It’s that time of year again: Kids are headed back to school. As both county and city school divisions prepare for the annual return of students, we’ve collected updates on a few hot topics in local public education, from starting bells to snow days. Check out our feature stories on the city schools’ tablet program and […]
It’s that time of year again: Kids are headed back to school. As both county and city school divisions prepare for the annual return of students, we’ve collected updates on a few hot topics in local public education, from starting bells to snow days. Check out our feature stories on the city schools’ tablet program and […]
In 2009, Albemarle County launched its Math, Engineering & Science Academy (MESA) at Albemarle High School as a pilot program for a new model of learning. Five years later, enrollment in MESA has more than doubled, and administrators are taking more steps towards career-oriented learning with a strong hands-on component in other fields. Two years […]
It’s been a year since parents checked their kids’ cubbies at Barrett Early Learning Center and found the letters announcing the board’s abrupt decision to close the preschool that’s been known for its diversity and affordability for nearly 80 years. The new board and staff are making long term plans so the school doesn’t find […]
Early this month, the Albemarle County Planning Commission heard from not one but two private school headmasters at its regular meeting in Lane Auditorium at the County Office Building. The institutions themselves were very different: Tandem Friends School, a 44-year-old Quaker middle and high school, and Regents, a small Christian K-through-12 academy founded in 2010. […]
Have you ever really stopped and listened to lyrics like those in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” or Jason Derulo’s “Talk Dirty?” It’s startling when you hear some of the words that kids sing today. But that’s where programs like Mobile Music Mission come in. As a local company that lets kids become a part of […]
John D’earth was about 4 when his father—“a great listener, but not a musician”—taught him an important lesson about making music. He was at his grandmother’s house. He toddled over to the piano, climbed onto the bench, and started pounding away. He was having fun, just enjoying the noise of it, but he could hear […]
Most kids use their Wii remotes to race cars or battle bad guys while playing games on their TV. C’erra Rhodes uses hers to teach other middle school-age girls how to solder metal. The 13-year-old created a “Wiimote” as a project through Computers4Kids in Charlottesville, an organization that teaches tech skills to middle and high […]
At 9am on Monday, when most of us were grumbling about returning to the office, a small group of fifth graders was spreading yoga mats out on a gym floor, taking deep breaths, and preparing for a short yoga session. UVA third year, athlete, and practicing yogi Bennett Reck led the kids through a 15-minute […]
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors last week adopted a tax rate of 79.9 cents per $100 of assessed real estate value—a 3.3-cent increase over the previous rate of 76.6 cents—but even with the hike, the county schools are $3.9 million short of their $164.3 million funding request. During a work session last week, the […]
For years, Charlottesville’s fifth- through eighth-graders have hustled to make a first school bell at 7:40am. But the city schools are now debating how to institute a schedule shift that would push their day later—largely because science shows such an early start time is bad for adolescent brains. Starting in middle school, kids’ rapidly developing […]