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Tag: scott gelman

  • Loudoun Co. approves plan to allow students to carry Narcan at school – WTOP News

    Loudoun Co. approves plan to allow students to carry Narcan at school – WTOP News

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    Students in Loudoun County will now be able to carry naloxone in their backpacks, as part of an update to the school district’s student medication policy.

    Students in Loudoun County, Virginia, will now be able to carry naloxone in their backpacks, as part of an update to the school district’s student medication policy approved this week.

    The change will allow students who have received training, and whose parents have signed off, to carry the overdose-reversal drug at school.

    The policy updates come about a year after the school system reported a series of overdoses, including at least eight at one county high school. That prompted Gov. Glenn Youngkin to sign an executive order requiring school divisions to promptly notify families of a student overdose.

    “This is completely optional,” school board member Anne Donohue said. “This, in no way, is obligating any student at LCPS to carry naloxone. It is simply saying, if they want to, they will be allowed to.”

    According to the approved policy, a student who administers the naloxone has to tell a staff member.

    Any student who wants to carry naloxone in their backpack will have to get it themselves.

    While some school board members said the change will improve student safety, others suggested it puts too much pressure on students.

    “We are asking students to become emergency responders, and I feel like it’s putting a heavy responsibility on the students,” board member Deana Griffiths said. “You may also lose actual confirmed reporting by students if they are administering naloxone.”

    Board member Lauren Shernoff echoed that sentiment, suggesting the school division is “putting what I feel to be a very adult thing on our children, if they take that responsibility.”

    But, board member April Chandler said, “If you’re faced with an overdose of your classmate, it’s traumatic either way. Are you empowered to do something that could save a life? Or are you going to be traumatized by the fact that you saw somebody pass away? It’s impossible to consider.”

    Arlington Public Schools took a similar step in 2023. Last year, 450 students signed up to do it, a spokesman said.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • Loudoun Co. schools taking unique step to help prevent guns in schools – WTOP News

    Loudoun Co. schools taking unique step to help prevent guns in schools – WTOP News

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    Loudoun County Public Schools will update its student handbook with information about parents’ legal obligation to safely secure guns.

    Loudoun County Public Schools will update its student handbook with information about parents’ legal obligation to safely secure guns, as part of a resolution the school board passed Tuesday night.

    The Gun Safety Storage Resolution, which board members in the Northern Virginia district approved unanimously, comes in the aftermath of recent school shootings in Georgia and Maryland, plus a series of unsubstantiated threats to schools in Loudoun.

    Those incidents, board member April Chandler said, have prompted community members to inquire about what more can be done to keep schools safe.

    “There’s no denying that the fear of gun violence at school has an impact on our students,” Chandler said. “This fear is hurting our kids.”

    In Virginia, it’s against the law for anyone to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm out in a way that could endanger a child under 14 years old. The penalty for doing that is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

    Now, as part of the resolution, the school division will update the student handbook with information about parents’ responsibility to safely secure guns.

    A notification will also be sent to parents and guardians, detailing why it’s important to store guns securely and explaining the legal obligation to protect kids from guns that aren’t stored properly.

    “The facts show that a lot of people are not responsibly storing their firearms in a safe way,” board member Anne Donohue said. “Which is why I think it is appropriate for the division to put out some of that information to the community, just like we do about the opioid crisis, the mental health crisis, just like we do about other threats to the safety and security of our children and the families in our county.”

    Information won’t be collected from parents, Chandler said. The school district also isn’t collecting information about gun ownership, she added.

    “It’s a nearly no-cost communication to educate the community,” Chandler said. “Now is not the time to play politics with student safety.”

    During Tuesday night’s meeting, Chandler cited data from a 2023 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics that found guns are the leading cause of death for American children and teens.

    “People safe-storing their guns is common sense,” board member Lauren Shernoff said. “I know we’ve said that before, but this is an opportunity for us to work together as a community and a school division to say we’re committed to keeping kids safe.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Fairfax Co. students lobby Congress to pass bill aimed at increasing youth voter registration – WTOP News

    Fairfax Co. students lobby Congress to pass bill aimed at increasing youth voter registration – WTOP News

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    Hoping to boost voter registration among their peers, a group of Marshall High School students launched a registration drive at the Northern Virginia school in September 2023.

    Visit WTOP’s Election 2024 page for our comprehensive coverage. 

    Hoping to boost voter registration among their peers, a group of Marshall High School students launched a registration drive at the Northern Virginia school in September 2023.

    It was a unique setup in a school classroom, with a few nonpartisan organizations providing funding. The group brought doughnuts, and had what it described as a great turnout. At least 150 people were registered to vote, senior Vedansh Garg said.

    That drive, now run over a year ago, sparked months of subsequent advocacy. The same group of about 10 students has spent months lobbying Congress to pass the High School Voter Empowerment Act.

    The legislation would require states to designate public high schools as voter registration agencies and tell schools to have voter registration drives for their students. It would also task the secretary of education with creating grants to reimburse schools for the costs associated with those drives.

    “With young people, a lot of times, we care about a lot of issues, and the problem is we don’t see a lot of voter turnout among the youth, and that’s not because of voter apathy,” Garg said. “That’s because there’s a lot of red tape or a lot of steps to take in order to get to the polls and be able to vote.”

    Inspired to help remove those barriers for other potential young voters, the students have spent months leaving the Falls Church campus and heading to Capitol Hill.

    “We would go to school, and then we would go to the bathrooms and change into our business attire for D.C., and then we would head to the Senate office or House of Representatives offices,” said student Nia Gouvis.

    They also used a Fairfax County Public Schools policy that allows students to miss class for a day for civic engagement.

    Marshall High senior Vedansh Garg (center) and his peers are lobbying Congress to pass a bill that would designate public high schools as voter registration agencies and tell schools to have voter registration drives for their students. (Courtesy Fairfax County Public Schools)

    Last November, the group had its first meeting in Vice President Kamala Harris’s office, “where we came together and we brought forward this issue to the federal government, and now this year after that, it seems like we’ve come a really long way,” senior Samad Quraishi said.

    Quraishi reached out to Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, who helped adjust some of the language in the proposed legislation. Then, the group started scheduling meetings with dozens of lawmakers.

    Sometimes, they’d schedule 30 meetings in a week between the 10 of them. They reached out to 250 congressional offices, 30 of which “decided to hop onto the legislation and sponsor” it, Quraishi said.

    While many staff members agreed with the ideas included in the proposed legislation, the students had some meetings during which, “I was just completely shut down, but it’s a matter of just coming back from that and learning from that experience, or learning what you could do better from that meeting, or how you should pitch it,” Gouvis said.

    “We’ve seen that the younger generations are voting when it matters, or when they think that they need to make a difference, but they’re also taking a step back when they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t think I know what I’m doing, or I don’t think it’ll make a difference,’” senior Apoorva Navale said.

    Rep. Wilson and California Sen. Laphonza Butler introduced the legislation in Congress earlier this year, though it hasn’t been scheduled for a vote in either chamber.

    The Marshall students, meanwhile, are focusing their advocacy on empowering students to register to vote. Virginians are eligible to register when they turn 16.

    “Our main goal is to educate people on how each individual person can make a huge impact, because you can’t do it by any other way,” student Hanna Rohde said. “You can’t force people to vote. You can’t do it by any other means, other than educating them on the specifics of what will happen if they vote.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • One of the best children’s hospitals in the country is right here in DC – WTOP News

    One of the best children’s hospitals in the country is right here in DC – WTOP News

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    Children’s National Hospital in D.C. has been named one of the best children’s hospitals in the United States, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

    Children’s National Hospital in D.C. has been named one of the best children’s hospitals in the country, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

    Children’s National was one of 10 children’s hospitals to be named to the 2024-2025 Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll. Those hospitals “really have the maximum breadth and depth of excellence,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis at U.S. News.

    The annual rankings are compiled by evaluating children’s hospitals across the country in various categories, Harder said, including specialties such as cardiology, cancer, orthopedics and neonatology.

    In response to a rise in need for youth mental health services, the outlet added an 11th category — behavioral health — to the hospitals it evaluated this year.

    “The goal of having these different specialty rankings is to help parents and families who need a particular type of care identify the right hospital for their child’s needs,” Harder said.

    Children’s National is the lone children’s hospital to make the outlet’s rankings in D.C. It’s ranked in the top five in two specialties — pediatric cancer and pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.

    In Maryland, meanwhile, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore is ranked first overall. It’s ranked among the best in the U.S. in all of the 11 specialty areas evaluated, Harder said.

    Three hospitals in Virginia made the rankings — University of Virginia Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville is the highest ranked in the state, followed by Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital in Falls Church, which is ranked one of the best in the country in neonatology.

    U.S. News reviews dozens of quality indicators in the specialty areas “to help give parents a starting point when they’re confronted with a medical challenge for their family,” Harder said.

    The 2024-2025 honor roll list, in alphabetic order, includes:

    • Boston Children’s Hospital
    • Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora
    • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
    • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
    • Children’s National Hospital, Washington, D.C.
    • Cincinnati Children’s
    • Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
    • Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego
    • Seattle Children’s Hospital
    • Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Fairfax Co. to use AI for screening nonemergency 911 calls – WTOP News

    Fairfax Co. to use AI for screening nonemergency 911 calls – WTOP News

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    Fairfax County is turning to artificial intelligence to help prevent long wait times for nonemergency 911 calls.

    Fairfax County is turning to artificial intelligence to help prevent long wait times for nonemergency calls.

    At a recent county safety and security meeting, Scott Brillman, director for the county’s department of public safety communications, detailed plans for the AI system. It will help the department prevent lengthy wait times for requests that may not need to be addressed by a person.

    FFX Now first reported the county’s plans for the AI system.

    The change in approach comes as the number of nonemergency calls the county is responding to is surpassing the number of emergency calls. So far this year, there have been almost 507,000 nonemergency calls, compared to 497,000 in all of 2023. There have been almost 421,000 emergency calls so far this year, down from almost 443,000 last year.

    “What has worked for Fairfax County for so many years, which is taking all these calls by phone, is not sustainable in 2024,” said Brillman, adding that it’s a problem jurisdictions across the country are facing.

    When someone calls the department of public safety communications with a nonemergency call, Brillman said, they’ll get an artificial intelligence voice. Non-emergencies include noise complaints, animal control calls, requests for trash pickup or questions about a speed camera ticket, among other things.

    If someone whose first language isn’t English calls, the system will immediately translate the call, so there’s no wait for an interpreter, Brillman added. But the tool will also help the agency “triage the call,” he said.

    “If that call does not belong at a public safety 911 center, if that call belongs in Arlington or Alexandria, DPW or DOT, or another agency, this system can route that call to the appropriate agency,” Brillman said.

    Residents and visitors that still need to be connected to a 911 dispatcher will have the option to speak to one if they need to. The hub prioritizes emergency calls “which leaves the caller that’s calling about a nonemergency case on hold and waiting in a queue, sometimes for a few minutes, which is frustrating for that caller, and it’s also frustrating for us,” Brillman said.

    Handling all types of calls has an impact on the call takers’ mental health, he said, because they can transition from walking someone through administering CPR to taking a call about someone complaining about a neighbor’s grass.

    “It’s very frustrating for that, from switching on and off, emergency to nonemergency,” Brillman said. “It does take a toll.”

    The AI system could help process calls in the event of a major storm or other emergency, he said, and will be used to support the process the county uses for towing vehicles. The county’s current towing process involves use of fax machines, Brillman said.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • More money and planning time — DC reaches tentative agreement with teachers’ union – WTOP News

    More money and planning time — DC reaches tentative agreement with teachers’ union – WTOP News

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    D.C. public schoolteachers would get a raise and more planning time as part of a tentative agreement with the city on a new five-year union contract.

    D.C. public schoolteachers would get a raise and more planning time as part of a tentative agreement with the city on a new five-year union contract.

    The tentative agreement, which both the Washington Teachers’ Union and Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday night, comes after over a year of negotiations. It still has to be ratified by the union’s members.

    The union’s last contract took over three years, and the one that preceded it took about five, WTU president Jacqueline Pogue-Lyons said. She called the fact the most recent agreement took only about a year “something to celebrate.”

    The contract includes a raise for the union’s members, but Pogue-Lyons didn’t elaborate on the structure, because members haven’t yet had a chance to review the terms of the agreement, she said. But many other protections are tied to working conditions for teachers, which Pogue-Lyons said are essential to attracting and retaining educators.

    “There’s so much competition to get great and knowledgeable people,” Pogue Lyons said. “So we want to get them, but we also want to keep them. We don’t want a revolving door, because we feel the longer we keep our teachers, the better they become as educators.”

    She added that the deal includes a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on achieving and keeping diversity in schools and an MOA on climate, which is tied to ensuring classrooms have enough ventilation and that air quality is good.

    The agreement has details on controlling class size and will enable teachers to keep their vision and dental insurance, which they feared they might lose. It features more planning time, Pogue Lyons said, and the assurance that special education and other teachers won’t be pulled out of their classrooms to perform other duties.

    “When those things happen, we’re not able to meet the needs of the students that were tasked to teach, especially our most vulnerable population,” Pogue Lyons said.

    In a joint statement, Pogue-Lyons, Bowser and Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said the agreement “shows what can be achieved when we work together with a common goal of putting students first. With this agreement, we are reaffirming our commitment to investing in our young people and making D.C. the number one city for teachers.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Fairfax Co. reports slight rise in students who say they’ve been bullied – WTOP News

    Fairfax Co. reports slight rise in students who say they’ve been bullied – WTOP News

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    More Fairfax County students reported they were bullied at school last year than in the year prior, a figure that’s continued to rise since 2021.

    More Fairfax County students reported they were bullied at school last year than in the year prior, a figure that’s continued to rise since 2021.

    About 10.2% of eighth, 10th and 12th graders reported they had been bullied on school grounds within the past year, according to the 2023-24 Fairfax County, Virginia, Youth Survey results.

    That’s up from 9.9% in 2022 and 8.9% in 2021. The figure hasn’t surpassed 10% since before the pandemic, in 2019. The survey wasn’t conducted in 2020.

    The county uses the annual survey results to create programs to support students who need it most, according to Daryl Washington, executive director at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board.

    Despite the small increase in bullying, the data suggests students’ mental health is improving, Washington said.

    “It’s showing improvement in mental health, almost across the board, with our young folks,” Washington said. “It’s also showing low uses of substance use amongst our school-age population of students.”

    About 28,000 eighth, 10th and 12th graders took the survey, which is anonymous and optional. Another 11,000 sixth graders took a shortened version of it, the county said.

    In 2023, the percentages of students reporting they’ve been bullied was highest among eighth graders, at 16.7%, and lowest among high school seniors, at 5.7%.

    The survey defines bullying as what happens when “one or more students repeatedly tease, threaten, spread rumors about, hit, shove, or hurt another student.”

    “We’ve been really pushing the importance of speaking up if you feel bullied, also speaking up if you see a fellow student being bullied as well,” Washington said. “So with these numbers, some of it could be we’re bringing attention to the issue.”

    Social media could also play a role, Washington said, particularly as it relates to bullying and a student’s self-esteem, “and really the impact that is having on this next generation of folks that really was not an issue that previous generations had to deal with as a stressor.”

    The county, he said, uses the data to determine where its resources will have the most significant impact.

    Last year, the county focused on the high percentage of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts reported by LGBTQ+ students, hosting a community day to offer support, Washington said.

    Meanwhile, one-fourth of eighth, 10th and 12th graders reported feeling so hopeless or sad that they stopped regular activities for two weeks or more. This year’s rate was the lowest to be reported in the last decade, the county said.

    “We’ve tried to really make the bar for any youth’s family that needs access to mental health services, being able to get access to them,” Washington said.

    Rates of substance use, including alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes and vaping, were also the lowest in the last decade for most substances, the county said.

    The full survey results are available online.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Arlington reports success in recruiting substitute teachers using updated approach – WTOP News

    Arlington reports success in recruiting substitute teachers using updated approach – WTOP News

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    Increasing pay and earlier recruitment has helped Arlington Public Schools improve its substitute teacher hiring efforts, school system leaders said at a board meeting last week.

    Increasing pay and earlier recruitment has helped Arlington Public Schools improve its substitute teacher hiring efforts, school system leaders said at a board meeting last week.

    The school system ended the first week of school with an 89% substitute fill rate, chief academic officer Gerald Mann said. In previous years, around the same time, the fill rate has ranged from 60% to 80%.

    “We’re looking pretty good right now,” Mann told school board members.

    Arlington changed its approach to recruiting substitutes by increasing pay so that it’s more competitive with other school systems, Superintendent Francisco Duran said. It also altered how long-term substitutes are paid. Instead of having to wait until the 11th work day to get extra pay, long-term substitutes will receive the long-term substitute rate on the first day.

    “This year, we did start a lot earlier with reaching out to substitutes for those vacant positions that we had available,” Mann said. “I believe on day one we had 38 vacancies, and 37 positions were filled with substitutes at that particular time.”

    The county has about 1,000 active substitutes, Mann said, and has rebuilt its pool of potential substitutes, scrubbing candidates who “are no longer coming in for jobs.”

    Nearby Fairfax County Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, has similarly offered bonuses and other incentives as part of a plan to improve its substitute teacher recruiting efforts.

    Last fall, Joanne Jackson, project administrator in Fairfax County’s Office of Substitute Employment, said principals called the incentive program a “game changer.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Former Fairfax Co. schools contractor accused of taking video of students facing 2 dozen charges – WTOP News

    Former Fairfax Co. schools contractor accused of taking video of students facing 2 dozen charges – WTOP News

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    The victims are girls between 6 and 8 years old, Police Chief Kevin Davis said, and most of the crimes happened at elementary schools in McLean and Herndon.

    Police spokeswoman Katherine Hayek, Chief Kevin David and Superintendent Michelle Reid announce charges against a former Fairfax County contractor who’s accused of filming young students inappropriately.(WTOP/Scott Gelman)

    A former Fairfax County Public Schools independent contractor accused of taking video of several students is facing two dozen charges tied to separate incidents.

    During a news conference Wednesday, Police Chief Kevin Davis said Arturo Elmore-Adon, 25, of Reston, has been charged with 24 felony crimes, which range from sexual assault to unlawful filming.

    The victims are girls between 6 and 8 years old, Davis said, and most of the crimes happened at elementary schools in McLean and Herndon.

    Many of the charges stemmed from the police department’s collaboration with Virginia’s largest school district, which Davis said was essential.

    “Without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today, holding a really disturbing and sick man accountable for his actions that targeted little children,” Davis said.

    The investigation started in early August, when Maj. Daniel Spital said a 7-year-old girl was shopping at a Safeway in Reston with her mom one night.

    The girl noticed a man was following them, and Spital said a few minutes later, the girl told her mom that the man following them touched her inappropriately.

    Police arrived, but the man, later identified as Elmore-Adon, left the store.

    “Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the grocery store, and they determined that the man had been following this family from aisle to aisle,” Spital said. “At one point, the suspect placed his cellphone under the young girl’s shorts and took a picture.”

    Two days later, Spital said, Elmore-Adon was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual battery and unlawful creation of an image of another under 18.

    When investigators started reviewing material on Elmore-Adon’s phone, they found over 400 photos and videos considered to be child sexual abuse material downloaded from different international websites, Spital said.

    He was charged with multiple counts of possession of child sexual abuse material after investigators reviewed his devices.

    Police said they also found seven videos of Fairfax County students, specifically at Churchill Road and Fox Mill elementary schools. They included four victims, between ages 6 and 8.

    None of the four were physically injured, police said. They’re getting support from the police department’s victim services division and the school district.

    “These seven videos were surreptitiously filmed by either hiding his phone in a bathroom or by placing his phone underneath the dresses, skirts and shorts of the young children,” Spital said.

    As a result of those videos, police said Elmore-Adon was charged with seven counts of unlawful filming.

    Elmore-Adon completed a background check in 2022, and was an independent contractor working with the school district’s elementary after-school programs from September 2022 to May 2023, police said.

    Elmore-Aron had been working for a vendor of Baroody Camps, which Superintendent Michelle Reid said provides after-school activities or camps for students.

    WTOP has contacted Baroody Camps for comment.

    “As educators, we expect everyone who works with our children to have their safety and health be a top priority, and when that trust is broken … it really affects all of us,” Reid said.

    All hourly and full-time employees are required to undergo background checks, Reid said.

    Elmore-Adon’s recent arrest tied to the incident at the Reston grocery store was “the first notice that there was something seriously amiss,” Reid said.

    The school system is following its protocols for background checks and supervision that it would for either contractors or full-time employees, Reid said.

    “I want to reassure our Fairfax families and our staff that we’re doing everything within our power to maintain a healthy and safe learning space for all of our students and staff, and will continue to do so,” Reid said. “It’s a top priority.”

    There’s no evidence there were crimes committed at other schools Elmore-Adon worked with, Spital said, and detectives are still reviewing over a half-terabyte of digital material.

    In less than a month, 24 felony charges have been filed against Elmore-Adon.

    Davis, the police chief, said based on evidence, “We have charged him with every crime that we can possibly realize.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • In first year of weapon scanners, no guns brought to Prince William Co. schools – WTOP News

    In first year of weapon scanners, no guns brought to Prince William Co. schools – WTOP News

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    In the first year they were used, weapon detection scanners deterred students from bringing weapons and vapes on campus, Prince William County Public Schools reported.

    In the first year they were used, weapon detection scanners deterred students from bringing weapons and vapes on campus, Prince William County Public Schools reported, and their use will now be expanded to some sporting events.

    During the 2023-24 year, the first with Evolv scanners in all middle and high schools, there weren’t any guns brought into schools, a school district spokeswoman said.

    In May 2023, the school board in Virginia’s second-largest school division approved a plan to install the screeners in middle and high schools, including both traditional and nontraditional schools. At the time, the division said it planned to use the equipment over four years, which it anticipated would cost about $10.7 million.

    As the school division contemplated the plan, critics argued they weren’t a necessary expense and would make entering a school feel similar to walking into a prison. A year later, some are praising the technology for keeping schools safe.

    “I recognize that school is far different for my daughter, as a soon-to-be 13-year-old, than it was for me,” parent Alexis Hackett said. “As a parent, I have a lot of things to worry about in her day-to-day, and it’s one less thing that I feel like I have to worry about that helps me feel a little bit more secure as she goes to school.”

    Now, in the second school year with the screeners, the school division is planning to use them at varsity basketball and football home games.

    “It’s a great thing, because there have been things that have happened at these games,” Hackett said.

    The process proved to be quick for most kids last year, as 93% of students passed through the system without needing to be searched, the spokeswoman said.

    The Evolv scanners use artificial intelligence and sensors to detect knives, guns and other weapons. Students just remove their laptops while they’re passing through, and an alarm sounds if the system detects something that appears dangerous.

    Hackett described the process as smoother than she expected it to be, and that lines to enter the school never seemed unreasonably long. There was only one day, when her daughter had cleats in her bag, that she set the alarm off, Hackett said.

    The detectors have also deterred students from bringing vapes into school, the county said. Vaping is down 22%, and other weapons are down 72%, the spokeswoman said.

    “While the safety screening technology isn’t infallible, it adds an extra layer of protection alongside our school security officers, school resource officers, and other security protocols,” the county said in a statement. “PWCS is committed to ensuring our facilities are safe, welcoming and sustainable. The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority.”

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Investigation into Hayfield Secondary football program clears coaches of wrongdoing – WTOP News

    Investigation into Hayfield Secondary football program clears coaches of wrongdoing – WTOP News

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    A monthslong investigation into allegations that Hayfield Secondary School’s football coaches improperly recruited players didn’t verify any of the accusations.

    Fairfax County Superintendent Michelle Reid speaks during a town hall meeting in the auditorium of Hayfield Secondary School.(WTOP/Scott Gelman)

    A monthslong investigation into allegations that Hayfield Secondary School’s football coaches improperly recruited players didn’t verify any of the accusations, Fairfax County Superintendent Michelle Reid said Tuesday night.

    During a contentious town hall meeting in the school’s auditorium, Reid told parents and community members the review took over 400 hours and involved the Northern Virginia school district’s human resources department and auditor.

    The meeting came months after first-year football coach Darryl Overton was accused of improperly recruiting at least a dozen players from his former school, Freedom High School in Prince William County. It was alleged those students who transferred lied about living in the Hayfield High School pyramid region, and that there was a school employee who was involuntarily transferred to a different county school because they expressed opposition to the transfer and recruiting practices.

    Overton and his staff faced accusations of bullying students, using school system property for personal gain, misusing funds and exceeding the number of training days and restrictions for offseason workouts.

    But the investigation, Reid said, didn’t substantiate any of those claims.

    “It’s clear that we build community around schools and school activities,” Reid told WTOP. “The allegations that have been made over the last several months have been investigated. They’ve been thoroughly looked at, and they’ve been found to be unsubstantiated.”

    As part of the school system’s investigation, 19 people — including principals, parents, directors of student servicers and directors of student activities — were interviewed. Last weekend, Reid said the school system made seven home visits to verify students lived where they said they do. The district stopped by with about 15 minutes of notice, Reid said, and confirmed the students actually lived at those addresses.

    The school division hired attorney Cynthia Hudson to go over evidence and do her own legal review, which concluded the allegations were based on rumors, Reid said.

    “As a former deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth, she has that skill set to be able to review data and information and make sure that there isn’t something we’ve missed, and also to just really make sure that we’re talking about personnel issues and student-athlete privacy concern issues as well,” Reid said. “It’s important that we make personnel and program decisions not on suspicions and speculation, but on facts as a result of a comprehensive investigation.”

    During Tuesday’s meeting, Reid said there are both residency concerns and eligibility concerns in athletics. Virginia’s High School League handles the eligibility process, and Reid said a student’s eligibility status can fluctuate.

    In a statement, a spokesman for the Virginia High School League said the agency doesn’t have investigative powers, and that, “Fairfax County Public Schools have declared these students eligible in the Hayfield situation. A school must self-report any violations. If we receive information regarding residency, we notify the school, just as we did with Hayfield.”

    Dawn Love, whose son transferred to Hayfield from Freedom High School and is now on the team, said disgruntled players and parents are at the core of the allegations.

    “They, (in) my opinion, did not want to compete,” Love said. “You have to compete to play. This isn’t ‘you’re automatically given a trophy.’ You’ve got to compete to play.”

    Another Hayfield parent who attended the meeting but asked not to be named told WTOP there’s “an influx of students coming here. I’m not sure if it’s just for the sports or what, but there are a lot of students here, more students than last year.”

    Meanwhile, Fairfax County School Board member Mateo Dunne is calling for an independent investigation into the allegations, suggesting there were “more allegations than you can shake a stick at.”

    “FCPS does not have the capacity, the experience, the expertise to conduct a complex, multifaceted investigation of this type,” Dunne said. “We really need to ask an outside law firm or organization to come in (and) conduct an independent, comprehensive investigation.”

    When asked about the demand for a private probe, Reid said it’s the reason the school district involved Hudson in its review.

    “If there are new allegations or new information about the former allegations that are brought forward, of course, we’re going to investigate those and ask for an independent review again to look at those,” Reid said. “But at this moment, the allegations are unsubstantiated, and the program has my full confidence, barring any new information to the contrary.”

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  • Marymount University partnership with VHC aims to expand nursing pipeline – WTOP News

    Marymount University partnership with VHC aims to expand nursing pipeline – WTOP News

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    A partnership between Marymount University in Arlington and Virginia Hospital Center aims to help train and recruit nurses while incentivizing them to remain in Northern Virginia.

    A partnership between Marymount University in Arlington and Virginia Hospital Center aims to help train and recruit nurses while incentivizing them to remain in Northern Virginia.

    The partnership, which is being supported by a donation pledge of $318,000 in scholarship funding to the VHC Health Foundation, will help the university’s more than 400 nursing students continue to get hands-on experience outside of the classroom.

    Andrew Wolf, director and chief nursing officer at Marymount’s Malek School of Nursing, said the partnership will have an impact on all students “as they travel through the program and have the opportunity to engage in clinical experiences within VHC.”

    “(VHC understands) what the needs of the local workforce are, and they really value having our graduates join their workforce,” Wolf said.

    Each semester, Wolf said, nursing students rotate through a clinical rotation in either a hospital or community setting, getting hands-on experience while supervised by a Marymount faculty member.

    The partnership means the hospital and university will be “more intentional about planning those experiences together, and we’re increasing the involvement of VHC nurses very intentionally in that educational process.”

    It’s also creating a joint research pathway, he said, which will train nurses in translational research, “which is really focused on using the basic science that we’re gaining through nursing research, but then figuring out how to apply it a real-world practice.”

    Many of the university’s nursing students are first-generation college students, Wolf said, and “many of our students have significant financial need.”

    Part of the agreement calls for both groups to seek donations from the community, with the goal of offering tuition support in exchange for a commitment to remain a nurse at VHC after graduation.

    “Together in this partnership, we obviously want to contribute to growing and preparing the next generation of nurses, but it’s also critically important that we do what we can to ensure that many of these nurses stay within the Arlington community and support the health care needs of our local community,” Wolf said.

    Ensuring students get hands-on clinical opportunities should help the university “get ahead of the game and ensure that we’re providing the nurses to replace those who will be retiring over the next five to 10 years,” Wolf said.

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  • How US Park Police transform traffic flow during morning, evening rush hours – WTOP News

    How US Park Police transform traffic flow during morning, evening rush hours – WTOP News

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    U.S. Park Police is considering doing away with reversible, one-way traffic on the Rock Creek Parkway because of how long it takes to set up.

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    How Park Police change traffic patterns along Rock Creek Parkway every day

    Around 3:45 p.m. Thursday, a U.S. Park Police officer with the motorcycle unit arrived at the intersection near Virginia Avenue and the Thompson Boat Center.

    He briefly rode away to close off a nearby on-ramp to the southbound lanes of Rock Creek Parkway. Then, he placed a large “Do Not Enter” barricade in the road and put down a series of cones.

    Just minutes after 4 p.m., a different officer drove by, leading the first group of northbound traffic to drive north on what are considered the southbound lanes outside rush hour.

    Since the 1930s, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway has used reversible, one-way traffic operations during the morning and afternoon commutes to help drivers get in and out of the city faster.

    But the National Park Service is exploring eliminating one-way traffic operations, and an 81-page report said one reason is the time it takes U.S. Park Police to implement the changes to traffic flow twice a day.

    From 6:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., traffic along the parkway is only open to southbound traffic. From 3:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., it’s only open to northbound drivers.

    “In the morning, during a.m. rush hour, we are eliminating northbound traffic on Rock Creek Parkway, so that all of the traffic flows southbound into the District of Columbia, downtown D.C. area and things like that,” Sgt. Thomas Twiname said. “For the p.m. rush hour, it’s the opposite, and we eliminate all southbound traffic.”

    In the morning, transforming traffic patterns is a 30-minute job that’s assigned to four officers along four zones throughout the parkway.

    In the afternoon, the switch takes 15 minutes, and involves five officers across five zones. They start working at 3:45 p.m. to put the one-way traffic flow into effect, and it’s in place by 4 p.m.

    The officers making the changes do so using what Twiname described as traffic-control measures.

    “Whether it be signage, which lists the times when it’s one way, which direction they use, do not enter signs,” Twiname said, “They use cones to close off areas to prevent people from going into the wrong places.”

    Drivers are largely familiar with the rules of the reversible operations, but Twiname said sometimes, there are stragglers.

    “We see people just disregard either a sign or traffic control device, and so we’re able to quickly respond, get it fixed, and make sure the person understands what’s going on and how to follow the traffic flow.”

    When the morning and evening commute rush times end, the same officers who helped implement one-way operations are responsible for undoing it and helping to restore two-way traffic.

    “They first eliminate the traffic on the opposite side of the road, then they put traffic back in it and they lead the traffic back up, so that it’s then a two-way traffic flow,” Twiname said.

    Though reversible operations have been in effect for decades, Twiname said the way the traffic change is made now “seems to be the way we’ve done it for several decades.”

    “When the traffic change is in effect, the focus is traffic flow, and so traffic is moving and flowing during the times that it’s in effect for a.m. and p.m.,” Twiname said.

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  • Diversion First annual report touts success of Fairfax County’s co-responder program – WTOP News

    Diversion First annual report touts success of Fairfax County’s co-responder program – WTOP News

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    Fairfax County’s co-responder program, which expanded last year, has helped respond to over 2,000 calls since its inception, according to the county’s 2023 Diversion First annual report.

    Fairfax County’s co-responder program, which expanded last year, has helped respond to over 2,000 calls since its inception, according to the county’s 2023 Diversion First annual report.

    The program, which launched in 2021 and pairs a Fairfax County police officer with a crisis intervention specialist, expanded last year. It now has four teams that respond to calls between noon and midnight, seven days a week.

    It also includes a Post Response Team, “which is comprised of a clinician and a peer recovery specialist to provide that post-crisis specialist,” said Lisa Potter, the county’s Diversion First manager.

    As of Dec. 31, 2023, the co-responder teams were a part of over 2,100 calls for service, according to the 16-page report, which was recently published and offers a glimpse into the way county programs work to help prevent incarceration for those with mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance use disorders.

    Of the over 2,100 calls, close to half of them were resolved in the field, according to the report, and about a quarter of them resulted in diversion from an arrest and/or hospitalization.

    “When law enforcement is dispatched to a community situation and it turns out to be (a) primary mental health situation, they sometimes will stand down, and they will call the community services board to have a mental health counselor come out and interact with the individual,” said Daryl Washington, executive director of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. “But with the co-responder, there’s not that need for that wait.”

    Instead, Washington said, responders can quickly take action depending on what they’re seeing when they arrive at a scene.

    The initiatives that fall under Diversion First aim to “decriminalize mental illness and individuals with substance use and developmental disabilities,” Washington said. Funding for them comes from the county government, the state and grants.

    Broadly, Potter said the programs are helping divert thousands of people away from potential arrests every year. Of the people diverted to the Merrifield Crisis Response Center, 80% haven’t had a repeat visit in a year.

    “We’re continuing to see a rise in the number of people that are diverted consistently each year, which is great,” Potter said.

    The county has been deliberate in trying to strengthen “the first touch points that individuals have with our emergency and crisis system,” Washington said, and part of that is making sure the few dozen mental health calls coming into 911 every day are answered by someone who is trained to help.

    There are a few mental health clinicians embedded in the 911 call center, Washington said, and the county has a separate partnership with HopeLink, another crisis call center. The crisis call center also has the ability to dispatch the county’s crisis response teams.

    As part of the Diversion First efforts, capacity in the county’s Drug Treatment Court is doubling, from 25 to 50, and is launching a Young Adult 18-25 track.

    “The drug court team was noticing that they were getting a lot of young adults, so we were able to procure funding to launch a new group specifically for young adults,” Potter said.

    More information about the county’s Diversion First program is available online.

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  • What’s new across DC-area school districts this year? – WTOP News

    What’s new across DC-area school districts this year? – WTOP News

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    The end of the summer is quickly approaching and it’s almost time to pack the backpacks and lunch bags again. Here’s what to know about what’s new in D.C.-area school systems this year.

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    WTOP’s 2024 Back to School Series: What you need to know for the upcoming school year

    From vaping, the cost of school supplies to cellphone policies, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.

    The end of the summer is quickly approaching and it’s almost time to pack the backpacks and lunch bags again.

    Here’s what to know about what’s new in D.C.-area school systems this year.

    DC

    DC Public Schools 

    Number of schools: 117

    Total enrollment: 51,294

    First Day: Aug. 26

    What to know: 

    Maryland

    Frederick County Public Schools

    Number of schools: 69 last year

    Total enrollment: 48,905 projected

    First Day: Aug. 21

    What to know:

    • Virtual programming for third through eighth grades was cut as part of the division’s fiscal 2025 budget.
    • The district is establishing a work group to study school start times, The Frederick News-Post reported.

    Montgomery County Public Schools

    Number of schools: 210

    Total enrollment: 160,770 last year

    First Day: Aug. 26

    What to know:

    Prince George’s County Public Schools

    Number of schools: 202 last year

    Total enrollment: 131,325 last year

    First Day: Aug. 26

    What to know: 

    Howard County Public Schools 

    Number of schools: 78 last year

    Total enrollment: 57,633 last year

    First Day: Aug. 26

    Anne Arundel County Public Schools 

    Number of schools: 129, according to AACPS Transportation

    Total enrollment: 84,346 last year

    First Day: Aug. 26 or 27, depending on grade level

    Virginia 

    Arlington Public Schools

    Number of schools: 42

    Total enrollment: 27,536

    First Day: Aug. 26

    City of Alexandria Public Schools

    Number of schools: 18

    Total enrollment: 16,439 last year 

    First Day: Aug. 19

    What to know: 

    Fairfax County Public Schools

    Number of schools: 199

    Total enrollment: 180,970 last year

    First Day: Aug. 19

    What to know: 

    Loudoun County Public Schools

    Number of schools: Opening 99th and 100th schools this year

    Total enrollment: 82,028

    First Day: Aug. 22 

    What to know: 

    Prince William County Public Schools

    Number of schools: 99

    Total enrollment: As of May, 91,739 for pre-K through 12th grade

    First Day: Aug. 19

    What to know: 

    Stafford County Public Schools 

    Number of schools: 33

    Total enrollment: 32,000

    First Day: Aug. 13 

    What to know: 

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • New pedestrian bridge near ‘dangerous’ Reston crossing is helping cyclists, runners feel safer – WTOP News

    New pedestrian bridge near ‘dangerous’ Reston crossing is helping cyclists, runners feel safer – WTOP News

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    There’s a new pedestrian bridge over Wiehle Avenue near Sunset Hills Road in Virginia, and runners and cyclists who have already used it said it’s making them feel safer.

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    New bridge in Reston helping cyclists, runners feel safer along bustling Wiehle Avenue

    Whenever Joel Kuester or one of the hundreds of other cyclists with the Reston Bike Club talked about having to cross the street at a busy and sometimes dangerous part of Wiehle Avenue, they compared it to a game of Frogger.

    The crosswalk wasn’t at an intersection, so it wasn’t a point at which drivers were used to stopping. The crossing didn’t have a dedicated signal either, and cyclists and pedestrians had to count on several lanes worth of traffic stopping. There are “turns in all different directions,” so it was also confusing, Kuester said.

    Supervisor Walter Alcorn, whose Hunter Mill District includes Reston, said he knows two people who have been injured at the crossing, and he’s heard of many others that have either been involved in an accident or a near-miss there.

    But now that there’s a new pedestrian bridge over Wiehle Avenue near Sunset Hills Road, many of those concerns have been addressed. The bridge opened July 24, and many people who have already used it said it’s making them feel safer.

    “It improves safety,” said Kuester, who’s vice chairman of the Reston Bike Club. “It allows us to continue on our rides without having to slow down and navigate the crossing. It just makes riding in this part of the town much, much easier and safer.”

    The $12 million project has been years in the making. It was complicated, Alcorn said, because it involved multiple property owners. The bridge primarily sits on Northern Virginia Parks property, but the county had to get easements in land rights from adjoining property owners.

    Then, earlier this summer, when it appeared the bridge would be ready to open, it was discovered that “there was not sufficient grounding for lightning strikes on the bridge,” which delayed the opening a few extra days, Alcorn said.

    There’s still lingering work to finalize some parts of the project, such as removing the mid-block at grade crossing that Alcorn described as dangerous for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.

    The Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail is closed on the west side of the new pedestrian bridge to finish road upgrades and build a new shared-use path along Wiehle Avenue. The sidewalk on the west side of Wiehle Avenue is also closed.

    A ribbon cutting, Alcorn said, will be scheduled for sometime in the fall, but “for purposes of using the bridge, it’s all good to go now.”

    Community members are already taking advantage.

    John Koss, president of the group Reston Runners, called the area a “major superhighway for outdoor recreationalists.”

    “Even though most of the motorists here are very courteous, sometimes they’d stop, sometimes they wouldn’t,” Koss said. “And if they did, you would only go halfway across to the middle island. You had to figure out what was coming the other way. But now this bridge simplifies everything.”

    Bruce Wright, with the group Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, said there have been many crashes at the site of the old crossing because it was close to a traffic signal.

    “There has been probably at least one crash a year at that intersection,” Wright said.

    Wright called the new bridge a “great way to get across Wiehle Avenue.”

    “We don’t have to worry about it; the motorists don’t have to worry about us,” he said. “So, it’s kind of a win-win.”

    Alcorn said the pedestrian bridge is one of the most expensive and advanced ways to avoid conflicts between cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. However, he said, the Board of Supervisors is working with Virginia’s Department of Transportation and other agencies to improve crosswalks and the visibility of crosswalks.

    The board, Alcorn said, has committed $100 million over six years to improve bike and pedestrian safety around the county.

    More information about the Wiehle Avenue pedestrian bridge is available online.

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  • DC drug kingpin Rayful Edmond transferred from prison to community confinement – WTOP News

    DC drug kingpin Rayful Edmond transferred from prison to community confinement – WTOP News

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    Rayful Edmond III, one of D.C.’s most notorious drug dealers, was transferred from prison to community confinement on Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

    Rayful Edmond III, one of D.C.’s most notorious drug dealers, was transferred from prison to community confinement on Wednesday and is set to be released before the end of next year, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

    Edmond, who oversaw a cocaine ring in the city during its crack cocaine crisis in the 1980s, is now either in home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center — known as a halfway house — the agency said. It doesn’t provide someone’s specific whereabouts for privacy, safety and security reasons, it said in a statement.

    WTOP has contacted Edmond’s attorney, Tiffani Collins, for comment.

    Edmond was arrested in 1989 and has been serving a sentence of life in prison without parole for drug distribution. He had another 30 years added to the sentence for selling drugs while behind bars.

    But Edmond cooperated with the government for 17 years, helping them prosecute over 100 drug dealers.

    During the 1980s, law enforcement said Edmond was making up to $2 million each week.

    His D.C. life sentence was reduced to 20 years, and the additional 30 years came from sentencing out of Pennsylvania. However, the Bureau of Prisons said he got a sentence reduction of 288 months, which he served.

    Edmond has served over 35 years in federal custody, and is projected to be released on Nov. 8, 2025.

    While Edmond has never been convicted of murder, some members of his inner circle have been linked to 30 murders.

    WTOP’s Neal Augenstein and Dick Uliano contributed to this report.

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  • Arlington swimming community celebrating Torri Huske’s gold medal in Paris – WTOP News

    Arlington swimming community celebrating Torri Huske’s gold medal in Paris – WTOP News

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    Damon Treitler regularly swims at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia, and each time he does, he notices Torri Huske’s name on the board there.

    It lists the record holders, and her name appears often. Behind the glass on display at the Yorktown Aquatics Center, many of the accolades bear her name, too.

    Treitler, like most across Northern Virginia, watched Huske edge out American teammate Gretchen Walsh to win the 100-meter butterfly contest in the Paris Olympic Games on Sunday. For some in the swimming community, Huske’s success was discussed often Monday.

    “My son is 16, he’s in high school, and all his friends are abuzz about, ‘Hey, Yorktown, hometown girl made good,’” Treitler said. “It’s happening. It’s all over the place.”

    Kathy Koczyk, who said she helped teach Huske the butterfly when she was a child, said Huske’s Olympic success isn’t a surprise. Even as a kid, she was a quick learner and great listener, Koczyk said.

    “What it proves to me, which is what I love, is it’s the technique,” Koczyk said. “Because you don’t have to have brawn and heights in the water if you have the right technique. You can beat even big people.”

    Meanwhile, Amy Potter said she used to swim the butterfly as a kid, “so I know how hard it is. And she was flying.”

    Outside the Long Bridge and Aquatics and Fitness Center near Crystal City, Miki said Huske is “amazing. We’re really lucky for her to be representing us.”

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  • Thousands more Prince William Co. students to get free school meals next year – WTOP News

    Thousands more Prince William Co. students to get free school meals next year – WTOP News

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    Thousands more Prince William County Public Schools students will have access to free breakfast and lunch next year.

    In Prince William County, 24 more schools will be added to the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools and school divisions to offer free meals to students without requiring applications.(WTOP/Scott Gelman)

    Thousands more Prince William County Public Schools students will have access to free breakfast and lunch next year after a major change to the criteria used to determine whether a school can offer free meals to the whole student body.

    Previously, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 40% of students at a school have to automatically qualify for free meals to make them available to every student at the school. But the agency recently changed that to 25%, and as a result, over 26,000 more students will be offered the meals in the upcoming school year.

    In Prince William County — Virginia’s second-largest school district — 24 more schools will be added to the Community Eligibility Provision. That allows schools and school divisions to offer free meals to students without requiring applications.

    “It just removes a barrier to participation in our meals,” said Andrea Early, the school district’s director of food and nutrition. “And so, the more kids we can draw into the program, the more good nutrition we can get to them, the more they can contribute to their academic success in our schools.”

    Now that more schools in the district will be offering the free meals, Early said the school system has launched a campaign to make sure families are aware of the change. For students at schools not covered under the Community Eligibility Provision, accessing the free meals requires paperwork, and eligibility is tied to income level.

    Abby Izzo, the band teacher at Parkside Middle School in Manassas, said she expects most of the students there to take advantage of the free lunch. Over half the students there were participating in the free lunch previously, but she said she expects more to start this fall.

    “They’re going to be more apt to learn, they’re going to be more apt to be successful, if they’re not hungry,” Izzo said.

    Dominick Izzo, a choir teacher at Osbourn Park High School, said the expansion of the program will help parents allocate money elsewhere for classes that have field trips or other costs.

    Osbourn Park is one of the two dozen schools where free meals will be available to every student this upcoming school year.

    “The students that I teach, in which lunch is free for them, seeing them walk into my room to eat lunch, having that hot meal every day is so important to a child’s happiness throughout the school day,” Dominick Izzo said. “Many of our students go home to a place where there isn’t a hot meal.”

    Scott Munnelly, an area manager with the division, said, “Kids come through the line, and there’s no thought of who’s paying for it, where it comes from, they’re just able to get a great, nutritious meal, and families don’t have to worry about incurring a debt for that.”

    The schools that will now start offering free breakfast and lunch to all students include:

    Elementary Schools

    • Antietam Elementary School
    • Chris Yung Elementary School
    • Coles Elementary School
    • Covington-Harper Elementary School
    • Kyle Wilson Elementary School
    • Lake Ridge Elementary School
    • Mary Williams Elementary School
    • Montclair Elementary School
    • Pattie Elementary School
    • Penn Elementary School
    • Rosa Parks Elementary School
    • Signal Hill Elementary School
    • Springwoods Elementary School
    • Tyler Elementary School
    • Victory Elementary School
    • Westridge Elementary School

    Middle Schools

    • Lake Ridge Middle School
    • Parkside Middle School
    • Potomac Shores Middle School
    • Saunders Middle School

    High Schools

    • C.D. Hylton High School
    • Osbourn Park High School
    • Potomac High School
    • Woodbridge High School

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  • Fairfax Co. offering partial reimbursement for flood mitigation projects – WTOP News

    Fairfax Co. offering partial reimbursement for flood mitigation projects – WTOP News

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    The county’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Program incentivizes renters and property owners to be proactive in making sure their properties are able to handle flooding.

    It hasn’t rained much across the D.C. region recently, but Fairfax County in Virginia is offering to reimburse residents and renters for flood mitigation projects.

    The county’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMAP) launched earlier this month as part of a plan to incentivize renters and property owners to be proactive in making sure their properties are able to handle flooding.

    Homeowners, condo associations, property owners and renters are all eligible, according to the program’s website. Places of worship are similarly eligible, according to Dan Schwartz, a soil scientist with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District.

    Residents and renters in the towns of Vienna and Herndon aren’t eligible because their townships are independent, Schwartz said.

    Renters who apply for reimbursement have to prove that the property owner approved the project. Homeowner or condo association projects have to be on community property.

    The idea for the reimbursement program has been considered for a while, but Schwartz said demand for such projects is increasing because “areas and neighborhoods of the county that didn’t use to really flood in the past are now seeing nuisance flooding, flash flooding.”

    “It only takes a couple of seconds for a property to flood, and in that seconds, we can have thousands of dollars of damage done to your property,” Schwartz said. “And, of course, flooding can be dangerous, as well, to your health and to your life.”

    To start the process, Schwartz said those interested will complete a project that’s eligible according to the program’s guidelines. Some of those, he said, include flood-proof windows, battery backup pumps and flood barriers.

    After completion, they’ll send receipts and photos of the final project to the county as part of an application. Only projects installed on or after July 1, 2024, are eligible.

    Applicants are then eligible for a reimbursement grant of 50% — up to $5,000 — Schwartz said. Applications for reimbursement are being accepted until the funding runs out. Anyone who applies after that will be placed on a waitlist to be considered if the initiative is funded for the next fiscal year, Schwartz said.

    Funding for the program, Schwartz said, comes from the Stormwater Service District Fee, which is a small part of the property taxes that property owners pay at the end of the year.

    “Taking some proactive steps to ensure that your property is as protected as it can be from floodwaters is a very important thing to do as a homeowner, and can potentially save you lots of money and lots of headache down the road,” Schwartz said.

    The program is based, in part, on a similar one running in the City of Alexandria, Schwartz said. The City of Rockville in Maryland also has one.

    Even if residents don’t live in a home or neighborhood prone to flooding, Schwartz said, “even a small project that can keep floodwaters out of your basement, out of your garage, out of your first floor can really pay for itself very, very quickly in the amount of damage that’s avoided.”

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    Scott Gelman

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