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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.

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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. Key changes across all three options include new language on retakes, adjustments to the weighting formula for various assessments, and the removal of guaranteed minimum grades for effort. All options require students to complete remediation activities before retaking assignments or examinations. The options differ mainly in their deadlines for submitting late work:

• Option A: Full credit for assignments completed no later than one week before the end of the quarter.
• Option B: Full credit for assignments completed within two weeks after the initial due date and before the end of the quarter.
• Option C: Full credit for assignments completed before the end of the instruction unit in which they were assigned.

The ten-point grading scale (50 to 100) will remain unchanged. "For my part, I am grateful to my colleagues for a serious and civil discussion on this issue, and I urge any feedback on this issue to also be cordial and productive," said School Board member Sara Brescia, who has been pushing for changes to the grading scale. Brescia has been advocating for a review of the current grading policy, responding to concerns that it does not adequately challenge students and allows those not academically proficient to progress toward graduation without meeting the necessary standards. Opponents of the current scale argue that it is too lenient on students and does not prepare them for future workplace expectations, where deadlines are critical. "I think the issue with the current grading policy is it allows for students to really do absolutely nothing until the end of the quarter, which in my view, I don't know how does a student truly learn that way. If they're not learning throughout the quarter, then they're not going to pass their assessments, and they're not going to learn. I think intuitively, we all know that," said School Board member Robyn Williams. The discussion for the revised grading scale comes after the school division introduced a 10-point grading policy at the start of the 2021 school year, when some students were returning to the classroom after the forced government shutdowns related to the coronavirus. The current system allows students to redo assignments to improve their grades, with provisions ensuring that students who attempt to retry assignments do not receive less than a 55% grade, while those who do not will not score less than 50%. This policy aims to give students multiple opportunities to succeed while maintaining a minimum standard. You can attend the meeting in person or watch it live online. The meeting will also be on Comcast Channel 18 and Verizon FIOS 39.

The School Board of the City of Manassas will have a Regular Business Meeting on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at 6 p.m. Please note the location: Jennie Dean Elementary School, 9601 Prince William Street, Manassas, VA.
To view the meeting live, visit https://t.co/63WvYqSCps. pic.twitter.com/tRlTJHybd7

— ManassasCitySchools (@mymcpsva) July 23, 2024

The Virginia Department of Education is hosting Commonwealth Conversations to gather input from parents, educators, and community members on achieving cell phone-free education in Virginia, addressing youth mental health, and education performance. Following Governor Youngkin's Executive Order 33, which mandates cell phone-free education, school boards will implement related policies by the end of the year, with the changes taking effect in January 2025.

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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Prince William County

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

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In honor of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) 80th anniversary, they gave $80,000 in scholarships, thousands of which went to those served by the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC).

VMDAEC, an association of electric cooperatives based in Glen Allen, announced the six local high school seniors who received $1,000 scholarships apiece:

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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.

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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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