Superintendent's Message
Dr. Lisa Coons, Superintendent of Public Instruction
Good Afternoon,
Today, the Virginia Board of Education recognized three elementary mathematics and science teachers as the 2024 state-level finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).
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Elizabeth Lynch is the STEM teacher at Patrick Henry Elementary School in Martinsville City Schools. In her position, Ms. Lynch works with all 22 classes of students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 to provide a STEM-based education.
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Jennifer Gates is a 5th grade teacher at Randolph Elementary School in Goochland County Public Schools. Gates is a master of cross-curricular instruction, crafting student experiences that integrate content areas. In 2023, she led her class in founding Youth United, a nonprofit that connected students with the Goochland community, focusing on environmental, animal, and human welfare.
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Laurie Sullivan is a distinguished educator with over 30 years of teaching children and advancing science education within Arlington Public Schools. She is currently the Project Discovery Science/STEM/STEAM teacher at K. W. Barrett Elementary School. In this role, she teaches students in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades. Dr. Sullivan also teaches special needs students that include Functional Life Skills and the Multi-Intervention Program for Students with Autism (MIPA).
We appreciate the opportunity to continue recognizing such high-quality educators and are thankful for the great job our teachers are doing in Virginia's classrooms. #ElevateEducatorsVA
I also want to congratulate our newly announced Blue Ribbon Schools. Eight Virginia schools from across the Commonwealth were named this week as 2024 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. The Virginia schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools in the Exemplary High Performing Schools category were:
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McLean - Spring Hill Elementary School, Fairfax County Public Schools
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Virginia Beach - Green Run Collegiate, Virginia Beach City Public Schools
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Langley AFB - Bethel Manor Elementary School, York County Public Schools
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Clifton - St. Andrew The Apostle School, Arlington Diocese
The Virginia schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools in the Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools category were:
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Fincastle - Central Academy Middle School, Botetourt County Public Schools
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Gate City - Gate City Middle School, Scott County Public Schools
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Nokesville - T. Clay Wood Elementary School, Prince William County Public Schools
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Saltville - Saltville Elementary School, Smyth County Public Schools
This Blue Ribbon status recognizes the strong commitment from these schools, educators, and communities to the success of all students and they should be celebrated for their achievement.
Many of you had the opportunity to participate in the fireside chat with the First Lady and Dr. Haidt last week. They explored the insights from Dr. Haidt's book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. The link above allows you to host additional events along with the facilitator's guide available on our website. I would like to express my gratitude to our school divisions and school leaders for your focus on removing cell phones and having the important conversations with families about the mental health dangers that cell phones and social media can cause.
To support school divisions continuing this work, we want to again share the now available microgrants. Whether it's organizing educational workshops or hosting community events like the fireside chat, these grants enable schools and parents to develop collaborative conversations together. Also last week, we shared a new resource, the VDOE School Leader Cell Phone-Free Learning Implementation Toolkit. The Toolkit equips school division and school leaders with evidence-based resources, decision trees, and strategies for effectively ensuring students experience "bell-to-bell" learning free of cell phones.
Finally, VDOE has been awarded a $30 million Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant. This grant will provide additional literacy support for those schools with high numbers of English Learners and students with disabilities. The CLSD grant will enable VDOE to build upon the foundations laid by the Virginia Literacy Act. We are excited about the partnerships that will be established between national experts and the additional support for our schools to improve literacy instruction for every child in Virginia.
Thank you for everything you do to ensure every child matters, every day.
In appreciation,
Lisa
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