Early Foreign Language Programs

To better prepare students for the 21st century, Fairfax County Public Schools offer three types of foreign language programs in elementary schools: two-way immersion, partial immersion and Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES).

In addition to the many benefits of foreign language, these programs are critical in helping students reach advanced proficiency and obtaining cultural competence. To see the programs in action, check out the videos from the FCPS World Languages website:

• Video on partial immersion
• Video on FLES

Two-Way Immersion Program

Spanish and English literacy skills are the focus of the two-way immersion kindergarten program at Bailey's, Lake Anne, London Towne and Rose Hill elementary schools.

Kindergarten classes enroll 50 percent native-English speakers and 50 percent native-Spanish speakers so that students can learn literacy skills in their native language as well as the second language during the other half of the full-day kindergarten program.

The goals of the program are to develop literacy skills in both Spanish and English and to succeed academically in both languages. For more information on two-way immersion visit the FCPS World Languages website.

Partial-Immersion Program

Elementary students are able to learn French, German, Japanese and Spanish at 13 elementary schools offering partial immersion.

Students learn math, science, and health through the target language during half the school day. Elementary immersion students may continue their language study in designated middle and high schools.

Students successfully completing the 7th-grade Immersion 1 earn a high school credit and the same is true for the 8th-grade Immersion 2. Immersion students enter high school in Level 3 of the target language in 9th-grade.

Overall goals of the program are to develop students' communicative and academic proficiency in the target language and in English and for students to succeed academically in all subject areas at levels comparable to those they would have reached if they had been schooled only in English.

Another benefit of the program is that students develop multicultural awareness and a more global perspective. The program is aimed at enriching all the students in the school via special exhibits, outside speakers, and other cultural activities. For more information on partial immersion visit the FCPS World Languages website.

Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) Program

FLES is offered in 32 schools across Fairfax County. This model develops students' language proficiency by providing language instruction that supports the concepts taught in the subject areas at the respective grade level.

Generally, programs have 30 minutes of instruction two or three times a week which is articulated through the middle school and high school. It is based on the research that shows that students are not only able to learn but are also highly engaged in learning content through the target language.

In addition, the culture of the target language is integrated into instruction. This model supports the five goal areas of the national standards for foreign language (communication, culture, connections, comparisons, and communities) and is aligned with the Virginia SOL for foreign languages.

For more information and the list of schools offering FLES, visit the FCPS World Languages website.

Public Meeting and Dialogues

2009-11-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

Take Action: Here's What You Can Do!

1. Attend County Supervisor's Budget Town Hall meetings and encourage other education supporters to attend. At the recent Providence meeting, there were only 12 participants -- 10 seniors/retired, one teacher and one FLAGS/general education supporter. We need education supporters to show up at meetings to support school funding and other county services! See listing and links at the bottom.

2. Write and/or call your Supervisor and Chairman Bulova to encourage them to give more than just a flat transfer to FCPS (copy other Supervisors, School Board members, and Fairfax FLAGS -- for tracking purposes). See sample letter and talking points to get you started. For phone numbers or to find your supervisor visit the Board of Supervisors website.

3. Complete the County's online budget feedback form in addition to writing a letter or email

4. Sign up online to speak at the County budget public hearings March 29-31. Contact us at fairfaxflags@gmail.com with your date and speaker number. March 29 is now full but plenty of speaking slots are available on March 30 & 31.

5. Attend Education Rally on Tuesday, March 29, at 5:15 p.m. This is the first of three days of budget public hearings and School Board Chair Kathy Smith presents the FCPS budget to the County Board of Supervisors on March 29. We are combining efforts with other groups advocating for more education funding. More details to follow in a future email.

Letter Writing Campaign

2009-11-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

Contact County Officials to Advocate for Education FY 2012

NOW is the time to voice your concerns and advocate for education funding to County elected officials as budget decisions are underway. See our talking points to get you started along with general tips on contacting elected officials & decision makers.

In advocacy, personal letters are always best, but here is a sample letter to get you started. To make it personal, explain what you value and why -- tell your story! Be respectful and courteous. Keep it brief and make your priorities clear.

Sample Letter

Dear Chairman Bulova and Supervisor _________:

I am writing to encourage you to support a tax rate of $1.09 which will provide an additional $30 million in unallocated funds for the County. With the proposed level transfer to the schools, this is still a significant cut to our schools based on the $16 million cut to the transfer last year and the level transfers the two previous years. FCPS enrollment increased by 7000 students from FY2009- FY2011 plus 2120 additional students are projected in FY2012. Next year alone this student increase is estimated to cost an additional $17.8 million.

I am willing to pay a slightly higher tax bill rather than further compromise our school system. I value the quality of life here in Fairfax County and feel it is critical to preserve our world-class schools. I urge you to retain the additional $30 million in revenue and provide a portion of those additional funds to FCPS to cover the unavoidable increased operational costs.

Thank you for your service to Fairfax County.

Sincerely,
Name
Address
Phone

Send your emails to chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov; braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov; dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov; hntrmill@fairfaxcounty.gov; leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov; mason@fairfaxcounty.gov; mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov; provdist@fairfaxcounty.gov; springfield@fairfaxcounty.gov; sully@fairfaxcounty.gov; fairfaxflags@gmail.com; schoolboardmembers@fcps.edu; JDDale@fcps.edu

At Stake For Stakeholders

2009-11-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

At stake for stakeholders
(by Lake Anne & Fox Mill parents)

Here’s a sample of what’s at stake for stakeholders if FCPS eliminates key programs, including elementary school foreign language in future years...

Students
•Unmet potential in reaching maximum levels of cognitive development resulting from superior education programs.
•Decreased number of students who become bilingual or multilingual, especially at advanced-proficiency levels that many early language learners achieve.
•Reduced opportunities for cognitive development including enhanced creativity (what researchers call "mentally flexible") and improved literacy and skills.*
•Decreased opportunities to develop a life-long positive attitude and cultural sensitivity toward speakers of other languages.*
•Decreased opportunities to enter growing number of careers that require multiple languages and cultural fluency.
•Loss of competitiveness in global workplace.

*from Kendall King and Alison Mackey (2007), The Bilingual Edge

Fairfax County Public Schools
•Difficulty meeting its Student Achievement Goal 1.2: To communicate in at least two languages.
•Loss of world-class education programs built by the Fairfax community over several decades.
•Loss of perceived or real value of a FCPS education.
•Potential loss in national and international reputation as county that provides superior education programs.
•Potential difficulty in recruiting and keeping high-quality teachers and administrators.

Fairfax County
•Potential continued loss in revenue over time as families and businesses choose to locate to communities that support superior education programs.
•Potential loss in reputation as progressive if its school system regresses.

Local community members
•Potential decline in property values as perceived or real value of education declines.
•Potential loss of programs and world-class school system fought for and built over several decades.

Government, academic and business communities
•Potential difficulty in recruiting top-notch professionals who want a world-class education for their families.
•Decreased candidate pool with foreign language and cultural fluency skills that are increasingly in demand.

Politicians
•Potential difficulty in supporting constituents’ expectations for a world-class public education system.
•Potentially could no longer represent a region that is considered progressive if its school system declines.

At-Risk Programs

2009-11-09T21:41:00.000-08:00

At-Risk FCPS Programs

Information currently not updated....

Virginia Budget

2009-11-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

State’s budget impact on Fairfax County & Public Schools

(Last updated on March 5, 2010 -- not current for FY2012 budget )

Here’s the latest on the Senate & House budgets according to The Alliance for Virginia's Students, which supports the Senate education budget.

The Senate budget:

• Cuts education funding by $350 million less than the House budget in FY 2011.

• Protects education by making temporary, not permanent cuts.

• Preserves funding for programs supporting at-risk students, does not block grant those programs, and continues to target the funding and programs on the basis of Free Lunch eligibility, maintaining the targeted nature of these resources.

By contrast, the House budget:

• Cuts education funding permanently, eroding the Standards of Quality, the minimum foundation of education in Virginia.

• Slashes funding for programs supporting students at-risk of educational failure by at least $70 million over the biennium.

• Block-grants programs supporting at-risk students. Block-grant funding diminishes over time, leading to the elimination of valuable and effective programs.

• Distributes the at-risk program dollars on the basis of Average Daily Membership in a school division instead of based on the Free Lunch population in a school division. This change recognizes size over need, and it is a major reversal in the intent of the current policy. At-risk program dollars were intended to be targeted toward the students who need them the most.

These two very different budgets must now be negotiated by 12 budget conferees from the House and Senate. Contact and re-contact state officials before March 13 with these two new messages for our schools.

#1 -- Thank the Senate for their budget and urge them to stay strong for students. Click here to send a message to all six Senate Budget Conferees.

#2 – Ask the House Conferees to PLEASE reconsider the House budget’s devastating cuts to public education. Click here to send a message to all six House Budget Conferees.

MORE STATE BUDGET INFORMATION...

• Virginia State’s direct aid to public education from 2009-2010 decreased by nearly $400 million. This will be marked by the $23.8 million funding reduction from the state to FCPS.

• The Virginia General Assembly oversees Fairfax County in accordance with “The Dillon Rule.” Fairfax County only has the powers granted to it by the state legislature. This rule is often criticized for imposing unreasonable constraints on communities’ capacity to govern itself. Only four states still have the Dillon Rule.

• Because of composite index factors, Fairfax County Public Schools historically earn only 19-28 percent of its operating revenue from the state while on average Virginia schools are awarded 48-60 percent (some as much as 83 percent) of their revenue from the state.

• Fairfax County has the highest true property value, adjusted gross income and taxable retail sales by billions of dollars. Its population outnumbers other Virginia districts by hundreds of thousands.

• The state of Virginia derives its general fund from income taxes, sales taxes and corporate taxes, amounting to $29.9 billion. In return, the state distributes 45.9 percent of this income ($13.7 billion) to school districts based upon a local composite index.

Letter Responses & Discussion Notes

2009-11-09T21:29:00.000-08:00

Letter Responses & Discussion Notes

If you have letter/email responses of interest from elected officials or would like to post notes from discussions/ meetings addressing the FCPS budget crisis, potential program cuts or elementary foreign language, please email us at fairfaxflagsaction@gmail.com.

Events & Meetings

2009-11-09T21:24:00.001-08:00

Events & Meetings for Budget FY 2012

Dates of Town Hall Budget Meetings

Meetings that we know of are listed below. Please also visit the County site in case we missed a meeting in your area.

Dranesville Supervisor Foust
Wed 3/23, 7 p.m. - McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave
Thu 3/24, 7 p.m. - Great Falls Library, 9830 Georgetown Pike

Lee District Supervisor McKay & School Board member Brad Center
Wed 3/23, 7:30 p.m. - Franconia Government Center

Braddock Supervisor Cook & Springfield Supervisor Herrity
Wed 3/23, 7:30 p.m. - West Springfield HS Cafeteria

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins & School Board member Stu Gibson
Sat 3/19, 10 a.m. - Vienna Community Center
Sat 3/26, 10 a.m. - Reston Community Center at Hunter Woods

FLAGS Events & Meetings

2009-11-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

Fairfax FLAGS Meeting & Events

There are no scheduled Fairfax FLAGS meetings at this time.

Discussion Forums

2009-11-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

Advocacy Discussion Groups & Websites

Here are some discussion groups and informative websites that focus on the severe budget issues surrounding our schools and work toward preserving the quality of our schools and quality of life in Fairfax County.

(Email us fairfaxflags@gmail.com to add to our list of discussion groups or websites advocating for Fairfax County Public Schools or early foreign language programs)

• "Fairfax FLAGS" on Facebook. Join our group, get updates and participate in discussions.

• Fairfax Immersion (started by Laurel Ridge Elementary parent)

• Fairfax Parents (started by Lake Anne Elementary parents)

• Communications (started by Great Falls Elementary parents)

• CPESparents (started by Cunningham Park Elementary School parents)

• CPESparents on Facebook (started by Cunningham Park Elementary School parents)

• Voters Fighting for Fairfax (blog started by Aldrin Elementary School parents)

F L A G S Presentation 2 24 10

View more presentations from Fairfax Flags.

News & Reports

2009-11-09T21:20:00.000-08:00

News & reports on early foreign language programs

The Washington Post: Budget woes frustrate foreign language goals (FCPS)

Fairfax Times: Teaching students about other languages may get lost in translation (Fox Mill Elementary)

Video: FLES – Teaching Foreign Language to Elementary Students (FCPS Superintendent Jack Dale)

NBC: Adios to foreign language programs (Shrevewood Elementary)

Video: FLES Arabic Program (Beech Tree Elementary)

Reston Connection: Immersion Program Reinforced (Fox Mill Elementary)

American Observer: Fairfax school offers students Arabic (Beech Tree Elementary)

Close Up City of Fairfax Schools: Learning Chinese (Providence Elementary)

Video: FCPS partial immersion program

Video: FCPS FLES program

Washington Post: Finding fluency in language lessons (School in Silver Springs, MD)

WRAL: Students schooled in second languages earlier than ever (North Carolina school)

Columnist: A case for foreign-language programming in our elementary schools

ACTFL featuring variety of news articles on foreign language

FLAGS co-organizer, Tina Meek, talks to Channel 9 News live at the Herndon H.S. December 2, 2009 rally that took place before the final Community Dialogue.

Tina Meeks, FLAGS co-organizer talks to Channel 9

More than 100 demonstrators showed up in the pouring rain at the Dec. 2 rally in Herndon.

Listen in on what President Obama thinks about learning foreign languages....

Contact Us

2009-11-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Contact information for Fairfax FLAGS organizers

Sandy Knox
Fairfax FLAGS organizer &
Parent of fourth- and sixth-grade sons at Brookfield Elementary (Spanish FLES)
Email: fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Tel: 703-802-0998

Tina Meek
Fairfax FLAGS organizer &
Parent of fourth-grade daughter in Fox Mill Elementary Japanese Immersion and seventh-grade daughter at Rachel Carson Middle School
Email: fairfaxflags@gmail.com and tina.meek@yahoo.com
Tel: 703-956-0063

Fairfax County Budget

2009-11-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Fairfax County Budget FY 2012

Here is a summary of the County's proposed budget and tax rate impacts for FY2012 along with the general position of the Board of Supervisors and what this means in terms of budget cuts.

County Budget Summary & Tax Rate Impacts for FY 2012

The County Executive's proposed budget was recently presented to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) and the tax rate was advertised at $1.09. The proposed budget:
• Projects revenues to increase by $103 million but maintains a level transfer (no increase) in funding to FCPS.
• Recommends a tax rate set at $1.09/$100 real estate. This is the same tax rate as the current year; however, with property values rising, this rate means an extra $110.55 on the average homeowner's tax bill. Please note that the average tax bill would still be $11.70 less than in 2007.
• Creates a $30 million surplus of unallocated funds for BOS deliberations and suggests several options for the BOS to consider such as additional funding to the schools, other county services, county employee pay increases, and/or future savings.
• Projects a value of each "penny" change to equal $19.3 million. Each penny change equals $45 on a homeowner's tax bill.

The BOS will hold meetings and public hearings over the next couple of weeks soliciting community input on the proposed budget and tax rate. The BOS will vote on the budget "mark up," or final version, on April 12 then officially approve on April 26.

General position of supervisors

This is an election year and several supervisors have stated publicly that despite the increased revenues and the proposed unallocated $30 million surplus, they want to cut the current tax rate rather than give additional funding to our schools and other county services.

Consider that while no one likes to pay taxes, cutting the property tax rate from $1.09 to $1.08 would give you an extra $3.75/month in your pocket but would take away $19.3 million that could be provided to FCPS and/or other county services.

BOS philosophy the last few years has been to reduce the tax rate to equalization of the total tax bill (meaning regardless of the rate, the average dollar amount paid is the same as the previous year.) If they vote to equalize the tax bill this year, it would mean a tax rate of $1.065.

This rate would give you an extra $9.38/month but will take an additional $48M of revenue out of the County budget. Not only do they lose the $30M in unallocated funds but would have to cut another $18M or more in programs and services.

Where will County budget cuts come from?

Last year BOS cut the school transfer by $16M after the two previous years of flat budget transfers. The current budget again proposes $16M less than FY2009 and FY2010.

If you value investment in education and want to maintain world-class schools more than you value a slight reduction in property taxes, please tell your County supervisor that a zero-increase (flat transfer) to the schools is not acceptable when County economy and revenues are growing.

While it is a good thing that efficiencies have been realized on both the County and the FCPS side, our County is still not out of the woods. Relatively speaking, the schools have taken a larger cut than what's on paper due to increased student enrollment which includes an increasing proportion of students with special needs at higher costs.

Many county agencies are providing more with less right now, however, unlike some other county services, FCPS is required by law to serve every student that enters the system and new student enrollment costs millions of additional dollars every year.

The Fairfax County Council of PTAs recently approved two resolutions (see links) supporting additional funding for FCPS and Full Day Kindergarten expansion. If your PTA has not yet shared this information with your school, they may not have seen it so we ask that you please notify them and ask that they share this budget information with parents at your school. We ask that you share with other education supporters as well.

We realize that not every Fairfax County resident agrees on this topic, however, regardless of your position, we encourage you to provide your input to the BOS. As our elected officials, they have tough decisions to make and it is important that they receive input from their constituents.

School Liaisons

2009-11-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

Contact your school's Fairfax FLAGS liaison

Baileys	Florry Corea	fllory@verizon.net
Beechtree	Karen Wirth	kewirth@hotmail.com
Belle View	Cheryl Fuentes	acvfuentes@msn.com
Brookfield	Sandy Knox	sandygknox@yahoo.com
Chesterbrook	Claudia Shaw	Shawcc@state.gov
Clearview	Rose Maletesta	Lmrosie@aol.com
Clermont	Carol Wells	cgwells@verizon.net
Cunningham Park	Susannah Frazier	susannah.frazier@verizon.net
Daniels Run	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Fairview	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Fairhill	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Floris	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Fort Hunt	Ken Rivera	ken_rivera@msn.com
Fox Mill	Kelly Richards	kellymrichards@hotmail.com
Franklin Sherman	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Graham Road	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Great Falls	Marissa Fallon	GFESJIP@gmail.com
Greenbrier West	Mary Heaton	maryheaton1@hotmail.com
Gunston	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Herndon	Athena Scalese-Waiit	athsca@gmail.com
Kent Gardens	Virginie Carey	pvjecarey@mac.com
Lake Anne	Mary Kay Alegre	mkalegre@inbriefvideos.com
Laurel Ridge	Anne-Kari Friedner	laurelridge.friedner@gmail.com
Little Run	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
London Towne	Nicole Allen	london_towne_immersion_advocacy@yahoo.com
Mantua	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Mt. Vernon Woods	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Navy	Liz Gusmati	flesatnavy@yahoo.com
Oak Hill	Catherine Edgington	skincare_frau@msn.com
Orange Hunt	Yvonne Fromm	orangehuntgermanimmersion@yahoo.com
Pine Spring	Sacha Carey	sacha.carey@gmail.com
Providence	Melynda Benlimlih	mbenlemlih@gmail.com
Ravensworth	Don Willcox	don.willcox@gmail.com
Rose Hill	Virginia Foley	vfoley@worldbank.org
Sangster	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Shrevewood	Cynthia Nair	cynthia.nair@uncf.org
Sleepy Hollow	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Terra Centre	Terri Melone	terri.melonepta@gmail.com
Terraset	Rebecca Estrada	rebeccaestrada@gmail.com
Waples Mill	Miriam Erickson	mserickson@mindspring.com
Willow Springs	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Woodley Hills	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com
Wolftrap	vacant	contact us to volunteer fairfaxflags@gmail.com

FCPS Budget

2009-11-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Fairfax County Public School Budget FY 2012

Here's some overview information about the FCPS budget situation and impact over the past few years along with what FCPS is requesting from the county. Visit the FCPS website for the latest information and greater details about the FCPS FY 2012 budget.

FCPS situation

Over the past few years, FCPS has cut:
•Hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of positions
•Eliminated programs such as summer school
•Instituted testing and athletic fees
•Frozen teacher's pay
•And, increased class sizes while student enrollments grow by thousands

To maintain programs such as early foreign language and elementary band & strings which are often the first programs on the chopping block during tough times, we must continue to fight for education funding.

Fairfax County also needs to complete the implementation of full-day kindergarten in the remaining 37 schools without FDK and maintain quality teachers.

What is FCPS requesting?

FCPS is requesting a $42M transfer increase from the BOS, however, this amount is highly unlikely since it is not possible for the advertised tax rate to generate that much additional revenue. See FCPS website for FY 2012 budget details.

Key Dates

2009-11-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Key Dates & FY 2012 Budget Decision Timeline

To be updated soon.....

Talking Points

2009-11-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

Talking Points for County Supervisor Town Halls & Letters

Contact your county supervisor and Chairman Sharon Bulova by April 12 to urge their support of education funding. Remember to forward your correspondence to fairfaxflagsaction@gmail.com to help us track advocacy efforts!

1. Continued cuts: FCPS has made over $465 million in cuts and cost avoidances FY2009-FY2011 despite the fact that student population has grown by 7000 during that time (plus 2120 additional students are projected in FY2012 at a cost of $17.8M.)

2. Low cost per student: At an average cost of $12,597 per student, FCPS spends much less than Arlington ($17,322) and Alexandria ($16, 597.) Additionally, a growing proportion of our student population is more expensive to educate. FCPS is in its third consecutive year of declining per-pupil spending with an overall decrease of $810, or 6% of since FY2008. Continued cuts are not sustainable.

3. Class size was increased by 0.5 students in FY2009 and again in FY2010.

4. Employee salaries were frozen in FY2010 and FY2011 making it difficult to attract and maintain the best teachers.

5. Unfunded state mandates are creating an additional fiscal burden for our county. The state mandate to perform online SOL testing beginning in FY2012 will cost Fairfax County $8.1 million and the state mandate for 150 minutes of PE is estimated to cost at least $18 million.

6. FCPS remains at risk for cuts this fiscal year until the budget is finalized. Last year early foreign language, elementary band and strings, full day kindergarten (FDK) and other programs were listed on the potential chopping block. Just over a month ago, School Board member, Tina Hone, proposed an amendment to cut the FLES - Foreign Language in the Elementary School program from the FCPS FY2012 advertised budget. Thankfully this amendment failed unanimously, however, during the discussions, Hone said that no program is safe in this budget (and specifically mentioned band & strings and FDK expansion as well.) If FCPS is cut any further, we believe no program is safe from review whether that means in the coming FY2012 budget or in future years.

Sign The Petition

2009-11-09T17:48:00.000-08:00

Sign our petition & subscribe for Fairfax FLAGS updates

Sign our free petition to support the Fairfax FLAGS advocacy for elementary school foreign language programs. By signing this petition, you are automatically subscribed to the Fairfax FLAGS mail list, which features an unsubscribe option if you do not wish to receive updates.

Note: Please skip the donations page that appears. Just double check that your signature is recorded.

Click here to sign the Fairfax FLAGS Petition!

Subscribe to Fairfax FLAGS only

By signing the petition in the link above, you are automatically subscribed to the Fairfax FLAGS mail list which features an unsubscribe option if you do not wish to receive updates.

If you simply want to subscribe to the Fairfax FLAGS mail list (without signing the petition) send an email to fairfaxflags@gmail.com. In the subject line type: "Subscribe me to FLAGS."

About Us

2009-11-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

About us

Fairfax FLAGS (Foreign Language Advocacy for Grade Schools) is a united group of community members working to preserve the high-quality of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and Fairfax County.

Our group formed in fall of 2009 as concerned community members jumped into action to advocate for increased funding for FCPS as we faced a projected $176 million budget deficit that put many key programs at risk for FY 2011, including elementary school foreign language – immersion and FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools).

FCPS’s nationally-recognized schools make this county a special place to live and are a defining feature that attracts community members and businesses to Fairfax County. We believe it is critical to work to preserve top-notch FCPS programs, not only for our children, but for the continued vitality of Fairfax County's economy and property values.

If you are a parent, student, alumni or concerned community member living in or out of Fairfax County, please join us in our mission to keep FCPS one of the nation’s best school systems that will continue to offer innovative, global and progressive programs to benefit our students -- our future leaders.

Letter Writing Tips

2009-11-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

Tips on contacting elected officials & decision makers

Below are some tips on writing letters/emails (can also be modified for phone calls) to elected officials and decision makers. Be sure to check out our talking points as well.

To help us gauge advocacy efforts and make the most impact, please forward your correspondence to fairfaxflagsaction@gmail.com.

How to write letters to elected officials
(From U.S. Gov Info/Resources Guide)

Letters from constituents are very important to elected officials, but they get thousands of them every day. Here are some tips to help your letters get attention and action.

• Always be courteous and respectful, but avoid being 'gushy' or overly flattering.
• Clearly and simply state the purpose of your letter. If it's about a certain bill, identify it correctly.
• Identify yourself. Anonymous letters go nowhere. Even in email, include your correct name, address, phone number and email address. If you don't include at least your name and address, you will not get a response. State any professional credentials or personal experience you may have, especially those pertaining to the subject of your letter.
• Keep your letter short -- one-page letters are best.
• Provide specific rather than general information about how the topic affects you and others.
• Use specific examples or evidence to support your position.
• Clearly state what it is you want done or recommend a course of action.
• Thank the official for taking the time to read your letter.
• NEVER use vulgarity, profanity or threats. Simply stated, don't let your passion get in the way of making your point.
• NEVER demand a response.

Sample Letters

2009-11-09T15:17:00.000-08:00

Sample Letters to County Supervisors & State Officials

.
These letters are currenlty being updated to reflect new advocacy strategy and messages with the recent State budget decisions. Meanwhile, our recent joint advocacy presentation features talking points and new advocacy strategy. The State sample calls for support to give localities meals tax authority.

IMPORTANT: Please try to personalize your letters to increase your effectiveness. If using these, please modify a bit so elected officials are not receiving the exact same letters.
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To Fairfax County: Sample Letters -- Check back soon for updated letters!

To State: Sample Letter In support of Meals Tax

Fairfax County is facing the same severe budget crisis faced by the rest of Virginia, and it would be unfair not to at least give our locality a chance to maintain our core services at the high level we prefer. At least let our own local elected officials have a choice about how to proceed.

Please give our Board of Supervisors this option to diversify our revenue stream away from property taxes. And please be aware that, although many legislators fear the consequences of raising taxes, the consequences of NOT funding core services will be equally severe at election time.

Thank you for your time and service on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Your Address
Phone Number

Supervisors and Corresponding Schools

2009-11-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Corresponding Schools

Find your school and corresponding Supervisor. Go to this list of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors if contact information below is hard to read.

Georgetown & George Mason

2009-11-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

Georgetown & George Mason Universities’ Evaluation of Fox Mill Elementary Immersion

Dear Fox Mill Elementary School (ES) Japanese Immersion (JI) teachers:

Thank you very much for providing us with an opportunity to observe your JI classes on Wednesday, January 21, 2009. It was an enjoyable and encouraging experience for us.

Overall, our impressions are positive about all aspects of your JI program. All the teachers are effective and skillful in using a variety of teaching strategies appropriately in order to help their students learn both content and language simultaneously. The students were engaged in learning activities and seemed to enjoy their classes very much. No student appeared to be experiencing tremendous difficulty learning subject-specific concepts in Japanese.

The majority of students were attentive and able to follow the teacher’s instructions given all in Japanese. It was also observed that the students helped one another and in case there were students having some difficulty keeping up with activities, they were spotted immediately and assisted by the teacher.

We focused our observation on use of teaching strategies and levels of student performance as per your request. Regarding the former, we must say, we are the ones who in fact learned so much from observing the way various strategies were used wisely and coherently by the JI teachers. Different combinations of strategies were used for different activities to draw the students' attention and facilitate their learning.

The asa-no kai (a morning assembly) that we observed in the 1st grade class, for instance, was an excellent example. A seamless transition between different activities in practicing dates, days of the week and dates of the month and describing the weather, animals and scientific concepts took place under the guidance of a small group of 1st graders. Apparently the students were all familiar with the routines and expressions and different groups would take turns to be in charge of the asa-no kai. The use of asa-no kai in this way is an excellent idea as it promotes communication in Japanese among students without the teacher’s intervention and helps consolidate student learning of language and concept.

In the 5th and 6th grade science classes, the teachers were doing an excellent job in drawing the students' attention to not only the scientific concepts in question but also Japanese vocabulary and expressions by having students write down their plan, discuss predicted results, and present their predictions prior to an experiment. We made a similar observation in the 2nd grade health class. In the 3rd grade math class, the students were having fun memorizing a multiplication table by singing and dancing. In the 4th grade math class, the teacher used a pair work activity to connect the math concepts the students were learning to their real-world experience by having them play a shopping game.

Regarding the levels of the students' performance, the 6th graders’ demonstrated abilities in interpretive and presentational communication skills were beyond our expectations. They were able to comprehend the teacher's naturally spoken Japanese, discuss possible outcomes of a science experiment with classmates in Japanese, and present their opinions in front of class. It is hard to assess exact levels of the students' language proficiency and content knowledge based on a single class observation. However, the 6th graders' impressive performance may attest to the overall effectiveness in language and content instruction of the JI program at Fox Mill ES.

In sum, we believe that the JI program at Fox Mill ES is successful. Our next question is how Japanese language instruction is vertically articulated at middle and high school levels. We will have a chance to visit the JI classes at Carson Middle School (MS) in February. We will be more than happy to discuss any questions concerning vertical articulation after our observation of the MS JI program, if so desired.

Sincerely yours,

Yoshiko Mori
Georgetown University

Sufumi So
George Mason University