Tag: Superintendent Michael Richards
Page 5/6
District wants public input on the future of school resource officers
The role of school resource officers in Harrisonburg City Public Schools will soon be up for debate in the public sphere, as a task force the district established to examine its contract with the Harrisonburg Police Department is planning a “listening tour” to gather community input. After providing opportunities for public input, the group will present a recommendation to the school board in May.
Pandemic prompts different schools of thought about new building
Almost six months since construction on Harrisonburg’s second high school was suspended, the project remains in limbo, with no timeline yet established to resume work. COVID-19, though, has prompted competing takeaways about the wisdom of moving forward.
Hburg school leaders praise teachers for online and in-person efforts
About one tenth of Harrisonburg city students started in-person classes on Monday, as a very new sort of fall semester begins. The division moved almost entirely to virtual learning for the start of the school year, while still allowing a fraction of families the option to send their children into school buildings – those with kids who would be most disadvantaged by distance learning, such as English language learners and students with special education needs.
Resource officers to stay in Hburg schools this year — but with a more limited role
The five police officers stationed in Harrisonburg City Public Schools will be charged with focusing only on protecting schools and the people in them as opposed to monitoring student culture or “morality” this academic year, as the division works to revise its memorandum of understanding with the Harrisonburg Police Department.
With U.S. Covid cases rising, school board changes plan to mostly online learning this fall
Instead of requiring students to attend school a couple days a week this fall, the latest plan for the Harrisonburg City Public Schools will be to require most students to learn from home virtually five days a week, as a result of the discussion during Tuesday’s school board work session.
City schools’ plan for fall would mean fewer students in buildings at once, more online learning
Alternating students’ attendance days, more virtual learning and temperature checks at the door are hallmarks of the upcoming academic year that’s beginning to take shape for Harrisonburg city students.
Harrisonburg schools superintendent suggests revising relationship with police department
Harrisonburg City Public Schools will review — and potentially revise — the district’s relationship with the Harrisonburg Police Department, which has four school resource officers placed across the schools. Superintendent Michael Richards brought the item to the school board’s work session on Tuesday.
Amid money crunch, school board cuts $1.2 mil. in new positions from budget
Harrisonburg City Public Schools is slowing the expansion of district-wide staff in response to expected revenue losses because of the pandemic. To this end, the Harrisonburg School Board, during its Tuesday work session, tentatively approved a first draft of budget revisions that takes out planned positions.