Newsletter 2021 Issue 4

According to the VSBA Bylaws, Article IV, Section 2, “A Nominating Committee of five members will annually nominate no more than two candidates for President-Elect and no more than two candidates for each of the two at-large seats on the Board of Directors whose names will be placed in nomination at the Annual Convention. It shall be the duty of candidates for the at-large position to provide a written nomination, approved by a nominee’s school board, together with pertinent biographical information and a signed letter from each nominee confirming willingness to serve. Members of the Nominating Committee will not be eligible for nomination to any position on the Board. The Immediate Past President will serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee and four other committee members will be elected by the Board of Directors.”

An application form is required of At-Large candidates to apply for nomination. Those who wish to be considered by the Nominating Committee must submit the completed form, pertinent biographical information, and statement of willingness to serve by July 1. The members of the Nominating Committee appointed at the March 19, 2021 VSBA Board of Directors meeting are: Rodney Jordan (Norfolk), Chair; Douglas Brown (Newport News), Gavin Honeycutt (Mecklenburg), Gunin Kiran (Montgomery), Barbara Kanninen (Arlington). If you have any questions about the process, please call Gina Patterson, executive director, at 1-800-446-8722 or email Gina@vsba.org.

Elections of VSBA Regional Officers take place at the Fall Regional Meetings which will be held virtually the week prior to the VSBA Annual Convention. In 2015 the VSBA Delegate Assembly voted to change the regional positions from a one-year to a two-year term. For those regions that will be holding an election this year, a nominating committee will be formed and announced at your Spring Regional Networking Forum. Those interested in serving as chair or vice-chair of the region should complete the application form and contact the members of the regional nominating committee. The regions below will be looking for nominations for a chair and vice-chair for a two-year term:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated and publicly released a draft Report and Order that, if adopted, would establish the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, pursuant to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Emergency Connectivity Fund Program would help close the homework gap and would reimburse schools and libraries for the purchase, during the COVID-19 pandemic, of laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hot spots and other eligible equipment, as well as broadband connections for students, school staff, and library patrons who would otherwise lack access to connected devices and broadband service.  

The U.S. Department of Education launched the Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse (the Clearinghouse), a website that highlights the innovative work underway nationwide in continuing to reopen K-12 schools, early childhood centers, and postsecondary institutions. Through the Clearinghouse, the department is providing examples of how schools and other educational institutions can safely reopen as communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has released findings from its March survey on school reopenings. The survey data address areas of recovery, including remote and hybrid learning, synchronous (i.e., live) instruction, groups receiving priority for in-person instruction in March, the percentage of teachers receiving at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine in March, and other areas. Forty-six states/jurisdictions participated in the survey. 

Please reach out to your school division clerk to register for this event. For affiliate members, please reach out to Mrs. Kim Hodges for registration at khodges@vsba.org. (Registration for VSBA meetings is only open to VSBA members and affiliate members.)

To view the brochure, click here. For questions or more information, contact Mikaela Coffey, Coordinator of Board Development at mikaela@vsbaDOTorg or 1-800-446-8722.

My husband and I have been a part of the Botetourt County community for 27 years. Our son has attended Botetourt County Public Schools for the duration of his school career. He is currently graduating in May and will attend William and Mary in the fall. In various capacities, I have worked in the field of education for 24 years and taught in Botetourt County Public Schools for 15 and a half of those years. I have been on the Botetourt County School Board for about a year and a half. For the past nine years, I have worked for the Virginia Department of Education Training and Technical Assistance Center at Virginia Tech.

All of the strands have information and topics which are helpful. I believe a great deal of thought has gone into choosing topics that are relevant to what is needed to help individual growth, as well as growth as a school board. In short, the courses were clearly designed to help me become a better board member. I am privileged to serve our community and feel it is my responsibility to do the best job possible.

For more information on the VSBA School Board U program, please visit: https://www.vsba.org/vsba-member-site/vsba-school-board-u/ Please note this is found in the member site of the VSBA website. If you do not have your password, please contact Samantha Bosserman 434-295-8722 x3 or samantha@vsba.org

The VSBA would like to invite you to participate in the eighth annual Food for Thought Competition, a friendly competition between Virginia’s school divisions to showcase their programs that combat childhood hunger, provide healthy school meals, and encourage wellness and physical activity. There are three separate competition categories. You may apply to be recognized for the division’s efforts in the following categories:

Ready to submit? Click here!

Questions? Please contact Jessica Blythe, director of membership services, at 434-295-8722 or jessica@vsba.org 

Thank you to our Sponsor, ABM.

We will explore at least one book per quarter, and the next book we will be reading and discussing is “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. The live book discussion will take place on Tuesday, June 8th at 5:00 p.m. Please register to attend the live Virtual event by clicking here. There is no cost to attend, however, you are asked to obtain your own copy of the book for reading. 

In order to participate in the book discussion, you will need to register for the discussion that will be held on Tuesday, June 8 at 5:00 p.m. Register for the discussion by clicking here. Upon registration, you will receive the link to join the session on June 8th.

The VSBA Virtual Book Club will explore at least four books a year (one per quarter). Please pay attention to your email or the VSBA Website for announcements on the next Book Club Book and discussion date for future sessions.

You can contact Samantha Bosserman with any questions at samantha@vsba.org or 434-295-8722 extension 3.

The Bassett High School horticulture program was started in 2018. Staff and students are excited to continue growing the program at BHS by adding a greenhouse structure soon so that they, too, can hold a fall and spring plant sale for the community. In the fall of 2019, the horticulture program received a grant from Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom to start Bengal’s Community Garden. A Community Giving Garden is created to grow and distribute fresh produce to food banks and community shelters and BHS is partnering with Community Storehouse to provide fresh food to community members.

Jasmine Thompson, Bassett High School instructor added, “I became very interested and active in agriculture as early as middle school and took any and all classes available to me. As a student, I was very shy and reserved. My teachers and peers saw something in me and encouraged me to break out of that shell I created for myself. I truly believe that I would not be the person I am today without FFA. That is why when I learned about this opportunity, I jumped on it. I have big shoes to fill, but if I can do for one student what my mentors did for me, I can go to bed knowing that I am doing something worth fighting for. I am so excited to grow this program on this side of the county by implementing the FFA Motto, Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, and Living to Serve.”

The York County School Division proudly welcomed President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden of the United States to Yorktown Elementary School on May 3, 2021. The President and First Lady are seen here visiting with a fifth-grade classroom, observing the engaging hands-on lesson being presented by the classroom teacher. They also met with Dr. Shandor and members of the division’s executive leadership team as they shared the #TeamYCSD story. For more information and pictures from the visit follow York County School Division on Facebook.

Thank you for your support of the VSBA and Virginia's public education system.

Visit https://www.vsba.org/resources/affiliates/affiliate_member_program/ for a complete list of VSBA's Affiliate Members.