Waynesboro: Walk to school
Berkeley Glenn Elementary, Westwood Elementary, Wenonah Elementary, William Perry Elementary and Kate Collins Middle School in Waynesboro will be joining schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Week Oct. 4-8.
Approximately 1,800 students from Waynesboro Public Schools will be walking to school next week along with parents, teachers, and community leaders.
Many of the students attending Waynesboro schools may not live within walking distance to their schools. To accommodate these students, the planning committee has arranged to have the buses drop off students that are participating in this event at a designated location and then walk to school with parents, Waynesboro Public Schools’ staff and community leaders.
Students from Wenonah will walk from Wayne Lanes on North Charlotte Avenue; William Perry students from the Division of Motor Vehicles Office at King Avenue and Hopeman Parkway; Westwood Hills students, from Ridgeview Park and Kate Collins Middle School students from the Wayne Hills School, Fir Street. Berkeley Glenn Elementary students will be walking from their homes or other locations near the school.
The event will begin each day at 7:30 a.m. and walkers will arrive at each school no later than 8:15 a.m. Other special activities associated with the walk include prize giveaways and healthy breakfast snacks.
In the U.S., International Walk to School Day is expected to include 5,000 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in 40 countries around the world.
Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.
The event is being organized by a Walk to School Committee comprised of teachers from each of the participating schools, with support from the Waynesboro City Planner’s Office. This city-wide event is part of a Safe Routes to School initiative and grant funding being pursued by Waynesboro Public Schools and the City of Waynesboro.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
A catered lunch, and a canceled workday
Column by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
“I could understand it if somebody donated the lunches. Maybe that happened, I don’t know. But it just seems to me to send the wrong message. I mean, they’re facing a $2 million shortfall, $3 million, whatever, and they’re having a catered lunch? Something doesn’t add up there.”
The hot tip was called in to me on Friday – that the Waynesboro school system had served catered lunches to teachers and staff apparently across the city’s seven schools, which, if that was the case, would be a head-slapper of a dumb move for a school system that is indeed facing down pretty substantial budget cuts in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
I got in touch by e-mail with School Superintendent Robin Crowder, who quickly got back to me that he wasn’t aware of any school luncheons on Friday, and further explained that schools occasionally provide refreshments or lunches for staff on workdays and parent-teacher conference days.
A little later, I was contacted by Renae Deffenbaugh, the principal at Westwood Hills Elementary School, who identified her school as a host of a catered lunch on Friday. As Crowder had indicated, the lunch was related to a planned parent-teacher conference day, which had originally been on the schedule for Friday across the city school system. Read more
The governor’s seal of approval
Westwood Hills Elementary among those honored by Kaine
Staff Report
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Gov. Timothy M. Kaine today announced that 153 Virginia public schools have earned the 2010 Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence. The award is the highest honor under the Virginia Index of Performance incentive program created by the Board of Education in 2007 to advance Governor Kaine’s “competence to excellence” agenda promoting advanced learning and achievement.
Westwood Hills Elementary School in Waynesboro was the only school in the Greater Augusta area on the list.
“My administration has made it a priority to move beyond merely meeting standards to truly encouraging excellent performance in our schools,” said Kaine. “I’m pleased to recognize the many Virginia educators and students whom stepped up the challenge of exceeding the minimum expectations of the Standards of Learning to receive the coveted VIP awards this year.” Read more
A switch in time?
School Board chairman to talk redistricting at tonight’s meeting
Story by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
Tonight’s Waynesboro School Board meeting could lead to an interesting turn in the discussions of a controversial proposal to overhaul elementary education in the River City.
I talked this morning with School Board Chairman Jeremy Taylor, who told me that he will address the proposal-review process during an item on the agenda early in the meeting that gives Board members the opportunity to offer general thoughts on goings-on in the city school system.
The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at William Perry Elementary School.
“I’m going to make a few remarks about the process, and I would expect what I say to initiate remarks from other Board members about the process,” Taylor said.
Pressed for specifics, Taylor said he wanted to “reserve making further comment on that until the meeting tonight.” Read more
Crunching the numbers
Do the data on growth back up conclusions of school redistricting committee?
Column by Terry Short
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Purpose Statement: “To address increasing enrollment in Westwood Hills Elementary School and changing student/teacher ratios in all elementary school.” – from Recommendation for Redistricting Elementary Schools for the 2010-2011 School Year, Waynesboro Public Schools (12/11/09)
A few weeks ago, amidst all of the holiday planning and such, the Waynesboro School District sent home to each parent a one-page foldout that describes what the plan is to address a shortage of two classrooms at Westwood Elementary in fall 2010. Maybe you’ve seen it, maybe you haven’t, but for those that have, I ask that you dig underneath the wrapping paper, move over the New Year’s Eve party horns from that party you had, and check out the inset table that has a row labeled “Projected Student Enrollment Numbers.” Read more
