School Visit: Jackson P. Burley Middle School

Good Friday morning, everyone, and welcome to the first day of October! Thank you for all you do to support our students, families, and each other!

Yesterday, I had a wonderful visit to Jackson P. Burley Middle School with Principal Kasaundra Blount. We walked the school and visited three classrooms. Before that, however, we met up with Student Safety Coach Ivan Orr as he was making his rounds. The first class I had the pleasure of attending was Lori Linville’s eight grade Language Arts immersion class. Ms. Linville was reading and analyzing a memoir with students in preparation for them to write their own memoirs.  I think that we are never too old to be read to, and Ms. Linville paused at critical points to ask the students to predict what will happen next. 

In Rachel Ghent’s 8th grade Science Class, she took on the role of facilitator while a student named Valerie taught the class about the differences between a compound and a molecule. I had to admire Valerie’s taking on the persona of a teacher, saying to one of her 8th grade peers, “I haven’t heard from you yet; what do you think?” 

Our last stop was Val Thompson’s 7th grade Media Arts and Design Exploration class. All three teachers we visited used interactive displays, and Mr. Thompson used his display board to show the students a brief video about how to use their software to create and save an MP3 file. He encouraged them to review the video as often as they liked while working on their current projects. 

On my way to the front, Ms. Blount and I visited Deborah Wald, Burley’s longtime school nurse, to see how things were going in the clinic. Like all of our nurses, Ms. Wald was very busy in her work to keep everyone healthy and safe. I greatly appreciate Burley’s staff having me for a visit. Their excellent work epitomizes the high quality teaching and learning all of our schools provide for our students and families.

 

Media Highlight

You may be aware that there is an addition / renovation underway at Crozet Elementary School. To populate the addition, ACPS launched a redistricting committee for Crozet and Brownsville Elementary Schools on Tuesday night. Here is a story about it from the Daily Progress:  

Crozet Redistricting Committee to Kick Off Work Tuesday

Committees like this, made up of parents, division staff, and community members,  underscore the importance of school-community partnerships on important issues. 

 

Observance for Next Week

October is National Bullying Prevention Month:  https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/

October is National Principals Month: https://www.principalsmonth.org/about/

October 2 is National Custodian Day: https://nationaltoday.com/national-custodian-day/

October 6 is International Walk to School Day: http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/learn-more/about-the-events/about-walk-to-school-day/ 

National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed September 15 – October 15. Check out this resources sheet that Jasmine Fernandez and Leilani Keys put together for your possible interest.