Featured news

Dale District representative Debbie Bailey was elected chair of the Chesterfield County School Board this week during the board’s annual reorganization meeting. Dorothy Heffron, who represents the Clover Hill District, was selected vice chair for 2020.

In addition, the School Board approved its 2020 schedule during the first meeting of the all-new, five-member board. The other new School Board members are Ann Coker (Bermuda District), Ryan Harter (Matoaca District) and Kathryn Haines (Midlothian District).

The 2020 legislative program reflects that Chesterfield County Public Schools is preparing students for successful futures and creating a better tomorrow. Our award-winning school division is preparing every student to be college and career ready. 

As we implement our new strategic plan, Imagine Tomorrow, Team Chesterfield is on the cusp of creating classrooms of the future that will allow our students to soar to even greater heights. Imagine Tomorrow is more than a strategic plan; it is our daily focus as we seek to create an infinite-learner mindset while encouraging students and staff to exemplify personal responsibility and supportive relationships. By investing in education, we are preparing students for successful futures – both academic and social.

Newly elected members to the Chesterfield County School Board took their oaths of office this week during an investiture ceremony held at Chesterfield County’s historic 1917 Courthouse. The incoming School Board members were elected in November 2019 to four-year terms that begin Jan. 1, 2020, and end Dec. 31, 2023.

When it comes to the safety and care of Chesterfield County Public Schools students and staff members, every second matters. 

In 2018, the Chesterfield County Public Schools Safety Task Force was created to evaluate current protocols and best practices that ensure the school division is providing a safe, supportive and nurturing learning environment. 

This task force’s Work Group No. 2, which focused on school safety, recognized that seconds matter and recommended that the school division purchase an app or a physical alarm system that could alert administrators, law enforcement and first responders to a dangerous threat or emergency situation in a school.

More than 200 business, faith, and civic community partners were celebrated earlier this week for their support of public education in Chesterfield County. During a partnership recognition breakfast sponsored by the Virginia Credit Union, Chesterfield County Public Schools saluted those in attendance who have provided millions of dollars of financial support, in-kind donations and volunteer hours.

“We are fortunate to have a number of partners willing to invest in our efforts to create a better tomorrow,” School Board Chair Rob Thompson said. “Our partners are vital to helping us ignite passion in all of our students through authentic and captivating experiences.”

For their senior Capstone Project, Sophie Azula and Kate Morris, two students in the Leadership and International Relations Specialty Center at James River High School, are implementing a plan to help better students’ education within their own school  community. They have been researching and formulating a plan to combat the digital divide that goes largely unaddressed within public education systems. 

A digital divide is defined as the gap between those who have access to or the use of both computers and the Internet and those who do not. In their efforts to bridge the digital divide in their school, they reached out to  Brian Jones, the school division’s executive director of technology, for a little help putting their plan into action. 

Nearly 4,500 eighth graders are getting an early start to Chesterfield County Public Schools’ November celebration of College and Career Readiness Month by visiting one of the largest career exploration fairs in the county this week.

The Chesterfield County students joined thousands of their peers from across the region at Richmond International Raceway for ChamberRVA’s fourth annual Mission Tomorrow, an interactive opportunity to explore potential career interests and learn more about in-demand job fields.

“As eighth graders prepare to choose what courses they will take in high school, it is important for them to learn more about the college and career options available that will help shape their future,” Superintendent Dr. Merv Daugherty said.