The Virginia Daily Education News is a daily update (Monday through Friday) of education news throughout Virginia. Links are created to various newspapers throughout the state. Questions or comments regarding the Virginia Education News should be sent to herbc@vsba.org. Thank You - go here for Previous Issues of the Virginia DailyEducation News.
Homepage photos courtesy of Fauquier County Public Schools
Issue 1,973 - Late Wednesday - March 10, 2010
Two bills designed to safeguard Virginia schoolchildren in the cafeteria and on the field of play are heading to the desk of Gov. Bob McDonnell. Senate Bill 414 will require the state Board of Education to develop nutritional guidlelines and regulations governing what kind of food can be sold in public schools during the school day.Senate Bill 262 will also require the board to develop regulations and policies governing the treatment of student-athletes who suffer concussions. After clearing the Virginia Senate, both measures unanimously passed the House of Delegates and await McDonnell’s signature.
Supporting Effective Teaching Through Teacher Evaluation - A Study of Teacher Evaluation in Five Charter Schools
Issue 1,973 - Wednesday - March 10, 2010
NORFOLK - A middle school principal coerced teachers into fabricating students' work to help win state accreditation, then lied to get a teacher fired who refused to cheat and who reported testing problems to the division and the state, according to an investigatory report. In addition, the school division's top administrators refused to demand that Lafayette-Winona Middle School Principal Cassandra Goodwyn comply with state testing standards and dismissed the whistle-blower's evidence that he refused to bend testing rules.
A company that sells online education programs gave Virginia lawmakers more than $57,000 this past year and then helped develop legislation to regulate and expand virtual schools. The bill passed both the House and Senate this week.
The Roanoke City School board is threatening legal action against the state for massive cuts to education. The lawsuit: Whether the state has constitutionally failed in its duty to fund education. The board asked its attorney to research the possibility of a lawsuit
CHESAPEAKE- The School Board has decided to abandon its plan to hire a search firm to help look for its next head of schools. Following an outcry from employees and some community members about the cost, the board announced that it had unanimously decided to conduct the search itself.
The Pittsylvania County School Board voted Tuesday night to approve its one-time only early retirement and health insurance incentive program to reduce personnel costs for the 2010-11 school year.
The Senate of Virginia yesterday passed legislation to change the charter school application process in Virginia but preserve the authority of local school boards to approve or reject charter school applications.
A regional gifted program for high school students that emphasizes mathematics, science and technology may be in trouble if one or more of the larger participating divisions withdraws. About 275 students from seven localities currently attend the Roanoke Valley Governor's School, adjacent to Patrick Henry High School on Grandin Road in Roanoke. City schools Superintendent Rita Bishop said Tuesday the program may be in jeopardy if other divisions pull out.
Salem schools Superintendent Alan Seibert issued a sharply worded statement Thursday regarding the impact that impending state budget restrictions could have on schools, and warned of shrinkage of staff salary and benefits.
Three Lynchburg school board members said Tuesday that Superintendent Paul McKendrick will need to do more to win their votes for the closure of Perrymont Elementary. Albert Billingsly, Darin Gerdes and Charlie White all said they wanted more information before they would support closing the school as a K-5 elementary.
Much of the debate was about money Tuesday when the Senate approved Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposals for charter schools and two other education measures that Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, guided to passage.
TAZEWELL – A longer school day will greet students starting March 15.- The school board voted March 8 to add thirty five minutes per day to the school day starting March 15. The board did not set an ending day for the extra time.
Bland Top Teacher: Going from social worker to elementary school teacher was an easy transition for Gwen Vicars. The change was prompted by her belief that an early education can prevent many of society’s problems. “I found the solution is where education begins,” said Vicars, who is the 2010 Teacher of the Year at Bland Elementary School. “If you get in on the ground level, you can shape their life goals.”
Schools again plan to open before Labor Day - If there has been debate in Richmond in years past over Smyth County schools qualifying for the pre-Labor Day opening waiver, the winter of 2009-10 has strengthened the division’s case.
Facing the possibility of an additional $1 million-plus in state funding cuts, administrators with Grayson County Public Schools
VIRGINIA BEACH The School Board emerged from a closed-door meeting Tuesday night with the name of its third appointed member in four months: Ashley McLeod. McLeod, a former Old Donation Center PTA president who co-chaired the division's Facilities Planning Committee, was chosen on a 7-2 vote from among 15 applicants to fill Rita Sweet Bellitto's at-large seat for the rest of the year.
Members of the Gloucester School Board don't appear to be intent in turning T.C. Walker Elementary into a magnet school as a cost-cutting strategy. Parents and even a grandparent of students at the school pleaded with the School Board at Tuesday night's meeting to leave the school as a small elementary characterized by high-performing students and a dedicated staff.
The York County School Board received an update Monday night on the different versions of the state budget floating around Richmond, but didn't discuss the specifics of its own budget proposal.
The superintendent is scheduled to present his proposed 2010-11 operating budget to the Amherst County School Board this week, after awaiting definitive budget decisions from the Virginia General Assembly. A handful of Amherst County Public Schools positions could go unfilled in a tentative plan to cut costs, but the plan would be to take advantage of attrition, schools Superintendent Brian Ratliff told school board members in a retreat last month.
The very future of Colonial Beach schools may be up for grabs as a result of action by the Commonwealth of Virginia last week. Although Colonial Beach High School is fully accredited in Virginia for academic year 2008-2009, last week the high school was rated as “Not in Improvement” and designated “Tier II” by the Virginia Department of Education under federal standards measuring student achievement in English and Mathematics.
Krista Heres, librarian at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School for the past four years, has been selected the Virginia Educational Media Association (VEMA) Shenandoah Region Library Media Specialist of the Year. Ms. Heres was awarded this honor at the Regional VEMA Conference held at Blue Ridge Community College on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. As the regional winner, Ms. Heres was awarded a plaque and her Fall Conference registration and banquet fees will be paid by VEMA. As the Shenandoah Regional winner, Ms. Heres will be a candidate for VEMA School Library Media Specialist of the Year State Level competition. (no additional information)
Schools & School Divisions Recognized for Raising Achievement of Economically Disadvantaged Students - DOE REPORT
Issue 1,972 - Tuesday - March 09, 2010
On Monday night, the Chesapeake School Board approved a budget that eliminated several field trips, cut back on travel and training for staff, added new testing fees and raised tuition costs for adult education and driver's education programs. The budget that was passed did not include layoffs - but it's also very preliminary.
The Spotsylvania County School Board stared out at a sea of red last night as two-thirds of the roughly 300 people packing its meeting were teachers and staff who dressed in solidarity over concerns about a furlough policy. Though the board does not currently plan any staff-wide furlough days, teachers expressed concern about how any days would be implemented and whether a future board might apply the policy differently.
Susan Thanh Litwin, 37, of Woodbridge, Va., was arrested today on allegations that she stole approximately $279,000 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHS), a Fairfax County magnet school.
BRISTOL. – Career educator John Iskra hadn’t planned to run for the city School Board, but now finds himself in a five-person race. Iskra, 45, is seeking one of three seats in the May 4 election. Others include Randy Alvis, incumbent Eric Clark, Beth Rhinehart and incumbent Randy White.
The nine candidates running for four seats on the Newport News School Board will share their visions for the school district and field questions at a series of upcoming forums on March 25, April 8 and 15.
Henrico County’s School Board likely must cut another $17.5 million from its proposed 2010-11 fiscal year budget in order to react to proposed cuts in the 2010-11 state budget
At a meeting tonight, the Roanoke School Board is scheduled to discuss a list of proposed cuts to balance its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Closing Round Hill Primary Montessori School surfaced on the list, which is posted on the school division's Web site. Under the five-scenario budget proposal, closing the school may become a possibility at the $10 million deficit mark.
Anxiety over layoffs not new in teaching - In the old days, many teachers worked on one-year contracts and were handed pink slips every spring, so uncertainty comes with the territory.
Campbell Co - Teachers and staff at two schools in Rustburg on Monday mourned the loss of a Spanish teacher who died in a car crash Sunday evening. Hermione Joy Stickle-Wommack, 62, of Evington, died after her sport-utility vehicle was hit head-on by a car coming in the opposite direction in a no-passing zone on Leesville Road, police said.
Halifax County School Board members got their first good look at budget numbers Thursday night during their budget workshop, and what they saw is a shortfall in state funding ranging from just over $3 million to over $3.7 million.
Two versions of the next biennial state budget working their way through the General Assembly would restore millions of dollars in revenue to Frederick County Public Schools next year, officials said Monday.
Just one week after Grayson County school administrators proposed 56 personnel reductions, leaders said additional job losses are likely forthcoming.
Patrick County High School has received a bronze award in U.S. News and World Report's list of the best high schools in the United States
SUFFOLK The School Board decided again Monday to delay a decision on whether to close three elementary schools. Board members said they're hoping a retirement incentive, the restructuring of some departments and programs, and other smaller cost-savings measures will be enough to balance the 2010-11 budget.
Norfolk, Portsmouth preschool at risk in state budget - Norfolk / Portsmouth
Attendees laud community forum on Colonial Heights schools - Colonial Heights
Some Chesterfield supervisors question schools’ plans - A couple of Chesterfield County supervisors are questioning the school district’s plan to provide netbooks for all teachers and administrators and...
Hopewell students strive to build a better desk - HOPEWELL—First exams, then snow, slowed progress last month for a group of Hopewell High School students determined to design a cost-effective, user-friendly...
Henrico plans changes in programs for at-risk students - Henrico County school officials are preparing to change nontraditional programs that serve at-risk students. A review of the school system’s Department...
The Spotsylvania County School Board stared out at a sea of red last night as two-thirds of the roughly 300 people packing its meeting were teachers and staff who dressed in solidarity over concerns about a furlough policy.