By Heather Michon
Correspondent
The Fluvanna County School Board held a quiet meeting in the midst of a noisy thunderstorm on Wednesday evening (July 10).
Vision and testing
Superintendent Peter Gretz briefed board members on the evolving Six-Year Strategic Plan.
Working with a non-profit in Richmond, the strategic plan clarifies the district’s mission, vision, and core values. The resulting framework focuses not on the day-to-day metrics of educational instruction but rather on the shared culture in which that instruction will be delivered.
This is not to say that metrics are unimportant. The district has also applied to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) for approval to move off the state’s growth assessment testing scheme to the MAP assessment program offered through the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA).
Gretz said there’s been considerable unrest among state educators regarding the VDOE assessment testing. “They’re taking up a lot of valuable instructional time,” he said. “They’re not providing teachers with good data.”
VDOE is now allowing schools to shift to other programs. Fluvanna schools have used NWEA’s Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, program in the past.
“I’m a huge fan of MAP, and I’m delighted to see it replace tests that are just not useful to us,” said James Kelley (Palmyra).
Cell phone-free schools
Governor Glenn Youngkin recently issued Executive Order 33, directing the VDOE and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop policies and guidance to help school divisions implement cell phone-free schools.
Gretz told the board that because the executive order had just been issued, he had little to say about the issue at this point.
VDOE plans to hold a series of “listening sessions” around the state before releasing its guidance by Sept. 16. School boards must adopt policies by January 1.
Upcoming events
For the second month in a row, Chair Andrew Pullen (Columbia) was absent, and Vice Chair Andre Key (Rivanna) directed the meeting. Danny Reed (Fork Union) was also absent for the evening.
With the start of the new school year about a month away, school supply lists have been issued, and the calendar is filling up with deadlines and events:
For students using the school bus program, Transportation Intent Forms are due no later than July 26;
The Fluvanna Health Department is holding walk-in vaccination clinics for rising 7th-12th graders needing TDap, MCV4, and HPV9 vaccinations. The clinics will open at 132 Main Street in Palmyra on August 5 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and Aug. 6 from 1 to 4 p.m.
This year’s PreK-12 open house is on Aug. 12 from 11 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.
