Letter from FairfaxCAPS...

May 31, 2008

Dear Friends,

On this past Memorial Day weekend, FairfaxCAPS participated in this year’s Viva Vienna.  The weather was cooperative as hundreds of people strolled by the booths, sampled the good food and shared in the excitement of children and young people.

Our booth had an ideal location; near the rides and food.  We had three or four volunteers each of the days.  Around two hundred people stopped to learn about FairfaxCAPS.  What lured them were the friendly volunteers who greeted people as they came by the booth.  Each hour a question was posted on a board.  The questions focused on School Board activities.  For example, one question was:  How do you feel about the Board adding a half student to the classroom at the same time they are exploring adding a new building for administrative staff?  Cynthia did a terrific job coordinating the volunteers and coming up with fresh and interesting questions for the public to answer.

Many of the people who stopped at the booth were from Vienna.  Although many had followed the Western Boundary Redistricting process as found in the local newspapers, they were not as familiar with FairfaxCAPS.  We explained how we evolved from a tumultuous boundary study where thousands of citizens’ requests for a redistricting moratorium were ignored.  We also talked about our role as a watch group over school activities.

The most amazing thing was how many people shared stories of their own frustrations with the School Board.  Several told how they had been uprooted from their home school to be redistricted to a new school.  Their recollections reflected some of the same intense feelings being experienced by families and school children who are redistricted from such schools as Fox Mill, Floris, Navy, Madison, Thoreau and Wolftrap.  We heard how parents were moving into the Town of Vienna so that their children will remain in the Madison pyramid.

Overall, Viva Vienna was a great success.  We were effective in getting our message out to new communities and obtaining new members.  Our fundraising was also successful in raising money to help support our advocacy efforts.  We distributed the School Report Card which describes the results from the research about SOL grading achievement.  Several asked if there would be information about SAT scores.  The answer is yes, and watch the FairfaxCAPS site for soon to be published information.

If there were any questions about why the public needs a watch dog organization such as FairfaxCAPS, they were answered.  Several parents said that after reading about the boundary study process and how many parents and students were disenfranchised, they appreciate the contribution that FairfaxCAPS is making.  FairfaxCAPS will certainly have its presence at the next Viva Vienna and other public forums.  We encourage each of you to frequently visit FairfaxCAPS.org for updates.  We appreciate your support and we certainly felt the power and energy from members of the community as they engaged us in conversation about the educational needs of our children.


Nick Pesce
President
FairfaxCAPS