November 4, 2020
NewsDaily NewsNovember 4, 2020

November 18-20, VSBA Virtual Annual Convention
The VSBA Annual Convention is the largest and most anticipated VSBA meeting of the year. While this year our Annual Convention may look a little different, and we won’t get to see your smiling faces in person, we hope you’ll find our event schedule to be just as enriching and…

High School Students in Northern Virginia Create a Global Bioinformatics Research Fellowship
Three Indian American high school students in Northern Virginia have created a global research fellowship program. “While applying to selective research internships, we found that these programs were limited by the usually minimal funding that was allotted to them, and were…

Patrick County HS has positive, probable tests for COVID-19
Patrick County High School again is dealing with cases of COVID-19. Patrick County Superintendent Dan Gilbert announced in an email Monday evening that there had been one positive test and another probable and that those affected had been notified. “The staff and…

Franklin schools rebrand
Franklin City Public Schools recently rebranded itself with a new logo and website. According to Superintendent Dr. Tamara Sterling, the division officially switched over to its new look on Oct. 2, but conversations regarding rebranding have been in the works since 2017. Franklin’s…

F.C. Schools’ Issue Statement to Stick With Reopening Plan
In a statement issued on Oct. 26, the Falls Church City Public Schools announced that the hybrid reopening plan will continue as scheduled despite a slight increase in regional Covid-19 incident rates. The statement, published in the Monday announcements, said, “We continue…

Henrico Schools holding input session on three redistricting priority areas
Henrico County Public Schools will hold three virtual information and input sessions in November to discuss proposals to address specific school boundary situations. The Henrico School Board decided in September to discontinue the school division’s comprehensive…

Richmond Public Schools to begin decision-making process on returning students, teachers to classrooms
Days after Richmond schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said publicly he was “not optimistic” about returning students to classrooms in the spring, the city School Board on Monday discussed the process for making a decision, anticipated to come Dec. 7…

Lanier Middle School changes its name to honor NASA legend
The City of Fairfax School Board voted unanimously to change the name of Lanier Middle School to Katherine Johnson Middle School at their meeting on Monday. “The message to our middle school students is ‘Eagles can soar beyond these earthly skies at Katherine Johnson…

VHSL releases guidelines for high school sports to resume in December
Aday after Gov. Ralph Northam eased some restrictions on recreational sports, allowing high school athletics to resume in December, the Virginia High School League on Friday released its return-to-play guidelines. The amendments made by Northam were to his executive order on…

Virginia high school student launches thriving cookie business amid pandemic
Kids all around the DMV are online a lot recently thanks to distance learning, but one Northern Virginia high school student is online for a different reason –– she started her own dessert company amid the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has allowed 17-year-old Anjali…

Montgomery County Public Schools consider stipends, pay raises for employees
Montgomery County Public Schools is looking to implement pay raises and stipends for its employees, especially given this hard time with COVID-19. Monday, the superintendent made a recommendation to the school board to implement a $2,000 stipend for all employees and a…

Arlington Public Schools postponing in-person learning indefinitely with only 1 exception
Arlington Public Schools is postponing in-person learning indefinitely with the exception of students with disabilities, Superintendent Dr. Francisco Durán announced on November 2. APS will begin with Level 1 Return for a small group of students with disabilities on November 4…

Swords Creek Elementary to transition to remote learning Nov. 4; some Honaker Elementary students to go virtual
A Russell County elementary school will transition to 100 percent remote learning on Wednesday, November 4 after a staff member tested positive. According to a post from Russell County Public Schools, the staff member was at Swords Creek Elementary on Thursday…

Roanoke Bar Association works to provide washers and dryers to Roanoke City Schools
A backpack, some pencils, a notebook: some of the basics, needed to survive a day of school. All are a start in the right direction, but another basic is not as easy as the rest for many students at Hurt Park Elementary School: A set of clean clothes. “To be honest with you…

WiFi on Wheels rolls out to help rural students in Gloucester County
In March, as schools around the country shut down, an issue that has long impeded rural students threatened to become an insurmountable challenge: not all of them can get high-speed internet or a cell signal at home. That’s true for about 750 students in Gloucester County…

Wednesday November 18, 2020 Early Bird Session at the VSBA Annual Convention
Student Achievement and Success During Times of Uncertainty: The Early Bird session participants will gain various insights pertaining to the importance of a high quality systems approach relating to the core business of teaching and learning as well as establishing a…