Dear Providence Residents,
On Tuesday, Superintendent Scott Brabrand announced his revised timeline for returning students to in-person instruction in February and March. Families will have the option to keep their children in a virtual school setting or have them return in person as a part time option. As of now, 90% of FCPS staff have signed up or scheduled appointments to receive the first dose of the vaccine. You can read about the plan below and view the tiered approach to getting more students back in the classroom, starting as soon as February 16th.
Vaccination is at the top of our minds. Please reach out to my office if you have any questions about this process. As of February 1, more than 186,000 residents have pre-registered for the vaccine in the Fairfax Health District. Unfortunately, vaccine supply remains very limited from the Virginia Health Department. We are hoping the supply improves in coming weeks. The health department is contacting people in the registration queue on a first come, first serve basis when its their time to make and appointment for the vaccine.
The Fairfax Health Department is still accepting registrations to get vaccination appointments from health care workers, individuals age 65 and older, and people age 16-64 with a high-risk medical condition or disability that increases their risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Non-essential worker Phase 1b groups currently eligible for vaccination account for approximately 40% of all our residents over the age of 16, and vaccine demand is far greater than appointment and vaccine availability currently. Therefore, it may take months to vaccinate people in these priority groups. This is going to be a long process and we ask for your patience.
You can find the following Providence District updates in this week's edition of the newsletter:
- Message from FCPS Superintendent on Return to School
- Update on COVID-19 Vaccine
- Providence District Celebrates Black History Month
- Scotts Run Trail Opening
- Transportation Update
- Blake Lane Park Update
- Stuff the Bus
- Featured Events
I hope this newsletter finds you and your family safe and well.
With Gratitude,
Supervisor Dalia Palchik
|
|
Message from FCPS Superintendent on Return To School |
|
Dear FCPS Community,
Based on the latest guidelines from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), FCPS will begin bringing back our youngest learners, students with disabilities, and English learners first. Under the updated plan, all students will have the opportunity to return to school buildings for at least two days a week by March 16.
Feb. 16 Group 1-4: Select CTE and Special Education
Feb. 23 Group 5: PreK, Kindergarten and Special Education
March 2 Group 8: Grades 8, 9, 12 and Poe, Glasgow, Holmes - Grade 8
March 9 Group 6: Grades 1-2 & Group 8: Grades 7, 10, 11 and Poe, Glasgow, Holmes - Grade 6-7
March. 16 Group 7: Grades 3-6
The updated plan meets the research-based, scientific decision-making protocols outlined by the VDH and Fairfax County Health Department. We are implementing the five health and safety mitigation strategies in our schools and using Safety Teams to monitor adherence to the mitigation strategies.
Sincerely,
Scott S. Brabrand
Superintendent
|
|
This week, I hosted a special Health and Human Services Committee meeting with the Health Department team on the vaccination process and updates.
|
|
Where we are:
- Fairfax County is currently vaccinating Phase 1a and some of Phase 1b.
- The essential workers currently begin vaccinated are:
- Police, fire, hazmat.
- Corrections and homeless shelter.
- Childcare, K-12 teachers and staff.
- Other essential workers for example, mail carriers, grocery store workers, transportation workers are not yet able to register to be vaccinated.
Vaccine Handling and Distribution
- Vaccine doses arrive at the FCHD Pharmacy and are stored at the appropriate temperatures.
- It is allocated for HD use or redistributed to partners:
- Inova
- Kaiser
- GMU
- FQHC/Safety net providers
- Occupational Health
- Detention Center
- Healthcare providers
- The Health Department tracks the number of doses available and administered in order to eliminate vaccine wastage. This includes coordination between vaccination lines and dropping to a single shared vial at the end of the day to ensure there is no waste.
|
|
The Providence District Celebrates Black History Month |
|
Black History Month Providence District Feature: Tinner Hill and 100 Years of Black Falls Church
The Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation, in collaboration with GMU, founded100 Years of Black Falls Church, an online collaborative project. This joint undertaking is funded in part by a Scholarship-in-Partnership Grant from the National Trust for Historical Preservation.
Since it gained township status in 1875, the town of Falls Church has maintained a deeply rooted African American history. 100 Years of Black Falls Church provides access to primary source materials relating to the African American community of Falls Church, Virginia and is complimented by a sidewalk virtual tour of African American homes, churches and landmarks.
The site introduces users to people and places within Falls Church, and shares the hidden history of a remarkable, vibrant and thriving African American community that maintained families, purchased land, built homes, and established churches, while living, working, socializing and worshipping under bondage, segregation, and Jim Crow. 100 years of Black Falls Church is chronicled from the Civil War through the Civil Rights era.
The descendants of African Americans who thrived in Falls Church, still live, work and worship in the vicinity. Their ancestors were part of the social and economic fabric of the community and their history has been hidden through gerrymandering, disenfranchisement, marginalization, and most recently by urban growth and development. This website gives voice to a brave and triumphant community throughout a period when society was separate and unequal.
|
|
Supervisor Palchik joined Chairman McKay, Supervisor Foust, and other county officials on Thursday to officially open Scotts Run Trail for pedestrians and bicyclists at Westgate Park adjacent to Westgate Elementary School.
The lighted trail with two bridges runs through Scott’s Run Stream Valley Park and connects residents to the McLean Metro Station between Magarity Road and Colshire Meadow Drive.
Thank you to FCDOT, VDOT, the Fairfax Park Authority, Public Works and Environmental Services, and the consultants, contractors, and engineers who made Scotts Run Trail possible.
|
|
Pedestrian Safety:
The mission of a new organization Fairfax Families for Safe Streets (Ffx FSS) is to work with citizens to create safer streets for all who walk and bike. To learn more about the nonprofit, all-volunteer group, please email [email protected] and/or visit the website at https://ffx.novasafestreets.org. Sign up for the email list at the top of the page. The founding member, Mike Doyle, may be reached at 703- 946-8401 or [email protected].
Supervisor Palchik is working on a date for late March or April to host another virtual public meeting to hear updates from FCDOT, VDOT, and the Police Department on making Blake Lane safer.
As now mandated by federal law, passengers must wear a mask or a face covering when taking public transit or visiting a transit hub. If a passenger is not wearing a mask or a face covering when entering a Fairfax Connector bus, a mask, if available, will be provided. To date, Fairfax Connector team has distributed more than 90,000 masks to passengers to help slow the spread of COVID-19. A face covering can be a homemade cloth mask that completely covers the nose and mouth made with two or more layers of breathable fabric that is tightly woven.
Officials want to remind passengers that If road conditions become unsafe, icy or snow packed, service may be suspended, reduced, or modified on a route-by-route basis, or system-wide.
Stay informed and sign-up for email and text alerts on Fairfax Connector BusTracker. (Watch a 30-second video on how to use Fairfax Connector BusTracker here.)
Call Fairfax Connector customer service at 703-339-7200, TTY 703-339-1608; Mon - Fri 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sat - Sun 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Se habla Español. Follow Fairfax Connector on Twitter and Facebook.
3. I-66 Construction Updates.
Fairfax Connector invites public input by Feb. 19, 2021 to help shape future policy, routes, and service. Take the online survey for the Transit Strategic Plan today!
Cedar Lane Bridge area - I-66 East and West will be reduced to one travel lane approaching Cedar Lane from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Friday, Feb. 5. Drivers should expect periodic stoppages of up to 20 minutes between midnight and 4 a.m. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. All work is weather dependent.
Fairfax – I-66 East and West approaching Route 50 in Fairfax are reduced to a single travel lane in each direction for about one mile during the overnight hours this week as bridge beam installation continues at the I-66/Route 50 Interchange. The Route 50 Interchange is being rebuilt as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project. All lanes on I-66 East will reopen by 6 a.m. Saturday and by 7 a.m. Sunday.
Construction and lane closure updates are available at Transform66.org and on Twitter @VaDOTNOVA. To receive project updates automatically by email, sign up here.
|
|
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will hold a Public Hearing at 3 p.m. on April 13, 2021 about the proposed transfer of Blake Lane Park from the Fairfax County School Board to the Fairfax County Park Authority. The Park Authority’s master plan for Blake Lane Park was last updated in 1999 and may be found at this link.
|
|
Stuff the Bus is Back: Saturday, February 6 |
|
Stuff the Bus will be held on
Saturday, February 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Providence Community Center
3001 Vaden Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
James Lee Community Center
2855 Annandale Road
Falls Church, VA 22042
|
|
Bags 'n Bundles Email Sales |
|
The Friends of Oakton Library are re-booting their Bags 'n Bundles Sales via e-mail, selling clean and gently used books in fun grab bags or colorful bundles curated by genre, theme and reading level. Each bag or bundle costs just $5, sometimes less, payable by cash, check or credit card at safe and socially distanced pick-up at your convenience in the Oakton Library parking lot.
They currently have bags/bundles of: Board Books, Picture Books, Easy Readers, Chapter Books, Young Adult Fiction, Adult Romance, Mystery, Fiction/Literature and Non-Fiction. If you are interested in purchasing a bag or bundle, please e-mail [email protected] and Barbara Hippe (Book Sale Chairman) will send you a current list of offerings. Your suggestions and requests are always welcome!
Book donations are still not allowed at the library; however, the Friends are accepting pre-arranged donations of gently used books - drop us a line at the address above.
|
|
We want to hear from you! Please reach out to us with questions, comments or just to say hello.
Office Phone: (703) 560-6946
Email us HERE if you would like events included in our newsletter or you would like a member of our team to join your HOA meeting.
|
|
Follow us on Social Media! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
