At their Thursday meeting, the Board discussed plans underway for a smooth transition in administrative leadership of CATEC in July 2024, when Charlottesville City Schools will become the sole owner. The same number of slots will remain available to ACPS students, and the school divisions will create multi-year agreements to avoid sudden changes that could interrupt smooth operations. Read more here.

Now’s the perfect time to make summer plans for students of all ages! Check out our online hub for enriching summer activities, high school classes, internships, and more offered by our division, the city, and partners in our schools: Click here to browse. (See something else that should be added? Let us know).

Do you have (or know) a child who will be 5 by September 30? Start gathering up the documents you’ll need to register them for kindergarten. Forms will be ready later this month. The list of needed documents are posted here (and links to the forms will be posted on this page, as well).

The University of Virginia and Buford Middle School are joining forces to design a lab school focusing on computer science. Supported by a planning grant from the Virginia Department of Education, the lab school project will build on existing computer science partnerships between UVA and Charlottesville City Schools. The goal of the lab school is to teach computing skills through student-led, project-based learning at the middle school. With continued state approval, the lab school will offer a program pilot in summer 2024 before a planned opening in the fall 2024. Learn more here.

The schools can always use a hand, and if you have ongoing availability, consider applying as a substitute or regular employee!  From mentoring to substitute teaching, we have a wide variety of volunteer and paid opportunities.

CHS earned its 13th Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence from the Virginia Music Education Association after its band, choir, and orchestra’s top groups received superior ratings. Well done, directors Will Cooke, Jason Hackworth, and Emily Waters! Put these spring concerts on your calendar so you can hear these musicians for yourself:

• CHS Choir: Wednesday, 4/26, 7pm, MLKPAC
• CHS Band, Sunday, 5/7, 3pm, MLKPAC
• CHS Orchestra, Tuesday, 5/16, MLKPAC

Throughout May, Cville Schools will exhibit our student art in storefronts and inside businesses along the Downtown Mall. As part of the City’s “First Fridays” event, on Friday, May 5 at 7:30pm, the CHS Jazz Band will play in the CODE building courtyard just before a CCS student art show is projected on the CODE building walls around 8. As an added bonus, the regional high school art show will be at the McGuffey Art Center, in addition to all there is to see at our downtown art galleries. Just as our students used to take field trips to the CHS gym to see the art exhibition, they will now visit the mall to check out the art. Thanks to Fine Arts Coordinator Aaron Eichorst and our talented art teachers for reimagining this 40-year tradition!

Three Johnson teachers are exemplars of science-based reading research: Kristi Hartwell, Maelys Croce, and Janelle Irwin are now a part of a statewide library to support other schools implementing evidence-based literacy instruction. Brava! And thanks to Summer Thompson and Steph Tatel for supporting. Click to read more.

• Lugo-McGinness Academy Community Day, Saturday, April 22
• Charlottesville Black Knights Football Camp (ages 5-14), Saturday, April 29, 8:30am-12:30pm. Registration is $10.
• Come cheer on your CHS Black Knights! Spring sports are: baseball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and track/field. Find schedules at gocville.org.

We are excited to announce that our division will begin transitioning to a new, unified communications tool called ParentSquare this summer. ParentSquare allows families to stay connected with schools (including teachers, administrators, club leaders, coaches, PTO leaders and more) with a user-friendly online portal or app. Featuring 2-way translation for more than 100 languages, this social-media-like tool combines the functions of our School Messenger and Remind tools – and it will provide our division a website update, too. Want to learn more?

The Zoning Ordinance governs the development of buildings and use of land. The City is working to update the ordinance to support the Affordable Housing Plan and Comprehensive Plan, address flaws, and make it easier to understand and use. They are currently gathering feedback on the first two parts of the draft zoning, which includes the zoning districts, map, and development standards. On the website, there are several ways to learn more (including recorded presentations) – please review and share your feedback in April!

School Naming Process

• The Board voted to pause on deciding on new names for Burnley-Moran and Johnson. The two schools’ staffs will continue discussions about names that would better reflect the schools’ place and purpose. In addition, as part of the consent agenda, the Board clarified that the new name for Venable will be Trailblazer (singular) to avoid confusion moving forward.
• The 2024-25 calendar was discussed, with a vote scheduled in May. The calendar received positive feedback in the community survey, and the Board was supportive of the calendar, which would mean that school would start and stop one week earlier in the 24-25 school year. Need to see the 2023-24 calendar?

Strategic plan

• Beth Cheuk reviewed progress made by the steering committee, working in conjunction with school administrators. The division’s mission, values, vision, and “portrait of a graduate” are nearly ready for discussion with focus groups, and work has begun on the division’s priorities and goals.

Read the April Mini-Minutes here

• Find the full calendar of budget meetings and input opportunities here. Interested in future meetings? Sign up to receive notices of School Board meetings.