It takes a Village

It took two men with a vision to create an all-girls village On the Tuesday before winter break, a spirited debate has broken out in Jamie Knorr’s sixth-grade history class at Village School, the all-girls middle school he and Proal Heartwell founded two decades ago. A few of Knorr’s students have just delivered their soliloquy, […]

Space invaders: CHS robotics team goes international

A group of Charlottesville High School students are on an espionage mission from NASA to capture photographs of a competitor satellite while managing a limited store of energy and avoiding having their own satellite’s photo snatched by the competitor. BACON, or the Best All-around Club of Nerds, has been doing a pretty good job at it, […]

Open dialogue: Group helps special education community

The parent of an eighth-grader who receives special education at Buford Middle School says her daughter doesn’t appear like she’s disabled. Lisa Torres’ daughter is moderately to severely dyslexic and has some difficulty with speech articulation, but she’s enrolled in advanced classes and also in the band. “I’m a parent who’s at a different end […]

Wyld thing: Parents at Buford concerned about recruiting tactics

When Manuel Lerdau heard from his seventh-grader a couple of weeks ago that a Christian youth organization was recruiting at Buford Middle School under the guise of a party, he became concerned. “Representatives from WyldLife were at Buford during lunch recruiting students to attend WyldLife events, and doing it in a way that was not […]

Making the grade: Your guide to an A+ school year

At the start of a new academic year, it’s inevitable that some students mourn their summer vacations and others feel happy to have something to do. Either way, going back to school can be a stressful time for both students and parents. Who’s picking Jacob up from football practice? And how much did Jessica’s scientific […]

Sweet Briar College to remain open after settlement approval

Students, faculty, and supporters of Sweet Briar College are breathing a sigh of relief that the home of the Vixens will stay afloat for at least another year. Following months of uncertainty over the future of the women’s liberal arts college after President James F. Jones announced in March the school would close due to […]

Supreme Court ruling opens door for new leadership at Sweet Briar

“Good news,” tweeted Amherst-area Delegate Ben Cline. “VA Supremes endorse our Sweet Briar argument. Back to Bedford Circuit for rehearing and hopefully injunction to stop closure!” With its opinion rendered less than two business days after an already accelerated hearing, the Supreme Court of Virginia has sent a message, according to legal analysts, that the […]

Legal Aid, Sexual Assault Advocacy Fund team up to support UVA victims

As University of Virginia grad Lisa Richey read the now retracted Rolling Stone article on sexual assault at UVA last November, she felt compelled to do something to make a difference. On an impulse just hours after the story’s publication, she launched an online fundraiser with the general but somewhat undefined goal of providing independent legal counsel to victims […]

“Never give in”: Polite defiance marks Sweet Briar graduation ceremony

College presidents don’t usually skip commencement, but the leader’s absence is just one of the bumps endured by the Sweet Briar College Class of 2015, which graduated Saturday. The largest earthquake in memory struck during their registration in August 2011. And now their college is going out of business—but not if the message delivered by […]