Saturday, November 7, 2009
Ashburn, VA
59 ºF Moderate
Last update: 11/7/09 12:40 PM EST

Publications by Julia Stewart

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) were closed on election day, although teachers and school staff reported for “teacher workdays.” In essence, LCPS gives the school facilities over to the local electoral board, poll workers and voters, all with the idea that "less is more:" no students, fewer cars in the parking lot, and greater accessibility for voters.

 

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) announced nominations are open for the 2010 Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award presented annually to Loudoun County's Principal of the Year.

 

Artfinal.JPG
"Paint Splash" artwork took the place of a traditional ribbon cutting.
The Art Institute of Washington-Northern Virginia–a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta and Loudoun’s newest institution of higher education–held grand opening ceremonies last week. The school occupies 19,000 square feet of the first floor of the “neon” building on Route 28 near Route 7 in the Corporate Office Park at Dulles Town Center, 21000 Atlantic

 

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) announced a community information meeting regarding HS-7, the new high school planned to serve the Dulles South area of the county. LCPS recently announced the purchase of 101 acres south of Route 50, north of Braddock Road/Route 620 and Goshen Road near Stone Ridge for the new high school and a future elementary school.

 

HS7 Map
In an 8-1 vote Tuesday night, Oct. 27 the Loudoun County School Board approved multiple contracts totaling $10.15 million for 101 acres of land on the western edge of Stone Ridge between Braddock Road and south of Route 50 for construction of a new high school (HS-7) scheduled to open in 2012 and a future elementary school. Loudoun County voters approved $82.2 million in school bonds for HS-7 on Nov. 4, 2008.

 

Buffalo Trail Elementary School and J. Michael Lunsford Middle School are the names recommended to the Loudoun County School Board by two Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) naming committees for two new schools set to open in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Buffalo Trail Elementary School, located at 42190 Seven Hills Drive in South Riding, will open for the 2010-2011 school year.

 

Carolyn Perry was recently named one of twenty-three teachers selected by the Virginia Association of Teachers of English as the recipient of the High School Teacher of Excellence Award, sponsored by the Secondary Section of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Perry is an English teacher at Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville.

 

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Class of 2009 on-time graduation rate was 93.6 percent, 10.4 percent higher than the statewide average of 83.2 percent. LCPS also exceeded the state rates in nine statistical categories and all LCPS high schools exceeded the state graduation rate. On-time graduation rate measures the percentage of students that were first-time ninth graders during the 2005-2006 school year who earned a diploma within four years, according to the state announcement released last week.

 

Broad Run-Freedom: The Freedom HS-Broad Run HS varsity football game scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16 at Freedom High School has been rescheduled to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19.

 

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) is one of the fastest growing school systems, in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. Student enrollment has grown from 28,787 students in 1999 to an official Sept.

 

Discussions, debates and disagreements have already begun as Loudoun County's elected officials begin to grapple with the yearly budget process and an even more dismal financial forecast. The discussions began at the Joint School Board/Board of Supervisors Committee meeting on Thursday, Oct. 8, one day after the Board of Supervisors Finance Committee adopted fiscal guidance recommendations, which sent shock waves through the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) administration building.

 

The two state finalists will be honored at the Virginia Association of Science Teachers (VAST) conference in November, although the award winner will not announced until spring 2010. PAEMST award winners also serve as models and leaders of mathematics and science education.

 
Contact Ms. Stewart at Julia@loudouni.com.