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January 2025 News & Highlights
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Dear Cville Schools community–
Thank you for your continued engagement and partnership in support of our schools. You’ll see in this newsletter that we continue to work on challenging topics ranging from adjusting our elementary zones (see an updated timeline, below) to reviewing our model for school safety.
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In this newsletter, you'll also get a glimpse of many recent accomplishments in our division, from sustainability milestones to athletic wins. If you're interested in generating some good news for your favorite Cville Schools educator, be sure to nominate them for a Golden Apple Award (due next Monday, Jan. 27).
In addition to these big-picture issues, we want to focus on your child and their growth. Last week, we sent home second-quarter report cards. This Friday, we will send out individualized reports showing the historic SOL test results for your student(s). Each of these documents is a snapshot that helps you and our staff focus on your child and their needs. Need help opening or understanding the documents? Contact your teacher or school. We want to work with you to support the needs and strengths of your child. As always, we are #bettertogether.
Dr. G
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Looking Ahead: Mark Your Calendar
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CHS Curriculum Night, Monday, January 27 (5-6pm, new families; 6-7pm, all families)
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CHS Symphony Concert & Fine Arts Extravaganza, Thursday, January 30, 7pm, MLK PAC
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No School for Students Friday, February 7 for Professional Learning Day
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CCS Spring Job Fair, Saturday, March 1, 9am-1pm, CHS
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CCS STEMfest Saturday, March 22, 10am-2pm, CHS RSVP to STEMfest now!
Art by Sophie Chen, Grade 12, CHS
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Important Cville Schools Updates
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Rezoning Updates: Revised Timeline
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We appreciate all the community's feedback as we continue to plan for the rezoning of our elementary schools.
To enable the Advisory Committee for Rezoning to meet in person (after its original meeting shifted online due to snow), Charlottesville City Schools is delaying the timeline for rezoning decisions. We hope to release the recommendation by the end of January.
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The next steps of the rezoning process are:
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End of January: The Advisory Committee will meet again. By the end of the month, Cville Schools will release the rezoning recommendation.
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February 6: The Board meeting will feature an overview of the recommendation to help inform the public.
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February 11: Community feedback meeting, 5-7pm, CHS. Come provide in-person comments on the recommendation – or submit comments in writing via a survey.
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March 6: Rezoning will be a discussion item for the Board meeting.
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March 27: Rezoning will likely be scheduled for a vote at this Board meeting.
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Burnley-Moran will become Sunrise; Johnson will become Tall Oaks (effective August 2025)
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At its January meeting the School Board unanimously voted to accept the name review recommendations of the committees and Dr. Gurley. Burnley-Moran will become Sunrise Elementary (effective August 2025), Greenbrier will keep its name, Jackson-Via will keep its name, and Johnson will become Tall Oaks Elementary (effective August 2025). To learn more about these changes, watch the December presentation. As a final note for the name review process, the name “Walker Upper Elementary School” will be retired when that school changes purpose to become a preschool in 2026. |
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Start Summer '25 Planning With a List of Opportunities for Our Students
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Looking for camps, internships, or other learning opportunities? We have compiled a listing of opportunities that our partners have shared with us. These offerings are run by the schools, the City, or our program partners, and the activities are free, financially accessible, or offer scholarships. Is something missing? Please let us know in the comments! Find the listing of summer opportunities here.
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Get ready for CCS STEMfest 2025!
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Save the date for an exciting day of STEM learning and exploration at CCS STEMfest '25 on Saturday, March 22, 10am-2pm at CHS. This event transforms the energy and fun of our previous school-level iSTEM nights into an ALL-SCHOOLS celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage in hands-on activities and discover the exciting world of STEM in our community! To RSVP as an attendee, outreach partner, volunteer, and more, fill out this form. |
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Donate Children's Books to Huehuetenango's First Public Library
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The Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission is holding a book drive to gather books for Huehuetenango, Guatemala, Charlottesville’s Friendship City. "Huehue" is building its first public library to serve the community of over 110,000 people. Books that can be donated include books in Spanish or children’s books in English that are new or in very good condition. Books can be dropped off through the end of February at The Habitat Store (1221 Harris St.), Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-5pm. |
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Adriane Butler named CCS Teacher of the Year!
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Adriane Butler, School Counselor at CATEC, has been named the Charlottesville City Schools Teacher of the Year! From Buford to Burnley-Moran to CATEC, Ms. Butler has served in many roles and impacted many students. She will represent our division in the state’s award program. Congratulations! Learn more about Ms. Butler's career at CCS.
Want to nominate your own “teacher of the year”? You can! The Golden Apple Award Nominations for outstanding teaching are open now through Monday, January 27.
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Johnson Earns EPA Energy Star Certification
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Bravo to Johnson Elementary for earning EPA Energy Star Certification for superior energy performance! Energy Star-certified buildings are verified to perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide, based on weather normalized source energy use that considers occupancy, hours of operation, and other key metrics. On average, Energy Star-certified buildings use 35 percent less energy, cause 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and are less expensive to operate than their peers—all without sacrifices in performance or comfort. Watch the story on NBC29.
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Dr. Gurley Is a “Superintendent to Watch”
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Dr. Gurley has been recognized by the National School Public Relations Association as one of the 2024-25 Superintendents to Watch. The award goes to school district leaders who have fewer than five years of experience as a superintendent and who demonstrate dynamic, fast-paced leadership with strong communication at its core. Read more about Dr. Gurley’s communications leadership on the award page.
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Elaina Pierce Named Gatorade's Player of the Year for Virginia Girls Cross Country
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Junior Elaina Pierce has won the top honor in high school sports – she is Gatorade's 2024-25 Girls Cross Country Player of the Year, the first CHS student to receive the recognition. In addition to winning the class 4 cross country state title in 2024, Pierce also won outdoor and indoor track state titles in 2024, plus she is a commanding presence on the school’s dominant basketball team. The award also recognizes athletes' accomplishments in the classroom and in the community. Congratulations! Learn more about Elaina's accomplishements here. |
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2024 CHS State Champion Athletes Honored
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At Friday night's basketball games, CHS honored our 2024 spring state champions:
- Boys soccer
- Boys tennis
- Elaina Pierce (track/field: 1600M)
The athletes received their rings and got a huge round of applause from the Black Knight crowd. Congratulations again!
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Student Writers (and Spellers) Excel in Local Competitions
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Two Cville Schools students are being honored for their writing. Congratulations to Buford 8th grader Risa McWhorter (left) for her winning entry in Writer’s Eye 2024, the Fralin Museum of Art’s annual poetry and prose competition. Her entry will be published in the forthcoming 2024 Writer’s Eye Anthology. Congratulations also to CHS freshman Liv Cordano (right) for winning second place in the “Voices of Democracy: What Democracy Means to Me” essay contest presented by The Equity Center and the Karsh Institute of Democracy. In her piece, Liv wrote that democracy gives "a voice to the voiceless,” even when “the sound never carries.” Click this link to read Liv's essay. And congrats to Oliver Petralia and SJ Wiles, winner and alternate of the Walker spelling bee! |
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School Board Updates, Including Budget
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For all the updates from the January School Board meeting, check out the Mini Minutes. Of note in Board business, the new Board Chair is Emily Dooley and Vice Chair is Amanda Burns.
Upcoming Budget Meetings:
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School Board Budget Work Session: Thursday, January 30, 5pm, Walker
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February Board meeting: Thursday, February 6, 5pm, CHS
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City Council and School Board Joint Budget Work Session: Monday, February 10, 5pm, Walker
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Safety Update on the School Board Agenda in February
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As part of our continual evaluation of our work to promote safety in our schools, last spring the schools gathered public feedback about whether to explore the possibility of adding specially trained police officers to our safety model. In May 2024, the Board requested further evaluation of our safety model before making decisions about the issue. This fall, a firm conducted an audit of our current practices. The Board received the firm's report during a work session in December. (Schools and public organizations are authorized to have safety conversations in closed session to avoid creating a security risk by discussing specific safety matters publicly.) In February, the Board will discuss the report and our next steps as we consider ways to strengthen our current safety practices. |
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Concerns for our Immigrant and Refugee Communities
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We know many of you have concerns for your own families or for families you know and love. Department of Homeland Security guidance prohibits immigration enforcement actions in “protected areas,” including schools. We continue to follow this issue closely, and we have been checking in with area school divisions and community partners, including Sin Barreras. We are sharing information with potentially impacted families and communities as needed. |
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Time to Start Thinking about Next Year!
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It’s just January, but our schools are already planning ways to welcome students next year and to help with the course selection process.
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CHS will host a curriculum night on Monday, January 27, with information about the school, courses, clubs, teams, and organizations. Rising 9th-grade families from Buford or area schools will meet from 5-6pm. All new and returning CHS families are invited from 6-7pm to learn about next year’s courses and more.
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Buford counselors will visit 6th-graders at Walker throughout the spring to assist with the transition. Due to construction at Buford, there will not be spring tours for students. But in the fall, students will begin learning in the brand-new building and begin using the name Charlottesville Middle School! Informational sessions for families are in the works, and course selection is expected to begin in March.
- In February, Walker staff – including performing arts teachers – will begin visiting 4th-graders at our elementary schools, and in early March, 4th-graders will visit their new school. In the second half of March, elementary schools will help students with the process of selecting their electives.
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Follow-Up on PowerSchool Incident
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As a follow-up to the national PowerSchool data breach, PowerSchool has now created a Frequently Asked Questions page on their website for people to monitor their response. Both Charlottesville City Schools and CATEC –along with many school districts in our area, state, and country – were impacted. |
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Our investigations continue to indicate that the vast majority of current and former students or staff did not have sensitive information revealed (such as Social Security numbers). PowerSchool will send out individual notifications in the coming weeks. As a reminder, this breach is the responsibility of PowerSchool, and they believe they took steps leading to the destruction of the illegal data export.
Tips and Resources Moving Forward:
- Because this was a national, high-profile breach, scammers may take advantage of the opportunity. On their FAQ, PowerSchool notes: please remain vigilant as PowerSchool will never contact you by phone or email to request your personal or account information. The same is true for Charlottesville City Schools. If someone calls or emails to request personal information or passwords, be extremely wary.
- In addition, it is best practice to review account statements and monitor free credit reports.
- PowerSchool has announced it will work with Experian to provide two years of “complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to all students and educators whose information from your PowerSchool SIS was involved. This offer is being provided regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security number was exfiltrated.” It is unclear whether PowerSchool will announce further details on their FAQ page or through individual notifications (which they suggest will be sent in a few weeks).
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Winter Weather Notifications
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As the season of winter weather continues, please tune in for updates. We will announce any schedule changes via ParentSquare. You can also check our website, social media channels, and local media. (If you’re not getting text or email updates via ParentSquare, contact your school.)
Know someone outside our division who would like to receive weather notifications or other updates from CCS? Tell them to sign up here.
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This winter, Jackson-Via students (left) take full advantage of the snow with some sledding. This Burnley-Moran student (right) cozies up with a good book in the library. |
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💙 Share the Love of Cville Schools 💙
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Parents/guardians of current students automatically receive this monthly newsletter from the division. Other community members are welcome to subscribe here!
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