Congratulations to Ms. Rachel Baxter and Ms. Krissy Ronan on their recognition as the Region 5 FCPS CARES Region of the Month Recipients, presented by the FCPS Department of Human Resources.

The FCPS CARES Program allows parents, staff, and community members to recognize FCPS employees for going above and beyond to help others and show they care. We invite you to submit your story below, so we can all acknowledge the good work of FCPS employees.

Below is the write-up submitted by Pierce Bello, a colleague at Marshall High School.

I have been teaching English at George C. Marshall High School for 18 years and have worked with Ms. Krissy Ronan and Mrs. Rachel Baxter, our respective librarian and SBTS, as well as Equity Team leads, for several years. Rachel and Krissy have been champions of equity in both roles individually and united as Marshall's Equity Team leads. As Marshall's librarian, Krissy acts as an additional member of any curriculum team. Whenever a curriculum team leader wants to supplement any literature unit with activities or lessons encouraging students to consider marginalized or underserved voices, Krissy creates suggestions and even offers to lead these activities. Krissy also encourages curriculum teams to consider adopting texts that reflect the diversity of the students within our classrooms. Her recommendations have enabled me to teach contemporary works allow previously unseen students to be seen in our novel studies. Thanks to Krissy's recommendations, the additions of the novels "The Poet X," "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter," and "All American Boys" have turned more non-readers into readers to discuss relevant and meaningful topics about family dynamics, social justice, identity, and societal expectations as the protagonists in these stories come of age. 

As Marshall's SBTS, Rachel leads the faculty and staff in considering equity in our grading practices. Rachel helped to spearhead the faculty and staff's reading of Joe Feldman's text "Grading for Equity" so curriculum teams and the school could consider what more equitable practices that ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed academically, regardless of their background, socioeconomic status, or other factors are. Rachel also highlights resources within FCPS' digital ecosystem that create a positive learning environment and allow all students to participate and feel valued, respected, and capable of success. This year, Rachel helped the wellness and Advisory co-leads prepare students for the county-wide rollout of Portrait of a Graduate Presentations of Learning. Rachel collaborated with faculty stakeholders to create activities and lessons that would allow both faculty and students to better prepare for these activities and enable students to reflect on how they grew this school year. 

Together, Krissy and Rachel lead the Equity Team and create opportunities for students to vocalize equity areas of improvement throughout the school. In Equity Team meetings, students discuss what would make Marshall a more equitable school and students work in teams with a faculty sponsor through project-based learning. This student-centered approach empowers students to improve the school's areas of growth. This year alone, students collaborated together to organize World Heritage Night, recorded a podcast to discuss equity, and created a midyear clubs and activities fair that enabled students to increase their sense of belonging here at Marshall. Through their efforts and in collaboration with the FCPS 2023-2030 Strategic Plan, we maintained or improved favorable percentages recorded in our school's Spring 2024 SEL Screener results. Our students' Sense of Belonging, Cultural Awareness, and Action percentages increased due to events that Krissy and Rachel support to make equity more visible. 

Most recently, Krissy and Rachel presented with Principal Jeff Litz at our April faculty meeting that despite our school improvements, there are always ways to grow and lead a workshop about how faculty and staff can better respond to everyday prejudice, bigotry, and stereotypes. Krissy and Rachel also welcomed Dr. Manuel Gomez Portillo, FCPS equity specialist, to engage in reflective conversations with students about the intent, power, and impact of our words and actions. Krissy and Rachel are worthy of the FCPS CARES Award for their continued advocacy of equity with both students and staff to build a more equitable society.

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