I believe a school’s zip code and socioeconomic status should not define program quality or access. I am proud of the initiatives and inroads our Board and I have made on equity issues in the past 8 years. When I was first elected to the school board, I was honored to be representing the 10^th largest public-school system with a diverse and thriving student body, boasting one of the highest graduation rates in the United States. As my tenure continued, I witnessed differences across our County. In Franconia district, I saw growing pockets of poverty, increasing numbers of students with interrupted education, a lack of preschool opportunities and differences in courses and programs offered within our schools compared to other magisterial districts.

Through many meaningful discussions with local, state and national leaders, my school board colleagues and I brought to light the emergence of what we observed to be “Two Fairfax’s”. This led to many courageous conversations resulting in the development of the Successful Children and Youth Policy Team (SCYPT). I twice chaired the SCYPT which brought together school, county and neighborhood leaders to set community-wide goals and priorities. Through hard work and perseverance, leaders from across the county came together to develop and put into motion the “One Fairfax” policy. This policy keeps the lens of racial and social equity in all that we do. We have added staff focused on equity initiatives across our county and in our schools to ensure that disparities are resolved.

In addition, I’ve worked with our Board and staff on the following equity initiatives:

• Enhancing our non-discrimination for LGBTQ students because we believe all students should be treated with dignity and respect;
• Advocating to make certain all children have access to advanced courses in their schools;
• Instituting “Needs-Based” staffing to ensure smaller class sizes to assist our most socio-economically disadvantaged schools;
• Establishing Project Momentum, ensuring our schools with challenging student populations have the support they need to meet the accreditation standards;
• Opening over 30 Pre-K classrooms across FCPS;
• Changing hiring practices to recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers from a diverse pool of applicants.

In my next term, I will build on this momentum and continue to ensure that all students in Franconia District and across the county have the same opportunities available to them to get an outstanding education within FCPS.