A former teacher and coach at Richlands High School in Tazewell County will be Congressman Morgan Griffith's, who represents Virginia's 9th Congressional District - R in the U.S. House of Representatives, guest at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday.

The cost of replacing George Wythe High School has ballooned to $154.6 million, far more than anticipated. Chesapeake-based RRMM Architects, which is handling the design work, recently provided that estimate to the School Board and Mayor Levar M. Stoney in updating the development of the building that is projected to have room for 1,800 students and bear a new name.

Stafford County Public Schools has received a $100,000 grant from GO Virginia Region 6 to develop Pathways to Success, a new course that will provide career exploration experiences for area middle school students. "I cannot wait to see this in play," division superintendent Thomas Taylor said of the new course, which will be offered for the 2023-24 school year.

The Spotsylvania County branch of the NAACP wants to bring the community together to discuss ways to prevent school-based violence. The organization will host an "emergency town hall" at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 9-11 a.m.

WINCHESTER - It takes a special person to be a special education teacher. "They are expected to teach many students who have a wide variety of learning needs, while at the same time they are also expected to manage legal compliances with a lot of different paperwork and individualized [education] plans to make sure that students get what they need," said Hayley Mullins, director of special education and related services for Winchester Public Schools.

PORTSMOUTH - Portsmouth Public Schools is making a point of finding ways to strengthen its mechanisms for helping those with mental health challenges. This comes at a time when schools across Hampton Roads and nationwide are reporting more student behavior and mental health concerns after the pandemic.

Virginia grocery tax error results in school district deficits statewide The elimination of the grocery tax across Virginia is affecting every school in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With the elimination of the tax Jan. 1, state budget projections for school districts did not take this into account. Suffolk Public Schools Superintendent John B. Gordon III spoke about the grocery tax and about what happened to put SPS in this financial position.

Arlington County Public Schools will expand the availability of Narcan and increase substance abuse awareness efforts following the death of a Wakefield High School student. Dr. Francisco Durán, superintendent of Arlington schools, addressed substance abuse and student safety issues during Thursday's School Board meeting in response to events at Wakefield involving a student overdose on school grounds and a trespassing incident resulting in a school-wide lockdown.

Fredericksburg City Public Schools is one of eight Virginia school divisions that will benefit from a $15 million federal student mental health grant that was awarded to the Virginia Department of Education.

Whether aspiring students attending Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) want to be a nutritionist, millwright, industrial machinery mechanic, auto mechanic, drafter, microbiologist, electrical engineer, HVAC installer, an aerospace or nuclear engineer, a nurse, or a welder, then the Blue Ridge Technical Center (BRTC) has the requisite courses to get them started.