Karl's Record - Karl Frisch for School Board

Addressing Learning Loss

Karl and his colleagues invested nearly $200 million in academic interventions and mental health supports. Recent data indicates FCPS is recovering more quickly than Virginia as a whole and many Providence District schools are leading the charge.

Recruiting and Retaining World-Class Teachers

Karl and his colleagues worked to recruit and retain world-class teachers and school staff by increasing pay three years in a row and offering bonuses and other pay incentives for critical positions like bus drivers and special education teachers.

Supporting Student Mental Wellness

Karl and his colleagues expanded access to counseling in summer months, embedding mental wellness in daily lessons at all levels, offered free tele-mental health services for high school students, and provided funding for increased counselor positions.

Enhancing Student Safety and School Security

Karl and his colleagues funded new state-of-the-art door locks, building dual-entrance security vestibules, innovative weapons detection systems, additional security officers, enhanced employee background checks, stronger cybersecurity protections, and more.

Addressing Fentanyl and Substance Abuse

Karl sponsored a successful proposal to ensure the school system is adequately addressing the threat of illicit drug use and fentanyl, and meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of students in recovery from substance use disorder.

Increasing Traffic and Pedestrian Safety

Karl sponsored a successful proposal to develop an annual School Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Assessment Program to help address student traffic and pedestrian safety. He also helped remove many school bus stops from dangerous, high-traffic roads.

Broadening Access to Advanced Academics

Karl and his colleagues took steps to expand access to advanced academics in every elementary school so students can receive more advanced programming at their local schools, and advanced curriculum is available to more students.

Focusing on Literacy

Karl co-sponsored a successful proposal to address early childhood and other literacy gaps with instructional practices grounded in phonics, phonemic awareness, and the science of reading. Early data already shows signs of tremendous progress.

Developing Early Math Skills

Karl and his colleagues funded an early numeracy plan to get students ready for Algebra by eighth grade, which provides a solid foundation for future math courses, develops critical thinking skills, and prepares students for college and career success.

Expanding Early Childhood Education

Karl and his colleagues funded additional preschool programs, including a plan to specifically expand inclusive preschools. Lack of preschool access is among the most significant drivers of achievement and opportunity gaps.

Helping Teachers Pay Off Student Loans

Karl sponsored a successful proposal to help teachers struggling under the crippling weight of student loan debt to pay off their loans through the U.S. Department of Education's public service loan forgiveness program.

Standing Up for Accurate History Instruction

Karl and his colleagues opposed politically motivated revisions to Virginia's history and social studies standards of learning, noting instruction should prioritize historical accuracy, critical thinking, diverse perspectives, and developmental appropriateness.

Protecting Our Libraries from Book Bans

Karl opposed efforts to ban books. While American public schools banned more than 1,500 books in recent years, Fairfax County Public Schools trusted teachers and librarians to select age-appropriate reading materials for students and banned zero.

Closing the Gun-Ban Loophole

Karl sponsored a successful proposal closing the gun-ban loophole, extending gun prohibitions beyond our schools to ALL school division property, including Gatehouse, where many parents and students visit and many educators work.

Preventing Gun Violence

Karl co-sponsored a successful effort to notify parents annually about ways to prevent gun violence and of their legal obligation to securely store their guns. The measure also ensured best practices for student instruction and professional development.

Approving a More Equitable School Calendar

Karl and his colleagues adopted a more operationally sound and inclusive school calendar that provides days off for select Jewish, Muslim, and other holidays observed in other local school systems where many of our staff live.

Passing a Student-Centered Strategic Plan

Karl and his colleagues worked with the community to develop and adopt a new comprehensive strategic plan to guide the school system's work through 2030, with excellence, equity, and opportunity at its center.

Increasing Parental Engagement

Karl and his colleagues passed a new family engagement policy and funded a dedicated family liaison position at each of the school system's 42 Title I schools as well as a family engagement representative in each of our six regions.

Enhancing Special Education Delivery

Karl and his colleagues passed a special education enhancement plan that, if fully implemented, can ensure fidelity of IEP implementation and make our school system a groundbreaking leader in special education.

Ensuring Educational Equity

Karl and his colleagues adopted an educational equity policy that will ensure all students have the same access to opportunities and that individual factors do not hold anyone back from reaching their full, unique and limitless potential.

Keeping Immigrant Families Together

Karl co-sponsored the successful School Trust Policy protecting immigrant students and families by prohibiting the distribution of personally identifiable information and barring voluntary cooperation with immigration officials without a court order.

Investing in Local Schools

Karl helped secure more than $300 million in funding for local Providence District schools, laying the groundwork for improved facilities, a new elementary school, upgraded playground and athletic fields, better security, and more.

Protecting and Supporting LGBTQ+ Students

Karl sponsored a successful proposal giving LGBTQ+ students the strongest protections and supports in Virginia, strengthening policies against bullying and ensuring students can show up authentically to school each day ready to learn.

Connecting Students with Local History

Karl sponsored a successful proposal establishing a joint historical markers contest with the Board of Supervisors, helping students discover and showcase previously untold narratives of the local African American community.

Removing the Confederate Stain from Our Schools

Karl sponsored a successful proposal renaming the final school in Fairfax County carrying a Confederate leader's name. He also sponsored a successful proposal allowing graduates from schools with changed names to request new diplomas.

Saving Blake Lane Park

Karl took advantage of shifting school population growth to relocate a new school construction project initially slated for Blake Lane Park, which was ultimately given to the Park Authority thanks to the advocacy of a very committed community.

Creatively Addressing Overcrowding

Karl sponsored a successful proposal to build a new elementary school on existing system property in Dunn Loring – a move that saved money and will ease overcrowding in the fast-growing Tysons periphery for years to come.

Strengthening Abuse Reporting

Karl sponsored revisions to the school system’s abuse and neglect reporting policy, requiring two distinct levels of reporting that offer students robust protections even stronger than required by Virginia law.

Establishing Collective Bargaining Rights

Karl sponsored the successful reversal of the school system's decades long opposition to collective bargaining and the ultimate adoption of its collective bargaining resolution that provides teachers and other school staff with a seat at the decision-making table.

Starting Middle School Sports

Karl and his colleagues funded a middle school sports program for the first time since the 1990s, helping student mental health and providing a sense of connection -- a major boost to communities where organized athletics can be cost prohibitive.

Monitoring Student Device Screen Time

Karl sponsored a successful proposal to provide parents and caregivers with details about their child’s screen time and application usage on school division-issued laptops. With increased device usage at all levels, this is an invaluable tool for parents.

Hiring the National Superintendent of the Year

Karl and his colleagues hired a new superintendent, selecting Dr. Michelle C. Reid, a seasoned and accomplished K-12 education professional and the previous year's recipient of the national superintendent of the year award.

Electrifying School Buses

Karl championed electrification of the school system's massive diesel bus fleet because they are cheaper to maintain and better for student health and the environment. To date, the number of electric school buses has increased by 30-fold.

Encouraging Energy Conservation

Karl co-sponsored the successful proposal committing the school system to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. Current energy conservation effort save the school system nearly $10 million a year, which is then reinvested in student success.

Karl’s Record