An effort to hire more bus drivers has begun to pay off, according to Chesterfield County Public School officials. As a result of recently increasing the hourly pay for drivers to $20.21 an hour, the school system has over 350 new applicants. During the board’s Sept. 14 afternoon work session, transportation director James C. Frye said the pay rate was increased to $14.84 in September 2019 and then raised to $15.59 in December 2019. This year, it was increased to $17.21 in August and again in September. “We’re very excited about the increase in driver pay,” Frye said. “Chesterfield County…
Browsing: Back-To-School
Chesterfield County grew 15.3 percent from 2010 to 2020 according to preliminary figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. Chesterfield’s growth rate topped Richmond (11) and Henrico (6), but trailed some fast-growing Northern Virginia counties such as Loudoun (34.8), Stafford (21) and Prince William (20). In fact, Loudoun grew so fast it overtook Chesterfield as the state’s fourth-largest locality, behind Fairfax, Prince William and Virginia Beach. The population growth in Northern and Central Virginia will result in a shift of state representation from Southwestern and Southern Virginia. The 16-person independent redistricting commission is working on redrawing boundaries that will go into…
Dale District school board member John Erbach visits with students at O.B. Gates Elementary during their first day of school, Sept. 3. (Danielle Ozbat photo)
Chesterfield County Public Schools are doing something a little different this year in relation to the first day of school. •All students in grades 1-5 will report on Tuesday, Sept. 3. •Half of a kindergarten class will attend school Sept. 3-4, while the other half will attend Sept. 5-6. Schools will assign specific dates and communicate them to parents. •All K-5 students will report to school starting Sept. 9. These adjustments will help new students to elementary school reduce anxiety, build community and start their formal education in CCPS off on the right foot, according to a press release. Middle…
Parents of Curtis Elementary kindergarten students celebrate their children’s first day of school last week. Curtis Elementary held its first ever “Boohoo or Yahoo breakfast” for kindergarten parents last Monday. A “Boohoo or yahoo” breakfast describes parents’ reactions to their kindergartners’ first day of school. People had been discussing how to get kindergarten parents connected with other parents, school principal Susan Pereira said, adding that she thought that a “Boohoo or yahoo” breakfast would be a great first introduction to other parents at the school. “We know this is an emotional time for kindergarten parents, whether it’s their first baby…
Kindergarten registration for all school divisions in central Virginia is April 20. Kindergarten is a full-day program offered in every Chesterfield County elementary school. A child must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 30, 2017, to attend kindergarten. Every Chesterfield County elementary school will register incoming kindergartners from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on April 20. Parents are asked to take their children to the elementary school they are zoned to attend. To find the correct school, parents may call 318-8743 or go online to mychesterfieldschools.com and click “Find my School” in the Parents section. Children should come with their parents April 20 for a brief evaluation.…
Preparing your family for going back to school can be stressful for parents and create apprehension for children. Demands from children to have certain items or brand name clothes, and the concerns for parents just meeting the schools lists required by teachers can be daunting. According to USA Today, $630.36 is the average amount of families, with children in grades K-12, plan to spend on electronics, apparel and other school needs. That amount is actually down from $669.28 last year. The National Retail Federation released its annual Back-to-School spending survey last week noting that spending has increased 45 percent in…
Chesterfield County Public Schools hired 429 new teachers for the 2014-15 school year: 180 in elementary schools, 139.3 in high schools, 47.6 in middle schools and 63 in special education. The teaching positions School division successes include 111 new hires designed to strategically reduce elementary class sizes in targeted grades and at targeted schools and to provide middle schools with more flexibility with electives. In 2014-15, the school division and schools sent about 4 million phone/digital messages through a parent notification system, including school closing information, emergency information and details about getting involved in schools.
For the 2014-15 school year, every school within Chesterfield County Public Schools is accredited. The Virginia Department of Education establishes accreditation status each year based on student achievement on Standards of Learning tests taken during the previous school year. Chesterfield County Public Schools pass rates on Standards of Learning tests continue to exceed or meet state averages in the “all students” category, according to 2013-14 school year testing results released by the Virginia Department of Education. Highlights from the state report also show that Chesterfield County Public Schools demonstrated increases on mathematics tests. Students with disabilities, as well as white…
You have heard a lot of teachers, politicians and media talking about STEM or STEAM, but what on earth does it mean? In brief, STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art and math, and STEAM instruction is one strategy the district is using to engage students and achieve Goal 1 of its strategic plan: “All learners will acquire, analyze, synthesize and evaluate information to solve meaningful problems and to achieve success as productive, thriving global citizens. Students will learn through active engagement, collaboration and exploration of personal interests, talents and ambitions across disciplines.”