Prince William County Schools is expanding the Community Eligibility Provision from 44 schools to 68 for the 2024-2025 school year.
The CEP program is a meal service option for schools and districts in low-income areas and offers free breakfast and lunch. The program also does not require a household application from a parent or guardian to enroll in the program; instead, schools are reimbursed.
“Schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),” the USDA website states.
This expansion comes after the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to reduce the percentage of students who qualify for free meals from 40% to 25%.
PWCS media representatives said in a statement that CEP ensures all students receive nutritious meals, regardless of their family’s income.
“CEP improves meal access and promotes a more inclusive environment and equitable meal service,” the representatives said.
In the upcoming school year, PWCS can add 24 more schools — and roughly 26,516 students, according to a press release — to the program.
PWCS representatives also said they will continue to evaluate data and add qualifying schools each year.
The following schools were added for the next school year:
Elementary schools
- Antietam Elementary School
- Chris Yung Elementary School
- Coles Elementary School
- Covington-Harper Elementary School
- Kyle Wilson Elementary School
- Lake Ridge Elementary School
- Mary Williams Elementary School
- Montclair Elementary School
- Pattie Elementary School
- Penn Elementary School
- Rosa Parks Elementary School
- Signal Hill Elementary School
- Springwoods Elementary School
- Tyler Elementary School
- Victory Elementary School
- Westridge Elementary School
Middle schools
- Lake Ridge Middle School
- Parkside Middle School
- Potomac Shores Middle School
- Saunders Middle School
High schools
- C.D. Hylton High School
- Osbourn Park High School
- Potomac High School
- Woodbridge High SchoolÂ
Here is a list of all the qualifying CEP schools in PWCS.Â
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.
Parents, educators, and interested community members are invited to attend a Commonwealth Conversation and discuss their expectations for the upcoming policy changes that will take effect in January 2025. Below is a list of the upcoming conversations being held throughout the Commonwealth:
Manassas – July 18, 2 – 3:30 p.m.
Osbourn High SchoolFredericksburg – July 30, 9 – 10:30 a.m.
James Monroe High School-Virginia Department of Education
Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) recently held its inaugural sports fair at the Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center.
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Student representatives are non-voting members and serve for one term, concluding with the final School Board meeting of the school year.
Students will be dismissed early on Friday, June 7, 2024, the last day of school for the 2023-24 school year.
As the Prince William Education Association celebrates its latest collective bargaining victory with Prince William County Public Schools, the state teachers' union is again looking into the local teachers' association practices and has launched an investigation.
Newly obtained documents show that on May 24, Virginia Education Association President James Fedderman sent a letter to Maggie Hansford, President of the Prince William Education Association, informing her that the VEA Executive Committee met on May 18 to discuss members' concerns. Those concerns included PWEA’s “finances, governing procedures, and operating procedures.” The VEA asked Hansford to produce documentation from meeting minutes, bank statements, bylaws, policies, and information on how the organization elects its officers by June 1.
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Virginia Democrats opened their new joint campaign office on May 28, 2024, at the Elwye Center, 17932 Richmond Highway in Dumfries. The event aimed to galvanize support for the Biden/Harris presidential ticket and Senator Tim Kaine’s reelection bid. It’s the latest in a series of Biden campaign offices that have opened in Virignia, where polls show the president is losing ground to Republican challenger Donald Trump in the upcoming 2024 General Election.
Student drummers lined a walkway into the building and played as prominent Democrats from local and state-level offices walked inside. The drummers later joined elected officials and campaign staffers inside.
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When asked, Prince William County Schools did not say whether or not the school division’s new $10 million Evolv metal detecting scanner system detected the weapon when the student brought it inside the school.
From Prince William police:
Possession of a Weapon on School Grounds – On May 24 at 10:59AM, the School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to Potomac Middle School located at 3130 Panther Pride Dr. in Dumfries (22026) was notified of a student in possession of a weapon. The investigation revealed school security notified the SRO that a student turned over a pocketknife after they received it from a separate student, identified as the accused. Further investigation revealed the accused was observed with the knife during class before the other student took possession of the knife and turned it over to school security. The SRO determined the knife was not part of any threat to other students, faculty, or staff. Following the investigation, officers sought petitions against the accused, identified as a 13-year-old male student. After consultation with Juvenile Court Services, the case resulted in formal action and will be handled through the court process at a later date.
Charged on May 24: [Juvenile]
A 13-year-old male juvenile of Woodbridge
Charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds
Court Date: Pending | Status: Charged/Petitions Obtained
Prince William County Public Schools Career and Technical Education program (CTE) aims to empower students by fostering academic achievement, interests, skills, and authentic learning experiences to help them thrive in an ever-evolving world.
Through four interconnected components, CTE programs provide students with opportunities to explore passions, build in-demand job skills through work-based learning, earn industry credentials, and more.
On May 20,, graduating students of the (CTE) signed commitment forms to further their careers via a variety of apprenticeships as well as military service. Representatives from Lockheed Martin, Plumbers and Gasfitters, AlphaBEST, United States Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy spoke about the commitment and dedication of the class of 2024. They praised the CTE program for providing workplace readiness skills through multiple pathways to ensure a thriving future for students.
