STRATEGIC PLAN REPORT: CARING CULTURE

STRATEGIC PLAN REPORT:

CARING CULTURE

We commit to foster a

responsive, caring, and

inclusive culture where all

feel valued, supported,

and hopeful.

November 2020

Narrative Summary for

School Year 2019-20

i

FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Scott Brabrand, Ed.D.

Division Superintendent

Marty K. Smith Chief Operating Officer

GOAL CHAMPION

Michelle Boyd, Assistant Superintendent, Special Services

OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT Ludmila Z. Hruda, Director

ii

Strategic Plan Report: Caring Culture

Executive Report

November 2020

Overview

• The Caring Culture Strategic Plan Report is one of four reports developed by Fairfax County

Public Schools (FCPS) to provide a public accounting of performance on its strategic aims. It

provides division leadership and the School Board with information to judge progress, guide

improvement, and account for the use of public funds.

• The Caring Culture Strategic Plan Report reviews the progress FCPS has made toward attaining

the performance targets laid out in the Strategic Focus SYs 2018-20. It expands upon previous

goal reports by taking a deeper dive into performance on those metrics most associated with

achieving the Division’s strategic aims.

• This report contains two Desired Outcomes (the “What”) intended to drive the priority work and

funding in the Division. Within each Desired Outcome, one or more Aspirations describe what we

hope to see when the Desired Outcome is fully realized. The metrics in the report measure

progress toward the target. The annual reports presented to the School Board provide division

leadership and the School Board with information to judge progress, guide improvement, and

account for the use of public funds.

FY20 Performance

The table below shows the progress made toward meeting the SYs 2018-20 performance targets for each

metric.

Desired Outcome: Welcoming Environment What : All FCPS employees will demonstrate cultural responsiveness when supporting families, students, and other staff.

How:

All FCPS employees will successfully complete cultural competence training. Performance Code

Aspiration: All students, families, and staff will feel respected and included at school.

Metric:

• Percent of students who report feeling respected and included at school on the State Climate Survey

Progressed

Toward Target

• Percent of families who report feeling respected on the Family Engagement Survey No data available

this year

• Percent of staff who report feeling respected at work on the Employee Engagement Survey

Progressed

Toward Target

Aspiration: All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive lens

Metric:

• Number of staff referrals for disruptive behavior

Progressed

Toward Target

iii

Desired Outcome: Healthy Life Choices What: FCPS will use best practices to enable students and staff to make healthy life choices.

How: Increase school and department awareness and use of practices that support positive individual wellness. Performance Code

Aspiration: All students will report healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors

Metric:

• Percent of students who report being drug- and alcohol-free on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

No Progress

During this Period

• Percent of students who report three or more assets on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

No Progress

During this Period

• Percent of students who report healthy social-emotional skills on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

No Progress

During this Period

• Percent of students who report healthy nutrition behaviors, healthy amounts of exercise, and healthy amounts of sleep on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

No Progress

During this Period

Aspiration: All schools will have low rates of students with frequent absences

Metric:

• Number of schools with low rates of students with frequent absences

No data available

this year

Aspiration: No students will have disruptive behavior referrals

Metric:

• Percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals

Progressed

Toward Target

Aspiration: All employees will have the opportunity to take advantage of wellness resources

Metric:

• Percent of employees who utilized the Employee Assistance Program compared to the Book of Business (BoB) utilization statistics

Met or Exceeded

Target

Conclusions FCPS is unlikely to meet the goal of having a caring culture unless it makes progress in teachers feeling

respected at work.

In FY20, 60 percent of teachers reported feeling respected at work as measured by the Employee

Engagement survey associated with fair implementation of policy or mutual respect among staff. This

percent showed no progress from baseline values. Teachers are the heart of instruction in FCPS schools

and to do their best work with students academically, behaviorally, and social-emotionally and they

should feel respected at work. Future strategic actions should focus on understanding the perspectives of

staff members that do not feel that policies are implemented fairly or that there is not mutual respect at

work.

FCPS is unlikely to meet the Aspiration of students feeling respected at school unless it makes explicit

connections between cultural responsiveness and the disproportionality of staff referrals for disruptive

behavior.

In FY20, there continued to be disproportionality in staff referrals for disruptive behavior and limited

progress has been made since baseline. While a number of initiatives have been implemented to help

staff understand cultural responsiveness, it is unclear whether they have made the connection between

iv

respecting student identity and culture and how they view student behavior that results in referrals for

disruptive behavior. Given the national events that lead FCPS to conduct the Staff and Community Town

Halls on Racism, FCPS should capitalize on the opportunity for open and frank conversation about staff

and student behaviors that have historically led to disproportionality in the past.

FCPS’ current interventions and strategic actions may not be sufficient to impact students’ level of stress as this metric is impacted by what happens inside and outside of school. In FY20, FCPS showed little progress in the percent of students with low stress since baseline. What is not known are the root causes of students’ stress and if FCPS’ actions were aligned to address the root causes. Future work should pursue greater understanding of what are the greatest causes of student stress, to what extent FCPS policies or practices contribute to it, and what actions under FCPS control can be implemented to improve student stress levels. FCPS’ current interventions and strategic actions may not be sufficient to impact student use of drugs, vaping, and alcohol. In FY20, FCPS showed little progress in the percent of students who reported being drug and alcohol free since baseline. While the majority of students are drug and alcohol free and students’ drug and alcohol use happens outside of school hours, if FCPS aspires to have all students make better choices it should seek to understand the root causes underlying student decisions and their understanding of the impact on their health and wellbeing. FCPS’ current level of implementation of student behavior and attendance intervention work at individual schools is not yet sufficient in order to make progress toward these Aspirations. In FY20, FCPS did show progress in the percent of students with behavior referrals but did not make progress in the number of schools that have low rates of students with frequent absences. While it may be premature to determine the effectiveness of the intervention work with schools, FCPS should communicate implementation expectations to schools, monitor schools’ implementation and outcomes over the next year and determine if adjustments are needed in the intervention efforts to make progress toward these Aspirations.

School Board Considerations

Strategic Concerns FCPS should investigate why a significant percent of teachers do not perceive there to be respect at work. FCPS should develop and provide professional development that makes an explicit connection between cultural responsiveness, social justice, and disproportionality in staff referrals for student disruptive behavior. FCPS should evaluate how policies and practices contribute to students’ level of reported stress. FCPS should ensure intervention efforts are aligned to the causes of student drug and alcohol use. FCPS should monitor the level of implementation and impact of attendance and behavior intervention work.

Budget Considerations Based on an understanding of teachers’ perceptions of respect at work, FCPS should develop an action plan to improve this outcome which may have budget implications. FCPS should provide greater resources to schools to explore the connection between cultural responsiveness, social justice, and disproportionality.

v

Based on an understanding of the root cause students’ stress, FCPS should develop an action plan to improve this outcome which may have budget implications.

Policy Based on an understanding of teachers’ perceptions of respect at work, FCPS should develop an action plan to improve this outcome which may have policy implications. Based on an understanding of the root cause students’ stress, FCPS should develop an action plan to improve this outcome which may have policy implications.

vi

Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1

Enhanced Reporting Features ......................................................................................................... 1

Report Organization ......................................................................................................................... 2

Desired Outcomes and Aspirations for Caring Culture .................................................................... 3

Metrics and Performance Judgements ............................................................................................ 3

Return on Investment (ROI) ............................................................................................................. 3

Welcoming Environment………………………………………………………………………….......................5

Aspiration: Respect and Inclusion. ..................................................................................................... 6

SY2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis ................................................................................................ 6

SY2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment ................................................................. 10

Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 17

Goal Champion Response ............................................................................................................. 18

Aspiration: Cultural Responsiveness. ................................................................................................ 19

SY2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis .............................................................................................. 19

SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment ................................................................ 21

Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 26


School Board Considerations ................................................................................................................. 28

Healthy Life Choices ................................................................................................................................. 29

Aspiration: Healthy Social-Emotional Skills and Lifestyle Behaviors. ............................................ 29


SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment ............................................................... 35

Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 42


Aspiration: Attendance. ........................................................................................................................ 45


SY2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment ................................................................. 46

Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 47


Aspiration: Disruptive Behaviors ........................................................................................................ 49

SY 2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis ............................................................................................. 49


Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 52


Aspiration: Staff Wellness.................................................................................................................... 54

SY 2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis ............................................................................................. 54


Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 56


School Board Considerations ................................................................................................................. 57

vii

Appendix A .................................................................................................................................................. 58

Appendix B .................................................................................................................................................. 60

1

Caring Culture: Narrative Summary for SY 2019-20

Introduction

FCPS’ Strategic Plan contains four goal areas, each with a set of Desired Outcomes (the “What”)

intended to drive the priority work and funding in the Division. Within each Desired Outcome, one or more

Aspirations describe what we hope to see when the Desired Outcome is fully realized. This report reflects

the status of FCPS’ progress toward its Strategic Focus for school years (SY) 2018-20 for the Caring

Culture goal area. The report reflects data about FCPS’ functioning and performance during SY 2019-20 /

fiscal year (FY) 20.

Strategic Plan goal reports are a part of FCPS’ continuous improvement framework called the Strategic-

Decision Making Cycle (SDMC; see Figure below). The SDMC framework lists systematic steps for

deciding how and where to spend funds and other resources to support FCPS’ strategic priorities. SDMC

allows FCPS to connect the resources it invests to the effectiveness of its strategic efforts. The steps in

the cycle are listed below:

• Identifying and aligning the most critical resources to current strategic aims (Plan).

• Allocating and monitoring the use of funds toward specific aims (Do).

• Monitoring and communicating the impacts of resources (Study).

• Adjusting resource allocations for subsequent years based on impacts (Act).

SDMC is FCPS’ focal point for aligning money and resources to the work it has prioritized through its

strategic plan. The overall aim of SDMC is to guide FCPS’ alignment of resources to the school district’s

priorities and judge whether resources have been used effectively.

Enhanced Reporting Features

The current report offers some enhancements to Strategic Plan reports submitted in prior years.

Specifically, this report provides an accountability lens for performance on the Strategic Plan, with an

increase in the information linked to the SDMC framework. See the table below for more details. The

Office of Research and Strategic Improvement (ORSI) completed the accountability portions of the report

to allow for neutral, independent judgments of FCPS’ performance. This is different from prior years

where departments overseeing the work reported on the associated metric performance, with ORSI

primarily contributing cost-related and return on investment (ROI) information. This year, Goal

2

Champions, typically with input from departments overseeing the work, provided a response for each

aspiration. Goal champions were asked to reflect primarily on the conclusions drawn by ORSI. School

Board Considerations were generated by the Superintendent and his Cabinet, with input from ORSI and

the Goal Champion.

Feature Previous Reports Current Enhanced Report

Current metric data ✓ ✓ Judgment of performance ✓ ✓ Additional analysis of related data to unpack metric data performance

✓

Strategic actions information ✓ ✓ Cost information ✓ Return on Investment ✓ (select actions) ✓ (all actions) Conclusions ✓ ✓ Goal Champion Response ✓ School Board Considerations ✓ ✓

This year’s enhanced Strategic Plan reports better reflect the SDMC model by including additional analysis

of metric data that provides insight into which actions are contributing to performance and areas to focus

on for improvement. The cost information provides transparency about the cost of specific actions; these

costs cannot be found in either the approved budget or program budget documents because they frequently

span multiple departments, offices, and programs. Defining the costs for these actions also allowed ORSI

to present ROI information for almost all the actions FCPS undertook during SY 2019-20 to achieve each

aspiration. The Goal Champion Response presents details about what is underway or planned to improve

performance past the reporting year. Together these enhancements provide better information for making

recommendations to the FCPS School Board. Further the timing of the reports, before final budget requests

are made by departments, allow the results of the reporting to be incorporated into funding requests and

allow the School Board to better understand the actions it needs to take in the next year’s budget.

Report Organization

Reporting includes an executive report which describes performance on the metrics associated with each

Desired Outcome and highlights the most important points from the Caring Culture Strategic Plan Report.

The body of the report is organized by the Desired Outcomes with subsections for each Aspiration as

described below (see Background on Caring Culture section below for specifics on the Desired Outcomes

and Aspirations for the Caring Culture goal area). At the end of each Desired Outcome, there is a section

listing important considerations for the School Board. Three appendixes provide supporting information

for the reports.

Information provided about each Aspiration reflects the following sections:

• SY 2019-20 Outcome and Analysis details the progress FCPS made toward performance

targets for metrics with additional analyses to extend understanding of the performance.

• SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment provides a description of high leverage

strategic actions that lead to current levels of performances toward an Aspiration, how the

strategic actions were financed, and the return on investment. Actions included in this section

were identified by the Goal Champion and departments engaged in the strategic work.

• Conclusions synthesize across sections to describe the effectiveness of the actions for making

progress toward the Aspirations and what changes, if any, are needed to maintain or meet the

target for the Aspiration.

• Goal Champion Response provides the department’s perspective on performance and includes

next steps (either currently underway or to be planned/implemented).

3

School Board Considerations are provided for each Desired Outcome to highlight what the

Superintendent and Cabinet believe the School Board should consider for the future, including policy,

budget, and strategic considerations.

Appendixes include trend data for metrics over time (Appendix A), strategic costs associated with each

goal area (Appendix B), and performance data tables, and charts for metrics not highlighted in the

Outcomes Narrative (Appendix C).

Desired Outcomes and Aspirations for Caring Culture

The Caring Culture goal includes the following Desired Outcomes and Aspirations:

Welcoming Environment

• What: All FCPS employees will demonstrate cultural responsiveness when supporting families,

students, and other staff.

• How: All FCPS employees will successfully complete cultural competence training.

• Aspirations

o All students, families, and staff will feel respected and included at school.

o All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive lens.

Healthy Life Choices

• What: FCPS will use best practices to enable students and staff to make healthy life choices.

• How: Increase school and department awareness and use of practices that support positive

individual wellness.

• Aspirations

o All students will report healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors.

o All schools will have low rates of students with frequent absences

o No students will have disruptive behavior referrals

o All employees will have the opportunity to take advantage of wellness resources

Metrics and Performance Judgements

Strategic Plan report metrics are used to measure progress toward performance targets. These metrics,

approved by the Fairfax County School Board in March 2018 were selected to be the best representation

of performance toward the aspiration. Metrics reflect both direct (e.g., discipline incidents) and indirect

measures (e.g., survey data), based on data availability and relevance to the aspiration.

The Outcomes and Analysis sections have color-coded judgments of overall progress for metrics toward

the SYs 2018-20 targets. The color-coding of the SY 2019-20 / FY20 performances use the following

color codes:

The same color-coding is used within the graphs in reporting on metric data, including color-coding of

individual student groups. In cases where the metric includes performance by student groups, all the

groups had to have met the SYs 2018-20 Target for Overall Progress to be color-coded dark teal and all

Dark teal indicates that FY20 performance met or exceeded the SYs 2018-20 target.

Light teal indicates that FY20 performance progressed beyond baseline but did not meet the SYs 2018-20 target.

Yellow indicates that FY20 performance did not make progress beyond baseline toward meeting the SYs 2018-20 target.

4

but one group needed to have progressed toward the target to be color-coded light teal. For any metric

where more than one group was not showing progress, the performance was color-coded yellow.

Return on Investment (ROI)

FCPS is leading the way in developing and applying an ROI approach within a K12 educational setting.

ROI analyses evaluate the link between funds invested in actions undertaken to achieve strategic

outcomes and the extent of benefits to FCPS in making these investments. The approach is aligned to

the SDMC framework and allows FCPS to (1) capture the benefits of its investments, especially when

those investments are large; (2) determine the effectiveness of its budget decisions so funds can be

allocated or reallocated to better achieve its goals; and (3) be accountable and transparent in its use of

public funds. ROI information can support strong decision-making in FCPS by highlighting where

investment of funds yields benefits that indicate continued funding is a wise decision and where fund

investment yields neutral or negative impacts that indicate continued funding is a poor decision.

FCPS uses a continuum of approaches for evaluating the link between expenditures and benefits to

analyze ROI (see graphic below). FCPS developed these approaches following a review of available

literature on ROI and tailoring them to a K-12 school district context. Compared to using ROI in the

private sector, where expenditures are expected to yield profits, expenditures in K12 are spent in the

pursuit of variable benefits. The continuum of ROI approaches used in FCPS reflects the monetary and

non-monetary benefits expected from expenditures in K12 education (primarily student achievement).

These approaches allow for better conversations between publicly-funded organizations, such as school

divisions and community funding sources, and allows for variable benefits to be accounted for. As

approaches increase along this continuum, so do the time, data, and expertise required for execution.

Less complex approaches are more descriptive than evaluative, describing outcomes observed after

related funds are spent. More complex approaches become increasingly evaluative and, in some cases,

can definitively link specific expenditures to their related benefits. For goal reporting, FCPS strives to use

more evaluative approaches that answer the Division’s information needs.

The five approaches that FCPS uses to assess the return on investment are:

• Cost per participant describes expenditures in relation to the number of participants in a program

or project, or the number of recipients of services provided by a service or initiative.

• Cost description is a process of identifying observed benefits or outcomes that are associated

with a specific program, service, project, or initiative that has been funded, such as improvements

to student achievement, operational efficiency, or teacher retention.

• Monetary ROI evaluates whether a monetary investment results in a monetary gain larger than the

initial investment amount (e.g., cost savings or cost avoidance).

• Impact ROI is used to show non-monetary benefits (e.g., student achievement, operational

efficiency, teacher retention) associated with the funding for a program, service, project, or

initiative compared to the benefits and associated funding for a different program, service, project,

or initiative (either in or outside FCPS).

• Social ROI evaluates a combination of monetary, impact, and community outcomes1 to assess

the full impact of funds spent.

1 Monetary outcomes include benefits such as cost savings or cost avoidance such as benefits of early childhood expenditures on reducing special education costs. Impact outcomes include those non-monetary benefits to the school division, such as increasing high school graduation rates or operational efficiencies. Community outcomes include benefits to others outside the school division, such as a decreasing welfare dependence.

5

Figure 2: Continuum of ROI Analyses

Impact ROI

WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT

6

This section of the report covers the Welcoming Environment Desired Outcome, one of two Desired Outcomes

under the Caring Culture goal. Welcoming Environment includes two Aspirations, one focused around students,

families, and staff feeling respected and included, and the other around staff viewing student behaviors through

a culturally responsive lens.

Aspiration: All students, families, and staff will feel respected and included at school. SY2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis There are three metrics measuring the Aspiration “All students, families, and staff will feel respected and included

at school.”

The following metrics are presented below:

• Percent of students who feel respected at school on the State Climate Survey

• Percent of staff who feel respected at work on the Employee Engagement Survey

• Percent of families who feel respected at school on the Family Engagement Survey (no data available

for this reporting year)

Metric Data In SY 2019-20, the percentage of students feeling respected at school (80 percent) remained above the baseline value (78 percent), reflecting progress toward the target since baseline. In SY 2019-20, 80 percent of students reported feeling respected, which showed growth over the baseline

value of 78 percent as measured by the Virginia State Climate Survey from the Department of Criminal Justice

Services. However, SY 2019-20 performance fell short of the target of 85 percent and, in fact, was also lower

than the prior year’s performance, when 84 percent of students reported feeling respected at school (see

Appendix A).

Aspiration 100%

2018-20 Target 85% Overall Performance

FY20 Performance 80% (n=8,313) Progressed Toward Target

2-Year Baseline 78% (n=4,759)

Data Source: Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, State Climate Survey


7

Additional Data Analysis

Student perceptions of respect were similar across the State Climate Survey and the FCPS Youth Survey.

To further understand what contributed to SY 2019-20 student feelings of respect, results of the DCJS State

Climate Survey were validated against the same items on the Fairfax County Youth Survey (FCYS). This was

done because FCPS did not have access to data with individual DCJS survey responses to conduct further

analyses. While the DCJS in SY 2019-20 only reflected high school students and the FCYS included both

middle and high school students, the comparison between responses on the two survey instruments (FCYS

administered in November 2019 and DCJS administered in March 2020) showed that similar perceptions of

respect were reflected in both surveys. This comparability between not only the overall scale average but on

individual items in the two surveys allowed FCPS to conduct deeper analyses into student feelings of respect

using the more detailed FCYS survey data.

Table 1. Percent of FCPS Students Who Agree or Strongly Agree with Respect Items on the DCJS State

Climate Survey Compared to Fairfax County Youth Survey, SY 2019-20

Teachers and other adults at this school…

Student State Climate Survey Percent Agree/ Strongly Agree

FCPS Youth Survey

Percent Agree/ Strongly Agree

Difference

...care about students 85 85 0

…want students to do well 89 90 1

…listen to what students have to say 64 71 7

…treat students with respect 80 81 1

Average on Scale Items 80 83 3

Middle and high school students’ perceptions of feeling respected were similar and indicated that performance

on the student respect metric might be improved by increasing student perceptions that teachers and other

adults at school listen to what they have to say.

Large majorities of middle and high school students (84 and 81 percent, respectively) reported on the FCYS

that they agreed or strongly agreed with feeling respected at school. The difference in the percent of middle

and high school students who reported feeling respect at school was within three percentage points and was

not meaningfully different. Both middle and high school students indicated that when assessing respect, the

item on which students reported the lowest level of agreement was the extent to which teachers or other adults

listen to what students have to say.

Table 2. Percent of FCPS Middle School and High School Students Who Agree or Strongly Agree with

Respect Items on Fairfax County Youth Survey, SY 2019-20

Teachers and other adults at this school…

Middle School Students


High School Students


Difference

...care about students 86 85 1

…want students to do well 92 90 2

…listen to what students have to say 73 70 3

…treat students with respect 81 82 1

Average on Scale Items 84 81 3

Student perceptions of respect varied by racial/ethnic groups and was consistently lower for Black students but

reinforced the importance of improving perceptions of teachers and other adults at the school listening to what

students say for students within all racial/ethnic groups.


8

The large majority of students in all racial/ethnic groups reported feeling respected at school. However, the

percent of Black students feeling respected at school was consistently lower than all other student groups. The

effect size ranged from .03 (no effect) to .14 (small effect). Across all student groups, the item on which

students reported the lowest level of respect was the extent to which teachers or other adults listen to what

students have to say.

Table 3. Percent of FCPS Students Who Agree or Strongly Agree with Respect Items on the Fairfax County

Youth Survey by Student Racial Ethnic Group SY 2019-20 Teachers and other adults at this school…

Asian Black Hispanic White All Students

...care about students 86 81 83 82 85

…want students to do well 89 88 90 90 90

…listen to what students have to say 74 66 70 69 71

…treat students with respect 86 78 81 80 81

Average 84 78 81 80 83

Metric Data

In SY 2019-20, the FCPS Family Engagement Survey was not administered. Therefore, no data were available

to assess progress toward the SY 2019-20 target of 89 percent of families feeling respected at school.

Aspiration 100%

2018-20 Target 89% Overall Performance

FY20 Performance NA No data available

3-Year Baseline N/A

Data Source: Office of Professional Learning and Family Engagement; Family Engagement Survey


9

Metric Data In SY 2019-20, FCPS made progress toward staff feeling respected at their school or worksite, largely due to improved perceptions of support staff when compared to baseline. In SY 2019-20, FCPS made overall progress toward the Aspiration of having staff feel respected at school.

FY20 performance indicated that 80 percent of administrators and 58 percent of support staff reported feeling

respected, which showed growth over the baseline values of 79 percent and 52 percent, respectively. While

these staff groups showed growth in their perceptions of respect, the SY 2019-20 performance fell short of the

targets. In addition, 60 percent of teachers reported feeling respected at work, which continued a downward

trend since the baseline value of 63 percent. Moreover, the percent of administrators who reported feeling

respected at work is 20 to 22 percentage points higher than the percentages other employee groups.

Teachers Administrators Support

Aspiration 100% 100% 100%

SYs 2018-20 Target 75% 86% 68% Overall Performance

SY 19-20 Performance 60%

(n=14,364)

80%

(n=806)

58%

(n=4,332)

Progressed Toward Target

3-Year Baseline 63%

(n=8,441)

79%

(n=579)

52%

(n=1,817)

Data Source: Department of Human Resources. Employee Engagement Survey


Staff perceptions of respect varied more by position than by race/ethnicity. However, the percentages of Black

and White teachers and support staff reporting feeling respected at work were lower than feelings reported by

Hispanic and Asian teachers and support staff.

Further analyses of individual items used to assess staff feelings of respect indicate that administrators feel

greater respect at work than teachers or support staff. While administrators felt equally that leadership

implements policy fairly and they work in an atmosphere where there is mutual respect, the same is not found

for teachers and support staff. Administrator agreement was 10 to 14 percentage points higher than other staff

groups regarding mutual respect and 20 to 23 percentage points higher regarding the fair implementation of

policies. To make improvements in the percent of teachers and support staff who reported feeling respected at

work, particular attention should be paid to understanding perceptions of policy implementation.


10

Table 4. Percent of Employees Who Agree or Strongly Agree with Each Item SY 2019-20 Employee

Engagement Survey

Item Administrators Teachers Support

My school leadership team/office leadership team implements policies fairly in my school or department.

87 67 64

I work in an atmosphere where there is mutual respect among staff.

86 76 72

Additional analyses indicated that while the patterns by employee group remained, there were some

differences by race/ethnicity within employee groups. For administrators, a lower percentage of Hispanic

administrators reported fair enforcement of policy than other administrators and a lower percentage of Black

administrators reported mutual respect among staff than other administrators. However, no matter the

racial/ethnic group of administrators, the conclusion holds that a large majority of administrators reported

feeling respected at work. For teachers, a lower percentage of Black and White teachers reported fair

enforcement of policy and mutual respect among staff than other teacher groups. However, the conclusion

holds that a large majority of teachers reported respect at work. For support staff, a lower percentage of Black

and White support staff reported fair enforcement of policy and mutual respect among staff than other support

staff groups. In the case of support staff, the conclusion to be drawn is that just over half of Black and White

support staff reported fair enforcement of policy while two-thirds or greater Asian or Hispanic support staff

reported the same. Approximately two-thirds of Black and White support staff reported mutual respect among

staff while more than three-quarters of Asian and Hispanic support staff reported the same.

Table 5. Percent of Employees who Agree or Strongly Agree that Policies are Fairly Enforced by Racial/Ethnic

Group on the Employee Engagement Survey

Employee Group Asian Black Hispanic White All Staff

Administrators 87 88 81 87 87

Teachers 70 67 74 66 67

Support 74 58 69 60 64

Table 6. Percent of Employees who Agree or Strongly Agree that there is an Atmosphere of Mutual Respect

Among Staff by Racial/Ethnic Group on the Employee Engagement Survey

Employee Group Asian Black Hispanic White All Staff

Administrators 90 81 87 87 87

Teachers 78 73 79 76 76

Support 81 66 78 68 72

SY2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment This section provides information about the strategic actions that were taken in SY 2019-20 toward the Aspiration that “All families, and staff members will feel respected and included at school.” The narrative for each strategic action includes a brief description, FY20 funding associated with that strategic action, and a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the action. FY20 strategic actions undertaken by FCPS to impact this Aspiration were:

• Expanded schools’ understanding of environments that make families feel welcomed and included through Welcoming Walkthroughs

• Expanded parent liaisons’ understanding of environments that make families feel welcomed and included through Parent Liaison Cultural Proficiency Training

• Conducted the Summer 2019 Equity Symposium

• Increased use of School-level Family Engagement Survey data through Region Meetings

• Continued Expansion of Cultural Proficiency Cohorts

• Support School Board’s Consideration of a Family Engagement Policy

• Conducted Staff and Community Town Halls on Racism


11

Strategic Action: Expanded schools’ understanding of environments that make families feel welcomed

and included through Welcoming Walk-throughs

Description

Welcoming Atmosphere Walk-throughs provide a review of the conditions at a school that support family engagement in a child’s education. The purpose of the walk-throughs is to observe how inviting the school appears to its diverse community and note what strategies are used to engage parents and families in their children's learning. The service supports research that parents who feel “welcomed” by their child’s school are more engaged in their child’s education, leading to higher student achievement. In SY 2019-20, staff from the Office of Parent and Family Engagement, the school’s principal, and staff and parents selected to represent the diversity of the school’s community conducted the walkthroughs at each participating school. The addition of family engagement regional representative positions during SY 2019-20 allowed for the expansion of walk-through activities, with 11 reviews conducted during the year at the request of principals. Based on the walk-through information, participating schools received a detailed report highlighting areas of strength and areas for improvement to guide future efforts in providing a welcoming environment for families. The review components were streamlined to three areas:

• Schoolwide Family Engagement Practices and Policies: Description based on prior interview with the principal or principal designee about current and/or planned family engagement strategies.

• School Culture and Physical Environment: Observations focus on the physical environment of the school, inside and outside; interactions with school staff; and the spirit and nature of the school as a whole.

• Communication Tools: Team members review overall communication policies and tools used to reach out to and connect with the school community, including via both digital and traditional methods

Costs

In FY20, FCPS’ efforts to improve the conditions that facilitate family engagement through Welcoming

Walkthroughs cost approximately $196,000.

The efforts to conduct Welcoming Walkthroughs in 11 schools required FCPS to invest operating funds that

covered both salaried and hourly staff time. The primary investment of $194,030 was in the time spent by

central office staff from the Family and School Partnerships team in the Office of Equity and Family

Engagement and school-based staff while conducting the walkthroughs and engaging in the reflection activities

to guide future efforts. At the schools, salaried staff included an administrator as well as two teachers for each

walkthrough. The hourly staff costs of $1,813 covered the parent liaison time to participate in the walkthrough

process.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund

Grants Transfers Total Costs

Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $194,030 $0 $194,030

Hourly (Direct Cost) $1,813 $0 $1,813

Operating Expenses $0 $0 $0

Total Costs $195,843 $0 $0 $195,843


12

Return on Investment

In FY20, FCPS invested $17,804 per school to conduct Welcoming Walkthroughs to improve conditions that

facilitate family engagement. (ROI Approach: Cost per participant)

FCPS invested a total of $195,843 in staff costs to conduct Welcoming Walkthroughs in 11 schools. Therefore,

each of the 11 walkthroughs costs a total of $17,804 to conduct.

Strategic Action: Expanded parent liaisons’ understanding of environments that make families feel

welcomed and included through Parent Liaison Cultural Proficiency Training

Description

In SY 2019-20, FCPS began offering a one-hour Cultural Proficiency Training to parent liaisons. As hourly

staff, parent liaisons have not previously been required to participate in the divisionwide cultural proficiency

modules. Recognizing the importance of this training to the parent liaisons, who regularly interact with FCPS

families, this training was added during the reporting year. One-hundred-forty-seven parent liaisons received

this training. The focus of the training was to increase cultural awareness and its impact on the partnership

between schools and families. The training was designed to support parent liaisons’ work to create a

welcoming environment for all families.

Costs

In FY20, it cost less than $3,500 in operating funds to provide parent liaisons with professional development in

equity and cultural responsiveness.

To provide this professional development, FCPS invested $3,461 in salaried staff time and hourly staff time.

Salaried staff on the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team in the Office of Equity and Family Engagement,

whose position was funded by the Title I grant, expended time in providing the professional development

session at a cost of $424. Operating funds were expended to pay the parent liaisons, whose positions are

hourly, to participate in the session. The total amount of operating funds expended for this action was $3,461.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $0 $424 $424



Total Costs $3,461 $424 $0 $3,886


In FY20, FCPS invested $24 per parent liaison to provide professional development in equity and cultural

responsiveness. (ROI Approach: Cost per participant)

The total investment to provide this professional development to 147 parent liaisons was $3,461. Therefore,

the investment per participant was $24.


13

Strategic Action: Conducted Summer 2019 Equity Symposium

Description

Every August, the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness Team holds an Equity Symposium to introduce the

theme and focus for the upcoming year of equity work. The intent of the symposium was to bring student voice

into the equity conversation and show how identity and inclusion interact and affect students. For the summer

2019 event, FCPS showed part of the HBO documentary series America to Me, which examines racial,

economic, and class issues in education through the voices of students, families, and school staff. The viewing

was followed by a panel conversation lead by Dr. Ebony Green. Equity leads and principals were invited to the

symposium with additional space available for other FCPS staff until filled. Approximately 600 FCPS staff

attended.

Costs

In FY20, it cost $66,000 in operating funds to conduct the Summer 2019 Equity Symposium.

The FY20 investment FCPS made in the Equity Symposium involved central office staff time in implementing

the Equity Symposium and school-based staff time and compensation to participate in the professional

development session. Staff from the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team in the Office of Equity and

Family Engagement, whose salaries came both from operating funds and grant funds, expended effort to

prepare for and conduct the session. Approximately 100 school-based administrators, whose salaries came

from operating funds, participated in the session. In total, the investment of staff time totaled $86,926. In

addition, approximately $30,000 in grant funds were expended to pay FCPS teachers to participate in the

session while off contract. The total investment in the Equity Symposium was $116,926 and of that $66,384

came from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $66,384 $20,542 $86,926

Hourly (Direct Cost) $0 $0 $0

Operating Expenses $0 $30,000 $30,000

Total Costs $66,384 $50,542 $0 $116,926


In FY20, FCPS invested $111 per participant in the summer 2019 Equity Symposium. (ROI Approach: Cost

per participant)

The total investment from operating funds in the summer 2019 Equity Symposium was $66,384 for a total of

600 participants. Therefore, the cost per participant was $111 from operating funds.

Strategic Action: Increased use of school-level Family Engagement Survey data through Region

Meetings

Description

In the spring of 2019 (the year prior to this reporting year), FCPS administered its first divisionwide Family

Engagement Survey. The survey gathered parent perspectives in six core areas: welcoming environment,


14

communication, student success, advocacy, family and school partnerships, and collaboration with the

community. Division, region, and school-level reports were created to describe performance. During SY2019-

20, meetings between region staff and school principals were used to unpack the data on family engagement

and reflect on how to use data insights to guide improvement efforts. Sessions were differentiated to address

the specific needs of each region and to guide school conversations about the data. The intent of the meetings

was to help schools understand their Family Engagement Survey results, associated strengths and challenges,

and consider changes to improve how welcoming schools feel to families.

Costs

In FY20, the Family Engagement Survey meetings cost approximately $205,000 in operating funds.

The investment FCPS made in the Family Engagement Survey meetings was in central office staff time in

implementing the meetings and school-based staff time to participate in the professional development. Staff

from the Family and School Partnerships team in the Office of Equity and Family Engagement, whose salaries

came from operating funds, expended effort to prepare for and conduct the session. Region Assistant

Superintendents, executive principals and approximately 200 school-based administrators, whose salaries also

came from operating funds, participated in the session. The total investment in the Family Engagement Survey

meetings was $205,375 from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs




Total Costs $205,376 $0 $0 $205,376


In FY20, FCPS invested $1,027 per school that participated in the Family Engagement Survey meetings. (ROI

Approach: Cost per participant)

FCPS invested a total of $205,376 from operating funds to conduct the Family Engagement Survey meetings.

These meetings were attended by 276 regional and school-based administrators. Represented in these

participants are staff from 200 schools. Therefore, the cost per participant was $744 and the cost per school

was $1,027.

Strategic Action: Continued expansion of Cultural Proficiency Cohorts

Description

While FCPS has been offering Cultural Proficiency Cohorts to schools for many years, SY 2019-20, saw the

expansion of the cohorts to central offices as well. Over the course of 4 full-day sessions, participants delve

into the concept of cultural proficiency through direct instruction, dialogue, hands-on activities, and reflection.

They also identify their cultural beliefs and core values related to diversity. They discuss how to recognize their

assumptions and manage the dynamics of difference, recognize the benefits of diversity, and understand that

developing cultural proficiency is an ongoing endeavor. Cohorts also develop plans for integrating cultural


15

proficiency into their work. The intent behind the cohorts is to provide a powerful and reflective experience that

will support increases in cultural responsiveness in interacting with students, families, and other staff.

Costs

In FY20, Cultural Proficiency Cohorts were designed and conducted at a cost of approximately $694,000 in

operating funds.

The funding for Cultural Proficiency Cohorts primarily involved investment of central office staff time in

designing and implementing the sessions and school-based and central-based staff time and compensation to

participate in the professional development. Staff from the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team in the

Office of Equity and Family Engagement, whose salaries came both from operating funds and grant funds,

expended effort to prepare for and conduct the sessions. School-based staff including administrators and

teachers and central-based supervisors and staff, whose salaries came from operating funds, participated in

the session. In total, the investment of salaried staff time totaled $680,664. Bus driver supervisors, paid hourly

from operating funds, participated at a cost of $5,023. In addition, approximately $71,196 from operating and

grant funds was expended to pay for substitutes to allow teachers to participate in the session during the

school day. The total investment in the Cultural Proficiency Cohorts was $756,883 and of that $693,645 came

from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs



Operating Expenses $38,596 $32,600 $71,196

Total Costs $693,645 $63,238 $0 $756,883


In FY20, FCPS invested $1,692 per participant in the Cultural Proficiency Cohorts. (ROI Approach: Cost per

participant)

FCPS invested a total of $693,645 from operating funds to conduct the Cultural Proficiency Cohorts. There

were a total of 410 central and school-based staff that participated. Therefore, the cost per participant was

$1692.

Strategic Action: Support School Board’s Consideration of a Family Engagement Policy

Description

During SY 2019-20, the Office of Equity and Family Engagement drafted a family engagement policy for the

School Board’s consideration. The impetus was that to create a welcoming culture; FCPS needed to establish

its values and beliefs in a policy that would set the vision for a plan of action. To develop a policy reflective of

the diversity of stakeholder perspectives and needs, staff held multiple meetings with FCPS staff, advisory

groups, and community stakeholders for input to draft the policy. As of the writing of this report, the policy is

under review by the School Board.


16

Costs

In FY20, the cost to draft a Family Engagement Policy was approximately $66,000 from operating funds.

The development of a Family Engagement Policy required FCPS to invest central office staff time in drafting

and refining the policy. Staff from the Family and School Partnerships team in the Office of Equity and Family

Engagement, whose salaries came from operating funds, drafted the policy. The total investment of staff time

to draft the policy represented $65,751 in salaries and benefit expenditures from the operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs




Total Costs $65,751 $0 $0 $65,751


ROI is not available for this action.

While staff completed a draft of the Family Engagement Policy, it has not been approved or implemented in

FCPS so no ROI could be conducted.

Strategic Action: Conducted Staff and Community Town Halls on Racism

Description

In the wake of community trauma created by the murder of George Floyd and the protests for Black Lives

Matter, the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team offered a series of online Town Halls to central office,

schools, and the greater FCPS community to support coping with the events. Staff from this team also kept

online office hours to assist staff. The intent of the actions was to provide an outlet and support for staff,

families, and the community, and show that FCPS was committed to addressing underlying issues of racism.

Costs

In FY20, the investment of staff time to develop and conduct the Staff and Community Town Halls on Racism

was covered by under $8,000 in grant funding, with no expenditures from operating funds.

The Staff and Community Town Halls on Racism involved central office staff time in designing and

implementing the sessions. Staff from the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team in the Office of Equity and

Family Engagement, whose salaries came from grant funds, expended effort to prepare for and conduct the

sessions. The total investment in the Staff and Community Town Halls was $7,365 all of which was covered by

grant funding.


17

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $0 $7,365 $7,365



Total Costs $0 $7,365 $0 $7,365


ROI is not available on this action.

An ROI was not conducted on this action as no operating funds were expended toward it.

Conclusions Based on the data available for SY 2019-20, FCPS did not continue the upward progress that had been seen

in prior years on this Aspiration, decreasing one to four percentage points in the levels of perceived student

and staff respect when compared to the prior year. While FCPS had been close to meeting the 2020 Target in

the last reporting period on some metrics, performance during this reporting year showed all levels at least five

percentage points below the 2020 Target levels. Of particular note, percentages of teachers and support staff

feeling respected hovered around 60 percent and was ten to 15 percentage points below the 2020 target.

FCPS will need to continue to wait to see the improvement trajectory for families since so far only one year of

data was collected (SY 2018-19).

The actions FCPS pursued during SY 2019-20 included professional development of staff around equity and

cultural responsiveness, as well as events to support discussions related to equity. Many of the SY 2019-20

actions, such as training for Parent Liaisons and Welcoming Walkthroughs, may have had their primary impact

on parent feelings of respect, data not available for this reporting year. Fewer of the SY 2019-20 strategic

actions were targeted at the specific issues that analyses indicate are hampering efforts to improve respect felt

by students and staff. In particular with students, analyses indicated that actions moving forward should target

improving student perceptions that teachers and other adults at schools listen to them. This aspect of respect

garnered the lowest levels of agreement among students. Also, FCPS should pay attention to the lower levels

of respect reported by Black students, which should be explored more fully to understand why this student

group was consistently lower than others in feeling respected, and then, address the root causes. Among

employees, lower percentages of teachers and support staff (especially Black and White staff in these groups)

than administrators reported feelings that policies are implemented fairly and that they work in a mutually

respectful environment. The reasons for this also need further unpacking to understand more fully why

teachers and support staff see respect negatively, especially why Black and White staff members within these

groups perceive low levels of respect, so that the root causes can be addressed. What is clear for both

students and staff is that the actions taken in SY 2019-20 did not have a positive impact on these stakeholders’

feelings of respect and that actions specifically targeting students and staff will need to be taken for FCPS to

attain its expected 2020 Target levels of performance.


18

Goal Champion Response

Support Conclusions

The growth in student and staff perceptions of respect, based on SY 2019-20 data, is marginal and indicates

that additional, targeted work is needed to meet our identified aspiration. While the survey questions and

responses provide some insight as to student and staff perceptions of respect and areas in need of

improvement, FCPS would likely benefit from engaging in two-way communication with each stakeholder

group to determine the type actions and/or behaviors that would constitute respect (e.g. What behaviors would

indicate to students that staff are listening to what students have to say? What would indicate to teachers that

policies are implemented fairly?).

It is also important to note that change or shift in mindset takes time. The foundation of this aspiration is that

employees will demonstrate cultural responsiveness in supporting families, students, and other staff and as a

result, students, families, and staff will feel respected at school. Cultural competence is developed across time

as it often requires a change in thinking followed by change in actions. While a variety of professional

development and technical assistance on cultural competence was provided during the 2019-2020 SY, the

impact of the training may not be immediately visible. As we continue work to ensure all staff enhance their

level of cultural proficiency, such that it manifests in increased respect for stakeholders, we may benefit from

leveraging the use of Equity Leads differently so that they can spend substantial time with staff putting that

which is taught during professional development into action (e.g. development of “look fors” in culturally

responsive classrooms, job embedded coaching for staff and administrators). In the absence of more targeted

support with increased frequency, it may be challenging to attain this goal or show marked progress toward the

goal.


19

Aspiration: All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive lens.

SY2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis There is one metric measuring the Aspiration “All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive

lens.” The following metric is presented below:

• Number of staff referrals for disruptive behaviors (per 100 students)

Metric Data In SY 2019-20, the number of referrals for disruptive behavior decreased for all student groups, with two groups meeting targeted 2020 levels. In SY 2019-20, FCPS showed progress in decreasing the number of referrals per 100 students for disruptive

behavior for all student groups. SY 2019-20 performance for the staff behavior referrals for the Black and

Economically Disadvantaged student groups met the target for this year. Staff referrals for all remaining

student groups made progress over their respective baseline levels of referrals. However, differences among

student groups remain in staff referrals rates for disruptive behavior. Staff referred students with disabilities

(15.6 referrals per 100 students), Black students (11.4 referrals per 100 students), economically disadvantaged

students (10.2 referrals per 100 students), English learner students (9.4 referrals per 100 students), and

Hispanic students (8.4 referrals per 100 students) more often than Asian (1.9 referrals per 100 students) and

White (3.6 referrals per 100 students) students for disruptive behaviors.


20

Asian Black Hispanic White Econ. Dis.

EL SWD

Aspiration 0 per 100

0 per 100

0 per 100

0 per 100

0 per 100

0 per 100

0 per 100

Performance Target

0.0

per 100 13.3 per

100 7.7

per 100 3.2

per 100 10.4 per

100 7.9

per 100 14.9

per 100 Overall

Performance

SY 19-20 Performance

1.9 per 100

11.4 per 100

8.2 per 100

3.6 per 100

10.2 per 100

9.4 per 100

15.6 per 100


3-Year Baseline

2.0 per 100

20.0 per 100

12.0 per 100

5.0 per 100

16.0 per 100

12.0 per 100

22.0 per 100

Note: The number of referrals includes multiple referrals for the same student. Data source: FCPS Student Information System


Reduced student-staff interaction during the closure of school buildings due to COVID-19 contributed to the

reduction in discipline referrals during SY 2019-20.

In comparison to the prior year’s performance, referral rates for all student groups declined in SY 2019-20,

especially for the Black student group, which decreased from 18.0 in the prior year to 11.4 during this reporting

year. However, the end of SY 2019-20 saw the closure of physical buildings due to COVID-19. Therefore, the

closures and the reduction of student-staff interaction during this time likely contributed to the reduction in

discipline referrals when comparing year to year.

Table 7. Number of Staff Referrals for Disruptive Behaviors SY 2018-19 Compared to SY 2019-20

School Year

Asian Black Hispanic White Econ. Dis. EL SWD

2018-19 3 per 100

18 per 100

10 per 100

5 per 100

15 per 100

12 per 100

20 per 100

2019-20 1.9 per 100

11.4 per 100

8.2 per 100

3.6 per 100

10.2 per 100

9.4 per 100

15.6 per 100


21

When comparisons were constrained to similar time frames (from the beginning of school through March of

each school year), a decrease of 2.4 referrals per 100 students for disruptive behavior was found in the Black

student group, 1.0 referrals in the Economically Disadvantaged student group, and 0.2 referrals in the White

student group. There were no reductions in staff referral rates for the remaining student groups when

comparing similar time frames. Therefore, the overall decreases for all student groups appears more related to

the COVID closure of schools and the reduced interaction between staff and students during the last three

months of the school year.

Table 8. Number of Staff Referrals for Disruptive Behaviors SY 2018-19 Compared to SY 2019-20 through

March of each School Year

School Year

Asian Black Hispanic White Econ.Dis. EL SWD

2018-19 1.8 per 100

13.8 per 100

8.1 per 100

3.8 per 100

11.2 per 100

8.8 per 100

15.6 per 100

2019-20 1.9 per 100

11.4 per 100

8.2 per 100

3.6 per 100

10.2 per 100

9.4 per 100

15.6 per 100

SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment This section provides information about the strategic actions that were taken in SY 2019-20 toward the Aspiration that “All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive lens” in SY 2019-20. The narrative for each strategic action includes a brief description, FY20 funding associated with that strategic action, and a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the action. FY20 strategic actions undertaken by FCPS to impact this Aspiration were:

• Expanded Professional Development on Cultural Proficiency as a part of the Equity Plan for Discipline Policy and Practices

o Divisionwide Cultural Proficiency Training o Professional Development for Equity Leads o Cultural Proficiency Training for School Resource Officers

• Expanded professional development on the use of data in Equity and Cultural Responsiveness in Discipline

o Systems of Support Advisors provided job-embedded professional development to staff in support of equity and cultural responsiveness in discipline

o Expanded the Data Dialogue process about student behavior referrals through professional development with Regional Assistant Superintendents (RAS) and Executive Principals (EPs)

• Implemented revised SR&R as a part of the Equity Plan for Discipline Policy and Practice

• Created an online discipline referral system to improve consistency of student behavior referrals across classrooms and schools

Strategic Action: Expanded Professional Development on Cultural Proficiency as part of Implementing

the Equity Plan for Discipline Policy and Practices

Description

During the prior year, in response to the Office of Research and Strategic Improvement’s Study of Student

Behavior, Discipline, and Disproportionality, as well as external review by consultants of these same areas,

FCPS developed an Equity Plan for Discipline Policies and Practices. As part of the plan, FCPS undertook

three professional development activities during SY 2019-20 to reduce discrepancies between student groups

in referrals for disruptive behavior:


22

• Professional Development for Equity Leads: The role of equity lead in FCPS is to partner with

principals, school leadership team, or central office leaders to support staff development of culturally

responsive practices and to ensure each student has access to equitable education in a climate that is

inclusive of and respectful to all students. Equity leads also work to ensure employees have a work

environment that is equitable and inclusive. They are responsible for delivering divisionwide equity

trainings to their department/office, as well as working with their supervisor to develop and lead

additional actions that support equity for students and staff. During SY 2019-20 FCPS trained over 300

equity leads (35 central office and 268 school-based staff). The training was intended to prepare equity

leads to have hard conversations and address inequity when they see it. During SY 2019-20, school-

based equity leads were trained to deliver two training modules to staff (Module IV: Responsive

Professional Learning Communities; Module V: Culturally Responsive Decision-Making). The intent of

having equity leads is both to provide the turn-around training and, more importantly, to have an

individual based in the school or central office location who is responsible for building an equity

focused culture.

• Divisionwide Culture Proficiency Training for all Staff: During SY2019-20, two cultural proficiency

training modules were provided to FCPS staff. In the fall, school-based staff received training from

equity leads on Module IV: Responsive Professional Learning Communities. The focus of Module IV

was on the work of Collaborative Teams (CTs) in schools and how to make decisions that are

culturally responsive for students and families and demonstrate respect. Prior to the COVID-19 shut-

down, school-based equity leads also delivered Module V: Culturally Responsive Decision-Making

during professional development days at schools. Module V focused on understanding unconscious

bias, recognizing one’s own biases, and understanding how bias can affect decision-making. The

trainings used FCPS’ discipline data to provide examples of how bias can play into decisions, the

results for students, and ways to reduce biased decision-making. Module V, which was the only

module that central-based staff were intended to receive, was largely not delivered before the COVID-

19 shut-down, so it was postponed for most central-based staff.

• Cultural Proficiency Training for School Resource Officers: In response to the School Resource

Officers (SROs) MOU, staff from the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team in the Office of Equity

and Family Engagement offered cultural proficiency training to School Resource Officers (SROs) for

the first time beginning in SY 2019-20. Fifty-seven SROs attended the two, two-hour training sessions.

The sessions, entitled “Cultural Proficiency” and “Bias,” covered content similar to the divisionwide

modules with examples modified to be more relevant to the SRO position. The trainings were intended

to support the development of cultural proficiency, as well as awareness of unconscious bias and how

it may affect decisions.

Costs

In FY20, the cost of FCPS’ professional development on cultural proficiency was approximately, $4.3 million in

operating funds, with an additional $336,000 paid from grant funding.

Professional development on cultural proficiency involved central office staff time to design and implement the

sessions, as well as school-based and central-based staff time and compensation to participate in the

professional development. Staff from the Equity and Cultural Responsiveness team in the Office of Equity and

Family Engagement, whose salaries came both from operating funds and grant funds, expended effort to

develop the modules and train facilitators. For the cultural proficiency modules, school-based staff (including

administrators and instructional staff, whose salaries came from operating funds, participated in the sessions.

In total, the investment of salaried staff time for the cultural proficiency modules totaled $4.1 million. In addition

to salaried staff, food service staff who are paid hourly were included in the professional development at a cost

of $262,642. For the professional development of equity leads, staff from Equity and Cultural Responsiveness

team in the Office of Equity and Family Engagement, whose salaries came both from operating funds and

grant funds, expended effort to prepare for and conduct the sessions. Equity Leads were paid a supplement for

the year to participate in the professional development and carryout other duties at a cost of $191,450, of


23

which $166,600 came from operating funds. For the SRO professional development participation, there were

no costs to FCPS. The total investment in the Professional Development in Cultural Proficiency was, therefore,

$4.6 million, of which $4.3 million came from operating funds. (The investment of SRO time was absorbed by

the Fairfax County Police Department, which pays the officers’ salaries and benefits and is not accounted for

here.)

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Cultural Proficiency Modules

Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $4,114,189 $22,715 $4,136,904


Operating Expenses $0 $264,642 $264,642

Professional Development for Equity Leads

Staff Costs




Cultural Proficiency Training for School Resource Officers

Staff Costs




Total Costs $4,290,429 $334,744 $0 $4,625,173


In FY20, FCPS invested $214 per participant for professional development on equity and cultural

responsiveness. (ROI Approach: Cost per participant)

FCPS invested a total of $4,290,429 in professional development on equity and cultural responsiveness in

FY20 from operating funds. This included 19,754 school-based instructional staff and school-based

administrators who participated in the ECR Modules and 303 equity leads for a total of 20,057 participants.

Therefore, the cost per participant across all of the professional development on equity and cultural

responsiveness was $214.

Strategic Action: Expanded professional development on the use of data to address Equity and Cultural

Responsiveness in Discipline


24

Description

FCPS undertook two professional development activities during SY 2019-20 to reduce discrepancies between

student groups in referrals for disruptive behavior:

• For the past five years, FCPS has had the Systems of Support Advisors (SOSAs) in the high schools

to work proactively with teachers and students to prevent behavior difficulty, analyze and address the

underlying causes of behavior issues for students involved in discipline, and oversee in-school

suspension. As school-based personnel, the principal decides their day to day duties, but about half

their time is typically dedicated to job-embedded professional development about discipline and

helping schools understand their data and address issues related to disproportionality in discipline

referrals. They receive professional development and support for analyzing discipline data from the

Coordinator for Equity and Student Conduct.

• During SY 2019-20, FCPS staff engaged region assistant superintendents and executive principals in

data dialogues for discipline data focused on trend data by school across each region. Using a data

dashboard, attendees examined multiple data points by region and student subgroup, including

suspensions. It was the first time the data had been organized in this format so leadership could pose

questions, examine the data, and understand discipline issues in their schools, as well as identify

areas that needed to be addressed. At the end of the sessions, region assistant superintendents and

executive principals made commitments to next steps, including sharing the information with

principals. This action was intended to help decrease the number of disruptive behavior referrals by

elevating the understanding of school level discipline data by region leadership so appropriate actions

could be taken.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to provide professional development on the use of discipline data through SOSAs and Data

Dialogues was $1.7 million from operating funds.

The SOSA efforts involved central office staff time in providing professional development and guiding the

SOSA program and school-based SOSA positions. Staff from the Intervention and Prevention Services on the

Equity and Student Conduct team, whose salaries came from operating funds, provided initial professional

development and support of SOSAs at a cost of approximately $9,200. The SOSA staff time cost

approximately $1,662,000.

The data dialogues involved central office staff time in designing and implementing the sessions and regional

staff time to participate in the professional development. Staff from the Equity and Student Conduct team in the

Office of Intervention and Prevention Services, whose salaries came from operating funds, expended effort to

prepare for and conduct the sessions. Regional staff including region assistant superintendents and executive

principals, whose salaries came from operating funds, participated in the sessions. In total, the investment of

salaried staff time across SOSAs and Data Dialogues totaled $1,691,137 from operating funds.


25

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Systems of Support Advisors

Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $1,671,411 $0 $1,671,411



Data Dialogue process with RAS/EAPs

Staff Costs




Total Costs $1,691,137 $0 $0 $1,691,137


In FY20, FCPS invested $67,645 per high school for professional development about the use of data in equity

and cultural responsiveness in discipline to improve staff referral rates for disruptive behaviors. (ROI Approach:

Cost per school)

FCPS invested approximately $1.7 million in operating funds to provide professional development on the use

of data in equity and cultural responsiveness in discipline in high schools. A total of 25 high schools received

professional development support for the use of discipline data to address equity in staff referral rates. The

cost per school was $67,645.

Strategic Action: Implemented revisions to the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook as a

part of the Equity Plan for Discipline Policy and Practice

Description

At the end of SY2018-19, FCPS made the first set of major revisions to its Students Rights and

Responsibilities Handbook for SY2019-20. The changes were informed by the results of FCPS’ Discipline

Study, recommendations from an external expert review, and meetings with advisory and stakeholder groups.

The changes were intended to better reflect a positive approach to discipline with a focus on communicating

FCPS’ commitment to equity, building students’ social-emotional and behavioral skills, and expectations that a

tiered approach to student behavior issues be taken that reserved out-of-school suspensions as a

consequence only after other options had been unsuccessful. Through clarifying FCPS’ expectations, the

revisions were intended to provide more guidance and clarity for staff on how to address student behavior

through a positive behavior approach and apply consequences more fairly to students. The revised SR&R

policy was implemented in SY 2019-20.


26

Costs

The time and efforts expended by schools and central office staff to implement the SR&R in SY 2019-20 were

typical of what is experienced each school year. Therefore, time and efforts were not captured as a part of

strategic costs.


ROI was not available for this action.

Strategic Action: Create an online discipline referral form to improve consistency of behavior referrals

across classrooms and schools

Description

One of the recommendations from the external review of FCPS’ discipline process was to develop a school-

based online referral system for teachers to record behavior incidents and a dashboard to track their

classroom level entries. Additionally, the online discipline referrals form will allow schools to disaggregate data

to identify trends and themes among staff members and target professional development and classroom

management support based upon identified needs. During SY2019-20, FCPS staff developed an online

referral system that was to be piloted at six schools during the spring. The pilot was postponed until the

following school year due to COVID-19. Thus, this action has not yet been fully implemented.

Costs

In FY20, costs were not available for this action as it was halted due to COVID-19.

The creation of an online discipline referral form involved central office staff time in revising the policy and

handbook. Staff from Equity and Student Conduct team in the Office of Intervention and Prevention Services,

expended effort to systematize the discipline referral form. However, this action was halted due to COVID-19

and will occur in FY21.


ROI is not available for this action.

Staff were not able to complete the work on creating an online discipline referral form. ROI will be conducted in

the future once the form is completed and implemented.

Conclusions The COVID-19 closure of schools appears to have played a large role in the improvement seen across all

subgroups on this Aspiration’s metric. With students no longer interacting with teachers and other adults

starting in mid-March, overall discipline referral rates were far lower this year than in prior years. Further

analysis, however, showed that a comparison over the same months of the school year (August to March)

during the last two years did show improved referral rates for some groups. More specifically, referrals for

disruptive behaviors within the Black and Economically Disadvantaged student groups equated to 2.4 and 1.0

fewer referrals per 100 students in the group, respectively, during SY 2019-20 as compared to the prior year.

Notably, these two student groups were the only ones that met the 2020 Targets, with all other groups moving

toward the target but not yet meeting expect levels of performance.


27

Overall, the actions that FCPS undertook during SY 2019-20, notably a revised SR&R and professional

development on equity and cultural responsiveness that focused on discipline decision-making and bias

appears to have had some positive impact and contributed to the lower referral rates seen in the Black and

Economically Disadvantaged student groups. Last year’s goal reporting indicated that professional

development undertaken by the Division in support of culturally responsive practices in responding to student

behavior had yet to have a meaningful impact on disruptive behavior referrals. In contrast, this year’s Modules,

which more directly targeted discipline decision-making, seem to have had some positive impact. Moving

forward it will be important to see continued decreases in the progress reporting this year or, if continued

progress is not seen, search out other actions to make further progress.

FCPS will need to continue to focus on targeted efforts around disruptive behaviors and discipline to allow the

Division to eliminate disproportionality in discipline referrals across student groups and increase the trajectory

of progress since baseline to meet its 2020 Targets. While a number of initiatives have been implemented to

help staff understand cultural responsiveness, it remains unclear how clearly they have made the connection

between respecting student identity and culture and how they view student behavior that results in referrals for

disruptive behavior. Given the national events that led FCPS to conduct the Staff and Community Town Halls

on Racism, FCPS should capitalize on the opportunity for open and frank conversation about staff and student

behaviors that have led to disproportionality in the past.


Generally Support Conclusions

While some progress was noted regarding the reduction of disruptive student referrals for black students and

students who have economic disadvantage, additional work is required to reduce the number of disruptive

referrals across all student groups and to eliminate disproportionality between groups. Students with

disabilities, black students, students with economic disadvantage, English learners, and Hispanic students

have substantially more disruptive referrals compared to their white and Asian counterparts. Despite the

professional development and coaching provided during the 2019-2020 SY that specifically situates student

discipline in the context of cultural competence, historically marginalized groups continue to have higher

numbers of disruptive referrals.

Two key actions have recently been implemented and will likely have a positive impact on long-range,

disruptive referral outcomes. The Coordinator for Equity and Student Conduct has begun to calculate risk

ratios, by school, to identify subgroups that are over-represented in discipline data. While this data is

calculated centrally, it is vitally important that the data be unpacked with the school team, with the support of

the regional assistant superintendent, in order for the team to have a clear understanding of the school’s

baseline data for use in the development of an action plan and the school’s ongoing assessment of discipline

data. Risk ratio data enables staff to see how much more likely students of a particular group are disciplined

compared to all other students. This data point is critical to discussions around cultural competence and

discipline as staff search for the reason why one group is impacted more than another.

Another key action being implemented this year is a pilot in which an online referral system is being used at 16

schools that will enable school teams to disaggregate discipline data at the teacher level to determine trends

and to determine where additional support may be needed. “Disruptive behavior,” while defined in the Student

Rights and Responsibilities, includes some actions that might be misinterpreted in the absence of a culturally

responsive lens. The availability of discipline data at the teacher level will enable school teams to unpack and

assess referrals by analyzing themes, common antecedents and other key filters to customize professional

development and coaching to meet the school and/or teacher’s specific needs.

Moving forward, it might also be beneficial to provide additional professional development for staff on disability

awareness and knowledge of strategies to support students with disabilities. Students with disabilities, as a

whole, have the highest rate of disruptive referrals when examining the full year data and when looking at year-

to-date data through March.


28

Moreover, additional professional development in conjunction with ongoing coaching, data analysis, and

reflection is needed to affect change and attain the aspiration that all staff will view student behavior through a

culturally responsive lens as evidenced by the number of staff referrals for disruptive behaviors per 100

students.


Strategic Concerns

• FCPS will need to identify the root causes behind student, teacher, and support staff ratings of respect at school and worksites and develop an associated action plan to meet its intended Welcoming Environment performance targets.

• With the Division’s strong emphasis on actions to support parents’ feelings of respect, it is important to collect data annually from parents that allows FCPS to assess impact.

• FCPS should develop and provide professional development that makes an explicit connection between cultural responsiveness, social justice, and disproportionality in staff referrals for student disruptive behavior.

Budget Considerations • Action plans to improve student, teacher and support staff perceptions of respect may have budget

implications.

• FCPS should provide greater resources to schools to explore the connection between cultural responsiveness, social justice, and disproportionality.

Policy

• Adopt a family engagement policy that clarifies FCPS’ values and beliefs around family engagement.

HEALTHY LIFE CHOICES

29

This section of the report covers the Healthy Life Choices Desired Outcome, the second of two Desired

Outcomes under the Caring Culture goal. The Healthy Life Choices outcome includes four Aspirations that focus

on students’ healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors; student behavior; chronic absenteeism; and

employee access to the FCPS Employee Assistance Program. Details on outcomes, actions, costs and ROI for

each Aspiration are detailed below.

Aspiration: All students will report healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors.

SY2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis There are four metrics measuring the Aspiration “All students will report healthy social-emotional skills and

lifestyle behaviors.”

The following metrics are presented below:

• Percent of students who report being drug- and alcohol-free on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

• Percent of students who report healthy social-emotional skills on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

• Percent of students who report three or more assets on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

• Percent of students who report healthy nutrition behaviors, healthy amounts of exercise, and healthy

amounts of sleep on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

Metric Data In SY 2019-20, approximately 69 percent of middle and high school students reported being drug, vape, and alcohol free on the Fairfax County Youth Survey, a decrease of eight percentage points from baseline. In SY 2019-20, FCPS did not progress toward the Aspiration for students to be drug and alcohol free. As

measured by the Fairfax County Youth Survey, 69 percent of students reported being drug and alcohol free,

which showed a decrease from the baseline value of 77 percent.

Aspiration 100%

SYs 2018-20 Target 84% Overall Performance

SY 19-20 Performance 69% (n= 22,814) Did Not Progress During this Period

3-Year Baseline 77% (n= 25,150)

Data Source: Fairfax County; Fairfax County Youth Survey


30


The decreased performance on this metric in SY 2019-20 is attributable to student reports of vaping.

In SY 2018-19, the Fairfax County Youth Survey was amended to include a question on vaping. This was done

to monitor the use and provide interventions as needed. Additionally, the decision was made to include this

item in the calculation of FCPS’ metric once the data became available. To further understand what

contributed to the decrease in performance on this metric in SY 2019-20 relative to the baseline value,

analyses were done to determine the impact of student vaping. In SY 2018-19, the inclusion of the new item

did not have a significant impact on the metric performance as students who reported vaping also reported the

use of other alcohol and drugs. Analyses of 2019-20 data indicate many students reported vaping only and not

the use of alcohol or other drugs. Specifically, in SY 2019-20 11.2 percent of students reported vaping but not

use of alcohol or other drugs (8.9 percent at grade 8, 12.2 percent at grade 10, 12.5 percent at grade 12).

Thus, these students contributed considerable to the decline in the percent of students who are drug-free. If

the metric had been calculated in SY 2019-20 as it had been at baseline, the percent of students reporting

being drug free would have been 79% without the vaping item. This would reflect a small improvement in

students being drug-free without the inclusion of vaping since baseline numbers on this metric indicated 77

percent of students were drug free. Thus, reports of student vaping are what has contributed to the rapid

decrease in FCPS’ performance on this metric.

There were meaningful differences between student groups in reports of drug, vape, and alcohol free during

SY 2019-20 but all student groups showed declines in being drug free.

Additional analyses were conducted to understand what might be constraining progress on this metric within

student groups. Data indicated that in SY 2019-20 there were significant differences in the percentages of

students who reported they were drug, alcohol, and vape free (Chi-square =942.2, p<.000). Asian and Black

students were more likely to be drug, alcohol, and drug free than Hispanic or White students. The effect size2

associated with these differences ranged from .13 (small effect) to .30 (moderate effect). The pattern of

differences in student groups matched those observed in the prior year (SY 2018-19). However, the decreases

in being drug free (including alcohol and vaping) was demonstrated by groups, with decreases of between 8

and 14 percentage points in each student group.

Table 9. Percent of Students who reported they were drug and alcohol free by Race/Ethnicity Asian Black Hispanic White

SY 2018-19 87% (n=6,270)

83% (n=2,815)

78% (n=5,737)

75% (n=9,149)

SY 2019-20 79% (n=5,753)

72% (n=2,485)

64% (n=4,928)

65% (n=7,682)

Suspensions for drug and alcohol offenses increased during SY 2019-20 at schools identified to receive new

SAP positions, matching the increasing percentages of students who were not drug and alcohol free.

In addition to the Fairfax County Youth Survey data, additional analyses were conducted to look at trends in

suspensions related to the use of drugs and alcohol in schools with the new Substances Abuse Prevention

specialist positions in place during SY 2019-20. Through March 2020, the number students with suspensions

2 Effect sizes are provided only when there are significant differences (α < 0.05) between the groups. The National Center for Special

Education Research (NCSER) suggests that when it comes to interpreting effect sizes, Cohen’s (1988) traditional categories of small (0.2), medium (0.5), and large (0.8) are not always appropriate for research on education, particularly education intervention studies. Researchers from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at Indiana University Bloomington analyzed effect sizes in the context of empirical data and found that few educational results fit within Cohen’s traditional cutoff points. Instead, they proposed alternative cutoffs of 0.1 (small effect), 0.3 (medium effect), and 0.5 (large effect). These suggestions are aligned with findings from NCSER regarding the average effect sizes among education research studies, allowing for a more meaningful interpretation of results. Thus, this report uses these later cut-offs to describe the magnitude of differences or effects.


31

for drug and alcohol offenses was 448, an increase of 6 percentage points when compared to SY 2018-19

suspensions for drug and alcohol offenses in the same schools (424 offenses in SY 2018-19 during the same

time period through March 2019).

Metric Data

FCPS did not make progress during SY 2019-20 in reaching its 2020 target as the percent of students

reporting three or more assets declined to 83 percent.

During SY 2019-20, FCPS did not progress toward the Aspiration for students to have three or more assets

that represent protective factors against engaging in risky behavior. As measured by the Fairfax County Youth

Survey, 83 percent of students reported having three or more assets, which showed a decrease from the

baseline value of 85 percent. As shown in Appendix A, the 85 percent performance level had been steady for

multiple years, so the decrease during this reporting year is notable.

Aspiration 100%


SY 19-20 Performance 83% (n= 27,568) No Progress During this Period


Data Source: Fairfax County; Fairfax County Youth Survey.


The changes in SY 2019-20 metric data are associated with significant differences in the percentages of

students reporting three or more assets by grade level and by student group.

When comparing changes from SY 2018-19 to SY 2019-20, data indicated that while the percent of Asian and

White students having three or more assets remained the same, the percent of Black and Hispanic students

reporting having three or more assets decreased. Although the decreases were small, the changes were in the

wrong direction and contributed to the overall decrease observed in the metric performance. A similar pattern

was observed by grade level. Additional analyses were conducted to understand if the differences by student

group were statistically different and meaningful. Data indicated that in SY 2019-20 there were significant

differences between racial/ethnic student groups (Chi-square =942.2, p<.000), which ranged from small to

moderate magnitude (ES =.12 to .40). Additionally in SY 2019-20 there were significant differences by grade

level in the percentages of students who reported having three or more assets (Chi-square= 88.3, p<.000) with


32

effect sizes ranging from no to small effect to (ES below .10 to .11). Thus Hispanic students, as well as

students in the Grade 10, accounted for the drop seen in the overall metric performance level.

Table 10. Percent of Students who report three or more assets on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

by grade level

Grade 8 Grade 10 Grade 12

SY 2018-19 86% (n=9,463)

82% (n=9,098)

85% (n=9,128)

SY 2019-20 86% (n=9,461)

81% (n=9,145)

84% (n=8,961)

Table 11. Percent of Students who report three or more assets on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

by race/ethnicity

Asian Black Hispanic White

SY 2018-19 85% (n=6,123)

80% (n=2,696)

75% (n=5,485)

90% (n=10,975)

SY 2019-20 86% (n=6,276)

79% (n=2,711)

74% (n=5,648)

90% (n=10,532)

Metric Data

In FY20, FCPS did not progress toward the Aspiration for students to have healthy social-emotional skills as

measured by having low levels of stress, with a similar performance level of 64 percent reporting low levels of

stress just as at baseline.

During SY 2019-20, FCPS did not progress toward the Aspiration for students to have healthy social-emotional

skills. As measured by the Fairfax County Youth Survey, 64 percent of students reported having low stress,

which was the same as the percent reported at baseline. As shown in Appendix A, the 64 percent performance

level does recoup the percentage point decrease found in the prior year. However, there has been little

movement on this metric since baseline and FCPS continues to see more than a third of students reporting

elevated stress each year.


33

Aspiration 100%


SY 19-20 Performance 64% (n= 20,418) No Progress During this Period




Students’ social-emotional skills were associated with grade level, with younger students having greater social-

emotional skills than older students.

Additional analyses were conducted to understand the trends in healthy social-emotional skills over time. Data

indicate that the percent of students who report healthy levels of social-emotional skills has not only been

stable for the Division overall, but they have been stable at each grade level assessed by the Fairfax County

Youth Survey. There was a shift upward of one percentage point between SY 2018-19 and SY 2019-20 for

grade 12 students and a parallel shift downward for grade 8 and 10 students. There was a shift upward of one

percentage point for White students and a shift downward of one percentage point for Hispanic students.

There were no year-to year changes for Asian or Black student groups.

Further analyses sought to understand whether the differences by grade level and race/ethnicity were

statistically significant. Analyses found there were significant differences among grade levels (Chi-square=977,

p<.000) with moderate magnitudes of different (ES ranged from .30 to .40). Fewer students in grade 12

reported healthy social-emotional skills than students in grades 8 or 10. And, fewer students in grade 10

reported healthy social-emotional skills than students in grade 8. In other words, as student grade increased

fewer students reported healthy social-emotional skills as measured by reported levels of stress. Some

differences were observed by race/ethnicity, as well (Chi-square = 25, p<.000; Effect sizes ranged from no

effect to 0.1 (small)). Similar patterns were observed in SY 2018-19.

Table 12. Percent of Students who report healthy social-emotional skills on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

by grade level

8th 10th 12th

SY 2018-19 74% (n=8,091)

60% (n=6,641)

52% (n=5,541)

SY 2019-20 73% (n=8,062)

59% (n=6,712)

53% (n=5,643)


34

Table 13. Percent of Students who report healthy social-emotional skills on the Fairfax County Youth Survey

by race/ethnicity


SY 2018-19 60% (n=4,277)

65% (n=2,189)

63% (n=4,642)

61% (n=7,462)

SY 2019-20 60% (n=4,388)

65% (n=2,222)

62% (n=4,784)

62% (n=7,266)

Metric Data

In FY20, FCPS did not progress toward the target for students to have healthy lifestyle behaviors as measured

by nutrition, exercise, or sleep amounts.

For nutrition, 38 percent of students reported regular consumption of fruits and vegetables, which was a

decrease from the baseline value of 40 percent. Similar patterns were observed for regular exercise (decrease

from 53 percent to 48 percent) and regularly sleeping 8 hours per night (decrease from 31 percent to 28

percent). The SY 2019-20 performance levels for nutrition, exercise, and sleep are comparable to those seen

last year (see Appendix A). However, targeted levels for 2020 of 60, 67, and 52 percent, respectively, were

considerably higher so performance not only declined since baseline but is far from expected performance on

any of these three metrics.

Nutrition Exercise Sleep

Aspiration 100% 100% 100%

SYs 2018-20 Target 60% 67% 52% Overall Performance

SY 19-20 Performance* 38%

(n=12,076)

48%

(n=15,499)

28%

(n=8,884)

No Progress During this Period

3-Year Baseline 40%

(n=13,087)

53%

(n=16,337)

31%

(n=9,586)



35


Students’ healthy lifestyle behaviors for exercise and sleep were associated with student grade level and

student racial/ethnic group. Students’ healthy lifestyle behaviors for nutrition were associated with student

racial/ethnic group but not grade level.

Additional analyses were conducted to understand what might be constraining progress on this metric. Data

indicated that in SY 2019-20 there were significant differences in the percentage of students by grade who

reported they had healthy lifestyle behaviors for exercise (Chi-square = 284, p<.000; effect size ranged from

0.06 (no effect) to 0.2 (small effect)), and sleep (Chi-square = 1831, p<.000; effect size ranged from 0.3

(moderate) to 0.6 (large)). There were no difference for nutrition (Chi-square = 9.6, p>.10; no effect). Students

in grade 8 were more likely to report healthy exercise and sleep than students in grades 10 and 12. Students in

grade 10 were more likely to report healthy exercise and sleep than students in grade 12.

Table 14. Percent of Students who report healthy lifestyle behaviors on the Fairfax County Youth Survey by

grade level

8th 10th 12th

Nutrition 36%

(n=3,967) 37%

(n=4,212) 37%

(n=3,997)

Exercise 52%

(n=5,766) 49%

(n=5,500) 41%

(n=4,383)

Sleep 41%

(n=4,515) 25%

(n=2,780) 15%

(n=1,650)

Data indicated that in SY 2019-20 there were significant differences in the percentage of students by

race/ethnicity who reported they had healthy lifestyle behaviors for nutrition (Chi-square =1286, p<.000; Effect

size ranged from 0.14 (small) to 0.43 (moderate)), exercise (Chi-square =989, p<.000; Effect size ranged from

0.04 (no effect) to 0.40 (moderate)), and sleep (Chi-square =75, p<.000; Effect size ranged from no effect to

0.1 (small)). Asian and White student were more likely to report healthy nutrition than Black or Hispanic

students. White students were more likely to report healthy exercise than other student groups. White students

were more likely to report healthy sleep than other student groups.

Table 15. Percent of Students who report healthy lifestyle behaviors on the Fairfax County Youth Survey by

race/ethnicity


Nutrition 41%

(n=2,975) 23%

(n=794) 29%

(n=2,256) 43%

(n=5,055)

Exercise 42%

(n=3,076) 40%

(n=1,359) 38%

(n=2,935) 58%

(n=6,824)

Sleep 24%

(n=1,743) 25%

(n=860) 28%

(n=2,147) 29%

(n=3,410)

SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment This section provides information about the strategic actions that were taken toward the Aspiration that “All students will report healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors’ in SY 2019-20. The narrative for each strategic action includes a brief description, FY20 funding associated with that strategic action, and a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the action. FY20 strategic actions undertaken by FCPS to impact this Aspiration were:

• Expanded Substance Abuse Prevention specialist positions to support greater substance abuse referrals and services

• Expanded participation of Psychology Supervisors in region school support meetings

• Increased Mental Health Staffing at Middle Schools


36

• Opened 19 additional salad bars in Elementary Schools

• Enhanced Middle School health lessons to support access to content by all students

• Expanded PE resources to support asynchronous PE instruction in Spring 2020

• Provided nutrition support under the COVID shutdown by serving more than 1.39 million no-cost meals

Strategic Action: Expanded Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists Positions to Support Greater

Substance Abuse Referrals and Services

Description

In SY2019-20, FCPS expanded the number of Substance Abuse Prevention Specialists (SAPS) by six to

increase the total number of SAPS to 19. The increased staffing meant that each high school had at least a

part-time SAPS position. Decisions about whether a high school received a full or half-time position were

based on student reports of substance use on the Fairfax County Youth Survey. Schools with higher reported

substance use among students were assigned a full-time SAPS position, while other high schools received a

half-time position. SAPS deliver multi-tiered support services, including substance abuse prevention

presentations to students, parents, and the community, one-on-one and small group discussions for students

identified to have used substances or be at higher risk for using substances, and more individualized support

for students with substance abuse problems. SAPS also connected some students to the Fairfax County

Services Board for more intensive treatment. The additional positions were intended to increase the availability

of support services for students and the coverage of schools toward the objective of decreasing student

substance use.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to expand the Substance Abuse Prevention positions was approximately $1.5 million from

operating funds.

The expansion of the SAPs involved central office staff time in providing professional development and guiding

the program as well as the SAP positions that directly supported schools and students. The SAP efforts from

SAP Coordinator, 7 SAP specialists and 4 ATOD teachers whose salaries came from operating funds at a cost

of $1.5 million. The expanded efforts from an additional 6 SAP specialists and a Senior SAP specialist came

from grant funds. An additional $7,686 was expended from operating funds to cover costs associated with

technology supplies, teaching materials, and professional development materials. The total investment in the

expansion of the SAPs was $2.3 million and of that $1.5 million came from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs

Salary and Benefits (Time Investment) $1,520,966 $813,578 $2,334,544


Operating Expenses $7,686 $0 $7,686

Total Costs $1,528,652 $813,578 $0 $2,342,230


In FY20, FCPS invest $1.5 million to increase the number of SAPs supporting schools and saw no reduction in

drug and alcohol-related suspensions. (ROI Approach: Impact ROI)


37

FCPS invested a total of $1.5 million to increase the number of SAPs supporting schools. As described in the

additional analyses for the metric on students being drug and alcohol free, there was an increase in the

number of suspensions for drug and alcohol offenses in SY 2019-20 as compared to SY 2018-19 in the

schools with new SAP positions.

Strategic Action: Expanded Participation of Psychology Supervisors in Region School Support

Meetings

Description

Beginning in SY 2019-20, psychology supervisors began attending regional Office of School Support (OSS)

meetings. Their attendance along with the attendance of Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) staff, who

had also attended the prior year, provided a focus on social-emotional wellbeing and mental health to the

region meetings and supported deeper conversations about meeting the needs of the whole child. The

meetings provided an opportunity to educate other attendees (regional assistant superintendents, executive

principals, region educational specialists, OSS educational specialists, resource teachers) about how healthy

social-emotional skills contributed to academic performance. The participation of the psychology supervisors

also offered the opportunity to highlight available support services psychologists could provide to schools,

especially to Project Momentum intensive and targeted schools. This action was intended to support the MTSS

model by raising awareness of and use of social-emotional wellness services. Through indirect, by raising

knowledge and awareness among attendees at the OSS meetings, Psychology Services staff believe they can

increase referrals and requests for social-emotional and mental health services that will ultimately support

improved academic success for students. Additionally, by attending the meetings, Psychology Services staff

can develop a clearer understanding of what services are needed by schools, thus, allowing them to make

adjustments to better meet school needs.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to include Psychology Supervisors to region meetings was approximately $93,000 from

operating funds.

The expansion of psychology supervisors to OSS meetings involved central office staff time and no efforts

from school-based staff or additional materials. Staff from the office of Psychology Services, whose salaries

came from operating funds, expended effort to participate in these ongoing meetings at a cost of $93,351.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs




Total Costs $93,351 $0 $0 $93,351


In FY20, FCPS invested $3,890 per Project Momentum school to better support students social-emotional and

mental health needs by incorporating Psychology Supervisors into OSS meetings. (ROI Approach: Cost per

school)


38

FCPS invested a total of $93,351 to increase the support for social-emotional and mental health needs of

students in Project Momentum schools. There was a total of 24 intensive and targeted Project Momentum

schools in SY 2019-20. Therefore, the cost per school was $3,890.

Strategic Action: Increased Mental Health Staffing at Middle Schools

Description

During SY2018-19, FCPS added nine social workers and nine psychologists to ensure all middle schools had

a full-time mental health professional. This level of staffing was maintained with slight adjustments for SY

2019-20 to account for changes in school ratios and decisions that some schools needed additional mental

health supports. The additional staffing was intended to increase mental health assessments for students

including assessments, referrals and counselling services.

Costs

In FY19, the cost to increase mental health staffing at middle schools was approximately $2.9 million.

The increase in mental health staffing at middle schools involved central office staff time through the addition

of positions and no school-based staff time or materials. The additional positions came at a cost of $2,943,171

from operating funds in FY19.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs




Total Costs $2,943,171 $0 $0 $2,943,171

In FY20, FCPS invested $4.2 million per percentage point increase in the percent of students reporting healthy

social-emotional skills on the Youth Survey. (ROI Approach: Impact ROI)

FCPS invested a total of $2.9 million to increase the number of mental health providers in select middle

schools in SY 2018-19. The subsequent fall, the students were administered the Fairfax County Youth Survey.

During SY 2019-20, 74.3 percent of students reported healthy social-emotional skills an increase of 0.7

percentage points as compared to SY 2018-19 in the same schools (73.6 percent).

Strategic Action: Opened 19 Salad Bars in Elementary Schools

Description

As part of its farm-to-school planning, FCPS continued expanding the number of salad bars in elementary

school. A total of 19 salad bars were added during SY 2019-20 bring the total number to 101. The salad bars

allow the school system to offer a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to students with an all you can eat

approach. Students received an entrée and then have the option to choose sides from the salad bar based on

their preferences of what and how much they want to eat. In addition, there was regular opportunity for repeat

exposure and regularly sampling of produce items that help students develop a taste for different fruits and


39

vegetables. The intent of the salad bars was to encourage students’ eating of more fresh fruits and vegetables

through choice and availability.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to expand salad bars to an additional 19 schools was approximately $299,000 from operating

funds.

The expansion of the salad bars in 19 elementary schools involved central office staff time as well as the

materials to support these efforts. The time and efforts of Food Services specialist came from operating funds

at a cost of $226,344. An additional $72,600 was expended from operating funds to cover costs associated

with additional refrigeration units and $62,000 was expended from grant funds to cover start-up costs. The total

investment in the expansion of the salad bars was $360,944 and of that $298,944 came from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs




Total Costs $298,944 $62,000 $0 $360,944


In FY20, FCPS invested $15,734 per school to implement salad bars. (ROI Approach: Cost per school)

FCPS invested a total of $298,944 to implement salad bars across 19 schools. Therefore, the investment per

school was $15,734.

Strategic Action: Enhanced Middle School Health Lessons to Support Access to Content by All

Students

Description

In SY 2019-20, differentiation strategies were added to the health education lessons for grades 7 and 8 to

support access to content by all students. The initial intent was to provide guidance on differentiation for

English Learners, but upon review, it was realized the practices would support all students, so the

differentiation guidance was built into the lesson plans for all students. The intent was to provide guidance on

to deliver health content in ways that would lead to meaningful learning for all students about drug use, mental

and physical wellness, nutrition, and sleep.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to revise and implement differentiated health curriculum was approximately $1.1 million from

operating funds.

The revision and implementation of the improved health curriculum involved central office staff time as well as

school-based staff time to support these efforts. The time and efforts of Health and PE staff as well as all

middle school health and PE teachers for a total of $1.1 million from operating funds.


40

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs



Operating Expenses 0 $0 $0

Total Costs $1,065,003 $0 $0 $1,065,003


In FY20, FCPS invested $35 per middle school student to revise and implement differentiated health lessons.

(ROI Approach: Cost per participant)

FCPS invested a total of $1,065,003 from operating funds for differentiated health curriculum. In SY 2019-20,

there were a total of 30,006 students in FCPS middle schools. The cost per student was $35.

Strategic Action: Expanded PE resources to support asynchronous PE instruction in spring 2020

Description

In response to the school shut-down due to COVID-19, FCPS created resources for teachers so they could

continue health and physical education courses virtually. One resource was Welnet which was integrated into

the instructional guidance for teachers of students in K-10th grade. This online tool includes sleep and activity

logs, goal setting for personal fitness planning, an exercise video library, and online curriculum for grades 9

and 10 physical education. FCPS also used EverFi Health and Wellness Journey for health instruction in grade

10 during spring 2020. This instructional activity includes a focus on mental health promotion. FCPS also

developed Activity Boards to provide guidance on what teachers could have students do for virtual learning

and Choice Boards that included a variety of social-emotional learning skills and lifestyle behaviors including

fitness activities, healthy snacking, hydration choices, mindfulness activities, and self-regulation for teachers to

use with students virtually. Individual teachers made the decision of whether to use the resources provided by

central office.

Costs

In FY20, the development of PE resources to support asynchronous PE instruction in spring 2020 was

approximately $19,000 in operating costs.

The expansion of the PE resources during spring 2020 involved central office staff time developing Activity and

Choice Board for use in asynchronous instruction. No school-based staff time or materials costs were

associated with this action. Staff in Instructional Services expended these efforts at a total cost of $19,100 from

operating funds. The actions associated with EverFi were minimal and as such costs associated with those

minimal actions were not captured.


41

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Activity Boards

Staff Costs




Choice Boards

Staff Costs




Total Costs $19,110 $0 $0 $19,110


In FY20, FCPS invested $0.12 per student to develop PE resources to support asynchronous physical

education instruction. (ROI Approach: Cost per participant)

FCPS invested a total of $19,110 from operating funds to develop the PE resources. There were a total of

155,875 students in grades K-10 in spring 2020, resulting in a cost per student of $0.12 to provide the PE

resources in support of asynchronous PE instruction in spring 2020.

Strategic Action: Provided Nutrition Support under the COVID-19 Shutdown by Serving More than 1.39

Million No-Cost Meals

Description

Beginning in mid-March, FCPS used federal dollars to deliver 1.39 million nutritious breakfast and lunch meals

at no-cost to students. Grab and go meals were available to all children 18 years and younger. Meals were

designed to be nutritious and include fruits and vegetables. The intent was to ensure that all students would be

able to have a nutritious breakfast and lunch similar to what they would have received had schools been open

and to support the food needs of families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Costs

In FY20, providing more than 1.39 million meals cost approximately $1.8 million after reimbursement from

federal grants.

The provision of meals during the COVID shutdown involved central and school-based staff time as well as materials to support these efforts. This included the work of 55 central staff and 1300 hourly staff members working to provide meals during the COVID shutdown. Moreover, there was a cost of $2.5 million in food and


42

food supplies. The cost of the meal provision was reimbursed to FCPS at the rate of $4.1525 per lunch and $2.3750 per breakfast which covered all but $1.8 million in overtime pay from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs


Hourly (Direct Cost) $1,812,000 $0 $1,812,000

Operating Expenses $0 $2,515,257 $2,515,257

Total Costs $1,812,000 $2,515,257 $0 $4,327,257


In FY20, FCPS’ investment of $1.8 million was associated with approximately 98 percent of families having

sufficient food in Spring 2020. (ROI Approach: Cost Description)

Data collected in spring 2020 as a part of the Return to School survey indicated that the majority of families

had sufficient food. Approximately 89 percent had sufficient food without the support of FCPS and an

additional 9 percent had sufficient food with the support of FCPS. The remaining 2 percent of families said

even with the support of FCPS their child did not have enough to eat. While the survey likely did not capture all

of FCPS families that received free and reduced price meals in SY 2019-20, the data indicated that the efforts

of Food and Nutrition Services staff were associated with positive outcomes in terms of food security for FCPS

students.

Conclusions Drug-Free Youth

The slow improvement FCPS had shown over the last several years on the drug-free youth metric ended

during SY 2019-20 due to increased numbers of students who reported vaping. Thus, FCPS moved farther

from its 2020 Target than it had been in the prior year, ending up 15 percentage points below the targeted

level. Vaping had been included in the metric data for the first time last year; in that reporting year (SY 2018-

19), the inclusion of vaping in the metric data did not have much impact because students who reported vaping

also reported use of alcohol or other drugs. This year, however, many students reported vaping only, which

was seen during SY 2019-20. Specifically, in last year’s goal report students who reported vaping largely also

reported use of alcohol or other drugs. In contrast during SY 2019-20, students often reported vaping without

use of alcohol or other drugs (11 percent), which lowered the overall percentage of students identified as drug-

free. This downward trend in drug-free youth requires specific actions to counteract it, especially as this metric

has rarely shifted much in the past and now showed a dramatic dip due to students who are vaping (though

avoiding alcohol and other drugs). It is unclear whether any of the actions undertaken to support drug-free

youth during SY 2019-20 should have specifically impacted vaping rates among students. For example, SAPs

were likely managing students with more serious drug abuse issues and the enhanced access to middle

school health lessons would likely have had only an indirect or low-level impact on vaping. Clearly, however,

the rapid downward trend between the prior year and this reporting year is a concern that requires direct and

swift action to counteract, especially given the negative health impacts that have been associated with vaping.

Additionally, approximately a third of FCPS middle and high school students reported alcohol and drug usage

that needs continued attention and resources.


43

Positive Relationship with Peers and Adults

The overall decline in the metric about student assets was attributed through additional analyses primarily to

declines in the percentages of Black and Hispanic students reporting at least three assets. Generally, this

means that Black and Hispanic students were not reporting positive relationships with peers and adults at rates

comparable to White and Hispanic students. No specific actions taken by FCPS during SY 2019-20 that

addressed enhancing assets among students in general or Black and Hispanic students in particular. Given

the downward trend among the Black and Hispanic students, it is important for FCPS to better understand and

then implement actions to address building the relational protective assets among Black and Hispanic

students, in particular. Additionally, to attain the performance level reflected in the 2020 Target, FCPS now

needs to increase the percentage of students reporting three or more assets by seven percentage points,

which means improving performance on this metric among all students. Thus, actions are needed to reverse

not only declines found among Black and Hispanic student but also to improve assets in all students to meet

expected performance levels.

Healthy Social-Emotional Skills

Performance on this metric has been relatively stable since baseline and remains 12 percentage points below

the 2020 Target. Additional analyses of the metric data for this reporting showed that as students progress

through grade levels from middle to high school, student stress increases, reflecting increasingly unhealthy

social-emotional functioning. In fact, among 12th graders, only slightly more than half could be categorized as

reporting low levels of stress. Availability of mental health professionals may be one avenue for addressing

these concerns, especially if they can promote positive coping strategies among students dealing with stress.

Improvement in performance is also likely associated with ensuring reasonable levels of stress for students,

including potentially efforts targeting amount of homework and sleep, challenge of classes, and other stress-

related factors. In order to meet the SY 2020 Target, FCPS will need to identify the root causes behind student

stress and consider implementation of evidenced–based practices to address them. Such efforts may need to

be differentiated for different grades, but specific actions are warranted if FCPS is to make progress on this

metric. FCPS may also need to acknowledge limits in its capacity to impact stress levels, which are typically

impacted by factors both in and out of school.

Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors

In contrast to the prior year, FCPS maintained prior levels of student healthy lifestyle behaviors during SY 2019-20 across all three metrics (nutrition, exercise and sleep). This was the first year in which this occurred as all prior reporting years since baseline had witnessed declines in metric performance. Nonetheless, FCPS’ performance in all three areas was approximately 20 percentage points below the 2020 target levels. Reports of healthy nutrition among Black and Hispanic students, exercise among Asian, Black, and Hispanic students, and sleep among all students was particularly low but with a 20 percentage point gap between current performance and targeted levels, improvements among all students in healthy lifestyle behaviors are warranted. FCPS undertook only one specific action that could have impacted reports of healthy lifestyle behaviors on the Fairfax County Youth Survey administered in November 2020. The expansion of salad bars into 19 more schools, however, could not be clearly linked to better nutritional habits. The other two actions related to healthy lifestyle behaviors, took place after the administration of the survey in response to the COVID-19 closing and, therefore, would not have impacted performance levels as reported here. These two additional actions included the provision of expanded PE resources to support asynchronous PE instruction following the COVID closure and the provision of meals over 1.38 million no-cost meals during the COVID shutdown. Therefore, none of the actions FCPS undertook in relation to nutrition, exercise, or sleep during SY 2019-20 could be linked to improved healthy lifestyle behaviors by students. Like stress, the healthy lifestyle behaviors of interest are impacted by both factors in school, along with factors outside school. FCPS should consider where it might have influence when it comes to these healthy behaviors and to what extent achieving the 2020 targets is within the Division’s control, then focus its efforts in areas where impact is most possible.


44

With factors both internal and external, partnering with families and potentially community groups may be needed to improve performance levels on healthy nutrition, exercise, and sleep. Goal Champion Response


Overall, there was no progress in students’ report of healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors. While a number of efforts were implemented during the 2019-2020 SY, to include supports such as increased substance abuse prevention specialist (SAP) positions, participation of psychology supervisors in region school support meetings, and increased mental health staffing in middle schools, the impact of those efforts, as evidenced by the metrics assessed, were negligible. However, the benefit or impact of some of the interventions and supports implemented during the 2019-2020 SY may not be accurately reflected by solely using the metrics in the current plan. For example, SAPs work primarily with students with substance abuse referrals who reportedly are not drug free. Given that change in behavior takes time, it might be beneficial to collect and analyze data on frequency of use for students who are accessing support from SAPs via referral to see if students who aren’t yet drug free are making progress toward becoming drug-free. While various considerations would need to be made, such as accounting for the power of the data given the potential of a small n or group, the additional data point would eliminate ambiguity about the impact of SAPs as a resource.

In order to provide explicit support regarding students’ healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors,

we will need to engage students in two-way communication. In order to determine the root cause of stress,

which increases as students’ grade level increases, FCPS needs to receive feedback from students. Until we

are able to successfully determine the root cause, we may be developing solutions and expending resources

to address the wrong problem. Does the increase in responsibility as one gets older contribute to increased

stress? Does the amount of support available to students decrease with age resulting in increased stress

levels? The potential support and response to the two hypothetical questions above are very different; but in

the absence of knowing the true source of stress for students many resources could unintentionally be wasted.

Other areas for which feedback from students would be valuable is finding out what function drug use

addresses so that we could develop and/or promote healthy activities or replacement skills that serve the same

function.

Finally, asset mapping may be beneficial in determining if we are leveraging our cadre of mental health

providers in a way that maximizes return on investment based on the division priorities as outlined in the

strategic plan. Social workers and school psychologists support a variety of tasks such as delivery of

assessments, attendance and support for special education; however, we may need to analyze the time

allocated to providing targeted, explicit social emotional support and counseling for students that would likely

result in enhanced outcomes relative to healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors such as student

connectedness to staff and school-related stress.

Despite the dedication of substantial resources and multiple efforts made to achieve the aspiration of all

students reporting healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors, overall no progress was documented

in this area. While the work done during the 2019-2020 SY may have had some positive impact on students

who were in receipt of direct services, progress data was not included as a metric and therefore cannot be

noted. In order to foster growth in this area, intentional, targeted work aligned directly with the intended

outcome is needed as we move forward. Efforts to this end have begun for the 2020-21 SY with the

development and dissemination of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mental Health training modules for

instructional and administrative staff that address relationship building in a virtual environment, implementation

and integration of SEL into instruction, and supporting student mental health in the classroom.


45

Aspiration: All schools will have low rates of students with frequent absences.

SY2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis There is one metric measuring the Aspiration “All schools will have low rates of students with frequent absences.”

The following metric is presented below:

• Number of schools with low rates of students with frequent absences

Metric Data The Virginia Department of Education data used to assess schools’ rates of students with frequent absences were not available in SY 2019-20. The Virginia Department of Education did not publish the School Quality Profiles used to determine the number

of schools with low rates of frequent absences. Therefore, the outcome data were not available to determine

progress toward this Aspiration.

Aspiration 191

SYs 2018-20 Target 167 Overall Performance

SY 19-20 Performance Data Not Available Data Not Available

3-Year Baseline 143

Data source: VDOE School Quality Profile


The number of schools with low rates of frequent absences increased in SY 2019-20, likely associated with the

closure of physical buildings and the shift to distance learning in spring 2020.

Although the 2019-20 Chronic Absenteeism data was not published in the VDOE School Quality Profiles,

FCPS absenteeism data was used to approximate the metric data. These analyses indicate that 134 schools

had low rates of students with frequent absences based on attendance data before the March 2020 school

closure. This was a decline from the 143 schools that had low rates of students with frequent absences at


46

baseline, though VDOE may identify schools with low rates of students with frequent absences differently than

the analysis completed for this report.

After the school closure in March 2020, schools were not required to take attendance so as to hold students

and families without virtual access to instruction harmless. As has been documented elsewhere, student

participation in virtual instruction sessions was lower than in-school attendance rates.

SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment This section provides information about the strategic actions that were taken toward the Aspiration that “All schools will have low rates of students with frequent absences” in SY 2019-20. The narrative for each strategic action includes a brief description, FY20 funding associated with that strategic action, and a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the action. FY20 strategic actions undertaken by FCPS to impact this Aspiration were:

• Expanded tiered support for attendance intervention work at schools

Strategic Action: Expanded support of attendance intervention work at schools

Description

FCPS undertook two professional development activities during SY 2019-20 to improve student attendance:

• Project Momentum MTSS meetings with Social Work and Attendance. During SY 2019-20, FCPS staff

members engaged in ongoing collaborative work at Project Momentum high schools. The focus of

these quarterly meetings, convened by an OSS secondary specialist, was to address school-level

challenges in meeting the standards for the non-academic indicators of the Standards of Accreditation.

To address the chronic absence related concerns, the program manager and social work coordinator

joined these quarterly meetings. The consultative meetings included an Executive Principal, school

principal, other school-based administrators, and the school team, including school social workers, if

possible, at each of the seven Project Momentum High Schools (South Lakes, Herndon, Falls Church,

Justice, West Potomac, Mount Vernon, and Lewis.) Planned data dialogues permitted discussion and

plan development to enhance student outcomes and connect goal setting with each school’s SIIP.

Whenever possible, recommendations were linked to existing MTSS models of intervention, to ensure

that related work was prioritized and addressed within that framework. Ongoing, monthly, cross-

departmental teams focused on refining supports for these identified schools.

• Aligning Attendance Officers to Social Work office. During SY 2019-20, Attendance Services was

brought under Social Work officially recognizing the role of both offices in addressing attendance

issues, strengthening their collaborative relationship, and minimizing redundancy. By aligning the

offices, it means that everyone is receiving the same training, and learning and using the same

vocabulary. Having closer relationships with social work is especially important for attendance officers

who are used to the old approach to attendance and benefit from additional support to shift to the

current tiered systems of support model. Staff engage in guided discussions for problem solving

around chronic absenteeism. They try to get at source of issue and engaging problem-solving with

individual schools and regional discussions around attendance issues. Attendance staff also benefit

from social work’s close relationship with MTSS staff. As a result of this action, some silos have been

eliminated and central office staff are able to work more efficiently with schools to address attendance

issues. Over time, because of county-wide Attendance Task Force work, FCPS has focused its

attendance intervention work beyond the scope of the more traditionally focused attendance officer. As

program employees retire or leave FCPS service, attendance intervention specialist positions are

allocated. The specialists bring a mental health and systems perspective to planning for and offering

interventions. Ensuring that school teams address absenteeism holistically is a major focus of that

work.

Costs


47

In FY20, the cost to expand support to schools for attendance intervention work was approximately $971,000

from operating funds.

The expansion of support for attendance intervention work involved central office staff time as well as the staff

directly supporting schools in these efforts. Centrally, the manager of Crisis Intervention/Drop Out prevention

described different attendance interventions and how her office could support schools and provided direct

consultation to schools upon request. In addition, the time and efforts of social work staff, attendance

specialists, and an attendance officer assigned to support the schools contributed to the costs. Region and

school-based staff costs were not included as they were already involved in on-going Project Momentum

meetings. The expansion of social work support for attendance officers involved central office staff time.

Centrally, salaried staff in the Social Work office and attendance specialists were involved in the efforts. An

additional $2,470 in technology and curriculum materials were included in the costs. The total investment in the

expansion of intervention support was $1,463,614 from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Project Momentum MTSS Meetings with Social Work and Attendance

Staff Costs




Total Costs $970,826 $0 $970,826

Align Attendance Officers to Social Work office

Staff Costs




Total Costs $1,463,614 $0 $0 $1,463,614


In FY20, FCPS invested $1,618,043 per percentage point reduction in students’ with high rates of frequent

absences through Project Momentum MTSS Meetings. (ROI Approach: Impact ROI)

FCPS invested a total of $970,826 million to reduce the percent of students with high rates of frequent

absences in 6 high school Project Momentum schools. During SY 2019-20, the percentage of students with

high rates of frequent absences at these six high schools was 17.5, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points as

compared to SY 2018-19 in the same schools (18.1 percent). However, schools were just beginning the

implementation work in SY 2019-20 and it is likely too early to see a significant impact on the percent of

students with high rates of frequent absences. Furthermore, the average absence rate at these schools of 17.5

percent would still categorize these schools as having high levels of student absence. Thus, the investment

appeared to support moving schools in the right direction but not making progress on the metric.

Conclusions


48

While metric data from the state was not available, analysis of FCPS’ own attendance data indicates that FCPS’ current level of implementation of attendance intervention work at individual schools was not sufficient to make progress on this Aspiration’s metric during SY 2019-20. In fact, if FCPS’ own attendance data is even somewhat comparable to what the state would have produced, just as in the prior year, FCPS continued to move in the wrong direction on this metric. SY 2019-20 data indicate a decrease of approximately 20 in the number of schools demonstrating low levels of absenteeism. With two consecutive years of decline on this metric, the 2020 Target has not been met and likely will remain out of reach without changes to actions. One potentially impactful action was the attendance intervention work undertaken at six Project Momentum high schools where some improvement in absenteeism could be identified. These schools saw improvement but also relatively high rates of frequent absenteeism that would keep them in the category of not meeting the metric. Like many other initiatives during SY 2019-20, implementation was cut short by the COVID-19 closure of schools. That, coupled with prior evidence in FCPS that schools implementing attendance interventions are more successful over time, may point to a need for continued examination of the impact of what FCPS is already engaged in doing.


Support Conclusions

During the 2019-2020 SY, FCPS as a whole did not make progress toward or achieve the 2020 target for the

number of schools with low rates of students with frequent absences. Both actions implemented during the

2019-20 SY, reassignment of attendance staff to the social work department and the incorporation of social

workers and attendance staff in Project Momentum Schools’ (six high schools with high rates of student

absenteeism) MTSS meetings, are actions that are likely to yield long-term, not short-term or immediate

results. Staff knowledge and capacity is built over time and, in ideal situations, subsequently results in change

in action or ways to provide support. Hence, the change in attendance support as a result of access to

additional information and processes via collaboration from social workers may not be manifest until the 2020-

2021 SY. The second action, incorporation of social workers and attendance staff in Project Momentum

Teams, was initiated during the 2019-2020 SY which was truncated due to COVID. Further, while the work of

social work and attendance staff may have had greater impact at the six (6) Project Momentum Schools had

school been open for the full year, because this resource was only used at a small subset of schools with pre-

existing challenges with attendance, it would likely not immediately result in an increased number of schools

with low rates of students with frequent absences.

In order to make progress toward this aspiration of all schools having low rates of student with frequent

absences, FCPS will likely need to implement the above actions with fidelity and incorporate or enhance use of

early warning systems to provide ongoing monitoring of student absences, excused and unexcused, such that

interventions and supports can be implemented prior to the student being chronically absent for the year. While

much of our resources are used to remediate areas of need, we must also ensure Tier I and Tier II supports

are strong and consistently implemented in an effort to reduce schools needing critical response teams to

address significant challenges. Given the unique circumstance of virtual learning as a result of COVID, it is

essential that MTSS teams at all schools closely monitor attendance data and develop and implement support

plans to address student needs as soon as possible. The environmental context due to COVID will inevitably

result in the need for more intense, individualized and targeted support to ensure all students attend school

regularly.

Overall, the actions taken during the 2019-20 SY serve as a foundation for the potential increase in outcomes

at high needs schools; however, systematic plans to address overall attendance needs across the division

requires review and enhancement to attain the aspiration of all schools having low rates of students with

frequent absences.


49

Aspiration: No students will have disruptive behavior referrals.

SY 2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis There is one metric measuring the Aspiration “No students will have disruptive behavior referrals.” Key metrics,

which provide data central to determining progress toward the Desired Outcome, are included below.

The following key metric is presented below:

• Percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals

Metric Data In SY 2019-20, the percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals decreased divisionwide and at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. In SY 2019-20, FCPS made progress in decreasing the percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals

overall and at all school levels. Across all school levels in FY20, 2.8 percent of students had disruptive

behavior referrals as compared to the baseline value of 3.4 percent. Similar patterns were observed at each

school level. At the elementary level, 1.2 percent of students had disruptive behavior referrals down from 1.5

percent at baseline. At the middle school level, 5.9 percent of students had disruptive behavior referrals down

from 7.1 percent at baseline. At the high school level, 3.7 percent of students had disruptive behavior referrals

down from 4.8 percent at baseline. Although progress was observed for all groups of students, none met their

targets for SY 2019-20. Moreover, the differences among school levels remain with the middle school level

having almost twice the percentages of students with behavior referrals than at the high school level and

almost six times the percentages than at the elementary level.

All Elementary Middle High

Aspiration

0% 0% 0% 0%

Performance Target 2.3% 1.0% 4.7% 3.3% Overall Performance

SY 19-20 Performance* 2.8% (n=5401)

1.2% (n=1274)

5.9% (n=1816)

3.7% (n=2218)


3-Year Baseline 3.4% (n=6,679)

1.5% (n=1,524)

7.1% (n=2,035)

4.8% (n=2,872)

Data Source: Student Information System


50

When comparing similar timeframes for the past two years, FCPS has made little progress in the percent of

students with disruptive behavior referrals overall and at each school level.

To further understand 2019-20 data, the disruptive behavior referrals were compared using similar timeframes

for SY 2018-19. Data for the two school years through March of each school year are presented below. The

data indicate that any decrease observed in the metric was likely due to the restricted timeframe for SY 2019-

20. When comparing similar timeframes, the percent of students with discipline referrals was the same overall

and at the elementary level, a .3 percentage point decrease at the middle school level, and a .1 percentage

point decrease at the high school level.

Table 16. Percent of Students with disruptive behavior referrals by school level through March

All Elementary Middle High

SY 2018-19 2.8

(n=5472) 1.2

(n=1279) 6.2

(n=1903) 3.8

(n=2340)

SY 2019-20 2.8%

(n=5401)

1.2%

(n=1274)

5.9%

(n=1816)

3.7%

(n=2218)

SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment This section provides information about the strategic actions that were taken toward the Aspiration that “No students will have disruptive behavior referrals” in SY 2019-20. The narrative for each strategic action includes a brief description, FY20 funding associated with that strategic action, and a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the action. FY20 strategic actions undertaken by FCPS to impact this Aspiration were:

• Increased professional development on Trauma-Informed Instruction o Title I Trauma Informed Training o Trauma Informed In-Service for Health and Physical Education Teachers

• Expanded support for implementation of MTSS through Self-Assessment and Coaching

Strategic Action: Increased professional development on Trauma-Informed instruction

Description

During SY 2019-20, FCPS provided two trainings to expand school-based staff understanding of trauma. This

understanding was intended to support improved instruction and reactions from staff to student behavior that

could better engage students, de-escalate situations, and provide support to students, rather than result in a

discipline referral:

• Trauma-Informed Training for Title I Schools: A trauma-informed school is one in which all school

administrators, teachers, staff, students, families, and community members recognize and respond to

the behavioral, emotional, relational, and academic impact of traumatic stress on those in the school

(Adapted from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network). FCPS has been implementing trauma

informed practices for several years, but last year it expanded its trauma informed training to offer it to

all Title I Schools in a collective setting. Typically, principals request the service and receive individual

training for their school. This new offering allowed the Title I Schools to collectively to be a part of the

conversation about what a Trauma Informed School is, what are the associated practices, and how to

implement the approach. School teams included principals, social workers, counselors, and

psychologists. The objective was for school teams to take their learnings back to their school and

begin creating a Tier I trauma informed culture.

• Trauma-Informed In-Service for Health and Physical Education Teachers: In SY 2019-20, Physical

Education and Health teachers were offered the opportunity to complete an in-service on Trauma

Informed Instruction. The session was one of several offerings’ teachers could attend. There is not a

record of how many Health and PE teachers chose to attend this session. For those who did attend,


51

the intended result of the training was that teachers would incorporate trauma-informed practices into

their physical education and health to better meet student needs.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to increase professional development about trauma-informed instruction was approximately

$3.7 million from operating funds.

The increase in professional development about trauma-informed instruction involved central office staff time

and school-based staff time. For the Title I Trauma Informed Training, this included the time and efforts of

central Social Work and Psychology staff to develop and provide the professional development. In schools, this

included the time and efforts of administrators and school social workers in Title I schools to engage in the

professional development. The costs to provide an optional trauma-informed in-service to health and PE

teachers was minimal. The total investment in the increase in professional development about trauma-

informed instruction was $3.7 million from operating funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Title I Trauma Informed Training

Staff Costs




Trauma Informed In-Service for Health and Physical Education Teachers

Staff Costs




Total Costs $3,704,290 $0 $0 $3,704,290


In FY20, FCPS invested $3.7 million and saw a 0.1 percentage point reduction in the percent of students with

disruptive behavior referrals in Title I schools. (ROI Approach: Impact ROI)

FCPS invested a total of $3.7 million to build teachers’ capacity to provide trauma-informed instruction which

may result in a decrease the percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals in Title I schools. During SY

2019-20, the percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals in Title I schools was 1.9 percent through

March 2020 when buildings were closed due to COVID-19, an increase of .1 percentage points as compared

to SY 2018-19 in the same schools during the same time period through March 2019 (2.0 percent of students

with disruptive behavior referrals). However, schools first received professional development in late October

2019 and had just begun implementation of trauma-informed instruction and it is likely too early to see

significant impact on the percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals so should be reexamined again

once FCPS students return to buildings. Moreover, only one of two follow-up sessions were conducted prior to

the COVID-19 shutdown.


52

Strategic Action: Expanded support for implementation of MTSS through Self-Assessment and

Coaching

Description

FCPS continues to focus efforts on embedding Multi-tiered Systems of Support in schools to improve student

academics, behavior, and wellness. As part of this effort, during SY 2019-20, MTSS self-assessments were

completed by 193 of 200 schools and centers. The self-assessment was intended to help schools identify

areas for improvement across the tiers including academics, behavior and wellness. As a result of the

assessments, 110 schools attended formal coaching sessions, some had the 2-day training, and others would

access central MTSS staff as needed. The intent of these actions was to support high levels of implementation

of the behavior and wellness components of MTSS across schools.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to provide expanded support for implementation of MTSS was approximately $579,000 in

operating costs.

The expanded support for implementation of MTSS involved central office staff time and school-based staff

time. Centrally, this included the time and efforts of staff leading the work on MTSS and Positive Behavior

Approach as well as resource teachers in these areas. In schools, this included the time and efforts of

administrators and teachers overseeing this work in their buildings. Total staff costs were $979,935 of which

$545,974 were from the operating fund. In addition to staff costs, substitute costs were provided to allow

teachers to participate in the activities and books were purchased for all schools. The total investment in the

increase in professional development about MTSS was $1.0 million of which $579,410 came from operating

funds.

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


Staff Costs




Total Costs $579,410 $433,961 $0 $1,013,371


In FY20, FCPS invested $5.8 million per percentage point reduction in students with behavior referrals in

schools receiving MTSS coaching. (ROI Approach: Impact ROI)

FCPS invested a total of $579,410 million from the operating fund to decrease behavior referrals in schools

receiving MTSS coaching. During SY 2019-20, the percent of students with behavior referrals in the schools

receiving MTSS coaching was 2.9 percent, a decrease of .1 percentage points as compared to SY 2018-19 in

the same schools (3 percent in SY 2018-19 during the same time period). However, SY 2019-20 was the first

year of implementation and it is likely too early to see a significant impact of MTSS coaching.

Conclusions


53

In SY 2019-20, FCPS showed progress in the percentages of students with behavior referrals at each school

level when looking at the metric data. This positive news should be tempered, however, with the understanding

that due to the COVID-19 closure of school buildings in March 2020, students were not in school as they would

have been during a typical school year and, therefore, most students had a shorter time span in which to

receive this type of referral. Limiting the analysis to equivalent timespans (September to March) in the prior

and reporting years, shows a starker picture, with no decrease at elementary and small decreases at middle

and high school (0.3 and 0.1 points, respectively). Nonetheless, in comparison to last year, when no

improvement from baseline was found other than at the high school level, FCPS now appears to be headed in

the right direction at both the middle and high school levels. The progress, however, is too slow to meet 2020

Target levels without implementation of additional actions.

The focus of actions that FCPS undertook in SY 2019-20 to support decreasing students’ disruptive behavior

referrals included under this Aspiration focused on equipping staff to better provide students with support so

that they do not behave in disruptive ways (as compared to supports for staff to view behavior through a

culturally responsive lens which was the focus of actions in the Welcoming Environment section related to

disruptive behavior referrals). The PD for staff to support improved student behavior, especially the PD offered

to staff at Title I schools, needs time to be reinforced and mature. Additionally, FCPS is still in the early stages

of implementing its MTSS framework in many schools so needs time to see the impact of these efforts, too.

Progress on this metric will need to be monitored over time as the MTSS model becomes more deeply

embedded in school practices and as more staff are trained and begin to implement trauma-informed

instructional practices to identify the outcomes of these actions.



Progress during the 2019-2020 SY toward the aspiration that no students will have disruptive behavior

referrals was minimal. Whereas professional development on trauma informed instruction was provided for

Title I schools and optional professional development on trauma informed instruction was available for health

and physical education teachers at Title I schools, system-wide, required professional development for all

schools with follow-up and specific deliverables for participants was missing. Given the articulated commitment

and priority of this goal, by nature of its inclusion in FCPS’ strategic plan, we must ensure the provision of

ongoing professional development and coaching with monitoring to ensure evidence-based practices taught

during professional development are being implemented with fidelity at all schools. In the absence of providing

explicit, systematic support with accountability measures, it will be challenging to affect change across the

division.


54

Aspiration: All employees will have the opportunity to take advantage of wellness resources.

SY 2019-20 Outcomes and Analysis There is one metric measuring the Aspiration “All employees will have the opportunity to take advantage of

wellness resources.”

The following metric is presented below:

• Percent of employees who utilized the employee assistance program compared to the book of business (BOB) utilization statistics

Metric Data In FY20, FCPS increased the percent of employees who utilized the Employee Assistance Program (Work/Life

Balance Program) and remains well within its targeted level of performance on this metric.

FCPS employees continue to utilize the employee assistance program (EAP), which is promoted as a resource

to manage work/life balance, at rates that exceed the provider’s typical utilization statistics at other

organizations. In SY 2019-20, more than half (52 percent) of FCPS staff utilized EAP, indicating that

employees are taking advantage of the benefits that FCPS has to offer. In comparison to the prior year, this

was a three percentage point increase, which reflected some leveling off of the stronger gains seen in the prior

two years (when six and nine percentage increases, respectively) were seen.

Aspiration 34%


SY 19-20 Performance 52% (n=13,945)

Met or Exceeded Target

3-Year Baseline 34% (n=8,579)

Data Source: HR EAP office

SY 2019-20 Actions, Costs, and Return on Investment


55

This section provides information about the strategic actions that were taken toward the Aspiration that “All employees will have the opportunity to take advantage of wellness resources” in SY 2019-20. The narrative for each strategic action includes a brief description, FY20 funding associated with that strategic action, and a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis of the action. FY20 strategic actions undertaken by FCPS to impact this Aspiration were:

• Continue with support to meet increasing demand for EAP services especially post-COVID-19

Strategic Action: Continue with support to meet increasing demand for EAP services especially post-

COVID-19

Description

In FY20, the EAP staff were engaged in several activities that worked to meet the increasing demands of staff:

• Staff promoted resources and services for this benefit to encourage engagement by providing 84

overviews for various employee groups at schools and sites. In addition, staff coordinated 32

workshops on a vast array of topics from Dealing with Compassion Stress to Moving through Grief and

Loss and Effective Communication. Staff provided 8 financial wellness workshops: 4 on financial

planning and 4 on will/estate planning in response to an increase in requests for financial wellness

focus.

• Shortly after COVID shelter in place began, a COVID-19 digital toolkit was marketed to

employees that included several virtual webinars on topics from Coping with Uncertainty to Navigating

Work from Home and Managing COVID Related Anxiety. It also included tips on working remotely,

wellness resources, and financial resiliency resources.

• In an effort to consistently promote the EAP benefits, targeted communications were sent to staff

including 11 News You Choose (NYC) Articles, 3 All Staff emails announcing enhancements to the

program and COVID Toolkit, 11 home mailings to target household members, 5 Principal/Association

Briefings, and 14 NYC e-newsletters. In response to requests from employees for family members, the

EAP flyer describing services and access now are printed in an additional 6 languages for a total of 10.

• Related to how FCPS contracted EAP services during FY20 (see explanation in costs below), FCPS

was able to enhance the EAP confidential counseling offering from 4-sessions to 5-counseling

sessions per event per year and increase critical incident support hours from 300 to 325 per year.

Costs

In FY20, the cost to provide continued support to staff and EAP services was approximately $307,000 from

operating funds.

The cost to provide support to staff and the EAP services involved central office staff time from Human

Resources. Total staff costs were $181,863 from the operating fund. In addition to staff costs, FCPS paid a

vendor to provide EAP services for a total of $125,195. The full cost of the contract for EAP services is

$378,609 but $253,414 was paid by Aetna and CareFirst. The total investment in EAP services was $307,058

from operating funds. During FY20, EAP staff were able to sign a revised EAP contract that reflected the terms

in the Prince William County Public Schools more favorable contract for EAP services. Riding the contract also

saved resources in employee time as well as reduced the Per Employee Per Year (PEPY) cost from $13.54 to

$13.08, thus reducing the overall cost for contracted EAP services .

Type of Cost

Source

Operating Fund


http://fcpsnet.fcps.edu/hr/benefits/eap/COVID19.shtml


56

Staff Costs




Total Costs $307,058 $0 $0 $307,058


In FY20, FCPS saw cost savings of $13,757 by renegotiating EAP services. (ROI Approach: Cost savings)

In FY20, FCPS was able to renegotiate the cost-per-employee for EAP services. After Prince William County

Public Schools signed a contract for less per-employee than FCPS’ existing contract, FCPS staff capitalized on

their efforts and was able to contract for the same cost per employee. This resulted in a reduction from $13.56

per employee to $13.08 per employee and saved FCPS a total of $13,757 from operating funds in FY20.

Conclusions The EAP program provides support for staff and their household members in fostering healthy behaviors,

including wellness and work/life balance, which should support healthy life choices of staff and their household

members. Utilization during SY 2019-20 indicates that FCPS staff continue to access EAP resources at higher

levels than staff in other organizations and at a level that meets FCPS’ 2020 target. In fact, EAP utilization

during the current reporting period continued to show growth over the prior year with the majority of FCPS staff

now utilizing this program. Simultaneously, FCPS was able offer enhanced EAP services to staff and lower the

cost to the Division. Moving forward FCPS is likely to continue to meet its 2020 target without additional efforts

to expand utilization of the program.


Support Conclusions

FCPS exceeded its aspiration of all employees having the opportunity to take advantage of wellness

resources. Despite the cancellation of many face-to-face events that were planned for the 2019-2020 SY due

to COVID, the percent of employees who utilized the Employee Assistance Program (Work/Life Balance

Program) exceeded the 2019-2020 target by 18%. FCPS plans to continue outreach efforts implemented

during the 2019-2020 SY and will implement virtual workshops and supports that were previously provided in

person as an additional means of support during the 2020-21 SY. Given the ongoing pandemic resulting in

increased need for wellness support and multiple pathways to access wellness resources, FCPS is likely to

maintain the progress realized during the 2019-2020 SY.


57


Strategic Concerns

• With projections that FCPS is likely to have tighter budgets in the near future, focusing efforts around areas that FCPS is most likely to be able to impact and is of the highest priority may provide greater focus and, ultimately, success in attaining expected improvements.

• Some challenges in meeting healthy life choice target levels require deeper understanding of root causes and will need to be investigated to uncover the appropriate actions to address them.

• Implementation of high-quality multi-tiered system of supports to identify and address students’ social-emotional needs may be key to improving performance on many of the Healthy Life Choices metrics, which reflect students’ social-emotional health.

• FCPS should monitor the level of implementation and impact of attendance and behavior intervention work.

Budget Considerations

• If needed, provide funding for actions that address the root causes of vaping and stress .

Policy

• Based on an understanding of the root cause students’ stress, FCPS should develop an action plan to improve this outcome, which may have policy implications for such topics as homework.

• Continue to support improvement in the SR&R, especially changes targeted to increase equity of discipline and reduction in consequences that remove students from instruction.

• Continue to support FCPS Policy 4960.3 that addresses EAP.

58

APPENDIX A

METRIC DATA PERFORMANCE AT BASELINE AND ALL SUBSEQUENT YEARS

59

Metric Baseline 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Trend LinePercent of students who report feeling respected and

included at school on the State Climate Survey 78% 82% 84% 80%Percent of families who report feeling respected on the

Family Engagement SurveyN/A N/A

83% NAPercent of staff who report feeling respected at work on the

Employee Engagement Survey

Teachers 63% 61% N/A 60%

Administrators 79% 82% N/A 80%

Support 52% 59% N/A 58%

Number of staff referrals for disruptive behavior

(per 100 students in the group)

Asian 2 2 3 2

Black 20 19 18 11

Hispanic 12 10 10 8

White 5 5 5 4

Econ. Dis. 16 14 15 10

EL 12 11 12 9

SWD 22 20 20 16

Metric Baseline 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Trend LinePercent of students who report being drug- and alcohol-free

on the Fairfax County Youth Survey 77% 78% 79% 69%Percent of students who report three or more assets on the

Fairfax County Youth Survey85% 85% 85% 83%

Percent of students who report healthy social-emotional

skills on the Fairfax County Youth Survey64% 64% 63% 64%

Percent of students who report healthy nutrition behaviors

on the Fairfax County Youth Survey40% 37% 38% 38%

Percent of students who report healthy amounts of exercise

on the Fairfax County Youth Survey53% 53% 48% 48%

Percent of students who report healthy amounts of sleep on

the Fairfax County Youth Survey31% 31% 28% 28%

Number of schools with low rates of students with frequent

absences (of 191 total schools)143 162 153 NA

Percent of students with disruptive behavior referrals

All 3.4% 3.4% 3.5% 2.8%

Elementary 1.5% 1.4% 1.6% 1.2%

Middle 7.1% 7.4% 7.6% 5.9%

High 4.8% 4.3% 4.3% 3.7%

Percent of employees who utilized the Employee

Assistance Program compared to the Book of Business

(BoB) utilization statistics

34% 40% 49% 52%



60

APPENDIX B

FY20 OPERATING FUNDS EXPENDED IN SUPPORT OF

EACH DESIRED OUTCOME

61

Desired Outcome: Welcoming Environment

Aspiration

SY 2019-20 Actions

FY20 Operating Costs

by Action


by Aspiration

$1,230,460

Expanded schools’ understanding of environments that make families

feel welcomed and included through Welcoming Walkthroughs$195,843

Expanded parent liaisons’ understanding of environments that make

families feel welcomed and included through Parent Liaison Cultural

Proficiency Training

$3,461

Conducted the Summer 2019 Equity Symposium $66,384

Increased use of School-level Family Engagement Survey data through

Region Meetings$205,376

Continued Expansion of Cultural Proficiency Cohorts $693,645

Support School Board’s Consideration of a Family Engagement Policy $65,751

Conducted Staff and Community Town Halls on Racism $0

$6,019,732

Expanded Professional Development on Cultural Proficiency as a part

of the Equity Plan for Discipline Policy and Practices $4,290,429

Expanded professional development on the use of data to address Equity and Cultural Responsiveness in Discipline$1,691,137

Implemented revised SR&R as a part of the Equity Plan for Discipline

Policy and Practice $33,553

Create an online discipline referral system to improve consistency of

student behavior referrals across classrooms and schools$4,613

7,250,192$

TOTAL FY20 OPERATING FUNDS SPENT ON STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR

THIS DESIRED OUTCOME:

All students, families, and staff will feel respected and included at school.

All staff will view student behavior through a culturally responsive lens.

62

Desired Outcome: Healthy Life Choices

Aspiration

SY 2019-20 Actions


by Action


by Aspiration

$7,760,231

Expanded Substance Abuse Prevention specialist positions to support

greater substance abuse referrals and services $1,528,652

Expanded Psychology Supervisors support to OSS Meetings $93,351

Increased Mental Health Staffing at Middle Schools $2,943,171

Opened 19 additional salad bars in Elementary Schools $298,944

Enhanced Middle School health lessons to support access to content

by all students $1,065,003

Expanded PE resources to support asynchronous PE instruction in

Spring 2020$19,110

Provided nutrition support under the COVID shutdown by serving more

than 1.39 million no-cost meals$1,812,000

$1,463,614

Expanded support of attendance intervention work in schools $1,463,614

$4,283,700

Increased professional development on Trauma-Informed Instruction $3,704,290

Expanded support for implementation of MTSS through Self-

Assessment and Coaching$579,410

$307,058

Continue with support to meet increasing demand for EAP services

especially post-COVID$307,058

13,814,603$

All students will report healthy social-emotional skills and lifestyle behaviors.

All employees will have the opportunity to take advantage of wellness resources.

TOTAL FY20 OPERATING FUNDS SPENT ON STRATEGIC ACTIONS FOR

THIS DESIRED OUTCOME:

All schools will have low rates of students with frequent absences.

No students will have disruptive behavior referrals.

63

Documents

STRATEGIC PLAN REPORT: CARING CULTURE