How coronavirus has changed the college admissions process

While schools are closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, districts across the country have adopted alternative grading policies for the remainder of the academic year. Charlottesville City Schools’ middle and high schoolers who had a passing grade when schools closed on March 13 will automatically receive an A for each course, while those who […]

Class dismissed: School closings intensify equity issues

With Virginia’s K-12 schools shuttered for the remainder of the academic year, our city and county districts have moved into uncharted territory: figuring out not only how to teach thousands of students outside of the classroom, but also making distance learning accessible and equitable for all. The districts say they are still developing formal distance […]

In brief: Win for workers, dorm drama, and more

Shielding up While many businesses have been forced to close due to the coronavirus, grocery stores are busier than ever—and their employees have had to continue showing up for work, potentially putting themselves at risk. On March 31, some Whole Foods workers stayed home in a nationwide “sick out” to protest a lack of protections, […]

#selfcare. Corporate America-style

You see it splashed across social media— #selfcare. It’s one of the hottest buzzwords in wellness. (The hashtag appears more than 21 million times on Instagram.) Hashtags for #corporatewellness or #workplacewellness aren’t as sexy, but don’t let that mislead you. Corporate America has been in the self-care game for years. Whatever moniker you want to […]

History lesson: Local educators help expand Virginia’s African American history curriculum

Community leaders gathered at the University of Virginia October 28 for the first meeting of the Commission on African American History Education. Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins is among those appointed to the commission, which was established by Governor Ralph Northam. The purpose, says Atkins, is “to recognize that the African American experience […]

Bridging the gap: Charlottesville’s first supervisor of equity and inclusion talks about creating a new culture

When T. Denise Johnson was growing up in Charlottesville’s Westhaven neighborhood, she was one of the few black kids in her honors classes at school. Decades later, that’s a disparity that hasn’t changed—the city’s public school system has one of the widest racial achievement gaps in the nation. In both Charlottesville and Albemarle County schools, […]

Reboot: City’s gifted education program gets a revamp—and half a million

Less than a year after Charlottesville City Schools were called out in the national press for longstanding racial disparities, the city is paying nearly $500,000 to help remake its gifted education program. City Council approved the appropriation of $468,000 on August 5 to pay the salaries of six new gifted education teachers for the 2019-20 […]

Quest in context: Troubled roots of city school’s gifted program

Though the gifted education program in Charlottesville City Schools has recently come under fire for its racial disparities, such gaps have existed since the program was created in 1976, and may have even been part of its intention. At tonight’s School Board meeting, former Charlottesville High School teacher and Ph.D. student Margaret Thornton will present […]