Boundary Policy Amendments
<bt>The Fairfax County School Board asked staff to draft amendments to the local school boundaries policy and regulation Thursday, July 18.
The requested changes include clarifying the language which spells out when consolidating schools, redistricting school boundaries or adopting pupil assignments will be made. The current wording, it was felt, did not make clear that any or all of the conditions in the policy need to exist and that the conditions are not in any particular order.
The conditions include busing times and costs, walking distances, and long-range capital plans among others.
The other change concerns notifying adjacent school communities when a school boundary study will be taking place.
The idea is to let the communities know up front what areas are being considered in the study, what areas are not and why. The board members want to head off communities coming forward late in the boundary study process and requesting to be included or excluded.
"I think there is a lot of merit to inviting everyone to the table. And at the first meeting when they say, 'Why aren't we included?' — at that point they can be told why they can be brought in or the reasons why they can't," said board member Christian Braunlich (Lee). "The goal at the end game is to not have someone say he was never notified."
In addition, staff was asked to be more inclusive when it comes to the at-large members and to provide all board members updates as the boundary study process moves along.
<sh>Templin Tapped to Head NVCC
<bt>Robert G. Templin Jr., a Centreville resident, takes the helm of Northern Virginia Community College Aug. 27, as its new president. Templin assumes the post left vacant in January by Belle S. Wheelan when she became the state Secretary of Education.
Templin has been a senior fellow and advisor at the Morino Institute in Reston since 1999 and also served as president of Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton from 1986-1994. He left Thomas Nelson to become president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon.
In addition, Templin served as dean of instruction at Piedmont Virginia Community College, from 1978-1986; was an assistant professor of education and continuing education at the University of Virginia; and dean of the college at Somerset Community College in Somerset, Ky.
He holds a doctorate in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University, a master's in International Relations from Georgetown University, a bachelor's from Towson University and an associates' degree from Hartford Community College, both in Maryland.
<sh>Students Win Merit Scholarships
<bt>Seventeen Fairfax County Public Schools students were named recipients of college-sponsored merit scholarship awards by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
The scholarship recipients, with their sponsoring college and high school include: Jessica Romine from Centreville High, University of North Texas; Emily Guendelsberger from Oakton High, Oberlin College; Rachel Brown, Washington University; Kevin Cahill, Rice University; Eric Chu, Case Western Reserve University; Elizabeth Evans, Macalester College; Elizabeth Harrell-Edge, Sarah Lawrence College; Alexander Hreiz, Georgia Institute of Technology; Jesse Hurdus, Virginia Tech; Karen Kelly, Baylor University; James Kynes, University of Florida; Moses Lei, Northwestern University; Jingyi Li, Rice University; Molly Mahar, University of Southern California; Emily Riggs, Oberlin College and Jan-Willem Van Der Vaart, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology; and Wade Miller from Woodson High, Georgia Institute of Technology.
The college-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
<sh>Schools Events Calendar
<bt>Thursday, July 25, 7:30 p.m.
Fairfax County School Board regular meeting. Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church.
Saturday, July 27
Oakton High School, Class of 1982, 20-year reunion. For more information, call First-Class Reunions at 888-327-1984 or on the Web at www.fcreunions.com. Sheraton Premiere, Tysons Corner.
Monday, July 29
First day of school for FCPS elementary modified-calendar schools.
Saturday, Aug. 3
Marshall High School, Class of 1972, 30-year reunion, Double Tree Hotel, Tysons Corner. For more information, call First-Class Reunions at 888-327-1984 or on the Web at www.fcreunions.com.