Friday Feature - May 19
May 19, 2023
School Board Wrap-Up - May 18
During their regular meeting on May 18, the Danville School Board made the following recognitions:
The District’s top readers by school and individually, presented by Director of Curriculum and Instruction Kim Agnor. Schoolfield has read the most books with 4,712 books logged in Beanstack, and Park Avenue has read the second most books with 3,115 logged in Beanstack. For the Passport to a Great Adventure Challenge, Agnor recognized Forest Hills Elementary for meeting their reading goal for the challenge, as well as Taylor Middle Virtual Academy for being the leader in reading for Secondary schools. The top six individual readers in our district (according to data pulled from Beanstack) are as follows: Harmony G., Alexis H., Dominic C., Karizzma M., Scarlet P., and Arnav B.
Coordinator of Business Partnerships Megan Nipper presented three local businesses that were chosen by DPS to be placed on the Virginia School Boards Association’s Business Honor Roll: EBI, Danville Otterbots, and American National Bank.
Galileo Principal and Nipper recognized Galileo Magnet High School for ranking nationally for their performance on W!SE Financial Literacy Tests. Based on test scores from last school year, Galileo ranked #10 in small schools and #16 nationally for their performance.
The board heard the following communications:
Chief Financial Officer Andrea Gillus presented the most recent accounts payable.
Director of Student Support Services Deborah Harris presented the proposed Student Code of Conduct for the 2023-2024 school year. Proposed changes include added supports and interventions into the handbooks, a tiered approach consequences for vaping, fighting as a level 4 infraction, recommended expulsion for fighting/assaults on staff members, changed consequences for cell phone violations, and additional acceptable school absences. The proposed handbook will be posted on the DPS website for public viewing and feedback and will come back to the board for approval at a later date. The proposed handbook can be viewed in full here.
The board took the following actions:
Approved personnel recommendations brought forward by Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Natalie Halloran.
Approved Arnett Hills to be the name of the new elementary school being built next to Johnson Elementary, as presented by Chief Operations Officer and School Naming Committee Chair Dr. Wayne Lyle.
Approved the finance report brought forward by Gillus.
Approved the Curriculum and Instruction Organizational Chart update brought forward by Chief Academic Officer Takiwi Babalola.
DPS' top reading schools and individuals
New VSBA Business Honor Roll Members Danville Otterbots, EBI, and American National Bank
Galileo Principal Michelle Ramsey and Business Partnerships Coordinator Megan Nipper
DPS among divisions to complete VSBA's Inaugural Fiscal Governance Cohort Program
The Virginia School Boards Association recently facilitated the first-ever Fiscal Governance Training Program, which saw board members and staff representing five schools - Danville City Public Schools, Isle of Wight County Public Schools, Lynchburg City Public Schools, Petersburg City Public Schools, and Prince Edward County Public Schools - come together in small groups to enhance their knowledge of governance, school finance, teaching and learning, budget management, and communication.
Through in-depth activities and discussions of best practices, participants had the chance to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their school division fiscal governance teams and learn alongside other exceptional fiscal governance teams. The program included four training sessions that focused on the successful integration of school finance, instructional leadership, school division governance, and administration to improve student outcomes.
"We are grateful for the opportunity for our school division team to participate in the Fiscal Governance Program facilitated by the VSBA,” said Lucy Carson, chair of the Prince Edward County School Board, “this program allowed us to connect with other school divisions to discuss best practices related to teaching and learning, school finance, budget management, and communication and how these components must work in harmony to improve student outcomes. We are confident that the skills and knowledge we gained through this program will help us enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of our school division fiscal governance team, ultimately leading to improved student outcomes."
Five school divisions were selected to participate in the first cohort. It was important to facilitators to have a diverse sampling of school divisions from around Virginia to participate in the small group training to bring multiple perspectives to the table. The sessions allowed for school division staff and school board members to not only learn from the facilitators, but from one another through discussions and insight sharing. The cohort members will have the opportunity to continue the relationships they have fostered through the training to benefit their school divisions and their communities.
VSBA Executive Director, Gina Patterson, applauded the dedication of the cohort, stressing that strong fiscal practices are crucial for school divisions now more than ever. She also congratulated all the participants for completing the Fiscal Governance Training Program.
DPS, Averett celebrate Mentor/Mentee program
Important Upcoming Dates
May 19 - Galileo Soccer Home Game vs. Nelson County at GW at 6:30 p.m. *Senior Night*
May 19 - 21 - Festival in the Park at Ballou Park; DPS will be set up in Nonprofit Alley from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 20
May 23 - Plan Danville Community Block Party at 206 N Union Street from 5 to 7 p.m.
May 29 - Memorial Day: Holiday for All
May 30 - Virtual Activ8 Parent Information Sessions at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
June 1 - School Board Meeting at 5 p.m.
View the district calendar here, and remember to keep up with school-based events by regularly checking their websites and social media.
Learning Grant Information Sessions to be held next week
We will be hosting in-person information sessions at each school about the application process for the Virginia Department of Education's K-12 Learning Acceleration Grants to be used for qualifying educational services. See the graphic below for locations, dates, and times for these meetings. If you have any questions, please call (434) 799-6400 ext. 259.
For more information about the VDOE's K-12 Learning Acceleration Grants and to view the application, visit their website at doe.virginia.gov.
Cookout held for HOSA students
This week, Senior and Junior Nurse Aide Students were treated to a cookout provided by Mr. and Mrs. Argyrakis, celebrating their participation in GWHS Nurse Aide HOSA Future Health Professionals during the 2022-2023 school year.
Science fun at Westwood
Mrs. Bartee's and Ms. Dixon's students rotate to Mr. Smith's class for science. On Monday, they extracted strawberry DNA!
SOL pep rally at Park Avenue
Bonner theatre students get a new table
The Bonner theatre students have been enjoying a new addition to their classroom the past few weeks, a diner booth! Students have sat in it and worked every day since it arrived. The table was initially going to be used as a prop/set piece on stage, but Ms. Gilbert thought it could be used in her classroom until needed. Ms. Gilbert likes the benefits of having alternative seating in the classroom, and so do her students!
Northside students experiment with watercolors
On Wednesday, Ms. Shorter's class at Northside Preschool got to spend some free time outside, painting on paper with watercolors.
Thank You's at Park Avenue
To show their appreciation, Ms. Barbour's fourth grade class penned thank you notes to Mrs. McDonald's first grade class showing their gratitude for their SOL encouragement!
Studying fossils at Gibson
This week, first graders is Ms. Dix's class became cookie paleontologists to go along with their reading story, Grand Canyon Fossils.
Park Avenue holds kindergarten and first grade music program
Park Avenue's kindergarten and first graders made a splash with their summer themed music program!
Ruby B. Archie Passport to Reading Challenge
We announced a brand new reading challenge today and we're calling on EVERYONE to participate! We've challenged the Danville community to read one million books by the end of this year through the Ruby B. Archie Passport to Reading Challenge.
Participating is easy: just read a book and log it! Danville Public Schools students are able to access our logging software Beanstack through their Single Sign On portals. The community can log their books at readdanvilleva.beanstack.org.
Student Instructions for using Beanstack
Community Instructions for using Beanstack
After registering, be sure to join the Rubie B. Archie Passport to Reading Challenge and start entering those books. Ready, set, read!