Tag: Rockingham County Public Schools
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Rockingham Schools superintendent seeks to quell concerns over student survey
After hearing some concerns from parents and grandparents of children in the Rockingham County Public Schools, Superintendent Oskar Scheikl on Monday sought to clear the air regarding a youth data survey going out to middle and high schoolers, as well as continuing objections to policies regarding transgender students.
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For transgender students, proposed policies are about dignity
More than a year after the state required local school boards to adopt policies protecting transgender students against discrimination, the Rockingham County School Board is still trying to figure out how to implement those policies. But for transgender students who attend Rockingham County schools, the quest to be treated equally has been painful.
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Innovative local farm serves as a classroom for area students
“Soil is meant to be covered,” reads the stitching on Rockingham County farmer Mike Phillips’ hat. Along with his wife, Susan, Phillips owns Valley View Farm, where they raise cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs and pay special mind to soil heath through the use of cover crops, rotational grazing, and no-till planting techniques. For four years, the farm has partnered with Rockingham County Public Schools (RCPS) and Massanutten Technical Center’s (MTC) Agriculture Program. The growing program currently enrolls 26 students in the 10th through 12th grades from RCPS, Eastern Mennonite School, Harrisonburg City Schools as well as homeschooled students. The farm has been Phillips’ family for well over a century.
Local organization advocates for sex-trafficking prevention curriculum in local schools
Sex trafficking occurs in towns and cities all over the United States, and in 2018, the Human Trafficking Institute found that Virginia ranked 6th in the nation for cases of human trafficking. Statistics are hard to come by – oftentimes victims are moved from place to place, or it may be termed prositution if a link to a trafficker cannot be made – advocates say there’s no doubt it is a problem in Harrisonburg as well.
Local high schools’ class of 2020 get their diplomas to go
About 1,300 local students graduated over the last several days, with Harrisonburg High School seniors receiving their diplomas one at a time in a near empty football field and county grads celebrating in front of a sea of cars at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds.
School therapy provider accustomed to adaptation
In a public school setting where students vastly outnumber teachers, some children need more support than what the school’s personnel can provide. For more than a decade in Harrisonburg, this gap has been filled by government-supported in-school therapy, known as Therapeutic Day Treatment. Now that schools are closed for the remainder of the academic year, though, providers are scrambling to find ways to reach the students who need them.
What’s changed? What’s happening? And what’s next? A guide to COVID-19’s effect on Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg has one resident who is presumed to have COVID-19. Meanwhile, the public schools and universities are closed to students for the next couple weeks — at least. Employees at businesses and now JMU are being told to stay home if they can. The city has declared a state of emergency in order to apply for federal financial help to cover costs associated with managing the pandemic. And businesses already are feeling the pain of fewer customers and are bracing for that to get worse as area college students don’t return to town.
Hey Elderly Aunt, our daughter wants to protest climate change. Should we let her skip school to do it?
Dear Elderly Aunt, Our 6th grader and 3rd grader have become increasingly interested in the environment and trying to stop climate change. They’ve been especially inspired by Greta Thunberg. Now our 6th grade daughter has suggested skipping school to protest climate change like Greta did. We’ve tried to steer her toward other actions, like writing letters and making posters. What kind of strategies would you suggest that would be effective ways for young students like her to send a message … without missing school to do it? — Proud Parents
