Schools

Stafford County Public Schools Revamps Bus System, Bans Cell Phones for 2024-2025 School Year

By Uriah Kiser

Stafford County Public Schools is set to implement significant operational changes for the upcoming school year, which begins on August 13, 2024. The school division has introduced a new system for identifying school buses and a district-wide ban on cell phones in the classroom.

Starting this school year, buses will no longer be identified by fleet numbers but will use route numbers instead. This change is designed to streamline the process of locating and tracking buses, especially when substitute buses are deployed. Sandra Osborn, the spokeswoman for Stafford County Public Schools, explained the decision, stating, “Identifying buses by route number simplifies the sub-bus process as any bus may be identified quickly with the route number. We no longer need to issue updates to which bus number a family needs to look for – they will simply look for the route number on any of our buses.”

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Assignments May Be Weeks Late: City School Board to Vote on Amended Grading Scale

By Uriah Kiser

The Manassas School Board will vote tonight on amending the 2024-2025 school year grading scale.

The meeting will occur at Jennie Dean Elementary at 6 p.m. Board members will choose between three proposed options, each featuring significant changes from the current policy. Board members will choose between three proposed options, each featuring significant changes from the current policy.

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Fredericksburg, Manassas to Host Cell Phone-Free Education Conversations

By Uriah Kiser

The Virginia Department of Education is hosting a series of Commonwealth Conversations to give parents, educators, and community members the opportunity to share their thoughts on the best ways to achieve cell phone-free education in Virginia and address the increasing evidence of the impact cell phone and social media usage has on youth mental health and education performance.

On July 9, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 33 to establish cell phone-free education to promote the health and safety of Virginia’s K-12 students. Executive Order 33 directs the VDOE to provide guidance to school boards on cell phone-free education policies and procedures. School boards will establish local cell phone-free education policies and procedures before the end of this year.

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Police Report: 5th Mall Shooting Suspect Arrested | Carjacking | Child Skateboarder Charged

By Uriah Kiser
[Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash]

A fifth suspect is charged in a shooting that occurred outside Manassas Mall on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.

As we reported in the link above, one of the suspected shooters was out on bond in connection to a December 2023 incident where he was charged with Reckless with a Gun Causing Permanent Serious Bodily Injury, a class 6 felony. His charges were later escalated to the Prince William County Circuit Court, where he was indicted on multiple counts, including Reckless Handling of a Firearm, Use of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm Under 18 Years Old, and Malicious Wounding.

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Stafford Begins Search for New Schools Superintendent — Again

By Uriah Kiser

The Stafford County School Board unanimously approved JG Consulting to search for a new Superintendent of Stafford County schools during its meeting on June 25. The firm will begin the search process later this week, pending execution of the $40,000 contract.

The School Board and JG Consulting will schedule community meetings for the community to provide input regarding the qualities required of the next superintendent. Dates will be announced later this summer.

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ElderlyEats: Student’s Venture Wins Top Honors at George Mason University

By Uriah Kiser
Zachary Suh, 19, is the George Mason University's Patriot Pitch Competition winner. Suh's venture, ElderlyEats, aims to provide senior citizens with nutritious and culturally familiar meal plans. [Submitted photo]

George Mason University’s Patriot Pitch Competition awarded its top prize in the General Entrepreneurship Track to Zachary Suh, a 19-year-old freshman from Ashburn studying marketing.

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Fairfax County Schools investigate Hayfield Hawks football coach

By Kelly Sienkowski

“[Daryl] Overton, known for his success at Freedom High School in Prince William County, had announced on Feb. 13 that he would take over the football program at Hayfield. Overton said he would be working daily as a security guard at Hayfield.

He arrived at Hayfield amid high expectations but has quickly become a center of controversy, according to sources, including demands for a “donation” from a “Team Mom/Manager” who said she had worked for six years with Overton at Freedom High School. Later, Overton promoted a fundraiser on [an] online platform that raised an estimated $29,630. The Fairfax County Times interviewed numerous sources for this story, and they asked to remain anonymous, afraid of retaliation against them or their children.”, reports Fairfax County Times.

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Area schools offering children summer meals

By Kelly Sienkowski
(Photo: USDA.gov)

Stafford, Prince William, and Manassas are all participating in the Summer Food Service Program this year. The meal service is part of the Summer Food Service Program federally funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Meals will be provided to all children without charge and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, or age, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.  Meals will be provided at the sites and times below:

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Fredericksburg Schools continues to discuss cell-phone free initiative

By Kelly Sienkowski
[Photo by John Tuesday on Unsplash]

Fredericksburg City Public Schools (FCPS) staff convened for two hours on June 18 to discuss the new cell phone policy. Forty faculty and staff members from two schools agreed that reducing cell phone usage would improve instruction but could not reach a consensus on disciplinary procedures.

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