fairfax county school board’s school health advisory … · 2019-12-18 · student-run mental...

Fairfax County School Board’s SCHOOL HEALTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SHAC)

MEETING AGENDA for September 26, 2018 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 5055, Gatehouse Administration Center

1. Call to Order David Whiting

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes (5.16.18) Committee

3. Public Comment, if any TBD

4. Committee Updates Teresa Johnson

Recess Training and Resource Webpage Wellness Reporting and Webpage

5. Discussion of action steps and/or language for committee to consider Committee

6. Questions, Comments/Additional Business from Committee TBD

Meeting Dates: Meeting Location:

September 26, 2018 Gatehouse, Room 5055

October 17, 2018 Gatehouse, Room 1600

November 14, 2018 Gatehouse, Room 3051/3050

December 19, 2018 Gatehouse, Room 1600

January 16, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600

February 20, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600

March 20, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600

April 17, 2019 Gatehouse, Rooms 1600

May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 *TBD School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report

Committee Charge: The FCPS school board hereby charges the School Health Advisory

Committee with examining and evaluating wellness metrics and making recommendations, and

with examining factors impacting student social-emotional health at all levels.

School Health Advisory Committee DRAFT Meeting Minutes DATE: September 26, 2018

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on (9/26/18) at (7:04) pm by David Whiting, Chairman. The meeting was held in room 5055 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042. Members in Attendance:

A Alvarez, Maria Cecilia

P Jacobs, Lori P Nash, Diana P Sheipe, Theresa

P Bartus, Camille P Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz P Smith, Ann

P Chamberlain, Amber

P McGee, Morgan P Payne, Phyllis A Stewart, Catherine

A Durán, Francisco P McGuian, Holly P Pekarsky, Stella P Stiller, Carol

P Ende, Elizabeth P Michelback, Richard P Presson, Teresa A Thompson, Joe

P Evans, Sandy P Milani, Kavian P Skurpski, Lea P Trouton, Lorraine

P Garrson, Kate P Mumtaz, Hannan P Spanier, Holly P Whiting, David

P Hemmat, Joanna P Spears, Jennifer P Yo, Seung Je

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order at 7:04pm

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve minutes from May 16, 2018 by

Amber Chamberlain, seconded by Theresa Sheipe. Unanimously approved.

3. Public Comment: Alexis Martin – Middle School Recess – Adults get breaks and middle schoolers need breaks too. They need to go outside. Breaks have lots of benefits. Ilana Yergin-Doriger– Screen time in schools – Currently FCPS has no regulations. Re-quests screen time regulations in elementary schools. Technology should be limited and used in ways that are beneficial.

4. Committee Updates:

Teresa Johnson provided several updates to the committee. Recess update: Two policies 2100 and 3218 implemented. Recess training developed and shared with elementary principals and staff. Recess resource webpage developed for staff. Wellness Survey Results: Results are now available on the public web. Information can be found by going to FCPS.edu, searching Wellness Reporting, clicking on “FCPS School Wellness Reporting.” There is a report for each school and an executive report. Information was shared with SHAC. Some questions found hard to interrupt by school staff. There has been good feedback from the schools. Schools wanted more direction for the school based Wellness committees. Discussion of how to best share this report with FCPS Families. FCPS Wellness Newsletter: This went out to all the Health and Wellness Liaisons in September. There are three Wellness team representatives at each school. Phyllis Payne requested a copy of the Wellness Newsletter for SHAC at the next meeting.

5. Discussion of Topics for Review as a Result of this Meeting

Sandy Evans discussed the School Board Report. She asked the committee for their priorities so that she can push them forward with the rest of the school board. Middle school recess: Ms. Evans discussed plans to purse with board. Student Stress level: We need more school counselors, metal health experts. Ms. Evans thanked the committee

for bringing forward the recommendations to limit AP courses. There are many questions we need to answer before moving forward.

• Are we reducing student stress levels by reducing the number of AP classes they

can take? David Whiting suggested we should have a community conversation about

Youth Survey Data.

• Are we making progress on reducing student stress? To find the Youth Survey go

the Fairfax County Government Website and search “Youth Survey. SHAC to review

the “Youth Survey” video before next meeting.

Discussion: What are other things that could reduce student stress? Limiting number

of tests on a day; limits on sports, band and theater practice times. Are there limits?

6. Discussion of action steps and/or language for committee to consider

a. Mental Health and Stress: Jennifer Spears will present on findings of “Youth Sur-

vey” at October meeting. Hannan Mumtaz will bring members of the Madison

High School “Our Minds Matter Group” to discuss their ideas for student stress.

b. Technology usage in school and screen time: Theresa Sheipe and Carol Stiller

will head up committee.

c. School Safety - Teresa Presson will head subcommittee

d. Middle School Start Times – Phyllis Payne will head subcommittee

e. SHAC Secretary: It was shared with the SHAC Chair that Catherine Stewart and

Cecilia Maria-Alvarez volunteered to serve in this capacity for the committee.

Adjournment: 9:03pm Meeting Handouts: n/a Meeting Notes Drafted by: Theresa Sheipe


MEETING AGENDA for October 17, 2018 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 1600, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. Committee Updates Teresa Johnson ➢ Wellness Reporting Communication ➢ Changes to R3218 Regarding Recess

5. Madison High School

➢ “Our Minds Matter” Student Representatives Hannon Mumtaz

6. Subcommittee work to review Wellness Reporting Metrics Committee




November 14, 2018 Gatehouse, Room 3051/3050





April 17, 2019 Gatehouse, Rooms 1600

May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 *TBD School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report




School Health Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes DATE: October 17, 2018

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on October 17, 2018 at 7:10 pm by David Whiting, Chairman. The meeting was held in room 1600 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042.

Members in Attendance:

P Alvarez, Maria Cecilia A John, Elizabeth P Nash, Diana P Sheipe, Theresa

A Bartus, Camille P Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz P Smith, Ann

P Chamberlain, Amber A McGee, Morgan P Payne, Phyllis P Stewart, Catherine

A Durán, Francisco A McGuian, Holly P Pekarsky, Stella P Stiller, Carol

P Ende, Elizabeth P Michelback, Richard P Presson, Teresa A Thompson, Joe

P Evans, Sandy A Milani, Kavian P Skurpski, Lea P Trouton, Lorraine

A Hemmat, Joanna P Mumtaz, Hannan P Spanier, Holly P Whiting, David

A Jacobs, Lori P Spears, Jennifer A Yo, Seung Je

P Kate Garsson

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve the meeting minutes was made by

Hannan Mumtaz and seconded by Elizabeth Ende. The vote passed unanimously.

3. Public Comment: No public comments.

4. Committee Updates:

Updates to R3218 were completed regarding recess. Elementary recess training has

been accessed over 1,400 times. The FCPS Wellness newsletter went out in Septem-

ber. The next newsletter will go out in December. Copies of the September newsletter

were made available to the committee (Teresa Johnson).

Wellness Leadership portal/email address located on the to the FCPS Wellness Leader-

ship webpage. A teacher at Groveton Elementary emailed to share about a mindfulness

program that they are currently implementing. The school health team will visit Groveton

and they will be featured in the December wellness newsletter. (Lea Skurpski)

5. Madison Minds Matter: Committee member Hannan Mumtaz, along with their advisor

McKayla Wolfe, and four other classmates presented on Madison Minds matter. This is a

student-run mental health and suicide prevention advocacy group at Madison High

School (associated with the Josh Anderson Foundation). It was started in 2017. They

held a gun violence open forum and had a speaker come from Crisis Link to discuss

mental health with parents and students. They suggested that other schools have similar

events. They are working on setting up a wellness day to acknowledge mental health

each month during the school day. They’ve done a lot of great work student-to-student to

reduce stigma associated with mental health. Discussions between students and staff

about mental health is also key to reducing stigma. Students from current clubs could

help students at other schools start clubs.

Feedback from Madison Students: Students in attendance reported that sports and band

practices often exceed two hours, which creates added stress, especially during AP sea-

son. College applications also cause stress, adding to workload for seniors. They sug-

gest that wellness teams encourage student-led groups like Madison Minds Matter at

their schools. They suggested that we do the wellness survey every year. They asked

what do we do about students who need help but don’t accept it? Mental health is ad-

dressed in PE/Health curriculum, and it stops after sophomore year because juniors and

seniors do not take PE/Health. They suggested having more student involvement in de-

velopment and delivery of mental health curriculum and resources.

Feedback from Staff: Madison has two clinical staff members. There are more students

who need help than this level of staffing can handle. Think about creative ways to draw

mental health discussions into other parts of the curriculum beyond just in health and PE

class.

Feedback from the Committee: Amber Chamberlain suggested that Madison Minds Mat-

ter be featured in the FCPS wellness newsletter. Teresa Johnson says they welcome

student input in the mental health curriculum. David Whiting told the students to come to

SHAC with specific suggestions about curriculum that needs to be changed. Liz Payne

says that they have overhauled the health curriculum this year. Most high schools do

wellness days and weeks. Many high schools do the wellness screening every year.

Schools have access to videos and curriculum for older grades to use. Students shared

that there is a lot of pressure to take lots of AP courses to get into a good college. They

all supported the idea of limiting AP classes. The common college application asks if

your school district limits APs.

Suggested trying to organizing subject tests on different days so you avoid students hav-

ing more than one test on the same day. FCPS is working to encourage other schools

to start Our Minds Matter clubs at their schools. Roughly, half of our high schools have

these clubs. In summary, we should have more student involvement in development and

delivery of mental health curricula. Students support limiting APs. It would help students

get more sleep and have more friends.

6. Discussion of Topics for Review as a Result of this Meeting: Sandy Evans is working

with Pat Hynes on a Forum Topic for AP Limits. It will include contacting colleges to find

out how they would respond to an AP cap. The earliest this could come to a forum is No-

vember. Once we get the information, we would need a work session which wouldn’t oc-

cur until 2019.

Amber Chamberlain has a contact who manages online college applications. She will ask him for some data about AP limiting and college applications.

7. Questions, Comments or Additional Business from Committee Members

Adjournment: 8:45 Meeting Handouts: FCPS Wellness Newsletter Meeting Notes Drafted by: Catherine Stewart


MEETING AGENDA for November 14, 2018 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 3050-3051, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. Committee Updates Teresa Johnson ➢ Sleep School Health Promotion

5. FCPS Youth Survey Data Review

➢ Dede Bailer, FCPS Coordinator, Psychological Services








April 17, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600

May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 May 29, 2019: School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report 7:30pm-9:00pm, Gatehouse, Room 1600




School Health Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes DATE: November 14, 2018

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on 11/14/18 at 7:04 pm by David Whiting, Chairman. The meeting was held in room 1600 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042. Members in Attendance:

P Alvarez, Maria Cecilia A John, Elizabeth P Nash, Diana P Sheipe, Theresa P Bartus, Camille P Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz P Smith, Ann A Chamberlain, Amber P McGee, Morgan P Payne, Phyllis P Stewart, Catherine A Durán, Francisco P McGuian, Holly A Pekarsky, Stella A Stiller, Carol

P Ende, Elizabeth P Michelback, Richard A Presson, Teresa P Thompson, Joe A Evans, Sandy A Milani, Kavian P Skurpski, Lea P Trouton, Lorraine P Hemmat, Joanna A Mumtaz, Hannan P Spanier, Holly P Whiting, David P Garsson, Kate A Mwila-Martial, Sandra P Spears, Jennifer A Yo, Seung Je P Jacobs, Lori

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order- 7:03pm

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Jennifer Spears suggested a change to the minutes about the requirements for the wellness survey. Motion to approve the meeting minutes with that change was made by Elizabeth Ende and seconded by Theresa Sheipe. The vote passed unani-mously.

3. Lea Skurpski gave an update on the Sleep School Health Promotion webpage created collabora-tively with FCHD and FCPS. Joanna Hemmat stated that health department nurses use Face-book Live and other electronic communication to reach out to FCPS families on health-related issues monthly. This month’s theme is sleep.

4. Youth Survey: Dede Bailer of FCPS and representatives from the health department came to give a presentation on the FCPS Youth Survey. The Youth Survey measures behaviors, experi-ences, and protective factors for students in 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade. There are 22 protective factors, but as few as 3 factors can help a student to choose healthy behaviors. They have a “3 to Succeed” campaign. The focus is developing resilience in youth. Questions in the survey are from multiple national surveys. Data is available to schools at the pyramid level. Three years of data are available (2015, 2016, 2017). A PowerPoint presentation on the Youth Survey data was made for each pyramid. We saw the Annandale Pyramid presentation. Aggregated FCPS data is available on the FCPS web-site. Students who believe that their parents think drinking or smoking marijuana is wrong are less likely to drink or smoke than those who believe that their parents have no opinion or think drinking or smoking is okay. Ecigarettes were noted as a current concern for FCPS/the Health Depart-ment. Assets and protective factors make a huge difference. FCPS has a Healthy minds blog Comments from the Committee: Elizabeth Ende and Theresa Sheipe asked if they could add a question on how much education-related screen time students get each day. Phyllis Payne suggested that a question be added about drowsy driving. She also suggested that they re-title one of the sections to Physical Activity

and Sleep rather than Physical Activity and Rest. David Whiting asked why females report higher rates of sadness and hopelessness than males. FCPS has other sources of data (e.g. School Climate Data) and other interventions at schools, and FCPS reviews those in relation to the Youth Survey data. Catherine Stewart mentioned that we are doing better than the national average on many of these health factors, but we are below the national average on physical activity. She suggested that the committee look at ways that we could improve that number. The Student Advisory Council has a focus on Health and Wellness this year. The last two years they focused on mental health.

5. Discussion of Topics for Review as a Result of this Meeting: The committee discussed student stress and over-commitment. Screen time. Sleep. Gun Safety. Food insecurity. Phyllis Payne suggested SHAC write a letter asking to add a drowsy driving, and Catherine Stew-art, Joe Thompson, and Elizabeth Ende said they wanted to add one on education-related screen time. These parties will report out at the next meeting for the committee’s consideration. Phyllis also asked about granularity of homework amounts above 3 hours. The health department just started working with FCPS recently on epidemiological analysis of the Youth Survey. They may identify more questions to ask after further analysis. Screen time was discussed. 65% of our students are getting 3+ hours of non-school related screen time per day. Cell phone use in school was also discussed. Each school and each teacher has their own rules about using cell phones in school. The rules generally require that phone/computer use be educationally related. Joe Thompson shared that parents are concerned about social media and how communication there (including bullying) impacts students and their mental health. Jennifer Spears noted that it’s important for kids to learn healthy habits for phone use. Lori Jacobs suggested that FCPS could develop template contracts for families to use to set screen limits in their homes. Teresa Johnson pointed out that we have a template contract from Common Sense Media on the FCPS website. The committee discussed the concept of setting in-school screen limits by grade level for schools. Liz Payne suggested that we have someone from the Digital Citizenship team lead Tammy Sisk come speak at a meeting. And Ken Martin is head of school-based technology specialists. David asked Lea to contact those two to ask to speak at our next meeting in January.

6. Questions, Comments or Additional Business from Committee Members: Elizabeth Ende noted that Mclean High School is screening a movie called Angst about Anxiety at an event soon. And that the Washington Post did an article about private schools cutting APs. Phyllis Payne said that Common Sense Media has grade-specific recommendations for screen limits. It was discussed whether, we should make the December meeting a regular or optional meeting or not have the meeting at all. Lorraine Trouton moved to cancel the December meeting. Phyllis Payne se-conded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Adjournment: 8:52 PM Meeting Handouts: School Year 2017-2018 Youth Survey Data Highlights Meeting Notes Drafted by: Catherine Stewart


MEETING AGENDA for January 16, 2019 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 1600, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. Screen Time Presentation Tammi Sisk, FCPS Educational Specialist, Instructional Technology



Meeting Dates: Meeting Location: February 20, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 March 20, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 April 17, 2019 Gatehouse, Rooms 1600 May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 May 29, 2019: School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report 7:30pm-9:00pm, Gatehouse, Room 1600

Committee Charge: The FCPS school board hereby charges the School Health Advisory Committee with examining and evaluating wellness metrics and making recommendations, and


School Health Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes DATE: January 16, 2019

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on 1/16/2019 at 7:03pm by Phyllis Payne, Chairman designee. The meeting was held in room 1600 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042. Members in Attendance:

P Alvarez, Maria Cecilia P Nash, Diana P Sheipe, Theresa P Bartus, Camille A Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz P Smith, Ann A Chamberlain, Amber P McGee, Morgan P Payne, Phyllis A Stewart, Catherine A Durán, Francisco P McGugian, Holly P Pekarsky, Stella A Stiller, Carol

A Ende, Elizabeth P Michelback, Richard P Presson, Teresa P Thompson, Joe P Evans, Sandy A Milani, Kavian P Skurpski, Lea P Trouton, Lorraine P Hemmat, Joanna P Mumtaz, Hannan P Spanier, Holly A Whiting, David A Jacobs, Lori P Kate Garsson P Spears, Jennifer A Yo, Seung Je

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order - Phyllis Payne called the meeting to order

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Holly Spanier put forth the motion and Theresa Sheipe seconded the motion to approve the November minutes. Minutes unanimously approved

3. Public Comment: N/A

4. Discussion of Topics for Review as a Result of this Meeting: Technology- FCPS On Tammi Sisk, Derek Kelly and Ken Martin from FCPS came to speak regarding Technol-ogy and its impact on health. FCPS On provides equitable access to technology and stresses that this is an instructional approach to promote deeper thinking and use as an inquiry tool. Blending face to face conversation and collaboration utilizing technology. Placing a greater emphasis on creation. Learner centered instruction encourages critical thinking and independent thinking. FCPS Learning Model – Plan, Teach, Assess and Reflect is incorporated on a daily basis. Many benefits to technology that include: differ-entiation in various online texts, audio/video clips that support diverse learning modali-ties, digital journals/notetaking etc. digital storage for record of work and easy access and increase in feedback loops that provides opportunities for continuous improvement. Questions around due dates and time due to be mindful of sleep and bed times to en-courage healthy habits. Also some concern around expectations for checking in with the classroom site, being mindful that parents set parameters around computer usage. Technology health considerations based on the following research action items: accuracy, objectivity, currency, authority of sources and depth of coverage. They start with several reliable sources. Key points include: technology is neither good nor bad, it can be a factor that affects wellness, overuse can be a symptom of something else, technology use requires active parenting, using high quality age-appropriate media matters. There are many positive aspects of technology on wellness. There are negative consequences with sleep disruption being one of the biggest factors. Other negative consequences of technology overuse include reduced physical activity, symptoms of depression, social isolation and increased presence of ADHD behaviors. Technology ‘addiction’ is not an official disorder and requires more study. There are red flags that might point to overuse and possibly a type of addiction. Healthy technology usage requires executive functioning that requires some self-regulation. Discussion around supporting students at home when using technology – very

challenging for parents. They indicated that it was very challenging to monitor and ensure that it was appropriate usage. Parents would like to try to utilize technology and see how it works in the school/classroom. Concern about funding technology at the expense of lack of other resources such as counselors, smaller class sizes etc. Mrs. Sisk shared that having a device permits teachers to work in small groups and individualize instruction. Joe Thompson shared that he has had positive experience with his own family regarding FCPS On. Derek Kelly explained that FCPS On is not to replace the teacher. Intentional parenting workshops can be offered to support parents. There are considerations for adults to consider regarding the selection of media around content, context, etc. There were concerns voiced around the usage of technology in the classroom and how to monitor and manage. Another concern is regarding instruction around learning the keyboard and learning to type. FCPS is looking at a monitoring tool to look at computer daily usage. There are some challenges around the screen time tools. Parent resources were shared and they indicated they would send the links. All resources are available on FCPS public webpage – Digital Citizenship Families is the most robust link.

5. Questions, Comments or Additional Business from Committee Members: Healthy People 2030 is now available online – Phyllis Payne. Possible to go back and look at the link with the wellness metric – might be helpful to review from the beginning of the year. Sandy Evans wanted to share about the AP forum topic for school board. Liz Payne shared that Virginia Legislature has several bills on the table and are open to be viewed and followed by those interested. These are available online and some may be ac-cessed from the FCPS website. The County is also following these bills, according to Jo-anna Hemmat. Lorraine Trouton shared that when FCPS after school activities/events are cancelled, then SHAC meetings are cancelled.

New Business:

6. Motions: Phyllis Payne shared proposed language to make a request to modify the Youth Survey to incorporate a question about drowsy driving. Lorraine Trouton made a motion to approve the letter and Theresa Sheipe seconded the motion. All in favor. None opposed – motion carries.

Adjournment: 9 p.m. Meeting Handouts: Sleep Handout, Technology Powerpoint Meeting Notes Drafted by: Holly McGuigan


MEETING AGENDA for February 20, 2019 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 1600, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. Subcommittee Review of 2017-2018 Wellness Reporting Committee



Meeting Dates: Meeting Location: March 20, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 April 17, 2019 Gatehouse, Rooms 1600 May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 May 29, 2019: School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report 7:30pm-9:00pm, Gatehouse, Room 1600

Committee Charge: The FCPS school board hereby charges the School Health Advisory Committee with examining and evaluating wellness metrics and making recommendations, and



MEETING AGENDA for March 20, 2019 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 1600, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. CALM (Children and Communities Achieving Lifelong Mindfulness) Program at Groveton Elementary Sueann Tupy




Meeting Dates: Meeting Location: April 17, 2019 Gatehouse, Rooms 1600 May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 May 29, 2019: School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report 7:30pm-9:00pm, Gatehouse, Room 1600


Committee with examining and evaluating wellness metrics and making recommendations, and with examining factors impacting student social-emotional health

at all levels.

School Health Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes DATE: March 20, 2019

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on (March 20, 2019) at (7) pm by Phyllis Payne, Chairman designee. The meeting was held in room 1600 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042. Members in Attendance:

P Alvarez, Maria Cecilia A Nash, Diana P Sheipe, Theresa P Bartus, Camille P Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz A Smith, Ann P Chamberlain, Amber P McGee, Morgan P Payne, Phyllis P Stewart, Catherine A Durán, Francisco P McGuigan, Holly P Pekarsky, Stella A Stiller, Carol

P Ende, Elizabeth A Michelback, Richard P Presson, Teresa P Thompson, Joe P Evans, Sandy A Milani, Kavian P Skurpski, Lea P Trouton, Lorraine P Hemmat, Joanna P Mumtaz, Hannan P Spanier, Holly A Whiting, David P Jacobs, Lori P Kate Garsson A Spears, Jennifer P Yo, Seung Je

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Catherine Stewart suggested a change to the drafted minutes. She moved to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion was se-conded by Stella Pekarsky. Minutes, as corrected, were approved unanimously.

3. Public Comment: None

4. CALM (Children and Communities Achieving Lifelong Mindfulness) Program at Groveton Elementary presentation by Sueann Tupy. They provide 30 min classes in mindful-ness/yoga as a “special.” This is the first year of the program. They have seen positive results in student behavior. Students and teachers love the program. They had a mind-fulness night for families at their school that was attended by 400+ people. The commit-tee asked for data on changes in performance and discipline after implementation of this program. It was reported that a number of FCPS schools have mindfulness programs. (A copy of the presentation will be provided to the committee.)

5. Review of 2017-2018 Wellness Report: The committee discussed the best way to use and analyze the Wellness Report data. Principals had some troubles with the survey length and methodology. Many schools answered that they are still only exploring a wellness committee and/or that their wellness committee is not very active. Committee members provided anecdotal information that their schools do not have active wellness committees. FCPS has a Wellness Newsletter that is posted on the FCPS intranet. How can we assist schools in developing/implementing wellness committees? Parent en-gagement is a challenge due to time, interest, fear, etc. Parents come to meetings with topics that parents are interested in or where their children are presenting something or doing a performance. There are community organizations like Partnership for a Healthier Fairfax who we could approach to help with Wellness Committees. Perhaps we need a guidebook for parent leaders to engage with wellness initiatives at schools. The commit-tee discussed working with FCCPTA to inform parents about wellness committees at schools.

The survey list is somewhat overwhelming. Maybe we could ask schools to just pick one area of Wellness to focus on each year instead of the entire list in the survey. This first survey was the baseline survey, and the goal of the survey is to monitor what is happen-ing at the schools from a wellness perspective. The goal was not to provide a punitive response. Principals are busy. Are there schools that are doing this well who we could use as a model? We could provide easy options for engagement. E.g. “Here’s some-thing you can post on your website” or “Here’s something you can put in your weekly newsletter about wellness.” Principals care about wellness and are implementing well-ness solutions because that’s what is best for students. Saratoga Elementary stops every hour for one minute so that the kids can do some kind of movement activity. The Committee broke into three groups to review the wellness data: Elementary, Middle and High School. The subgroups discussed for 30 min, and then the committee agreed to report back our findings to the larger committee at the next meeting.

6. The April meeting is scheduled during spring break. The committee discussed changing the date. Phyllis Payne moved and Joe Thompson seconded to move the meeting to April 24th. The motion was approved unanimously.

Adjournment: 9:05p Meeting Notes Drafted by: Catherine Stewart


MEETING AGENDA for April 24, 2019 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 5055, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. Screen Time in Classrooms: Advantages and Disadvantages Matt Miles, Chantilly High School Joe Clement, Chantilly High School




Meeting Dates: Meeting Location: May 15, 2019 Gatehouse, Room 1600 May 29, 2019 School Board Work Session, End of Year

Committee Report; 7:30pm-9:00pm; Gatehouse, Room 1600



at all levels.

School Health Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes DATE: April 24, 2019

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on April 24, 2019 at 7:07 PM by David Whiting, Chairman. The meeting was held in room 5500 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042. Members in Attendance:

A Alvarez, Maria Cecilia A Nash, Diana P Sheipe, Theresa P Bartus, Camille P Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz P Smith, Ann P Chamberlain, Amber P McGee, Morgan A Payne, Phyllis P Stewart, Catherine A Durán, Francisco P McGuigan, Holly P Pekarsky, Stella P Stiller, Carol

P Ende, Elizabeth P Michelback, Richard A Presson, Teresa P Thompson, Joe A Evans, Sandy A Milani, Kavian P Skurpski, Lea A Trouton, Lorraine A Hemmat, Joanna A Mumtaz, Hannan P Spanier, Holly P Whiting, David P Jacobs, Lori P Kate Garsson P Spears, Jennifer A Yo, Seung Je

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes – Elizabeth Ende suggested that we amend the draft minutes to reflect that the wellness newsletter is posted on the FCPS Intranet instead of publicly available online. Catherine Stewart proposed that we approve the meeting minutes as corrected. It was seconded by Theresa Sheipe and passed unanimously.

3. Public Comment – One commenter came to speak on the topic of Juuling/vaping. Her son struggled with addictive use and lost access to social/extracurricular activities at school. She expressed concern with the county's handling of vaping/Juuling in schools. She was specifically concerned with the punitive consequences that kids expe-rience when they are caught vaping/Juuling, as her son had a negative experience and found them to be extreme. She presented information about the harmful effects of vap-ing, and recommended that schools do more to support kids who are struggling with ad-diction. FCPS personnel were appreciative of her perspective and provided feedback that the disciplinary policy is being reviewed, and that the school system is doing its best to work as fast as it can to combat vaping/Juuling in schools.

4. Technology Presentation: Fairfax County residents and parents, Joe Clement and Matt Miles, provided a presentation about the negative health effects of technology over-use. Teens (ages 13-18) are spending an average of 9 hours per day using digital me-dia outside of school. According to Common Sense Media, only 3% of that 9 hours is spent on creation activities. The rest is spent on various forms of entertainment media consumption. Students admit to spending only 30 minutes per week talking to their fa-thers, but they have spent 44 hours per week in front of screens. Screen exposure is starting at earlier and earlier ages, and screen use for children is pervasive in our cul-ture. In one survey, 50% of teens self-reported being addicted to screens. Games and social media platforms are designed to be addictive, using persuasive design to "make players play forever." Multiple studies have shown that this technology overuse is caus-ing atrophy of gray matter in the brain. There are also many negative effects of screen overuse on psychological well-being. On the other hand, in studies, students with low

screen use had similar health outcomes to those with zero screen use. Some screen use does seem to be okay. Helping kids use screens in moderation would help limit negative health effects of screen overuse. The presenters suggested that we as a com-munity consider ways to support students who are using technology too much. One specific tip for parents is to tell their kids that tech companies are trying to manipulate them. Kids, especially teens, are motivated by the idea that something is being "done to them" and may be motivated to fight back by using screens less often. The committee asked the presenters for policy recommendations based on their re-search. In response, the presenters recommended that technology implementation in schools be done in a way that acknowledges the current state of student technology use at home. Students are used to using technology as a toy, so they will need support to switch gears and use it for serious purposes at school. The presenters also suggested implementing intentional uses of technology, using technology in the classroom only when it is the best way to teach students a concept. Another policy recommendation was to make hard copy textbooks available to students who are struggling with screen over-use. FCPS staff mentioned that they are developing a digital citizenship curriculum for both parents and students. They are trying to help students, parents, and teachers to under-stand the executive functions involved with using technology appropriately, and that stu-dent brains have often not yet developed the appropriate functions to be able to regulate their screen use themselves. They need to be taught to practice these skills. FCPS is trying to communicate this to the community via multiple methods.

5. Discussion of Topics for Review as a Result of this Meeting David Whiting opened the floor for members of the committee to propose any recom-mendations for the committee as we wrap up the year and for the end of year report to the School Board.

a. Lori Jacobs brought up the point that our students are below the national average for physical activity. She asked the committee to consider unstructured physical activity for middle school students to address this gap.

b. Teresa Johnson mentioned that in our strategic plan, Caring Culture includes metrics for Nutrition, Exercise, and Sleep. She asked for involvement and part-nership from the committee to help address these issues.

c. Elizabeth Ende brought up that the categories of responses on the Wellness Re-porting (e.g. Emerging, Transitioning, Embedded) is confusing. Could we use a different criteria to score? What are we doing to help the schools to involve the community in wellness committees? Some are interfacing with the PTA, but PTA members are not on the committee per the wellness survey. Teresa Johnson welcomed looking at the wellness committees next year as a committee.

d. Betty Ende/David Whiting brought up the issue of Advanced Placement (AP) class limits. Sandy Evans has proposed this topic at a School Board forum. She is awaiting a report from FCPS in response to the forum topic.

e. Health effects of screen time is currently in the wellness policy, but could be re-viewed. Theresa Sheipe asked if families can actually get a hard copy textbook if

their student is struggling with screen addiction or parents want to opt out of screens.

f. Mental health and stress g. Amber Chamberlain brought up staffing ratios for social workers, counselors, and

school psychologists. She advocated for more of those professionals in schools. h. Carol Stiller brought up communication with parents. How can we reach diverse

communities who may not be reading newsletters? 6. Assigning a new chair. David is taking nominations. We will vote at the next meeting.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 pm. Meeting Notes Drafted by: Catherine Stewart


MEETING AGENDA for May 15, 2019 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, Conference Room 5055, Gatehouse Administration Center




4. Discussion of End of Year Report Committee

5. Elections for SY19-20: SHAC Chair, Co-Chair and Secretary Committee




May 29, 2019 School Board Work Session, End of Year Committee Report; 7:30pm-9:00pm; Gatehouse, Room 1600



at all levels.

School Health Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes DATE: May 16, 2018

Call to Order: The regular meeting of the Fairfax County School Board's School Health Advisory Committee was called to order on (7:05) at (9:00) pm by David Whiting, Chairman. The meeting was held in room 1600 of the FCPS Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd., Falls Church, Virginia 22042.

Members in Attendance: P Alvarez, Cecilia A John, Elizabeth A Obrien, Anne-Marie A Stiller, Carol

P Bartus, Camille P Johnson, Teresa P Payne, Liz

P Chamberlain, Amber P McGee, Morgan P Payne, Phyllis P Thompson, Joe

A Durán, Francisco P McGuian, Holly P Presson, Teresa P Trouton, Lorraine

P Ende, Elizabeth A Michelback, Richard P Skurpski, Lea

A Evans, Sandy A Milani, Kavian P Spanier, Holly P Whiting, David

P Hemmat, Joanna P Mumtaz, Hannan P Spears, Jennifer A Yo, Seung Je

P Mwila-Martial, Sandra P Stewart, Catherine

P=Present A=Absent

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve by Catherine Stewart, seconded

by Joanna Hemmat. Unanimously approved.

3. Public Comment: Ms. Nathalie Gonzales, Mason District, came to speak with the com-mittee with regard to how mental health concerns were handled specific to a family member, who is a sophomore. Ms. Gonzales gave a brief history and shared the events regarding the student, inclusive of bullying in the last year causing distress. Ms. Gonza-les described her frustration with the overall process. She mentioned that DC has li-censed social workers more broadly available to students, in her opinion. Jennifer Spears agreed, after several questions and comments by Elizabeth Ende and Phyllis Payne, to address this concern individually with Ms. Gonzales.

4. Committee Updates: Teresa Johnson provided feedback on recess time collaboration and plans for a voice over PowerPoint being prepared for teachers. This item should be ready by end of summer. It includes an FAQ with samples of master schedules and al-ternative ways to address student behavior. Minimum of 30 minutes (two 15 mins recom-mended). Elizabeth Ende mentioned that in a recent review in the county it is actually requested that students get two segments of recess for 20 minutes each. She also dis-cussed with Teresa she found by feedback that teachers are using recess reduction as a consequence related to behavior management.

5. Advanced Placement (AP) Discussion/Recommendation: David Whiting revisited AP capping issue. Elizabeth Ende said “teachers sometimes forget students are doing about 30 hours/week.” Our students are not in college courses/schedules/living. One of the is-sues is that some parents think some of the AP work is “busy work” ex. Handwriting the syllabus. There is so much competition perhaps teachers are “making it hard by giving a lot of homework”. “More is not better.” Teresa Presson notices that her son who takes AP causes a ripple effect for missing work in other classes when he overworks for one class. David Whiting described items in life that get missed out on when spending so much time on AP course work. Hannan Mumtaz gave her feedback relative to her own current and historical experience. She likes the 2 AP class cap. Lorraine Trouton wants to know what can happen for students who want more AP courses. Phyllis asks if stu-dents will be incentivized to take two instead of one AP course in 9th grade. Parents may push the point in 9th grade if 11th grade can’t have 5 if the change is made. “Rules are in

place that let principals make that call”. Catherine Stewart agrees that it is possible that “taking two in 9th grade” issue Phyllis brought up. Joe Thompson shared what is in the best interest of the child. The real thing, parents might demand two be taken, that’s a parent problem. The community works this way. I think the bigger problem is the un-healthy stress being felt. My concern is that the solution to the unhealthy stress is not about limiting APs. Robyn from Chantilly talked about VA Tech wanting to look at our students—a gap in understanding—of late, 68 spots there. The real push as a commit-tee is to help our parents be empowered about AP choices. Ivy League schools are prestigious—no matter the AP decision—the stress will not be abated. Our school divi-sion is seen as a prestigious system. It dipped when we dropped our grading motif. But our students are considered premier. Lowering APs is not going to address that. Eliza-beth Ende says Robyn says that schools do look at what was available and what the stu-dent took, Joe Thompson also mentioned the lessening of options for a wider variety of AP programs. Phyllis wonders if virtual classrooms type of learning could be a solution to stretch the richness across the system. Elizabeth Ende says this is already happening. The committee discussed the IB component. David reviewed the IB perspective relative to categories. Phyllis mentioned the specificity needed in the IB flow (diploma AND certificates). “Cap of 10 does provide some solutions.” Teresa Presson mentioned the feedback with regard to putting energy into training school counselors properly. Some students can take 10, some can then only take 5. Hannan does not think it’s a training issue. It’s the parents from her perspective (culture change). Catherine Stewart made the following motion: “SHAC recommends that FCPS amend policy 2100.2, Section IV, Subsection F, to make the following addition – 12. ‘In the interest of reducing unhealthy stress, students shall be prohibited from taking more than two Advanced Placement (“AP”) or International Baccalaureate (“IB”) courses in the 9th grade, two AP or IB courses in the 10th grade, 3 AP or IB courses in the 11th grade, and 3 AP or IB courses in the 12th grade.” Hannan Mumtaz seconded. 6 yes, 5 no. 13 voting members present.

6. May 30 End of Year Report and School Board Presentation: David Whiting shared with the committee the recommendation that Policy/Regulation document is prominently displayed on the SHAC webpage such that parents can review the information. Chemicals/Kids fact sheets are binding but parents do not see these. David suggests that we accept the fact sheets previously shared by Richard Michelback. Catherine Stewart is fine with Richard’s language on fact sheets at least for a year. Phyllis Payne used a Facebook site on recess themes if their kids wash their hands before lunch at school. Appears that “no they don’t”. Holly McGuigan says at the salad bar kids use a bottle of hand sanitizer. Discussion ensued relative to language on the proposed process. Language was altered. Teresa Johnson asked principals if they would read this policy. Holly said yes, in the new school year it comes out. David’s concern is that parents can see that kids are not to handle chemicals to wash tables and for parents to have recourse if needed. Teresa Johnson reminded group that our language needs to be thoughtful and not accidentally cross over to chemicals normally handled in other components of the school programs. Teresa Presson recommends targeting only elementary & middle school cafeteria use language. Holly Spanier recommends using pro language referencing the actual fact sheet asking that water be the only fluid used. Phyllis Payne moved proposed the following: “SHAC recommends that FCPS amend policy 2100.2, Section IV, Subsection E, to add item 7: ‘FCPS students shall only use water to clean cafeteria tables.’” Seconded by Elizabeth Ende. All in favor/no opposed. Recess policy changed to K-6. What is the suggestion about some of the 6th grade schools that do NOT have recess? David wants to know our recommendation. Holly

McGuian suggests talking directly with these schools. Phyllis Payne suggests we make the following recommendation to the school board: “SHAC recommends that FCPS amend policy 2100.2, Section IV, Subsection B, Item 2, to replace the existing item 2, in its entirety, with the following: ‘a. 2. Daily recess is required for grades K-6, and should provide for student-selected structured and unstructured play through a variety of activities.’” This will trigger the school board to talk to these schools about “what is feasible.” Catherine Stewart recommends changing the language to K-6. Motion to Approve by Phyllis Payne, seconded by Elizabeth Ende. 10 yes and 2 no’s. 13 voting members. Catherine Stewart asks do we recommend two 20 minute recesses or stay with two 15 minute recesses. Holly McGuigan talked about logistics difficulty. Teresa Presson brought up “wiggle breaks”. Phyllis mentioned that yes in prior discussion we did propose other forms of movement too. Motion: “SHAC recommends that FCPS amend policy 2100.2, Section IV, Subsection B, to make the following addition: ‘aa. Schools shall make best efforts to provide students two distinct daily recesses, of at least 20 minutes, on full school days for students in grades K-6.’” Moved by Cecilia Alvarez. Seconded by: Catherine Stewart, 7 yes, 5 no, 13 present. Motion passes.

7. Recommendations for Committee’s Charge for SY 18-19: What is our charge for the next year? We are not going to get the metrics this year.

1. Get metrics 2. Tech usage/focus issues 3. Middle school start times 4. Homework hours and mental health/stress 5. Effects of threats of violence on student perceived well being 6. Need for more psychological support in schools

Move to approve: Elizabeth Ende, Amber Chamberlain second. All in favor: 13. No opposed. 13 present.

8. Committee Elections for SY 18-19: Election of president: Catherine Stewart nominated

David Whiting; Elizabeth Ende seconded the nomination. No additional nominees or volunteers. David Whiting agreed to continue next year. 13 agree. 13 present.

Adjournment: 9:00 Meeting Notes Drafted by: Amber Chamberlain

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