By Melanie Meren: For the kids, families, and our furry friends we bring to outdoor spaces, it’s critical to remember that it’s the hard work of county officials that preserves our environment and connects us with nature. I want to…
Category: Education
Springfield school board candidate debate focuses on testing and teacher shortage
By Susan Laume: Two candidates vying for Democratic Party endorsement for Springfield District school board member faced off on Thurs. Feb. 28 for an hour-long debate before an audience of about 70. Laura Jane Cohen and Robert Walter, both education…
Virginia leads the nation in student arrests – Dem. legislators seek solutions
Virginia refers more of its public school students, in percentage terms, to police than any other state. Now Northern Virginia state legislators want to address this troubling problem in the upcoming General Assembly session starting Jan. 9th in Richmond. Seven…
GMU students demand end to Koch influence over faculty and curriculum
By Brad Swanson: George Mason University (GMU) students delivered a 2,000-signature petition to the office of university President Angel Cabrera on Thursday demanding an end to influence by donors such as radical libertarian Charles Koch over academic appointments and course…
Suffragist comes to life in Vienna’s 19th century Freeman Store & Museum
By Karen Kirk: The fight for women’s rights is urgent. Who better to discuss it with than 203-year-old Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the famous suffragist leader? While Elizabeth is long gone, the next best thing is right here in Vienna, Va.,…
Koch coalition poses life or death threat to US democracy, says professor
By Brad Swanson: Prominent historian Nancy MacLean warned Wednesday night that America faces an “existential threat to democracy” from a secretive plan by right wing plutocrats led by Charles Koch to subvert our political institutions and undo a century of…
ICE has no place in Fairfax County public schools, says school board member
By Karen Keys-Gamarra: No parent should ever have to fear that sending a child to school is risking immigration enforcement. In fact, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency better known as ICE, has no place in Fairfax County public…
School board limits police role in schools, cooperation with ICE
By Brad Swanson: The Fairfax County School Board endorsed a new policy Thursday that limits the role of police officers in schools and that restricts, but does not completely bar, cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The board heard moving pleas…
Protect immigrant students in Fairfax public schools from ICE
By Diane Burkley Alejandro: Fairfax County is poised to improve its policy governing law enforcement in schools significantly, but the current draft fails to protect immigrant students, and must be changed. The matter is urgent because the policy on deployment…
New policy for police in Fairfax schools: law enforcement, not discipline
By Matthew Dunne: The policy governing roles and responsibilities of armed police officers who patrol the hallways of every public middle and high school in Fairfax County is about to be improved, after a community panel submitted more than 50…
Review group questions police role in Fairfax schools
By Brad Swanson: What should be the role of cops in schools? Should armed police officers even be allowed in schools? These were among the issues that rose to the surface in a tense meeting Monday night of a community…
Right-wing funders pursue radical agenda at GMU
By Sheldon Friedman, reviewing Democracy in Chains: Nancy MacLean’s powerful book, Democracy in Chains, focuses on the decades-long alliance between billionaire industrialist Charles Koch and radical right-wing economist James Buchanan—set largely against the backdrop of George Mason University. Fueled by…
Time to change the role of police in Fairfax County public schools
By Kofi Annan: We have the opportunity in Fairfax County to change the role of police officers in public schools – to reduce the possibility of racial profiling and make policies more transparent and accountable to parents. The need for…
School Board votes to make sex ed more LGBTQ inclusive
By Karen Kirk: The Fairfax County School Board Thursday night approved changes to the Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum that are more inclusive of LGBTQ students, thwarting opposition from a national right-wing media campaign. The proposed changes include using the…