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Schools

Thomas Jefferson Expansion Project Community Forum

The Falls Church City Public School Board held a community forum Thursday night to address resident concerns regarding the upcoming Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Expansion Project.

“Here We Grow Again,” is the slogan for the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School expansion project for which the Falls Church City Public School Board held a community forum Thursday night for at the school.

The expansion will add 12 new classrooms and extend the cafeteria size to address the needs of the school's community, as the school is projected to reach its total capacity in student size by the end of the next school year.

The school board was awarded a $3 million Qualified School Construction Bond from the Virginia Department of Education as part of the federal stimulus package.

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Superintendent Dr. Lois Berlin sat in on a discussion panel in which school board members and city council listened to comments and concerns from the local community, teachers and parents about the expansion project.

Among the concerns was the impact on the surrounding neighborhood during the construction phase, child safety on site during construction as well as impact on the curriculum for moving fifth grade class rooms into the new building.

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“We know from the survey results that play space is a very important factor, not only during the school day, but for the community as well,” Berlin said during the discussion forum. “All you have to do is walk outside this evening before the forum and you saw that there are kids and parents playing and using the grounds, so we want to be able to maintain that."

One resident brought up the issue of green space, and was concerned that the city is choosing to build onto essentially its’ largest open green space.  School board and city council members though pointed out the site restrictions set on many areas of Falls Church, especially due to zoning regulations within Fairfax County.

The area upon which the new classrooms will be built was marked off by cones and people attending the forum were able to stand in the area to see just how big the new space would be.  The addition slightly juts out onto the existing outdoor basketball court.

Berlin estimates that construction on the site will begin in December, and the school board takes great consideration in choosing a contractor that has experience building on school sites while the normal school day activities are occurring so that children and teachers remain safe.

“I want to stress that construction has a beginning and an end,” Berlin said. “It is going to be different for a little while, it is going to be a more constrained site during that time but it will come to an end.”

The city goal is to complete the expansion between late 2012 and early 2013, there is no set completion date yet.  The school board projects grades 2-5 to occupy the new space for the 2013-2014 school year.

Berlin also pointed out that the new incoming superintendent Dr. Toni Jones of the Deer Creek school district in Oklahoma has experience in expanding and building new schools so citizens can be assured that the most effective process will take place for all stakeholders involved.

Residents can send their comments and concerns to Tjproject@fccps.org.

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