July 20, 2021, VSBA Conference on Education
Join hundreds of school division leaders from across Virginia at the 35th Annual VSBA Conference on Education. We are pleased to have Governor Ralph Northam in attendance, with our afternoon keynote presentation from the Aldrin Foundation! There will also be a time for…
A sneak peek at the new Shihadeh Innovation Center
Katie Lockhart, Winchester Public Schools’ Career and Technical Education coordinator, was incredibly excited as she walked through the halls of the almost complete Emil & Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center. Following years of planning to make the Innovation Center at…
Could a School-Board Fight Over Critical Race Theory Help Turn Virginia Red?
Before Covid-19 forced its students into online classes, Loudoun County’s bimonthly school board meetings were often dry exercises in bureaucratic wrangling: Haggling over AP textbook availability and public construction projects. Poring over budget proposals for custodial…
Bracing for impact: Child protective agencies fear increase in cases
Detecting child abuse often requires a keen sense from a trained adult. A child might subtly hint at something to a teacher, or a pediatrician might notice visible signs of neglect or abuse during a check-up. Sometimes, a family friend overhears something troubling. But as with so many…
Alexandria City Council redirects funds from SROs to mental health resources
Despite objections from a majority of its school board, the Alexandria, Virginia, City Council voted Tuesday night to spend funds originally meant to pay school resource officers (SROs) to hire more mental health professionals. The council decided in May to eliminate the $789,909…
What are the new vaccine requirements for school-aged children in Virginia?
School-aged children have four new vaccine requirements in the state of Virginia, which went into effect on July 1. During the 2020 General Assembly session, legislators voted to amend the Code of Virginia to require the Hepatitis A, Meningitis, HPV-Gardasil and Rotavirus vaccines…
PCHS recognizes employees, teachers
Congratulations to the following Employees and Teachers at Pulaski County High School – CTE Department. Toni Bowman was recognized as the Teacher of the Year for the 2019-2020 school Year. Christy Underwood was recognized as the Teacher of the Year for the 2020-2021 school…
Appomattox Senior FFA places 1st in state
Appomattox Senior FFA received top honors at the 95th Virginia FFA Convention. A hybrid three-day virtual and one-day in-person convention took place in Rockingham County. The chapter placed first in the National Chapter Award contest. Out of 186 chapters and 9,901…
Always a song and Hope for her students
Room 9 at John Yeates Middle School was the ideal place for Hope Paquette’s math classroom. “It was perfect,” Paquette said. “It’s across from the gym. I get to make all the noise I want. And it’s at the parking lot, so I get to see parents when they come to pick up their students from…
20 bus driver positions open at Lynchburg City Schools
Lynchburg City Schools says a large shortage of bus drivers is to blame for adjusting school start and end times. The district released the upcoming school day times for each level Tuesday. Those changes stem from a shortage of about 20 bus drivers. They say the problem…
City eyes bonus for school bus drivers to ease shortage
New and current Charlottesville school bus drivers could earn a $2,400 bonus under a plan presented to the City Council on Wednesday. The council will receive a more detailed presentation about the bonus, as well as other incentives, before voting on the $332,952…
ACHS online students complete digital ‘Maiden’ magazine
While COVID-19 has brought many challenges to Amherst County Public Schools, one positive outcome came in the form of “The Maiden,” a media arts magazine designed by students in an entirely digital format. Cyndi Kelley, a former English instructor at Amherst County High…
Portsmouth Public Schools creates change with adoption of VA transgender policy
Change is coming to Portsmouth Public Schools when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance. The board recently voted in favor of adopting Virginia’s Transgender policy, which calls for gender-neutral bathrooms, educational topic inclusivity and programs to help transgender…
Webinar, August 4, 2021: What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate
Often, communication issues within the board or between the board and superintendent are not problems, but rather are indications there are governance issues that need to be examined and strengthened. Learn how to analyze common “Communication issues” in order to identify.…