.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Education

  • Council brings fresh eyes to school issues

    These students are making a difference.

        The Bedford County Student Advisory Council met for the first time this school year on Thursday, Oct. 28. 

    Click here to read more...
  • Board will look at restoring JF band position; no promises made

    The consequences of raising the class sizes in Bedford County Public Schools—eliminating about 70 positions throughout the school system—continue to confront the Bedford County School Board.

        For the  second  meeting  in  a  row,  board members heard from supporters of the Jefferson Forest High School band program, asking that a band instructor position, eliminated in the cuts, be restored. That position is shared by the high school and Forest Middle School.

    Click here to read more...
  • Program targets teen drivers

    Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute has been studying teen drivers for some time.

        Last week, in conjunction with AAA Mid-Atlantic, the institute conducted its first Teen Driver Safety Days. On Oct. 20, a group of Bedford County sophomores, about 300 of them from all three high schools, became the second group of high school students to experience this four-hour program. Montgomery County students had gone through the day before.

    Click here to read more...
  • Students, teachers reap the rewards of hard work

    Paul C. Nichols, president of Virginia Advanced Study Strategies (VASS), stopped in Bedford last week to talk about advanced placement course.

    Click here to read more...
  • Project brings SOLs alive

    Huddleston Elementary fourth grade science teacher Traci Bratton has helped her students’ study of life cycles and eco-systems come to life — literally.

        Looking for a fresh way to make that study of the standards of learning unit on habitats interesting, she came up with the idea of having the class take care of and hatch chickens. So for the past month, they’ve been doing just that. Last week, the students watched as the chicks pecked their way out of their shells.

    Click here to read more...
  • Class helps student follow life-long dream to become firefighter

    Sometimes little boys say they want to be a fireman when they grow up.

        In the case of Randale Smith, now a senior at Jefferson Forest High School, that’s exactly what he plans to be. In fact, he’s already doing it. Smith, who lives in Evington, already has his firefighter certification and is serving on the volunteer fire department there.
        “It’s what I always wanted to do,” he said.

    Click here to read more...
  • Parents protest principal at Body Camp Elementary being reassigned

        The decision to reassign popular Body Camp Elementary Principal Dr. Marvin McGinnis from the school didn’t sit well with a number of community residents who spoke to the Bedford County School Board at last Thursday’s meeting.

        The remarks followed a 5-0 vote by the board to move Dr. McGinnis to fill a teaching vacancy at Bedford Middle School. He and school secretary Marsha Sheinman had been placed on administrative leave the week before school started.

    Click here to read more...
  • Body Camp principal placed on administrative leave

    Dr. Marvin McGinnis, principal of Body Camp Elementary School, and Marsha Sheinman, the school’s secretary/bookkeeper, were placed on administrative leave last week just as students were preparing for this week’s return to school.

        Ryan Edwards, the school division’s spokesman, wouldn’t reveal the reason for the move, stating that it was a personnel matter. The Bedford County School Board will review the issue to see if any further action will be taken.

    Click here to read more...
  • Students head back to school

    Some 10,500 students will fill the halls of Bedford County’s 21 public schools on Monday as bells ring in the 2010-2011 school year.

        A division-wide open house at the schools will be held this Thursday from noon to 7 p.m., giving parents and students a chance to visit their schools and meet their teachers. 
        “It’s always better when they know who their teacher or teachers are,” stated School Superintendent Dr. Douglas Schuch, in encouraging families to attend the open houses.

    Click here to read more...
  • 10 county schools fail to make AYP

    Like most school divisions across Virginia, Bedford County Public Schools failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress standards, according to preliminary results released last week by the Virginia Department of Education for 2010-2011.

        Only 12 of the commonwealth’s 132 school divisions made AYP. Eleven of the Bedford school system’s 21 schools made AYP with four facing school improvement sanctions that include having to offer school choice to the students at those schools.

    Click here to read more...