Tag: K-12 schools

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Charlottesville City Schools has a new coordinator of school safety and security. Photo by Skyclad Aerial.

City schools hires safety coordinator

Regine Wright, Charlottesville City Schools new coordinator of school safety and security, will oversee the major components of the division safety model that were adopted in 2021. They include: safety and crisis-planning and training, monitoring of security systems, and the Care and Safety Assistant program.

Wright, who was hired on March 20, has hit the ground running, and spent her first week on the job meeting with principals and students, and listening to their suggested areas of improvement. She wants to build on the complex safety program already in place at Charlottesville City Schools, and make modifications as needed.

She intends to use established relationships with the CPD and different safety organizations, acting as an intermediary. “I’m hoping just to be one more link in the chain,” Wright says. “This position actually gives me a great opportunity to start meeting kids one-on-one and try to find out what their individual needs are, and if I can help facilitate getting these kids in the right program or to the right person to try to help steer them away from some of the violence.”

In addition, says Wright, school officials specifically called for tabletop exercises. “They were requesting more [tabletop exercises] so they can start talking with their management teams more on how to walk through certain scenarios, so they can already have a game plan,” she says.

A University of North Texas graduate, Wright served on the Charlottesville Police Department for eight years, initially as an officer and then as the department’s first Black female detective. She then joined the investigative team for the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, an organization that manages 28 public defender offices and two satellite offices serving communities throughout Virginia. 

Wright says she left the police department because she was “looking for a change,” but the jobs she then occupied left a void. “What I had been missing since I was [in] a police department is the connection to the community and actually feeling like I was serving,” she says. “That’s a big passion of mine, serving and giving back and helping others. And a couple of jobs I’ve held since I left the police department just weren’t really fulfilling that desire for me. When this job opened up, it seemed like the perfect solution. … Even just in the first week, it lived up to my hopes and dreams and expectations.”

Wright also has volunteered with city school students through Burnley-Moran Elementary’s Girls on the Run program, the Boys & Girls Clubs, and UVA’s summer track program for Charlottesville youth. She also conducted classroom presentations at Greenbrier and Johnson elementary schools and at CHS, and led training in the area of trauma and youth. 

“My main goal,” she says, “is to get in here and, you know, talk to the principals and the administrators and teachers as well as the kids and find out what they feel like the problems are and take a load off of them to have them [not have] to deal with the problems and not having to make the contact … and let me be that middle person. So they can focus more on, you know, teaching the kids.”

Surefire recipe for disaster

A room filled with packing peanuts, fireworks, and a St. Patrick’s Day-themed party at a University of Virginia fraternity. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot. 

Shortly after 10pm on March 16, Charlottesville police and fire departments responded to a fire at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house at 165 Rugby Rd. No injuries were reported, and, while the cause of the blaze has not been confirmed, it is suspected that it had something to do with a DJ lighting off small-scale fireworks in a room overflowing with packing peanuts. Ya think?

First-year student Anastasia Arfyeva was at the Kappa Sigma house when the incident occurred. “It was so weird,” she says. “We were standing outside the house, and all of a sudden, smoke started to come out of the windows. We were literally about to go in, and it’s so scary to think we could have been inside if we showed up five minutes earlier.”  

The UVA alert system reported the situation stabilized by 10:44pm. Kappa Sigma President Luke Stone has not commented on any public forum about the fire. 

In brief

Even more shots fired

On March 22, Charlottesville police responded to a shots fired incident on Cedar Hill Road at Wayne Avenue at around 9:23pm. There were no injuries, but several cars were damaged by gunfire, reports The Daily Progress. On March 26, police also responded to a shots fired call near Dice Street and Sixth Street SW at around 8:30pm. No injuries or damages were reported, according to NBC29. 

Assistant principal fired

Western Albemarle High School Assistant Principal Harold Hackney has been fired for allegedly allowing an intoxicated student to drive two other intoxicated students home on March 6. According to the Albemarle County Police Department, Hackney, 50, was charged with two counts of “causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.” Each count carries up to a 12-month jail sentence and up to a $2,500 fine. The students, who had allegedly been drinking off campus before returning to school around lunchtime, will not be charged—but “certainly are subject to disciplinary procedures,” ACPS spokesman Phil Giaramita told The Daily Progress.

Western Albemarle fired its assistant principal for allegedly allowing an intoxicated student to get behind the wheel. Charlottesville City Schools has a new coordinator of school safety and security. Photo courtesy Albemarle County.

Back in business

Good news, BBQ fans: Ace Biscuit & Barbecue is back in business. New owner Stefan Friedman, a longtime fan of the restaurant, reopened the beloved Rose Hill spot on March 23, less than two weeks after previous owner Brian Ashworth announced he was shutting down due to financial issues. “Ol’ Dirty Biscuit forever!” reads a March 21 post on the restaurant’s Instagram.

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PC: Supplied photo

Botanical garden plans move forward  

City Council unanimously approved the lease of city park land to the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont at Monday’s meeting, a significant step forward in the decade-long endeavor to establish a garden in McIntire Park. 

Formerly called the McIntire Botanical Garden, the garden’s name was changed by the board of directors because the parcel of land on which the garden sits was not donated by Paul McIntire, but rather was bought by the city and added to the park in 1972. 

The Botanical Garden of the Piedmont was designed by the international, woman-owned landscape architecture and urban design firm, Mikyoung Kim Design, in partnership with Charlottesville’s Waterstreet Studio. “Much more than just a simple garden,” the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont will feature 13 spaces for recreation and learning, including a Visitors and Education Center with an amphitheater, a redbud grove, and waterfall and stream gardens.

The proposed term of the lease is 40 years, and the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont will be allowed a five-year period to start construction of the garden, with an additional three years to complete it. 

At the meeting, several commenters spoke in favor of approving the lease. Now that the land lease agreement has been secured, the organization in charge of the garden can begin fundraising for the garden’s construction, said Executive Director Jill Trischman-Marks. 

Reconfiguration moves ahead  

Courtesy of City of Charlottesville.

Also at Monday’s meeting, council voted to put $75 million into the city’s capital budget to renovate and reconfigure Buford Middle and Walker Upper Elementary schools. The vote is a major step forward in the years-long process. Last month, VMDO Architects, which has been tasked with leading the schools’ redesign, released three possible conceptual plans for how the rehabbed schools might look (left)..” 

I am the only Black woman in the history of Virginia to ever make it on the ballot. But I can’t have my voice heard?

Liberation Party candidate Princess Blanding, after governor’s race debate organizers didn’t invite her to participate
alongside Youngkin and McAuliffe 

In brief

Mailing it in no longer  

Last weekend, the United States Postal Service issued an employee “surge” to Charlottesville, sending postal workers from around the state to the area to help clear the backlog of mail that’s plagued us in recent months. Senator Mark Warner informed Charlottesville and Albemarle County residents via email that additional mail carriers would be passing through mail routes multiple times over the weekend, including on Sunday, to resolve the issue. Warner says he’ll come back to Charlottesville soon to check on things.  

McAuliffe and Youngkin go at it again  

The second and final gubernatorial debate between Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe was held last week. Candidates were pushed by moderator Chuck Todd on vaccines and education, and the two clashed on abortion, with Youngkin confirming that he supports a “pain-threshold bill,” which typically bans abortions after 20 weeks, and calling his opponent “the most extreme abortion candidate in the country,” while McAuliffe asserted himself as a “brick wall to protect women’s rights.” Youngkin maintained his position that vaccines should not be mandated, while McAuliffe called the position “disqualifying.” Early voting is now open. 

You choose: shot or quit

“Several hundred” Virginia health care workers have resigned rather than get vaccinated, The Washington Post reports. That represents a tiny percentage of health care workers in the state: Sentara, which operates 13 facilities around the state including one in Charlottesville, says just 13 of its 28,000 employees have resigned over the coming vaccine requirement. UVA has given its employees until November 1 to get the shot, or they’ll be heading out the door.

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Rough road

Fleet of yellow school buses in a parking lot under a sunny blue sky
Area school bus systems have also been impacted by COVID. PC: Skyclad Aerial

By Mary Jane Gore

The wheels on the bus go ’round and ’round—until COVID hits. And since the start of the pandemic, city and county bus systems have encountered many bumps and unexpected curves.

Before COVID, the city averaged about 2,600 bus riders per day. Currently, that number is down to 1,033, and some buses are becoming emptier as ridership dwindles along certain routes. High schools in particular have light loads in some areas, as parents and some students have opted to drive. 

Fluctuation in the number of students who ride—and where they live—has meant constant adjusting for drivers. 

Typically, the school systems conduct one routing per school year. In 2020-2021, the Albemarle County schools routing staff used software (and bus drivers’ valuable knowledge) to generate five different routing schedules, as situations changed rapidly. 

Donna Fortune says the county, where she has driven for 11 years, was supportive when drivers returned to deliver students to in-person classes again. And she was happy to be behind the wheel again after being “heartbroken” when buses were suspended in 2020, because she missed her young passengers. 

“We were given good transportation and routing information,” Fortune says. “We received lists of all students, and what day of the week they are riding.” Learning the new, complicated routes wasn’t easy, though. Some kids go to school on Monday and Wednesday, some go on Tuesday and Thursday, and some go all four of those days.  

On Fridays, when most students attend school remotely, county buses shuttle supplies to kids—books, projects, equipment, paperwork—so they can work effectively at home. Buses also deliver lunch to those who need it.  

Drivers are worn out in general, says ACPS Transportation Director Jim Foley. Often, they drive two shifts each morning and afternoon to accommodate both elementary and middle/high school students. The drivers have also been tasked with disinfecting the bus, and are expected to enforce the mask requirement, which is tricky. Fortune says the kids have been excited to see each other, and are very talkative. “They enjoy socializing,” she says.

Some bus routes have few or zero kids on them, and others have had waitlists for seats, though the city school district says it has “been able to meet all known needs for students of families who elected in-person school and require bus service to attend.”

In the county, the largest bus holds 77 students, but during COVID that number shrunk to 25 with distancing, says Foley. All area buses have a one-child-per-seat policy, except for siblings, who can ride two to a seat. 

Foley says that children cannot pick and choose when they ride the bus. “If a student is not on the bus for 10 days and that information is verified with parents or through the schools, then that child would be removed as a bus rider, and someone on the waiting list would get a bus seat,” he says. The city follows a similar process for its routes.

Both districts have had difficulty recruiting drivers. Decreased bus ridership does not mean fewer drivers are required—routes cover significant ground and in many cases cannot be combined. The city was recruiting pre-pandemic, but the issue has worsened due to driver retirements and ongoing challenges with COVID-19.

Foley encourages people to apply for the now-$16-per-hour job. Drivers can gain Virginia Retirement System benefits with just six hours per day, he says. With a minimum five hours a day, 10 months a year, a driver gets health care benefits too.  

And riding the bus is better for the environment and safer than individual transportation: Foley says each full bus would keep about 36 cars from driving to schools—and school-provided transportation is eight times safer than parent transportation and 40 times safer than teen transportation.

Looking ahead, the city hopes to find more drivers for an anticipated summer school. The county plans to begin allowing two students per seat this summer. 

The county also plans to install new federally funded air filtration systems by the fall, Foley says. The HEPA systems are the same that airplanes use, and would make riding safer for more students at once. 

Meanwhile, school districts anxiously await news of expanded access to vaccines—Pfizer is expected to soon authorize its vaccine for use on children as young as 12. Phil Giaramita, ACPS strategic communications officer, says the schools will continue to adjust their transportation plans based on the experts’ vaccine recommendations. 

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Logged on

Exterior photo of Albemarle High School
While virtual learning has been difficult for many students and families, Albemarle County will offer a permanent online school for those who prefer learning outside the classroom. PC: Jack Looney

It’s been over a year since the coronavirus forced local schools to shut their doors and teach thousands of students online. Thanks to a significant drop in COVID cases and the arrival of the vaccine, many students and teachers have returned to the classroom, with health and safety precautions in place. Some students, however, continue to learn from home—and may have the option to do so permanently.

In addition to offering in-person instruction five days a week, Albemarle County Public Schools plans to launch an entirely virtual school this fall, equipped with its own principal, teachers, and students. Though virtual learning has been difficult for many students and families, county teachers say some children will benefit from a permanent virtual option. 

Unlike current virtual instruction, the standalone school will offer a full schedule of synchronous classes taught by live instructors. And students will be required to have their webcams on at all times. 

“Students who are learning online will still be able to be a part of the base school community,” explains county schools’ spokesman Phil Giaramita. “They can participate in athletics and clubs. They can run for student government. They still have all of the capabilities of the social part of school.”

Because the online school will have its own set of teachers, students won’t have to deal with the challenges that come with hybrid learning. In order to comply with social distancing measures, those in fourth grade and up are currently alternating between in-person and virtual instruction, combined with independent assignments. Some teachers have been required to teach students in the classroom and on Zoom at the same time, a set up Albemarle High School geography teacher Chris Bunin describes as “really challenging.” 

According to the ACPS’s latest survey, eight to 10 percent of county families—1,000 to 1,400 students—are interested in enrolling in the online school. More than 80 percent of the division’s families responded to the survey. 

Since March 15, pre-kindergarteners through third-graders have been able to receive in-person instruction four days a week, while fourth grade and up can come into the classroom two days a week. 

But 42 percent of the school division—around 5,000 students—are sticking with online learning for various reasons. While some do not yet feel safe returning to the classroom, others have learned and performed better in a virtual setting.

Virtual learning has been especially helpful for English language learners, explains ESOL instructor Gini Knight, who currently teaches virtual classes at Monticello High School.

A lot of my students actually do better virtually, because the nature of language learning is you need to see someone’s mouth, and you can’t do that very easily when someone has a mask on.

Gini Knight, Monticello High School ESOL teacher

“A lot of my students actually do better virtually, because the nature of language learning is you need to see someone’s mouth, and you can’t do that very easily when someone has a mask on,” says Knight, pointing to the mask mandate the school division must follow. 

Zoom breakout rooms have also made it easier for students to collaborate on projects, and for teachers to work on-on-one with those who are struggling.

“They all can see the exact same thing at the same time. They can share their screens. It’s almost as though we’re closer together. And it’s more of a shared experience,” Knight says.

On the elementary level, third grade teacher Kate Gerry has seen her “wiggly kids” benefit a lot from virtual learning.

“They’re just pacing their room while I’m talking. They’ll come over and unmute and tell me what they’re thinking and keep pacing. And they’re totally there and attending and it’s not an issue, since no one is sitting right next to them getting bumped into,” says Gerry, who currently teaches virtual classes at Broadus Wood Elementary. 

“They can also read out loud and there’s no one next to them who can’t concentrate,” she adds.

Teachers have found online learning to be helpful for students with social anxiety, who may prefer to work in their own private space. The all-virtual school will also be beneficial for those who are homebound due to a prolonged illness or injury. 

When the pandemic shuttered schools last spring, nearly 1,000 households in the school division did not have access to high-speed internet. To bridge this digital divide, ACPS purchased hotspots for families in need, and partnered with Comcast to provide a subsidized low-cost internet plan. 

“With the technology capabilities we’ve given to families, [the online school] wouldn’t be exclusionary. Almost anyone who wants to participate would be able to,” says Giaramita.

In the coming weeks, principals will reach out to families about their plans for the fall, but parents will have the option to change their minds once the school year begins. If there is enough demand, the school division hopes to make the online school a permanent option for all students. 

The division’s plans for next school year will be discussed at the next school board meeting on May 6.

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In brief

Side profile of Mayor Nikuyah Walker sitting on the dais during a city council meeting
A poem published last week by Mayor Nikuyah Walker was applauded by some, while others said she’d gone too far. PC: Eze Amos

Mayor’s poem sparks conversation 

Last Wednesday morning, Mayor Nikuyah Walker posted a poem on her Facebook and Twitter pages. “Charlottesville: The beautiful-ugly it is. It rapes you, comforts you in its cum stained sheets and tells you to keep its secrets,” the mayor wrote.  

The poem grabbed the attention of people in and outside town, with some applauding the mayor’s candor and others arguing that her choice of words represented a bridge too far. Within hours, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Fox News, and others had written about Walker’s poem. 

In a Thursday evening Facebook Live video with former vice-mayor Wes Bellamy, she elaborated on her post. 

“When I wrote that poem, it did exactly what I was hoping it would do—besides the ‘everybody across the country talking about it’ part,” Walker said. “But I wanted to hit a nerve.”

She also said she feels she was elected to speak freely, and that she has consistently offered sharp critiques of the city. “This community said you wanted something different,” she said. “And you all said that you were open to being challenged.”

Bellamy supported Walker. “A lot of us throughout our community, we like comfortable activism,” he said during the stream. “We like calling these things out in a way that makes you feel good. But not in a way that’s true, that’s going to get to the root of the issue.”

Bellamy also shared experiences from his own four-year stint on council. “Being a Black elected official is one of the most challenging things you’ll ever have to do,” he said. “We have to navigate things people have no idea about. So when we share our art, it’s easily misconstrued, because people are looking at it from their vantage point.”

Two of Walker’s colleagues, Councilors Heather Hill and Lloyd Snook, released a joint statement on the poem on Friday.

“As White individuals, we can only dimly understand the present-day impact of America’s history of slavery, lynching and sexualized violence toward Black people in general, and toward Black women in particular,” the councilors wrote. “We do not—because we cannot—share her pain; no one can judge someone else’s pain.”

They continued, “But it can never be appropriate for our Mayor—as our leader and as our representative—to use terms of sexual violence to characterize the City of Charlottesville. The ‘rape’ metaphor was salacious, but it was also jarring and hurtful to victims of sexual assault and rape.”

The councilors wrote that they wished Charlottesville was receiving national attention for the positive steps the city has taken in recent years, specifically citing increased investment in affordable housing. “Our future success depends on the good will and the desire for unity of people of all backgrounds,” they concluded. “This poem did not help build that unity.”

City Council’s next meeting is Monday, April 5. 

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Quote of the week

“I personally don’t think we should be arresting or penalizing
somebody for something we’re getting ready to legalize.”

—Governor Ralph Northam, talking about potentially moving up the date marijuana will become legal in Virginia 

_________________

Council competition 

The Charlottesville Democratic Party will hold competitive primaries for two local elections in June. Four Democrats qualified for the City Council ballot before last week’s filing deadline. School board member Juandiego Wade, UVA planner Brian Pinkston, social entrepreneur Carl Brown, and software engineer Josh Carp—who declared his candidacy 48 hours before the deadline—will compete for two party nominations this summer. In the fall, the two winners will face off against two independent candidates, entrepreneur Yas Washington and sitting Mayor Nikuyah Walker, for a pair of council seats. Washington initially declared her candidacy as a Democrat but did not manage to qualify for the party’s official ballot and has decided to continue her campaign independently. Current City Councilor Heather Hill is not seeking re-election.

Anything in common?

The Democratic primary will also see Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania attempt to fend off a challenge from former public defender Ray Szwabowski. Both consider themselves progressives. Platania was elected in 2016. Szwabowski is running under the slogan “Time for change.”

Atkins moves up

Earlier this month, Charlottesville City Schools’ longtime superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins announced her retirement, effective May 31, sharing that she would like to spend more time with her grandkids. However, it seems she is not quite ready to be a full-time grandma—in July, she will be joining the Virginia Department of Education as the assistant superintendent for talent acquisition and development. Meanwhile, the school board has appointed former teacher and principal James Henderson as Atkins’ temporary replacement. A new permanent superintendent will be selected by October.

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First look

Photos of city school board member Jaundeigo Wade, UVA project manager Brian Pinkston, and entrepreneur Yas Washington
The Four Dems who’ve recently thrown their hats in the ring for two City Council seats participated in a virtual forum last week. PC: Supplied photos, Eze Amos

City Councilor Heather Hill and Mayor Nikuyah Walker’s terms expire at the end of the year, and four candidates have thus far declared their intention to win those seats. Earlier this month, social entrepreneur Carl Brown announced his bid for City Council, joining Charlottesville School Board member Jaundiego Wade, UVA project manager Brian Pinkston, and entrepreneur Yas Washington in the race. Walker is running for reelection, and Hill has not made an announcement either way. The candidates will compete for two Democratic nominations this summer, and the two winners will run with Walker, an independent, for the open council seats in the fall. 

On Wednesday evening, the Fry’s Spring Neighborhood Association hosted a virtual forum for the four new candidates. The panel was the first event at which the whole group appeared together in the same place, and the candidates shared how they plan to address a range of pressing issues, from the affordable housing crisis to dysfunction inside City Hall.

During his opening remarks, Brown, who was born and raised in Charlottesville, emphasized his deep roots in the community and leadership within local organizations, allowing him to have a “good understanding” of the city’s needs.

Pinkston, who unsuccessfully ran for council in 2019, highlighted the collaborative skills he’s gained from his 17 years in project management, while Wade pointed to his 16 years serving on the school board, and his 20 years working as a transportation planner for Albemarle County.

Just 23 years old, Washington touted her campaign work for Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley and 5th Congressional District candidate Dr. Cameron Webb. She’s also served as a youth counselor, and founded her own communications business, Rocket Science Integrated.

On the topic of affordable housing, Wade said there needs to be more collaboration—and compromise—between the city, developers, and neighborhood associations.

Brown argued that neighborhood associations should have more control over development plans. 

“I just don’t feel like we should be making those determinations from our standpoint to say this is going to go in this neighborhood, [particularly] when they run that neighborhood,” he said. “We need to see more representation from the neighborhood standpoint…and then we can go from there.”

Washington discussed the various challenges that come with R-1 zoning, which limits development to one unit per lot. Other zoning categories, like R-1B, are needed to build affordable housing, she said. 

Forum moderator Jason Halbert later asked the candidates how they would put a stop to the high turnover in city leadership, and frequent clashes between councilors since the 2017 Unite the Right rally.

Washington said she would focus on building a strong council and City Hall, in order to properly support the city manager. Wade promised to bring calm and consistent leadership.

I think just bringing two people off of [council] is going to change the chemistry and dynamic of the entire board, and give us an opportunity to start from scratch.

Carl Brown, City Council Candidate

“I think just bringing two people off of [council] is going to change the chemistry and dynamic of the entire board, and give us an opportunity to start from scratch,” said Brown.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m buddies with Michael [Payne], Sena [Magill], or Lloyd [Snook], but I know I can work with them,” echoed Pinkston. 

The candidates also discussed the Capital Improvement Program, the city’s five-year budget for large infrastructure projects. Halbert mentioned that in Fry’s Spring, residents have long advocated for improved pedestrian and bicycle safety on Stribling Avenue—the future site of a controversial 170-unit development—but council has yet to address the problem. Around town, other neighborhoods have similar issues, as a growing Charlottesville juggles development, transportation, and other concerns. 

“The issue that I see with the [Capital Improvement Program] is that large priorities come up every couple of years,” said Pinkston. “What I would do is that I would sit down with the city manager, [and] make a point that, yes, we need to fund these large things, [but] we also need to make sure this backlog of things like sidewalks doesn’t fall off the radar.”

Drawing from his background in transportation, Wade pointed to the variety of funding options available for small-scale infrastructure projects.

“There’s always some type of safety grant,” said Wade. “And now with UVA’s new positioning on being more friendly to the neighborhoods, I would go to UVA [and] say, ‘Hey! This is a $20,000 project—is this something that you can do?’”

Washington suggested such projects could be funded by the $500,000 already included in the city’s operating budget for sidewalks.

The Capital Improvement Program also currently sets aside $50 million for school reconfiguration, a low estimate for the project’s current price tag. All four candidates recommended the city consider additional funding options for the massive project.

“We need to think about community partners, a foundation, ways of raising money,” said Pinkston. “That might be the sort of thing where we issue a bond referendum.” 

The candidates were divided when it came to raising taxes. Washington supports potentially increasing the property tax rate, hoping the money will be used to help better fund public works projects. Wade and Pinkston, meanwhile, said they would be very hesitant to raise taxes.

Brown expressed concern about rising property assessments—a consequence of gentrification.

“I think homes should be taxed at an individual rate for what they were purchased for, or what their value was at that point in time, and not for the entire scope of every home in that area,” said Brown. “We need to come up with some way where we’re not putting people in a bind, where they are having to give up their properties because of what’s built around them.”

The Democratic primary will be held on June 8.

Correction 3/17: The original version of this story suggested that the city planned to raise the property tax rate in next year’s budget, but it does not.

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In brief

Governor Ralph Northam reads a book to school children
PC: Zack Wajsgras

Welcome to Governor’s school

Governor Ralph Northam came to town last week, stopping by Venable Elementary on Thursday to check in on city schools’ gradual reopening of classrooms. In February, Northam directed all schools in Virginia to make some in-person learning available to students by mid-March, after the CDC released information about managing virus transmission in schools. At Venable, Northam read aloud to a second-grade class from We’re Going to be O.K., a children’s book about surviving the pandemic, written by Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton and Dr. Leigh-Ann Webb of UVA hospital.

Superintendent steps aside

After 15 years at the helm of Charlottesville City Schools, superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins is retiring. Her last day is May 31.

“I’m so honored to have served the students, families, staff, and community of Charlottesville,” said Atkins in a press re- lease. “I’ve actually postponed this decision for a while due to the pandemic, but I’m at a point where I want to spend less time as superintendent and more time as Nana.”

Since becoming superintendent in 2006, Atkins has spearheaded the creation of a division-wide preschool program, championed social-emotional learning, and redesigned gifted education, earning an array of national awards for her work.

Dr. Rosa Atkins PC: Eze Amos

Under her leadership, graduation rates for Black students have increased by 25 points. Meanwhile, suspension rates have significantly dropped.

Atkins has also served on multiple organizations, including Governor Northam’s Commission on African American History Education, which worked to improve the state’s Black history curriculum.

“We thank Dr. Atkins for her calming presence, her bold work to promote equity, and above all, for her commitment to children,” said school board chair Lisa Larson-Torres in a press release. 

The school board will meet this week to discuss the search for a new superintendent.

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Quote of the week

“July 4 with your loved ones is the goal.”

—President Joe Biden, in a speech this week about the country’s COVID recovery plan 

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In brief

Civilian Resignation Board 

Another member of Charlottesville’s Police Civilian Review Board has resigned, the second person to do so since the board began meeting in July. This time, Dorenda Johnson is the one on her way out. The board’s meetings have been tense of late, with a recent meeting culminating with board chair Bellamy Brown feeling the need to assert that he is “not a misogynist.” Johnson signed off with an email saying simply: “Good evening please accept my resignation.” 

Statue on the move?

Last month, the city put out a call asking anyone who wants the West Main Street statue of Sacagawea cowering behind Lewis and Clark to just come and take it already. Amazingly, it seems like there might be some interest in the hulking, racist casting—Charlottesville received nine responses to its call for information, report city officials. Responses will be reviewed before determining if any of the offers are viable. 

Getaway driver

Jaunt, the area public transport system, is accusing their former CEO of budget shenanigans. This week the organization put out a statement saying that auditors found “the CEO purchased numerous expenses for goods, services, and travel, which violated internal control policies of the corporation.” Former Jaunt boss Brad Sheffield, who resigned in December, maintains his innocence, though Jaunt says Sheffield was pushed out as the company was “no longer comfortable with [his] business judgment.” Not a lot to be jaunty about over there right now.

Photo of Brad Sheffiled stepping off of JAUNT bus
Brad Sheffield PC: Amy and Jackson Smith
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Face lift

Exterior photo of Walker Elementary School
If city school reconfiguration moves forward, Walker Upper Elementary would be converted to a preschool, with the building also housing a health clinic and counseling services. PC: Staff photo

In the best of times, it’s difficult to balance the big-ticket projects in Charlottesville’s Capital Improvement Plan, the city’s five-year budget schedule for large infrastructure projects. That’s only become more challenging during the pandemic, when municipal coffers have taken a hit. Last week the Planning Commission debated the merits of a variety of upcoming projects, including a controversial $10 million parking garage downtown. Whatever City Council ultimately decides to do about the parking garage, another other major expenditure looms in the near future: school reconfiguration.

The proposed school reconfiguration project is designed to decrease the number of transitions students go through from elementary to middle school. The district would move fifth grade from Walker Upper Elementary, which houses fifth and sixth grades, back down to elementary schools, and sixth grade up to Buford Middle School.

“That’s just a tough time,” explains Charlottesville School Board chair Lisa Larson-Tores. “You get into a building and then you get settled and start to make relationships—then you’re leaving again.”

“Fifth graders really are developmentally more aligned with elementary school,” she adds. 

Walker would then be revamped into a centralized preschool with wraparound services, including a health clinic and counseling. 

The 54-year-old middle school would also get a badly needed makeover, which doesn’t come cheap.

“A lot of these school buildings are the same buildings, maybe the same auditorium seats that some of our city councilors sat in when they were going to school,” says Larson-Torres. “We will be upgrading to the physical spaces that these kids deserve.”

A lot of these school buildings are the same buildings, maybe the same auditorium seats that some of our city councilors sat in when they were going to school.

Lisa Larson-Torres, Charlottesville School Board chair

The school board first began discussing reconfiguration in 2008, but had to put it on hold when the recession hit. Though the project was mentioned on and off over the years, it was not officially revived until around 2017, following a school growth and capacity study suggesting that reconfiguration would help to address achievement gaps and equity issues.

“We had [an] architect come in to lead public forums, meet with us to provide different options, and provide some of the framework that the board used to then make our decision as far as which direction we wanted to go,” says Larson-Torres. 

While the city’s negotiations with an architecture firm were halted at the start of the pandemic, they resumed last fall, putting the school board in “wait mode,” explains Larson-Torres. 

“We are waiting to hear whether or not the contract has been finalized with the architect that was chosen,” she says. “Right now there’s lots of transition going on, [with] the new city manager coming in and the city attorney. All of those people are a part of this.”

In the Capital Improvement Plan draft, the city has set aside $50 million as a placeholder for reconfiguration, but the architect contract will give a more realistic price estimate and timeline.

During a February 3 budget work session, councilors largely agreed that the West Main Streetscape could be paused in order to allocate more funding to school reconfiguration. However, it remains unclear if any other adjustments, like a tax increase, will be needed.

If council ultimately decides not to move forward with reconfiguration, the school district will have to find another way to update its aging infrastructure, which could cost just as much as reconfiguration.

“It’s my sincere hope that we get to the next step, and that everyone is willing to take a deep breath and understand this is an investment this community and our kids deserve,” says Larson-Torres.

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Eat up

Cultivate Charlottesville’s Shantell Bingham talks with a student about nutritious lunches. PC: Courtesy Cultivate Charlottesville

Since the spring, Charlottesville City Schools has given out hundreds of free to-go breakfasts and lunches daily. But for many students, particularly those with special dietary needs, these meals have not been enough to alleviate food insecurity—now at an all-time high.

“Families are struggling to put enough nutritious fresh foods on the table…and the meals that come out of the nutrition department aren’t as wholesome as they could be,” says Shantell Bingham, program director of the Food Justice Network, a branch of Cultivate Charlottesville. 

Last week, the network launched its Healthy School Foods campaign, advocating for the Charlottesville School Board and City Council to allocate an additional $125,000 per year over the next five years to the district’s nutrition department. The funding would go toward providing more fresh nutritious meals, as well as expanding the available dietary options.

“This is a campaign that’s mostly been ignited by youth and students in the schools,” Bingham says. “Our job as a greater coalition and community is to put our full force and support behind them.”

If the funding is approved, Cultivate Charlottesville, the PB&J Fund, Culinary Kitchen, and other local nonprofits plan to provide matching funds and assist with meal planning. Students have already begun trying new recipes and creating menus, says Bingham.

When this happens during school, I may skip a meal and only eat snacks that day.


Jayleana Lovely Brown, third grader at Clark Elementary

In addition to spreading awareness about the campaign on social media, the Food Justice Network invited several of its student interns to share their personal struggles and concerns with the school board and City Council during a joint budget work session on Thursday evening. 

As a vegetarian, Aina Hidayat, a 10th grader at Charlottesville High School, has very few food options at school, she explained to the school board. Before the pandemic, she had to eat salads almost every day. And if she did not get to the cafeteria early, it would run out, leaving her with little else to eat.

“During the pandemic I haven’t been able to eat the school lunches,” she said. “The only vegetarian options are the peanut butter and jelly. I would really like to see more options for people like me.”

Ninth grader Hallie Good used to eat school lunch every day, but eventually decided to pack her lunch because the meals were not healthy enough. She remains concerned for the students who do not have the same privilege and resources, and have no choice but to eat whatever their school serves—or go hungry.

To manage her ulcerative colitis, Jayleana Lovely Brown, a third grader at Clark Elementary, requires certain foods. The school lunches have been inconsistent in meeting her needs, often forcing her mother to “cook up something better” with the meals delivered to their home. 

“I’m lucky to have a mother who can work from home, but not every kid has this,” Brown said. “Even before the pandemic, I didn’t have my mom in school to magically change my meal to something good. When this happens during school, I may skip a meal and only eat snacks that day.” 

Several school board and council members commended the students for speaking out, and agreed to further discuss the campaign with Cultivate Charlottesville, most likely during the school board’s next meeting on February 4.

“The school board and the City Council, young people of CCS, are going to work to address your issues,” said board member Leah Puryear.