According to a presentation given at the Dec. 4 PWCS School Board meeting, 15.4% of students are considered chronically absent as of Oct. 31, which marked the end of the first quarter. In the 2023-24 school year at the same time, only 14.7% of students were considered chronically absent.
Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more or 18 days of school for an enrolled student by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Excused and unexcused absences count toward the chronic absenteeism rate.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
To make holiday travel smoother, VDOT will suspend many highway work zones and lift temporary lane closures on interstates and major roads across the state. This will occur from noon on Tuesday, Dec. 24, until noon on Thursday, Dec. 26, and from noon on Tuesday, Dec. 31, until noon on Thursday, Jan. 2.
While most lane closures will be lifted during these periods, travelers should be aware of semi-permanent work zones that may remain in place. It’s a good idea to stay updated on the latest travel alerts by checking VDOT's Travel Advisories for real-time information about road conditions across the state.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Press release:
All work is scheduled weather permitting. Updated information on work zones and lane closures is available on 511.VDOT.Virginia.Gov.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Fredericksburg Police Investigate Downtown Shooting, Identify Additional Suspect
The Fredericksburg Police Department is continuing its investigation into a shooting that took place in the early hours of December 14. Authorities have identified a new suspect, Izaiah Jabbar Daniels, 21, of Woodford. The Orange County Sheriff's Office apprehended Daniels during a vehicle stop, and he is currently being held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail. He faces charges of second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
"This is a game-changer for MWES! It allows us to enhance our security system, which will make our school a safer place for everyone," Danna Johnson, the MWES principal, said. "This investment will give our entire school community peace of mind and continue to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to providing not only a nurturing environment for our students, but a safe and secure one as well."
This grant is part of a statewide initiative from the VDOE to increase school safety. The VDOE has allocated $12 million in grant funding to 472 schools across the Commonwealth. In late November, two Manassas City Public Schools (Round and Haydon Elementary) received $250,000 — the highest amount of grant money possible for one school district, according to a VDOE release.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Stafford County Public Schools is moving forward with the planned rebuild of Drew Middle School, incorporating extensive community feedback into the design process. At a school board work session on December 10, 2024, representatives from Spaces Design Studio of Fredericksburg and Los Angeles-based Samaha Associates presented the results of the community engagement efforts, which began in October.
The input gathered through surveys, teacher meetings, and a public community forum has helped shape the vision for the new school.
This article requires a paid Locals Only Membership to read. Please Sign In or Upgrade to a paid membership. Thank you.
Bollino has been in music education for more than 20 years, the majority of which has been with Stafford County Public Schools. According to her LinkedIn page, she joined PWCS in February.
"I am honored to be recognized for my leadership. Music and the arts are intricately woven into the very fabric of who I am and how I lead; they have profoundly shaped my identity, and I draw on these deep-rooted passions to ensure that our PWCS students have access to the same enriching opportunities and transformative experiences that have molded me into the person I am today," she said.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
DOGE, a proposed federal agency designed to streamline government operations under incoming President-Elect Donald Trump, aims to enhance transparency and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies. Specific focus areas include modernizing outdated IT systems, consolidating overlapping agency functions, and introducing advanced data analytics to improve decision-making processes.
Its primary focus is on evaluating and modernizing processes across federal departments to improve service delivery, optimize resource allocation, and eliminate redundancy. Specific targets include outdated systems and overlapping roles within federal agencies.
