April 19, 2020

Dear FCPS School Board members,

The purpose of this letter is to address the statements made at the School Board meeting on April 16, 2020 regarding School-Based Technology Specialists (SBTS), and to provide a timeline of events with supporting documentation.

In an effort to support FCPS and the School Board in making informed decisions with regard to Distance Learning, we ask that the Board consider the following:

1. An opportunity for school-based educators, including SBTS, to be included in the instructional decision-making process, and specifically Distance Learning.

2. A public statement of corrected facts, shared with the entire FCPS community (employees, students, families, the greater Northern Virginia community) through the same venue in which the original statements were made.

Respectfully,
A group of concerned FCPS SBTS

Please note: This letter is a collective effort written over the weekend. That being said, we want to provide all SBTS the opportunity to read and sign this letter. Our goal was to have this letter ready for your review before the Monday, April 20 meeting. As a result, not all signatures have yet been collected at the time of sending.

Read the complete letter here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/sbts-s-april-19-2020-letter-to-fairfax-county-school-board/4a5941a3-7e50-47f4-8818-3396a4097c06/

Step 1: Deny the problem.
Step 2: Cover it up.
Step 3: Repeat.

Always blame the teachers, not the overpaid non-school staff.

You should be more specific. It isn't just non-school staff in general that should be blamed. It is senior level staff who have decision making authority or who have policy making roles whose heads should be in the noose.

The technical staff wasn't given the mandate to create a plan for this kind of situation. If it had it never had the resources to implement such a plan. Doing so would have meant taking away resources from something else that administration wanted to devote resources to, or parents demanded resources be devoted to. I suspect if the truth is ever known we will find out that when Covid hit the technical staff was not only starting out from square zero, but was forced to work out solutions based on evolving ideas of what resources would be available, and based on conflicting demands of what services and features must be provided. You cannot prepare a meal for a large family operating that way, yet a nearly flawless educational arrangement for over 100,000 kids was demanded.

Ironically I know of at least one school that when this hit had quickly worked out and was preparing to implement a limited educational arrangement for most of its students based on resources that the families had and that were available to the teachers. It probably had its weaknesses and probably would not have worked system wide. But isn't providing a minimal education to some students better than providing none to everyone? Sometimes perfect is the enemy of good enough.

Final point. While there is plenty of blame to be heaped on teachers, let's not forget another group that should share in the blame. Parents. How many parents waited until five minutes before instruction began before making more than a cursory review of what was needed. I also suspect if the truth is ever known that a number of these hack incidents were caused by kids or by their siblings or others living in their residence. Why weren't the parents there supervising this behavior.

Then fire those who made the decision back in March to mandate Blackboard, when the SBTS's told them it would not work.

Plenty of space at gatehouse for them, same place they stash the fired principals.

It might have worked if the SBTS's did not resist.

Elected Irresponsibility Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> April 19, 2020
>
> Dear FCPS School Board members,
>
> The purpose of this letter is to address the
> statements made at the School Board meeting on
> April 16, 2020 regarding School-Based Technology
> Specialists (SBTS), and to provide a timeline of
> events with supporting documentation.
>
> In an effort to support FCPS and the School Board
> in making informed decisions with regard to
> Distance Learning, we ask that the Board consider
> the following:
>
> 1. An opportunity for school-based educators,
> including SBTS, to be included in the
> instructional decision-making process, and
> specifically Distance Learning.
>
> 2. A public statement of corrected facts, shared
> with the entire FCPS community (employees,
> students, families, the greater Northern Virginia
> community) through the same venue in which the
> original statements were made.
>
> Respectfully,
> A group of concerned FCPS SBTS
>
> Please note: This letter is a collective effort
> written over the weekend. That being said, we want
> to provide all SBTS the opportunity to read and
> sign this letter. Our goal was to have this letter
> ready for your review before the Monday, April 20
> meeting. As a result, not all signatures have yet
> been collected at the time of sending.
>
> Read the complete letter here:
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/sbts-s-apri
> l-19-2020-letter-to-fairfax-county-school-board/4a
> 5941a3-7e50-47f4-8818-3396a4097c06/

Of course the democrat party administrator infiltraitors of Fairfax county are going to blame anyone but themselves. They've learned their anti-scholastic standards,weak scholastic rigor, full-nonsense multicultural curriculum and management style from the shitty democrat party cities they originally came from. As a bonus, they look to Montgomery county and PG county for inspiration.

I'm a Robinson grad of '89 and back then it was obvious that the focus was on academic rigor and testing standards. It worked back then. Now, the focus is on multicultural and progressive liberal brainwashing bullshit.

My mother helps out frequently at our kids' elementary school, and she's written letters to the county commissioners about a goddamn Spanish language 'ambassador' or whatever the fuck they're calling this ESL charity hire who harasses our kids into speaking Spanish at every goddamn school function. Fuck democrats.

We own and live in a huge house in Fairfax station, a smaller house that we rent out in Burke, and a condo we rent out in Springfield. As soon as the kids graduate, we're getting the hell out of this shithole that is becoming exactly like PG and Montgomery Counties.

FCPS Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Elected Irresponsibility Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > April 19, 2020
> >
> > Dear FCPS School Board members,
> >
> > The purpose of this letter is to address the
> > statements made at the School Board meeting on
> > April 16, 2020 regarding School-Based
> Technology
> > Specialists (SBTS), and to provide a timeline
> of
> > events with supporting documentation.
> >
> > In an effort to support FCPS and the School
> Board
> > in making informed decisions with regard to
> > Distance Learning, we ask that the Board
> consider
> > the following:
> >
> > 1. An opportunity for school-based educators,
> > including SBTS, to be included in the
> > instructional decision-making process, and
> > specifically Distance Learning.
> >
> > 2. A public statement of corrected facts,
> shared
> > with the entire FCPS community (employees,
> > students, families, the greater Northern
> Virginia
> > community) through the same venue in which the
> > original statements were made.
> >
> > Respectfully,
> > A group of concerned FCPS SBTS
> >
> > Please note: This letter is a collective effort
> > written over the weekend. That being said, we
> want
> > to provide all SBTS the opportunity to read and
> > sign this letter. Our goal was to have this
> letter
> > ready for your review before the Monday, April
> 20
> > meeting. As a result, not all signatures have
> yet
> > been collected at the time of sending.
> >
> > Read the complete letter here:
> >
> >
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/sbts-s-apri
>
> >
> l-19-2020-letter-to-fairfax-county-school-board/4a
>
> > 5941a3-7e50-47f4-8818-3396a4097c06/
>
> Of course the democrat party administrator
> infiltraitors of Fairfax county are going to blame
> anyone but themselves. They've learned their
> anti-scholastic standards,weak scholastic rigor,
> full-nonsense multicultural curriculum and
> management style from the shitty democrat party
> cities they originally came from. As a bonus, they
> look to Montgomery county and PG county for
> inspiration.
>
> I'm a Robinson grad of '89 and back then it was
> obvious that the focus was on academic rigor and
> testing standards. It worked back then. Now, the
> focus is on multicultural and progressive liberal
> brainwashing bullshit.
>
> My mother helps out frequently at our kids'
> elementary school, and she's written letters to
> the county commissioners about a goddamn Spanish
> language 'ambassador' or whatever the fuck they're
> calling this ESL charity hire who harasses our
> kids into speaking Spanish at every goddamn school
> function. Fuck democrats.
>
> We own and live in a huge house in Fairfax
> station, a smaller house that we rent out in
> Burke, and a condo we rent out in Springfield. As
> soon as the kids graduate, we're getting the hell
> out of this shithole that is becoming exactly like
> PG and Montgomery Counties.


Robinson 89? Go drop some more LSD.

"As soon as the kids graduate, we're getting the hell out of this shithole"

Guy complains about the schools, then says he's staying in Fairfax for the schools.

They will eventually get school happening again, but what a colossal waste of opportunity and money! Dr Brabrand "takes responsibility" for the problems. Apparently, "taking responsibility" means hiring a law firm and experts to advise the fools who landed us here in the first place -- all at our (taxpayer) expense. Wouldn't taking responsibility mean resigning? Or taking a pay cut? Or at least firing Maribeth Luftglass, who for 20 years has run IT and is responsible for all the wasted money and bad decisions that landed us in this mess? Who will actually be held responsible? I suggest if people don't lose their jobs in FCPS, then we should cause the School Board Members to lose theirs by voting them out. They were asleep at the switch and seem to be unconcerned with real accountability now.

The school board gives the big contract to Blackboard, Blackboard makes big bucks off the tax payers, the school board gets kick backs. Win win all around, bad news for the kids.

They were paying Blackboard a 150k/month additional fee because of COVID - how did that work out? Blackboard has been one of the biggest failures in IT history. We wasted millions on that.

BTW the boomer admin idiots were told by IT that if they had anonymous login the internet would devour the system with flaming/trolling. What fucking idiot exposes teens and preteens to a 'learning system' that invites every deranged fuck from the interwebs in?

Basically what they did was try to run a school of 189,000 students on a forum like Fairfax Underground.

What's the difference between between Fairfax Underground and Blackboard?

Fairfax Underground has never failed for two solid weeks.

Just sayin'.

This is no surprise as school administrators are nothing more than politicians. It's been this way for the past 10 years and that's why the schools are going to hell.

Pathetic, incompetent hacks looking to bring in big salaries without first proving themselves and paying their dues in the classroom. They have been bullying teachers and parents for far too long when we have genuine concerns about school procedures and policies. Notwithstanding, they don't even discipline the bad and disruptive kids anymore.
My 4 kids have seen a marked decline in their school this year because at their high school they don't show teachers to confiscate phones that the disruptive kids use during class. Ridiculous! I'm afraid that it is widespread as I hear similar stories from my clients on a weekly basis.

These administrators have no allegiance to the education of your children. They only serve to drain money away from instruction.

WTOP has confirmed that Maribeth Luftglass, who has been the assistant superintendent of the Department of Information Technology for Fairfax County Public Schools for over two decades, has stepped down effective immediately.

Operating Officer Marty Smith will take over day-to-day operations.

Anyone know Marty Smith? Luftglass clone, or able to fix this mess?

> I'm a Robinson grad of '89

Did you know Dan Chase?

CJ Sangmeister?

Three Step Process Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Step 1: Deny the problem.
> Step 2: Cover it up.
> Step 3: Repeat.

Public school teachers are parasites.

What the fuck is a "corrected fact". A fact is something that is true. It is something that is true regardless of value system. Facts therefore cannot be corrected. If something thought to be true turns out not to be, then it ceases being a fact.