December 19 — 25, 2019
Fa lls Chur c h, V i r g i ni a • ww w. fc np. c om • Fr ee
Fou n d e d 1991 • V ol. XXIX No. 44
Falls Church • Tysons Corner • Merrifield • McLean • North Arlington • Bailey’s Crossroads
Inside This Week Haycock Principal On Leave After Arrest
Scott Bloom, principal at Haycock Elementary in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County, has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest for failure to report incidents of child abuse while he served at Freedom Elementary School. See News Briefs, page 9
Planners Praise W&OD Dual Trail Plans
F.C. School Board Votes 4-2 to Move 2020 Start Date Before Labor Day
School Calendar Will Align With Fairfax County’s by Nicholas F. Benton
Falls Church News-Press
Plans to expand into a full dual use the segment of the 45-mile W&OD Trail that runs through the center of the City of Falls Church are due for final approval late next month.
of others. AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety identifies some of the most common forms of road rage, such as intentionally tailgating or cutting off another driver, yelling at another driver, honking to show anger or annoyance, displaying angry gestures and trying to block another vehicle from changing lanes.
The Falls Church City Public Schools will begin classes two weeks prior to Labor Day next fall, on Aug. 24, based on a 4-2 vote by the School Board Tuesday night. The new calendar will conclude the school year next spring with graduation on June 2 and the last day of school on June 10. The new calendar allows for over 70 additional hours of instruction prior to the onset of general student testing, most of which begins in late May, and as such, according to the School Board chair Erin Gill, serves to “redress opportunity gaps” for all students. The changes, the first allowed by the state legislature since it permitted classes to begin before Labor Day last spring, brings the Falls Church system into alignment with the much larger, adjacent Fairfax County school system that had received a special waiver from the state two years ago to begin earlier. They come after months of study by an ad hoc committee of teachers, staff, parents, students and administrators and a widespread public survey. The policy shift, advocated by Superintendent Peter Noonan, also led to an outpouring of opposition from some parents. They argued that, among other things, there is no evidence showing SOL tests would improve, the school system would risk losing teachers and summer vacation plans would be disrupted.
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See News Briefs, page 9
Police Reclassify Suspicious Incident
Police have reclassified the incident of a man approaching a juvenile at Aldi in Falls Church and telling him to leave with him as a suspicious incident instead off an attempted abduction. See News Briefs, page 9
Mason High Boys Top James Monroe
Some last minute magic made premonitions of a blown lead vanish for George Mason High School’s boys basketball team in its 54-53 win over James Monroe. See Sports, page 16
MEMBERS OF THE Falls Church City School Board took a record vote at its meeting Tuesday to move the opening of the school year to before Labor Day, Aug. 24 to be exact, starting next summer. Left to right, Phil Reitinger, Shannon Litton, Justin Castillo, Greg Anderson, Erin Gill and Superintendent Peter Noonan. Not pictured, Shawna Russell. (Photo:News-Press)
Local Resident Looks to Bring Compassion to Area Roadways by Katherine Liverman
Falls Church News-Press
Index
Editorial................6 Letters..................6 News & Notes.10,11 Comment.... 14,15 School News.... 17 Calendar..... 18,19
Classified Ads... 20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword........ 21 Crime Report.... 22 Critter Corner.... 22 Business News.23
Christina Graham has been a member of the greater Falls Church community for 15 years, a witness to the rise of new shops, metro stops and what fellow residents all know best: traffic. After hearing tale after unsettling tale of road rage in our city, she has decided to take on the venturesome task
of bringing compassion to our roads through a campaign for road civility. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Association distinguishes between aggressive driving and road rage. Where both definitions involve operating a vehicle in a way that is likely to endanger others, road rage is categorized as a criminal offense because it implies a willful disregard for the safety