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June 11, 2026, Meeting Recap: Standard School Year Calendar & Instructional Technology
Dear Neighbors,
First off, I want to wish everyone–especially our graduates–a wonderful final week of school! I had the chance to attend several graduations last week, and it was such an honor to see our graduates' smiling faces as they crossed the stage.
At our most recent meeting on Thursday evening, the Board took action on a few key things, including our calendar policy and providing some direction for FCPS’ use of instructional technology (more below).
We also thanked our student representative, Faith Mekonen. Over the past year, Ms. Mekonen has been a strong advocate on issues including discipline, grading, and cell phone policy. I think it’s fitting that the Student Rep is the first to present at our regular meetings--it helps set the tone and frame for our discussion.
Finally, I was proud to make the proclamation for the Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship Award winner, Ethan Lee, who is from the Braddock District and is now a 2026 Woodson High School graduate. Ethan's dedication to academic excellence, service, and athletics made him a strong choice for this scholarship.
I'm always open to discussing any of these topics and the full agenda and board meetings can be viewed here (agenda | meeting). You can always reach out to me at Braddock@fcps.edu
Yours in Service,
Tom Dannan
Braddock District School Board Representative
On The Agenda
Motions Related to Instructional Technology
 The use of technology in our schools – and how we’re preparing our kids for a world with AI – was one of the main reasons I ran for School Board. When I began this role, I promised to listen to people who are doing the actual work -- educators, staff, experts, and parents – so that any directive we give is informed by their input and set up for success.
To that end, I’m proud to share that the board adopted my compromise amendment Thursday night, by a vote of 11-1, to provide direction to the Superintendent to develop recommendations around instructional technology, covering:
- Opt-out options for bringing devices home;
- Restrictions on electronic devices for instruction for students from Pre-K to 2nd grade;
- Storage of electronic devices in elementary school when not intentionally in use for instruction during the school day; and
- Enhanced digital literacy instruction.
This work will be done in consultation with the Educational Technology Review Committee, which I helped establish last month. This committee consists of parents, educators at all levels, subject matter experts, and Division leadership.
This amendment was the result of several weeks’ of work behind the scenes, reaching out to educators, administrators, and my School Board colleagues to address their concerns and understand how this work could be done with fidelity.
The Superintendent must bring these recommendations to the Board for approval by November, and any recommendations that are approved by the Board will be implemented as soon as practicable, and no later than the start of the 2027-2028 School Year.
The Board also approved a follow-on motion directing the Superintendent to create opt-out options by August 2026 for preschool and elementary school families who do not wish to have electronic devices sent home with their children, which I was happy to support.
I am grateful to all of the educators, staff, and community members who provided their insights over the past few weeks, as well as to my colleagues who have been committed to addressing technology in our classrooms, including Melanie Meren for her work chairing the Governance Committee and proposing the original instructional technology motions on the agenda, and other colleagues who brought suggestions and questions to push this work forward.
I am not done working on these issues, and neither is the Board. I look forward to continuing to discuss the use of technology in our classrooms through the instructional technology policy that will be discussed at the upcoming Governance Committee meeting and at the June 23 Work Session.
In addition, I’ve proposed a resolution that would encapsulate the view of the School Board around the importance of human-centric education, grounding technology use in the classroom in instructional goals, and the importance of digital literacy. This would be voted on during our June 25 meeting.
This is a topic that is very important to me and I am hopeful that the work of the new Educational Technology Review Committee will be able to help guide this work. You can view my remarks about this topic from the last meeting here.
Approval of Policy 1344, Standard School Year Calendar
Revisions to Policy 1344, the Standard School Year Calendar, were approved by the board at the last meeting. The revised policy helps provide a clearer framework for future school calendar development by focusing on instructional continuity, predictability for families and staff, and increasing the stability of full five-day school weeks. The policy updates also solidifies the recognition of religious holidays by FCPS including Christmas, Diwali, Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur by FCPS.
A follow-on motion was also passed 11-1 by the Board to establish a Calendar Review Committee that will advise the Superintendent on future calendar development and creation. Each board member will be represented by an appointee along with representatives from key stakeholder groups. I was glad to support both and help move this forward.
In addition to these, FCPS is currently conducting a calendar survey that will be open until Monday June 22nd, at 11:59pm for all FCPS families and staff to be able to provide their input for the calendar building process.
Academic Matters
Another topic that was discussed was how FCPS uses alternatives to traditional assessment practices for a variety of classes including 4th grade Virginia Studies, 8th grade Civics, and high school history and social sciences to improve student learning and promote college and career readiness and good citizenship.
Having the Local Alternative Assessment (LAA) options to testing helps measure standards and everything that has been learned throughout the year rather than one major end of the year test, brings real world relevance to foster problem-solving skills, and brings a balanced approach by mixing traditional and performance based assessments.
As one example, last year, 90% of all 4th grade and 8th grade students demonstrated proficiency in the Social Studies LAA.
You can read all about Local Alternative assessments here, as well as listen to Dr. Reid's remarks here from the most recent meeting.
Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship Award Proclamation SY 25-26
 Each year, the School Board awards the Laura Ashley Piper Scholarship Award to a deserving student, and I was excited to present this award to Ethan Lee, a Woodson senior.
During his time at Woodson, Ethan remained consistently committed to excellence in academics, maintaining a 4.551 GPA while receiving straight A’s and working towards his AP Diploma. Ethan contributed to his community as a Founding Member and Director of Operations at Cleats for A Cause, an organization that provides sports equipment to children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and by advocating for food equity by promoting sustainability and ensuring access to food for everyone. Through his overall excellence in academics and activities, including athletic success in soccer, and enthusiasm for the classical violin, STEM, US History, and Chemistry, he in every way personifies the characteristics and ideals to which Laura Ashley Piper adhered. Congratulations to Ethan and the Lee family!
Laura Ashley Piper was a 1987 graduate of Robinson Secondary School, graduated from the US Air Force Academy, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Ms. Piper was killed in action over northern Iraq in April 1994. During her high school years at Robinson, Laura was an outstanding student, a talented athlete, and an exceptional leader of other students, approaching all opportunities and responsibilities, in school and out, with intelligence, determination, and boundless enthusiasm.
Upcoming School Board Meetings
Regular Board Meetings (Luther Jackson Middle School)
- Thursday, June 25, at 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, June 25, at 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, July 9th, at 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, July 16th, at 7:00 p.m.
Work Sessions (Gatehouse Administration Center)
- Tuesday, June 23, at 11:30 a.m.
All meetings are broadcast live on Channel 99 (Verizon channel 11) and on the FCPS website. Meetings are also recorded for future viewing and posted to the FCPS YouTube channel. Visit the community participation webpage to sign up to speak at regular meetings or public hearings.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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