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The Braddock Buzz: Musical Honors, Maintaining Academic Excellence, & More!

Hello Neighbors!

I hope you all have settled into this new school year now that our first month is officially in the books (dad pun intended)! I enjoyed getting to attend a number of Back to School Nights (including at my own kids’ school).

I’ve had a number of great meetings with parents, staff, and students, including one with my colleague Ryan McElveen (At-Large) with the Robinson Rambassadors, a student-led program with almost 200 high school students. The Rambassadors help with the transition for all new Robinson students by helping connect them with peers, activities and opportunities. 

I also had a blast at the Woodson pyramid’s Cav Carnival with my colleague Karl Frisch from the Providence District. I couldn’t let Karl have all the fun, so I volunteered for the dunk tank, where I was immediately hit by some kid at Canterbury Woods Elementary (if the Nationals need some new pitching, they should scout there).

On a serious note, I testified at the Board of Supervisors meeting last week about pedestrian safety, recognizing both the mistake that was made in removing crossing guards from high schools, and also the opportunity for our boards to collaborate with each other to make our community safer. 

I'm grateful to everyone who has turned out to advocate for this issue, and I think this demonstrates our collective responsibility to keep our communities safe.

I recognize we have limited resources, but there are ways we can share both this responsibility and our resources to improve pedestrian safety - including sharing data, reviewing and establishing new safety criteria, and advocating jointly to VDOT.

Additionally, the Board of Supervisors proposed and approved a Joint Task Force to Address Pedestrian Safety in Fairfax County School Zones between the Board of Supervisors and School Board. As a dad, School Board member, and a resident, I'm ready to support this in every way I can.

At a recent Work Session, we discussed the Safe Routes to School Report, and I want to recognize Ravensworth Elementary’s exemplary efforts to improve safety that were noted in the report:

Ravensworth Elementary School serves as a strong example of how operational changes, staff involvement, and collaboration between the school and SRTS can significantly improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety. The implementation of revised Kiss-and-Ride procedures has resulted in measurable improvements, reduced unsafe driving behaviors, and increased satisfaction among families.  

As always, I love to hear from you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to braddock@fcps.edu to share your thoughts.

Yours in Service,

Tom Dannan

Braddock District Representative

A Word From Your Braddock District Supervisor

Dear Neighbors, 

Fall is in full swing, as we can tell from the weather outside!