STEM Education Demand Fulfillment and Workforce Development Crisis Growing in Loudoun

Loudoun County Public Schools has promoted its vision for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education for many years. Per the most recent web information, "Loudoun County Public Schools has many exemplary programs designed to answer the call for STEM education. The Loudoun Governor's Career and Technical Academy at Monroe Technology Center (MTC) and the Academy of Science (AOS) at Dominion High School are specialized programs that meet these goals. Additionally, LCPS offers students a variety of STEM courses and opportunities that are rigorous, demanding, and help students develop skills required for the 21st century."  This includes a new focus on "integrated STEM education for all LCPS students".

What's not mentioned is Loudoun's participation in the regional Governor's magnet school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) in Alexandria (Fairfax County).  Loudoun, like other jurisdictions around the nationally-renown school, invests about $13,000 per student in annual tuition for students who are accepted to attend.  Over the past decade, the number of Loudoun students qualified to attend this extremely rigorous, competitive program has hovered somewhere around 40-50 students, making the long trek to Alexandria each day to participate in STEM programs not available anywhere else in the entire state.

The investment has paid dividends – for example, of the 14 students from Loudoun recently named National Merit Semi-Finalists, 6 attend TJHSST. Loudoun's participation in the Governor's school program has helped attract many families, businesses and economic development benefits over the years, as a participating jurisdiction supportive not only of VA's growing list of STEM academies, but also of Virginia's "Governor's School Program" (TJHHST is an example, serving most of Northern Virginia).

A perfect storm, however, has developed with respect to Loudoun student and family demand for STEM education outgrowing the supply.  Primarily the result of very significant demographic shifts over the past 10 years (particularly in Eastern Loudoun, supported by the newest "cottage industry" of "TJ Test Prep"-style tutoring), hundreds more Loudoun students (about a thousand in this past year) are applying for advanced STEM offerings at the Loudoun Academy of Science program (which only offers about 65 slots each year), and for one of usually about 50 slots at TJHSST - though this year, that number increased significantly to 72, an unprecedented number of acceptances.  Only about 130 very advanced, deserving Loudoun STEM students are able to pursue rigorous programs that meet their capabilities, out of the rapidly growing numbers who apply.

Half of this opportunity for Loudoun students will shortly disappear – the TJHSST renovation activities are (per Fairfax County) requiring participating jurisdictions to pony up support (Loudoun's bill is close to $11M) or drop out of the program.  While Loudoun may support current and the newest students (i.e. the next 2 years), future support is most likely to end, under the current political posturing.  Fairfax County's "capstone" to its vaunted Gifted program (Advanced Academic Program), i.e. TJHSST, is under significant internal County pressure to offer more slots to its own growing population of deserving County residents (and children of registered voters).  Loudoun has no such capstone currently (nor comparable gifted programs), and it will be many years, perhaps decades until this is made possible (through perhaps expansion of the AOS, expansion of the MTC, a slowdown in new school construction, etc.).

So here we stand, with no clear solution – rapidly increasing demand for advanced STEM in Loudoun, a significant, probable loss among the already slim set of offerings, and rapidly growing momentum and requirements in the County to provide current and future businesses and investors with a STEM-educated workforce – to maintain Loudoun's self-designated role as "D.C.'s Technology Corridor". As well, private offerings are non-existent; there are no private High Schools close to Loudoun offering the breadth and depth of curriculum as is available at TJHSST (or AOS), and recent attempts to create a new "Math and IT" charter school failed miserably.

Notwithstanding the political ideal bubbling within Fairfax regarding TJHSST reverting from a regional, Governor's school to a Fairfax County HS for the Gifted, it does seem as though several avenues of solution don't seem yet to have been explored – that maintain a Return on Investment (ROI) benefit for all Northern Virginia and VA taxpayers, educators, colleges and universities and businesses.

For example, TJHSST is indeed a very old, run-down facility, and requires upgrade – simply to continue to meet public school occupancy standards for any Northern Virginia region.  This expense, it would seem, is solely Fairfax's to bear – and Loudoun taxpayers indeed shouldn't be responsible for these costs.  The additional "accoutrements" (i.e. specialty labs, equipment, faculty, etc.) implemented to accommodate TJHSST's status as a Governor's STEM Magnet School, however, are those that in reality might be proper reason for co-investment by all participating jurisdictions (and grounds for more input from the State) – since these aren't available anywhere else.

(Update - it does appear Loudoun is questioning the State regarding whether local taxpayer funds can be used for capital expenses in another jurisdiction).

Also, while TJHSST is supported in many ways by the local and regional business community – much more can probably be done by each jurisdiction to persuade businesses and Universities to more aggressively support (and perhaps brand) elements of the TJHSST Capital Improvement Plan. Additionally, options for families or businesses to pay student tuition (outside Fairfax) directly, or through business-supported scholarships, can be developed.

What other solutions or forums for input, should be addressed, not only regarding Loudoun and TJHSST, but other near-term solutions entirely within Loudoun?

(Update - the Loudoun County Public School System recently put out a survey, underway till the end of May, that asks the question regarding preference for "participation in TJ" vs. "prefer to expand our own Academy of Science (AOS) program and slowly phase out our participation in TJ".  This second choice of expansion will require many, many years and significant investment to accomplish, as the AOS program and TJ aren't close to being equivalent - AOS is new, small, health sciences focused and part-time, while TJ is the opposite, along obviously with its national and international recognition built over several decades. )

Dulles South Alliance - Loudoun County Schools, Transportation 2013 Update

Dulles South Alliance - Loudoun Growth, Transportation, Education
Today's Dulles South Alliance meeting was overstuffed with information concerning the Loudoun County Dulles South area and vicinities, focused on education and transporation topics for 2013. The central theme revolved around very significant, ongoing growth in population and the local jobs base, with enormous resultant and guaranteed pressures on Loudoun budgets for schools and road projects.

After welcoming remarks by Scott Plein (DSA President), Dr. Julie Leidig (NVCC Provost) opened the session with an overview of NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College), including news on planning for further expansion into Loudoun County. NOVA is the largest source of college education in the DC area, with over 78,000 enrollments annually, representing students from over 150 nationalities. In helping to close the gap between regional workforce and education needs, particularly in the healthcare support and IT industries, a second Loudoun campus is being strategized for the Brambleton area.

In other news, the "SySTEMic Solutions" program may offer a summer robotics camp in Loudoun this year, as well as at its Prince William campuses. Through SySTEMic Solutions, NOVA has created a collaborative arrangement among school divisions, higher education institutions, and employers to develop a sustainable workforce that by the year 2015 will have more than 3,000 students preparing for STEM careers.

Loudoun Supervisor Janet Clarke (Blue Ridge District) provided an overview of growth and density issues for that District, which extends East to the Dulles Airport through including Brambleton and Kirkpatrick Farms areas of the general Dulles region. The primary message was that of continued growth and pressure on County budgets, particularly for transportation and schools. The Dulles Landing project (Arcola and Rt. 50), coming online by the end of this year, is an example of critical retail outlets needed by the Dulles area population, along the Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park (in planning stages only, with initial funding expected in the upcoming 2014 budget). This 254 acre park straddling Evergreen Mills Rd in the Arcola area would include disabled-access playgrounds, many soccer and baseball fields, and other significant parkland amenities. Additionally, the agreement between Loudoun and Fairfax City, owner of the Beaver Creek Reservoir in Loudoun, has now expired (evidently to the detriment of a nascent high school Crew club), and discussions are ahead to revitalize.

Jeff Morse, Dulles District School Board Member, provided an update on all local school building and capital improvement planning, including new schools coming online to relieve current overcrowding at Pinebrook and Liberty Elementary Schools, and projected overcrowding at the corresponding Middle and High Schools. Much dialogue remains by the School Board, to close the $50M+ gap between the School Supervisor's (Dr. Hatrick) recommended 2014 budget and guidance provided by the Board of Supervisors. Some relief may come in rebalancing and allocations associated with post-employment benefits and healthcare costs. New turf fields for many schools have specific cost-benefit gains, particularly if efforts to provide public/private funding succeed (with local Sports Booster organizations). The sole Charter School application received last year was rejected for weaknesses in academic, financial and governance models - though, according to Jeff, was a very good idea at its core and worthwhile to continue pursuing.

Other opportunities to enrich the quality and content of Loudoun academics include dual enrollment in high schools with NOVA, plus a strategy for a new Loudoun magnet school on a Sycolin Rd property, focused possibly on the Arts and additional STEM offerings as currently available at the Monroe Technology Center (a Virginia Governor's Career and Technology Academy). The School Board is also supporting about 60 local business-to-school relationships, where businesses support a school through donations in employee service, supplies or program assistance - including support for Lego League teams, plus academic contests and programs like that offered by the Oracle ThinkQuest Education Foundation and other companies. Note also that the Loudoun Department of Economic Development (DED) will shortly introduce a new "Intern Match" service, to attract Interns from Loudoun, the DC region and the rest of the country to positions with Loudoun-based businesses.

Bob Chase (President of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance) provided some stark reminders and strong advocacy (as the Virginia General Assembly begins its session tomorrow) for additional, regional and local investment in road infrastructure - absolutely critical to support the needs of our region and county, and imperative given the projected loss of state roads construction funds after 2018. "Investment" will likely include new local taxes, tolls and considerable participation and collaboration on the part of local political organizations and landowners to avoid significant gridlock and loss of business in the very near future.

Charles Yudd (Assistant County Administrator) provided further updates on local transportation progress, including progress on the Rt. 606 widening around the Airport and over the Horsepen Run Dam, Rt. 50 and the parallel, east-west collector roads. Scott Plein closed the meeting with an introduction to the next meeting in March, discussing the pending explosion in healthcare-related business and infrastructure requirements soon to come, driven mainly by the HCA Hospital and Emergency Center (HCA Virginia's StoneSpring Medical Campus) being now built on Rt. 50.