Crisis Management Messaging: Gov. Cuomo’s, Gov. Northam’s, VDOE’s, and FCPS’ Staff on “Distance Learning”
“Sorry this got to you and James”. ~Scott Brabrand, FCPS Superintendent
4.21.20, Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) Superintendent Scott Brabrand emailed this apology to Donald R. Fairheart, Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Staff, Division of School Quality, Instruction, and Performance, VDOE. (See document below.) James is James Lane, Superintendent of the Virginia Department of Education. To my knowledge, none of the emails Scott submitted to FCPS families, included the word “sorry”. His “sorry” followed an email from Alexander Cochran, Special Counsel to the Governor for Federal Affairs, Office of Governor Cuomo, to Stacey Brayboy, Director of the Virginia Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, warning:
“Three days into distance learning and Fairfax shut it down. Seems like they either didn’t test the stresses or did t [sic] prepare for the numbers. Not sure. However Lot of momma and poppa bears have turned into grizzly bears because of it out here in Fairfax county. Y’all should keep an eye on it and other school systems so it doesn’t roll up on ya.”
Stacey forwarded Alexander’s email to Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, Virginia Superintendent of Public Education James Lane, and Virginia Assistant Superintendent, Department of Policy, Equity, and Communications Holly Coy, with the message:
I am passing this feedback along to you. I am flagging this issue because this maybe come and issue that will be raised to you both from parents or even by the media directly to the Governor. I know we are allowing school districts to handle distance learning on their own but Fairfax County is one of the largest districts and listed as one of the top school districts in the state. Several of my colleagues who work for other Governors but live in Virginia have reached out to me to flag this with you both. Full disclosure my little girl is in Fairfax County school district. I am trying to have patience. However, others are becoming frustrated. Please help parents and the community understand how they are not equipped to provide distance learning and have so many issues. There are other districts and states who have had their programs up and running for weeks.
From there, Donald contacted Scott:
“We wanted to reach out to you to see if there is a way we can assist and support you moving forward? Also, we would like to collaborate with you on a response if you are interested.