![Standing center stage, senior Ananya Akula conducts the Phoenix Chorale. “[Conducting and teaching] is really fun,” Akula said. “Music education is what I want to do.” On the day of the choir assessment, Akula found out that she received the President’s Music Scholarship – a full ride to the University of Miami Frost School of Music.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ananya-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Fatima Qaderi grew into the person she wanted to become when she was younger and continues to work towards growing more confident in using her voice when it matters. “I didnt get treated the way I wanted to be treated, and I realized that it wasnt just them treating me the wrong way, it was me treating me the wrong way,” Qaderi said. “I forced them to like to look at me in a way where Im someone who needs to be respected; they cant just disregard me, they cant just look over me because I have a different opinion, because Im a woman, because Im Afghan, because Im Muslim, or whatever. It just took going through different experiences to figure out how [I wanted to] be heard.” Photo courtesy of Fatima Qaderi.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3870.jpeg)
![With the energy and effort the Bolts were bringing to the game, the Phoenix had to step up and match them to make it through their first game of the season. Many of the girls on the team, including freshman Nazly Rostom, have been playing soccer since their childhood and have grown a love for the sport as a result. “It was fun to see how we actually played in a [real] game,” Rostom said. “Even though the outcome was not what we were hoping for, I’m still happy we got to play together.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0154-1200x800.jpg)
![Held up by a group of cheerleaders, flyer sophomore Leyu Yonas poses as part of a stunt, also supported by flyer junior Shayne Mitchell behind her. (Left) Prior to the pink out football game on Oct. 13, the athletes practiced in the aux gym from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Right) On Oct. 19, the cheerleaders competed in their District Championships at Woodgrove High School. “We definitely put all our effort on the mat [at Districts], and it showed,” Mitchell said. Left: Photo by Nadia Shirr. Right: Photo by Steve Prakope via Victor O’Neill Studios.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/feature-image-1200x823.png)
![Sophomore Xavier Smith (6), the Phoenix quarterback, runs the ball as his teammates help hold up the defense. “My [offensive] line collapses, so I just [have to run], and its a good way to get first downs because [Tuscarora’s] defense was really good,” Smith said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5383-1200x897.jpg)
![As the referee throws the ball up for the tip-off, freshman Simone Diby leaps towards the ball to get it in Phoenix possession. Diby is a new member of the Phoenix girls basketball team, and despite it being a change, she finds it enjoyable. “It’s definitely a different experience if you’ve never played on a team, [but] I think it’s still fun.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0057-1200x662.jpg)
![Gracing stages, football games, and even the big screen, Taylor Swifts popularity doesn’t seem to be declining anytime soon as she’s been almost everywhere on social media, and just this December, [Swift] won TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year award. This brought along magnificent pictures of Swift, articles praising her, and some controversy between Swifites (Swifts most devoted fans), and other people on whether or not she should have won this award.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/taylor-swift-person-of-the-year-1-1094x1200.png)
School Board Meets to Discuss Proclamations, Denied FOIA Requests, Virtual Loudoun Elementary, Board of Directors
On April 25, the School Board answered the questions surrounding the denied FOIA requests, the idea of reinstating Virtual Loudoun Elementary, updates on nutrition funds, and policy revisions.
The School Board, devoted to ensuring the education of all LCPS students, in person or online, made an effort to reinstate the Virtual Loudoun Elementary option at their April 25 meeting.
May 18, 2023
On April 25, the LCPS School Board held their fourth Tuesday meeting to go over the possible reintroduction of Virtual Loudoun Elementary, consolidated several proclamations and revisions to policies, answered questions the community had about denied FOIA requests, and explained the School Board and Board of Directors meeting as well as the school nutrition funds in regards to the School Breakfast Program.
Virtual Loudoun Elementary
Since its creation, the Virtual Loudoun Elementary program has been highly effective in teaching students online. No learning model like it had been used prior to COVID, and the data shows that this program was truly helping students achieve their goals online. However, the school board did not include it in their FY24 budget.
By popular demand, and by demand of the current stakeholders, it is clear that LCPS needs this program and it should be valued. Another driving factor in the push for the program is the fact that there are no other similar programs that teach as well as Virtual Loudoun Elementary.
The school board moved to try and reintroduce the program by trying to compile more data and make an informed decision on whether or not bringing back the program is a good idea.
Denied FOIA information
Students who attempt to obtain data from other students for analysis often use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to try and get more “confidential” information, such as test scores or past student records. Recently, the school board has been called out for being not transparent enough in their reasoning for denying students access to such information, even under FOIA.
The school board claimed that they cannot allow showing test scores because of personally identifiable information tied to them. The board also said that under FOIA itself, scholastic records are exempt from FOIA as well as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which say that LCPS is responsible for protecting students’ personally identifiable information, even from being released via school records and FOIA.
Not only this, but FERPA and FOIA both state that scholastic records, whether or not they have the student’s name redacted, still may hold personal information with regards to that student and therefore exempts it from mandatory viewing if students asked for it.
Policy Revisions
The school board revised two older policies and is gearing up to accept the creation of a new one this meeting. The new policy, policy 8440, deals with student-athletes and sudden cardiac arrest. It states that if a student-athlete is experiencing symptoms that could lead to a cardiac arrest, they should be removed from play immediately.
The other two policies that were revised were policy 8640 and policy 3070. Both were changed with regards to the Special Grand Jury Investigation on Scott Zeigler. Policy 8640 was about the disclosure of student personally identifiable information and other education records, and was revised with better wording and clarity. Policy 3070 pertained to safety and emergency related communications, and was revised due to several recommendations from the LCPS legal team.
Mental Health Awareness Month and National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention Day proclamations
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that rates of depression and anxiety in children in the U.S. from ages three to 17 increased 29 percent in the last four years. To help combat this, LCPS strives to acknowledge mental illnesses in children, encourage treatment for mental illness in kids, and overcome the stigma surrounding mental help and reaching out most of all. They are doing this by proclaiming the month of March as the Mental Health Awareness month.
To combat the use and instruct students on the dangers of fentanyl, LCPS adopted the proclamation that May 9 will be the National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention day. This will be the second annual one as the outbreak in Fentanyl in young kids, primarily teenagers, has only begun to grow.
School Nutrition Funds and the Annual Plan for Special Education and Application for Federal Funds
The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) had the 2023-2024 annual plan presented to them for feedback, and was passed through with the requirements that it must include school-aged funding, proportionate share calculations, and early childhood special education funding. Not only this, but the plan provides LCPS a total of $13 million to help pay for all the needs of LCPS special education students.
The School Board brought up how it was entitled to receive $559,770 from the Commonwealth of Virginia and how those funds must be accredited to the School Nutrition Program and may not be used for any other purpose. This money was given to improve lunches, but also greatly enhance participation in the School Breakfast Program.
This will be discussed by the Board further in the May 9 meeting as an action item unless otherwise directed.
The next School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 9.
![Standing center stage, senior Ananya Akula conducts the Phoenix Chorale. “[Conducting and teaching] is really fun,” Akula said. “Music education is what I want to do.” On the day of the choir assessment, Akula found out that she received the President’s Music Scholarship – a full ride to the University of Miami Frost School of Music.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ananya-600x400.jpg)
![Senior Fatima Qaderi grew into the person she wanted to become when she was younger and continues to work towards growing more confident in using her voice when it matters. “I didnt get treated the way I wanted to be treated, and I realized that it wasnt just them treating me the wrong way, it was me treating me the wrong way,” Qaderi said. “I forced them to like to look at me in a way where Im someone who needs to be respected; they cant just disregard me, they cant just look over me because I have a different opinion, because Im a woman, because Im Afghan, because Im Muslim, or whatever. It just took going through different experiences to figure out how [I wanted to] be heard.” Photo courtesy of Fatima Qaderi.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3870-600x471.jpeg)
