Volume 1, Issue 7
News from ACPS
Board Meeting Highlights
Following are highlights from the regular board meeting on January 11, 2024. You can view the full Jan. 11 meeting agenda in ESB. You can also watch a recording of the Jan. 11 meeting on our YouTube page.
2024 Leadership Appointments & Committee Assignments
The Albemarle County School Board held their annual organizational meeting. Judy Le, Rivanna Magisterial District, was elected Chair of the School Board for the 2024 calendar year, and Kate Acuff, Ph.D., Jack Jouett Magisterial District, was elected Vice-Chair. School board committee assignments also were approved and are posted on the School Board Members web page.
Questions? Contact Christine Thompson.
ELA Adoption Committee Recommendation
On behalf of the English Language Arts (ELA) Adoption Committee, staff presented a recommendation for a new reading curriculum, HMH Into Reading Virginia, for grades K-5. The board will vote on the recommendation on February 8.
Questions? Contact Chandra Hayes.
2024-25 School Year Calendar Recommendation
Staff presented a recommendation for the 2024-25 school year calendar and discussed the benefits and challenges of starting and ending the 2025-26 school year earlier. The board will vote on the proposed 2024-25 calendar on January 25.
Questions? Contact Jamie Gellner.
FY 25 Budget Development Update
Staff provided a brief budget update on the development of the FY 25 budget and solicited feedback from the board regarding the Draft Funding Request presentation scheduled for February 22.
Questions? Contact Maya Kumazawa.
Schematic Designs: High School Center II & Southern Feeder Pattern Elementary School
Division staff and Quinn Evans Architects presented the schematic design for High School Center II. Approval to proceed to design development will be requested at the January 25 school board meeting.
Division staff and VMDO Architects provided an update on the schematic design for the new Southern Feeder Pattern Elementary School. The school board approved the schematic design and directed staff to proceed to the design development phase.
The school board also approved an additional motion directing the chair to send a letter to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors outlining the difficult construction market conditions and formally requesting additional capital funds to cover the current funding gap for both the Southern Feeder Pattern Elementary School project and the High School Center II project.
Questions? Contact Lindsay Snoddy.
News from VDOE
TeacherDirect Newsletter
TeacherDirect is a weekly newsletter designed to provide a direct line of communication between the Virginia Department of Education and classroom teachers and educators. Subscribe to TeacherDirect to receive weekly updates from VDOE via email!
Some highlights from the January 10 issue include:
- Jamestown-York Foundation Director’s Series: Secretary of Education for Virginia – Jan. 17
- Creative and Critical Thinking with Art
- 2024 Power of Coaching Conference
- Strategies to Support EL Students in the Secondary Classroom
- Virginia Statewide LMS Credentials
- Bring The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts into Your Classroom!
- And more!
Virginia Education Update Newsletter
Virginia Education Update is a weekly newsletter from Dr. Coons, Superintendent of Public Instruction, that serves to communicate official information from the Virginia Department of Education to school divisions.
The January 4 edition contains items that may be of interest to teachers and other school division employees, such as:
- Grant Application for Critical Language Programs Due 2/29
- MOP Application Process Open until 2/1
- Governor Youngkin’s Amended FY 2024 and Introduced 2024-2026 Biennial Budgets & Calculation Template
- Virginia’s Waiver Programs to Support Students with Disabilities
- Level Up Virginia Website Now Available in Spanish and Arabic
- Single-Day or Two-Day Test Administration Available in Spring 2024 for Certain SOL Tests
More News from ACPS
Recent News
In case you missed it, check out this recent press release:
January 12, 2024 | Albemarle County Public Schools Administrators Recommend New Reading Curriculum for the 2024-25 School Year