Dear Cville Schools community–
At our last regular meeting on March 6, the Board held a work session on rezoning. As part of our discussions, we affirmed that Dr. Gurley’s rezoning proposal from January remains our focus. We will officially receive his recommendation at our March 27 meeting and then vote at our May 1 meeting.
At the March 6 meeting, staff also presented an alternative approach, but ultimately the Board put it aside in favor of the original January plan. Dr. Gurley’s January plan is in line with the advisory committee’s recommendations, and the committee’s work was reflective of their careful deliberation of survey results, guidance provided by the School Board at its December work session, the community’s input at multiple listening sessions throughout the community, and the expertise of our consultant.
Our Highest Priority: A Quality Education
This isn’t just about shifting lines on a map—it’s about ensuring that all students, no matter where they live, have access to balanced, diverse, and well-resourced learning environments.
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As we have said since the beginning of this process, there will not be a “perfect” solution for rezoning. The original recommendation does a good job of meeting the goals for balancing utilization, better balancing socio-economic diversity, and meeting the other key considerations such as keeping neighborhoods together, maintaining walkability, and maximizing bus efficiency.
Seeing the alternative approach made clear that while it is disappointing to move Locust Grove students to a school that is farther away, it would also be disappointing to divide that neighborhood based on walkability alone, to divide the Dice Street area, and to fail to reunite the Rose Hill community with their neighbors who attend Trailblazer. It made clear that if we are going to preserve Burnley-Moran’s walk zone across 250, we would have to impact other neighborhoods.
Survey Remains Open
Thank you for your engagement in this process. We know that rezoning is difficult, especially since our community has not done this in a comprehensive way for more than 50 years. We know that we all want what’s best for our children – and all the City’s children, too, as we are ‘Better Together’.
Emily Dooley, Chair
Amanda Burns, Vice Chair
Shymora Cooper
Dom Morse
Chris Meyer
Nicole Richardson
Lisa Torres
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As part of the soft launch of the Innovation Hub at Buford this year in partnership with UVA, 7th graders showcased their BioBot robotics projects to peers and professors alike inside the Rotunda at the University of Virginia this month. Learn more about the Innovation Hub. |
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Thursday-Sunday, March 20-23: TheatreCHS Presents Peter and the Starcatcher, CHS Black Box Theatre, 7pm all days except Sunday (2pm). Buy tickets here.
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Friday, March 21: No School for Students (Teacher Workday)
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Saturday, March 22: STEMFest, 10am-2pm, CHS
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March 31-April 4: Spring Break Week (offices closed Monday, March 31)
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Thursday, April 24: Kindergarten Registration Day, 9am-3pm. Click for more information and appointment sign-ups.
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Friday, May 2: Art Connections Opening Celebration at Ting Pavilion, 5:30pm
CHS Poster by senior Molly Hicks
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Starting Friday, March 21, families can register NEW students for next year using our online registration platform, SchoolMint. The form gives families the option to upload required documents such as the school health form with immunization history. For questions on what is required, or for more information, please visit our registration page.
These “new student registration” forms are for:
- Next year’s kindergartners (both new students and returning students who are currently in our 4-year-old preK classes)
- New students who will begin Cville Schools in August (grades 1-12)
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Other Key Registration Dates and Info
- Kindergarten Registration Day is Thursday, April 24, 9am-3pm at your neighborhood elementary. Bring your future kindergartener to register for Fall ’25, and do a quick child screening. Click here for more information and appointment sign-ups.
- Applications for new/returning non-resident students open May 20.
- Re-registration for currently enrolled students will open in June.
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Impacted by the Rezoning Plan? Register your new student at the school for which they are currently zoned. The Board will vote on May 1, and afterwards, we will open the form for applying to attend your child’s future zoned school.
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Interested in our PreK program? Applications are open! Apply for free early childhood education through our local Go2Grow website. Learn more about preschool here!
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We’re thrilled to invite you and your family to participate in CCS STEMFest '25 on Saturday, March 22, from 10am to 2pm. This exciting event celebrates STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) with FREE interactive exhibits and activities. From astronomy to engineering to robotics, the drop-in event features fun learning opportunities led by students from CHS's award-winning BACON (Best All-around Club of Nerds), our iSTEM teachers, and many community partners.
Want to learn more?
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You know that excellent school attendance tracks with excellent learning. But did you know that most parents/guardians UNDERESTIMATE how many times their child has been absent? To see the count for your child, log into PowerSchool and click "Attendance History "or "Attendance - Show All." Researchers' rule of thumb is "Strive for 5 or fewer." |
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Congratulations to the following teachers for successful grant applications from the Public Education Foundation Charlottesville-Albemarle (and thanks to PEFCA for supporting CCS and ACPS)!
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Jessica Scott, Burnley-Moran, “BME Earth Stewards”
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Jessica Pedersen, Jackson-Via, “Equitable Access in Enrichment”
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Ida Cummings, Jackson-Via, “Writing Together: Strengthening Home-School Connections”
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Amy Wissekerke, Walker, “Classroom Economics for 6th Grade”
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Beth Bohannon, Walker, “Positive Pathways: Incentivizing Growth & Engagement”
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Amy Wissekerke & Beth Bohannon, “Walker, Together We Lead: Enhancing School Community & Engagement”
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Congratulations to our three nominees for this year's Virginia School Boards Association regional art competition. From left: Londyn Phillips, grade 1, Jackson-Via; Nadia Salazar Fraire, grade 8, Buford; and Elias Amaya, grade 10, CHS. (All artworks are cropped.) |
Last month, we reported that Summit students turned their learning into action, creating a hot chocolate stand in Belmont to support the American Heart Association. (This fundraiser was featured in AHA social media both state-wide and nationally!) In addition, Summit students earned money for AHA through a school-wide fundraiser that combined the Kids Heart Challenge Program as well as the Jump Rope Ninja. In total, the students gave $5,029 to the AHA! Great work, Summit Bees! |
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It's fitting that March is Music Education Month, since it's when our school ensembles perform in their state assessments. Congratulations to the following:
- Two of our band students, Julia Crum and Michelle Wong, earned spots in the All-State Band, and the Wind Ensemble earned the highest rating possible (superior) performing at the hardest difficulty level. No other school in the district achieved this level. And the band just enjoyed a trip to Nashville for music workshops, visiting iconic sites like the Grand Ole Opry, and competing on the national stage.
- CHS Orchestra concertmaster Elle Polifka earned a spot in the All State Orchestra 1st violin section! And the string ensemble earned straight superiors playing the hardest difficulty music.
- Buford Orchestra earned superior from every judge and A’s in every sub category! (And last month we announced that 13 Buford students earned spots in the junior regional orchestra!)
In addition, our partnership with the Tuesday Evening Concert Series brought the acclaimed McGill/McHale Trio to Trailblazer Elementary, where they wowed students with clarinet, flute, and piano performances. TECS also enabled all third-graders to attend a concert by students of the Curtis Institute on Wednesday, March 19.
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Walker students have been on the go, with 6th-graders' meaningful field trip to Monticello, a 6th-grade oratory competition (that's public speaking for the rest of us), and 6th-grade guides giving tours for 4th-graders from across the city to welcome them as Walker's LAST class of 5th-graders. Congratulations to the following winners of the oratory competition: Livi Heimgartner and Virginia Wells (for performing previously published pieces) and Leila Campbell, Zori Elder, and Anari Stevenson (for performing original pieces). |
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- Congratulations to CHS indoor track state champions Sam Palmer and Elaina Pierce. Together, they swept the 1600M for CHS! Elaina then went on to win the state 1000M before joining her basketball teammates later that evening as they wrapped up their season in the state tournament. Other top-5 state finishers are Juliana Pierce, who placed 4th in the 500M and Oliver Jackson, who finished 5th in pole vault.
- CHS sent 4 wrestlers to states, and 3 medaled: Adriel Pena finished 5th at 113lb, Walter Pilkey finished 5th at 150lb, and Roman Calvani finished 5th at 190lb.
- CHS junior Jacoby Lynch was the only competitor and finisher in his age group for the grueling 50-mile Bel Monte Endurance Race held on March 15. To prepare to run for 8.5 hours, Jacoby often woke up for 6am training before school, then ended the day with CHS basketball practice or games!
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CHS Debate has qualified more students than ever for April's super regional! At the regional, Gabe Damiani and Anne Goodall placed 3rd in Public Forum. Lily Curtis, Solly Schwartzman and Rose Brennan-Wilkinson finished 3rd, 4th, and 5th in Lincoln-Douglas. Ginger Craghead-Way, Mira Masri and Dylan Grist finished 5th, 8th, and 12th in Student Congress.
CHS's BACON (Best All-around Club of Nerds) competed in their first ever Technology Student Association regional competition and qualified 4 students for the state tournament in May! In CAD Engineering, Matthew Colvin and Lily Curtis won 1st and 3rd place. Celia DeVeaux won in Prepared Presentation and Lily Curtis in Promotional Design. Raffi Chen placed 3rd in CAD Architecture.
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Two social sciences classes at CHS are making real-world connections. Psychology students lead games with preK and 1st grade classes at Greenbrier in order to observe milestones in child development at the different ages. And World History students visited the traveling exhibition "Virginians and the Vietnam War" now in the CHS Media Center, and met with one of the people featured in the exhibition, author and Longwood Professor Emeritus Michael Lund. |
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Our alternative learning program, Lugo-McGinness Academy, recently held a cooking workshop to strengthen relationships between the school and families. Gregory Gough, aka Chef G, taught attendees how to cook shrimp po'boys. LMA's Community Engagement Coordinator Dominique Williams said, “I thought that we could bring a little bit of joy... [to] bring families together but also inform them on the important things as we progress into the school year." See the NBC29 story here.
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For all the news from the School Board's March 6 meeting, read the Mini Minutes. Aside from a work session on the elementary rezoning plan (see letter from the Board above), the Board discussed attendance procedures along with career/technical education.
Due to spring break, the "April" meeting is a week early, on March 27.
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To increase community and networking opportunities, we have created a CHS alumni page on LinkedIn. We invite all CHS graduates to add Charlottesville High School to the education section of their profile. |
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Charlottesville City Schools educators are always working hard to engage students in meaningful math lessons....and on Pi Day (3/14), they went the extra mile! Here are Greenbrier 3rd grade teacher Chelsea Knickmeyer (left), Superintendent Dr. Gurley (at Buford, center) and Lugo-McGinness Academy Principal Dr. Lamont Trotter (right) 😎 |
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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