Loudoun Schools Dais

Speak Up or Prepare for a Disaster

This next week will be the public's opportunity to comment on next year's School operating budget.  The BOS is only allowing people to speak once.  Here is the schedule:

February 25, Wednesday
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: 6 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room in the Government Center, 1 Harrison St. SW, Leesburg

 

February 26, Thursday
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Meeting Room in the Government Center, 1 Harrison St. SW, Leesburg

 

February 28, Saturday
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the School Board Meeting Room, School Administrative Offices, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn

 

If you support funding for the schools, please come and speak. In ten years, only ten persons have come to the School Board's meetings to ask that the School's Budget be cut. This year, we had a gentleman come and ask us to increase the health care co-pays. That was done.  If the Board of Supervisors doesn't hear from you, they'll assume its ok to "Butcher" our educational programs.

 

Never Say Anything in an E-mail That You Don't Want Everyone to See

Never say anything in an e-mail that you don't want everyone to see! Pam Taggert, the Co-Chairperson of the Loudoun Chapter of the NAACP's Education Committee, sent an e-mail last Friday to the School Board and Board of Supervisors concerning the Washington Post's story concerning our Superintendents travel to conferences.  My response went to all of the people Pam included on her e-mail but also ended up on a blog called Too Conservative.  I stand by what I said, here is my e-mail:

 

Pam;

 I think it is great that our highly experienced Superintendent is both highly in demand and also willing to learn new things. Yes, Dr. Hatrick traveled a lot, but the overwhelming majority of the costs were borne by others, like the State Department, not Loudoun County. Also, professional development is part of his contract with the School Board. Although he sometimes may not be physically in the County, he is still on top of issues and available. And when he is here he puts in more time and energy into his job than anyone I know. Do you know of any executive in government or business that puts more into their job?

Additionally, I hope you're well, I didn't see you at either the February MSAAC or the School Board's Budget Meetings. I would hope that the NAACP Education Committee would review our FY2010 Approved Operating Budget and the 'infamous' tiers and provide comments to the Board of Supervisors concerning the impacts on minority student performance and minority employee hiring/retention.

 

Respectfully Yours,

 

~TR

 

 

Woodgrove High School Opens on Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Since the beginning of my current term on the School Board, I’ve concluded my board member’s comments with “ Woodgrove High School must be built!”. That will soon become a reality. The Board of Supervisors, the School Board and the Purcellville town Council have signed an agreement so that Woodgrove High School can open on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. That is only 618 days away. It has been eight long years in the coming, but as Dan Cook, a Texas sports announcer, once said, “the opera ain’t over til the fat lady sings”, so we need to be vigilant in ensuring that the school opens then. If you hear any rumors that the date may change, please contact me or your district’s school board member immediately.

Since I have been on the School Board, we have opened up over 20 new schools; this has become so routine that we don't have groundbreaking ceremonies. Because of the tremendous amount of effort that has gone in to opening Woodgrove, I'm hoping that we can have a groundbreaking ceremony involving the town of Purcellville, the Board of Supervisors the School Board later this spring.

 

 

Two Red Herrings produce a Fishy Smell

For some reason, there is an attempt by various groups to convince the Planning Commission and the residents of the South Dulles District that there are better sites than the Lenah property for a high school and a middle school.  One of the groups promotes community schools ~~ as long as they're not in their community. Critics are ignoring that our proposal is 20% below the amount appropriated for the school and that our proposal in in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. Also, critics are providing misleading information about Lenah and other sites.

 The first alternative site offered is the Lambert site. However, the site has problems, the schools would have to be delayed by two years, and would cost $16,500,000 more than the Lenah site. The site may be viable for futue school sites, but even then with site development will cost as much as $500,000 more than the Lenah site.  Here is a link to the  LCPS Preliminary Analysis of the Lambert Property .

The second site is being offered by a developer in the Stone Ridge subdivison.  The three school Board members that represent the areas effected by the HS-7 and MS-5, Robert DuPree, Priscilla Godfrey and myself couldn't attend the presentation on September 8th, so we signed a letter to express our concerns. Here is the letter:

To:   Interested Attendees of the September 8th Community Meeting in Stone Ridge:

From: Robert DuPree, Chairman & Dulles District Representative, LCPS Board

      Priscilla Godfrey, Blue Ridge District Representative, LCPS Board

      Tom Reed, At Large Representative, LCPS Board

Date: September 8, 2008

Dear Friends:

As your elected School Board Members for the Dulles South area, we would like to thank you for attending this meeting to find out more about potentially locating MS-5 and HS-7 on two sites recently put forward by Van Metre, the developer of Stone Ridge.   Regrettably, none of us can be there tonight due to previously scheduled and unbreakable School Board commitments, but we would like to offer the following facts to ensure you have accurate information.

As you probably know, the School Board and our professional staff have been diligently working for many, many years to evaluate, negotiate, and secure approval of a site for these two schools in order to have them open in 2010 (the MS-5 middle school) and 2011 (the HS-7 high school, respectively).  Both facilities are badly needed ASAP to relieve current and future overcrowding at Mercer Middle School and Freedom High School.  The Planning Commission public hearing is scheduled for this coming Wednesday, September 10, at 2008, 6 p.m. in the County Government Building in Leesburg. 

We want to be very upfront with you in that the Lenah property is the ONLY site that can work to meet our school needs with respect to opening MS-5 in 2010 and HS-7 in 2011.  Further, even with a preliminary vetting, it is clear that there are a number of significant problems with the newly proposed Van Metre sites, which you should be aware of, particularly if you are urged to voice support for them in lieu of Lenah.  It is our opinion, and that of the professionals in Loudoun County Public Schools who have successfully built and opened over 40 schools in the past fifteen years, that the Van Metre sites will not meet our immediate needs.  Many of our initial concerns with these sites have not been addressed by the developer.  The following offers a brief overview of our concerns: 

MIDDLE SCHOOL SITE –

* The middle school site is currently bisected by a road that would have to be abandoned through a legal process and then torn up to develop the property.   The utilities in the road would also have to be relocated.  At the current time, that appears to be the responsibility of the purchaser, which ultimately means the county and, thus, you as taxpayers.

* On the western boundary of the property, there is a high-pressure natural gas line and a high-pressure liquefied gas line.

* The eastern edge of the property contains a large storm water management facility that has already been constructed per county requirements.  The storm water management facility raises student safety concerns.  

* The developer would have to amend their Concept Plan with the county, which would require a year or more to process.  Van Metre has been told that the delay is a significant issue for the School Board. 

* The property requires a special exception and commission permit, not unlike the Lenah site.  This will add more than a year to the legislative process.  Construction cannot begin until the legislative and ministerial approval process is complete.  The middle and high school buildings typically require up to 18 and 24 months to construct, respectively.  The delay may result in the schools not opening until 2011/2012, nor does this take into consideration escalation and delay costs that may add as much as $16 million dollars to the proposed projects. 

* The property is currently zoned PDGI (Planned Development-General Industry), which means the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development would likely oppose any change to its use since the land ultimately has the potential to be used for revenue generating purposes.  Loudoun County Economic Development staff has previously expressed opposition to taking such land out of the current and future tax base as the county looks to diversify its revenue sources beyond the residential property tax. 

* Even though Stone Ridge has an existing rezoning application on file with the county, it has been dormant for approximately 10 months.  If their second submission comes back with a middle school site on it, LCPS will be starting from scratch.  A new traffic study and other analyses would have to be conducted creating significant delay. 

* The purchase price is $8 million, more than double the budget approved by the Board of Supervisors and voters for the MS-5 project.  Unless the sites are co-located, as are the Lenah middle and high school sites, LCPS cannot use high school money to help with the purchase of this middle school property.

* Finally, and this is of paramount concern to many parents, the western boundary of the property contains long-distance, high-voltage (five hundred forty thousand kilo volt) electrical transmission towers and power lines.  Three years ago, when the developer of Stone Ridge offered to proffer another site next to these same power lines for the new Arcola Elementary in exchange for the old Arcola Elementary on Goshen Road, School Board members, our staff, and the then Dulles District Supervisor told the developer that this location was unacceptable.  As a result, Arcola is now located much further away, with significant buffering in between it and the power lines.  There is significant concern among board members and the parents we deal with that schools should NOT be located adjacent to high-voltage power lines.  Further, the three of us, who represent Dulles South, will oppose any such location next to the power lines, and we will urge our colleagues to do the same.  So under no circumstances, even if all the previous issues listed are resolved, would this be an acceptable site for a middle school.

HIGH SCHOOL SITE - There has not been enough analysis of the high school site proposed by Van Metre.  However, it is clear upon initial review that the site has significant problems, and at this point LCPS engineers are not convinced that a high school will work on the site because of designated wetlands, floodplain, steep slopes, and tree conservation areas already approved by the Board of Supervisors.  An independent engineering firm has similar concerns, which have been raised to both Van Metre and School Board staff.  Significant concerns remain, and if they could be overcome, it will require a significant investment in both money and time on the part of all parties.

In closing, we have previously worked successfully with the Van Metre on other school sites they have proffered; however, these two sites will not meet our needs.  We will continue to examine sites for possible future school needs, but these sites just will not work to relieve Mercer Middle School and Freedom High School.   Accordingly, we hope you will focus your attention and support on the Lenah site, which can provide the necessary relief within the projected time frames and budget.

Sincerely,

 

Robert DuPree           Priscilla Godfrey          Tom Reed

Chairman & Dulles       Blue Ridge District        At Large Representative          Representative             Representative

 

 

Bottom Line is the Lenah site is the only site that will allow us to open MS-5 and HS-7 on-time and below budget!

New Leesburg High School Needs a Name

Should the new High School in Leesburg be named Tuscarora, Leesburg, or Westmoreland Davis High School?

The Tuscarora tribe used what is now Route 15 to travel north to hunt or as their name is translated "gather hemp".

Leesburg is simple and straight forward,

But who is Westmoreland Davis? He was the Governor of Virginia from 1918-1922, he is the only Governor from Loudoun County, he was the youngest student admitted to Virginia Military Institute. He was also a supporter of public education and applied scientific principles to improve farming.  While many may not know his name, we should be familiar with his home at Morven Park.

I prefer Westmoreland Davis; your thoughts?

Proposed By-laws for the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee

Here are the proposed by-laws for MSAAC. They're based on the Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents (LEAP). Please let me know of any changes, recommendations, or if you like the by-laws. One change will need to do is make the language gender nuetral; instead of Chairman, the title should be Chairperson.

Article I: Name
  The name of this organization shall be the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee.

Article II: Articles of Organization
  This ADVISORY COMMITTEE exists as an unincorporated association of its members. Its “Articles of Organization” comprise these bylaws, as from time to time amended.

Article III: Purposes
Section 1. The purposes of this ADVISORY COMMITTEE are:
a. To secure for all students in Loudoun County Public Schools the highest advantages in academic, vocational, physical, cultural, and social education.
b. To provide a forum for the discussion and sharing of common educational concerns and ideas about minority student achievement.
c. To serve as a network for interaction among local parent groups, parents, students, teachers, administrators, citizens, and the School Board as to issues affecting student achievement in Loudoun County Public Schools.

Section 2. The purposes of this ADVISORY COMMITTEE are promoted through regular meetings, which may include an educational program and a forum for the     development of ideas.  In addition to such meetings, these purposes may be further developed through conferences, committees, projects and     programs, and are governed and qualified by the basic policies set forth in Article IV.

Article IV: Basic Policies
  The following are basic policies of this ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
a. The ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall be noncommercial, nonsectarian, nonpartisan, and shall not serve as advocates for any individual, community group, or agency.
b. The name of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE and the names of any members shall not be used in connection with a commercial concern or with any partisan interest or for any purpose not appropriately related to the Purposes of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
c. The ADVISORY COMMITTEE may provide a forum for candidates seeking public office to speak but shall not support or participate in the campaign of any person seeking public office.  In addition, the ADVISORY COMMITTEE may provide a forum for the discussion of pending legislation or enacted laws affecting education, but shall not take an active position to lobby for or against such legislation.
d. The ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall work to provide quality education for all students and shall contribute to the decision-making process establishing school policy, recognizing that the legal responsibility to make decisions has been delegated by the citizens to the LCPS School Board and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.
e. The ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall meet for the purposes of conference and cooperation in matters affecting public schools and students in public schools.
f. The actions of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall not be binding upon local school parent groups or school staff.

Article V: Membership
Section 1. There shall be two classes of membership in the ADVISORY COMMITTEE.     Those members hereinafter designated as “founding members” shall constitute    the initial membership of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE.  They shall hold office    until the close of the regular meeting in November 2008, at which time such class    of membership shall cease to exist.  After November 2008, membership shall consist of one delegate from each public school in Loudoun County, who shall be
a representative of the parent group in the school.

Section 2. The names of delegate from each school shall be submitted to the ADVISORY COMMITTEE by participating local schools and the delegates’ terms shall begin at the close of the November meeting or at the time of their appointment.

Section 3. Each local public school shall be entitled to representation in the ADVISORY COMMITTEE by one delegate or their alternate as selected by the local parent groups, according to its own procedure, regardless of the number of parent groups within each school.  In no case, shall there be more than one delegate and one alternate representing any school.

Article VI: Officers and Their Election
Section 1. Officers
a. The officers of this ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall be a chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary.  The past chairman shall serve on the Executive Committee for one year as an advisor.
b. Officers shall be elected by ballot no later than the regular meeting in October 2008 for the inaugural year and shall assume their duties at the close of this meeting.  Following the initial year, elections for officers shall be held in May of each year.
c. Officers shall serve for a one-year term and may be reelected to a second one-year term for their respective office.  Officers may be subsequently elected to a different office or having left the Executive Committee for one year, may once again be eligible for election to a prior office.

Section 2. An effort shall be made to secure distribution of leadership throughout the     county in order to prevent concentration in one cluster area, as defined in     the Standing Rules.  No more than two delegates from a cluster may serve     as officers simultaneously.

Section 3. Nominations
a. Nominations for officers shall be made by a “Nominating Committee” as provided for in Article X.
b. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the time the report of the Nominating Committee is given, provided consent of the nominee has been obtained.

Section 4. Vacancies
a. In the case of a vacancy in the office of Chairman, the Vice-Chairman shall accede to that office and shall serve until the end of the one-year term.
b. Vacancies occurring in other offices shall be filled by a majority vote of the delegates present.  The Executive Committee shall present a nominee for the vacancy and nominations may be made from the floor as provided previously in this Article.

Article VII: Duties of Officers
Section 1. The Chairman
a. shall preside at all meetings of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE when present;
b. shall coordinate the work of the officers and committees;
c. may call “special meetings” upon request of a majority of delegates or as deemed necessary by the Chairman or Executive Committee;
d. may appoint “special committees” when deemed necessary by the Executive Committee;
e. may appoint a parliamentarian to advise the Executive Committee when deemed necessary;
f. shall represent the ADVISORY COMMITTEE in all matters of business or appoint a member of the Executive Committee to do so as needed;
g. shall perform any other duties as specified in the Standing Rules.

Section 2. The Vice-Chairman
a. shall preside at all meetings of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE in the absence of the Chairman;
b. shall assist the Chairman as deemed necessary;
c. shall serve as chairman of the Programs Committee, as outlined in the Standing Rules;
d. shall perform any other duties as specified in the Standing Rules.

Section 3. The Secretary
a. shall record and maintain the Minutes of all meetings of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE;
b. shall conduct correspondence as requested by the Executive Committee;
c. shall maintain an accurate roster of the names and addresses of the member school parent groups and their leadership;
d. shall maintain an accurate roster of the names, addresses and email addresses of the delegates of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE;
e. shall perform any other duties as specified in the Standing Rules.

Section 4. All officers shall perform their duties as specified in these Bylaws and     Standing Rules.  Officers shall deliver to their successors all official     material immediately following the meeting at which their successors are     elected.

Article VIII: Meetings
Section 1. The ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall meet monthly, as described in the Standing Rules,  September through May, except for the month of December, unless otherwise provided for by the Executive Committee with proper notice to the delegates.

Section 2. An “Annual Meeting” shall be held for the purpose of electing officers,     receiving year-end reports from officers and committees and selecting a     preliminary list of programs for the upcoming year.

Section 3. “Special Meetings” may be called by the Chairman, the Executive      Committee and upon the request of the majority of the delegates present     provided that proper notice has been given to delegates.

Section 4. All meetings of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall be open to the public, but    the privilege of introducing motions and voting shall be limited to the delegates or
their alternates.  No member may cast more than one vote and there shall be no voting by proxy.

Section 5. A quorum for the transaction of business of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall consist of those delegates or their alternates present at a meeting called with proper notice.

Article IX: Executive Committee
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE, the past President serving as Advisor, and the Chairmen of the Standing Committees or Special Committees at the direction of the Chairman.

Section 2. The Executive Committee
a. shall transact business as directed by the ADVISORY COMMITTEE;
b. shall have the responsibility of guiding the ADVISORY COMMITTEE between regular meetings with the exception of making final determinations of policy;
c. shall create Standing of Special Committees as deemed necessary;
d. shall approve the work of Standing or Special Committees;
e. shall report at each regular meeting of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE as deemed necessary;
f. may call “Special Meetings” of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE;
g. shall plan and set the agenda for regular meetings of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

Article X: Committees
Section 1. Standing Committees of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall be Programs,    Nominating, Bylaws, and other Committees as may be created by the Executive
      Committee.

Section 2. The Chairmen and members of the Standing and Special Committees with    the exception of Programs (which is elected under the provisions of these
  Bylaws), shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.

Section 3. The term of the Standing and Special Committees and their Chairmen     shall be one year.

Section 4. The Chairmen of each Standing and Special Committee shall present a     plan of work to the Executive Committee for approval.  No committee     work shall be undertaken without the consent of the Executive Committee.

Section 5. Duties of the Standing and Special Committees shall be determined by the     Executive Committee and the provisions of these Bylaws and Standing     Rules.

Section 6. Nominating Committee
a. shall consist of at least three and no more than five delegates of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE with representation from different clusters within the county;
b. shall be elected by ballot at a regular meeting not less than two months prior to the election;
c. shall be nominated from the floor, shall elect their own Chairman and shall recommend nominees from the delegates of the ADVISORY COMMITTEE;
d. If a Nominating Committee cannot be elected, as provided in this Article, the current Executive Committee shall serve as the Nominating Committee with the exception of the MSAAC Chairman.

Section 7. The quorum of any committee shall be the number of members present at     a properly called meeting.

Section 8. The Chairman shall be an ex-officio member of all committees with the   exception of the Nominating Committee.

Article XI: Standing Rules
  Standing Rules may be adopted from time to time as deemed necessary, to    supplement these Bylaws.  They may be adopted without previous notice     by a majority vote of the delegates or their alternates present at any     properly called meeting.  However, no Standing Rule, Resolution or     Motion is in order that conflicts with these Bylaws.

Article XII: Parliamentary Authority
The parliamentary authority for this ADVISORY COMMITTEE shall be Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, and shall govern in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws or Standing Rules.

Article XIII: Amendments
  These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of this ADVISORY
COMMITTEE by a two-thirds vote of the delegates or their alternates present and voting, provided written notice of the proposed amendment(s) shall have been given at least thirty days prior to the meeting.

 

Board of Superviors to Vote on Purchase of Essential School Property

Sorry for the late post..Tomorrow, July 1st, The Board of Supervisors will be voting on the purchase of more than 170 acres for for an entire school cluster. The Rouse property will be home to a High School (HS-8), a Middle School (MS-6), and an Elementary School (ES-22). These schools are critically needed to support the growth in the Dulles District.  The purchase is endorsed by the School Board and the County's Staff.  If the construction of these schools is delayed, it will significantly increase construction costs and create additional crowding in our still growing school county.  I sent an e-mail to the Board of Supervisors members earlier tonight and urge you to either call them at 703-777-0204 or e-mail them at:

• Scott K. York (Chairman At-Large): scott.york@loudoun.gov
  
• Susan Klimek Buckley (Sugarland Run): susan.buckley@loudoun.gov
  
• Kelly Burk (Leesburg): supervisor.kelly.burk@loudoun.gov  
  
• Jim Burton (Blue Ridge): jim.burton@loudoun.gov
  
• Eugene Delgaudio (Sterling): edelgaud@loudoun.gov
  
• Sally R. Kurtz (Catoctin): sally.kurtz@loudoun.gov
  
• Andrea McGimsey (Potomac): andrea.mcgimsey@loudoun.gov
  
• Stevens Miller (Dulles): stevens.miller@loudoun.gov 
  
• Lori Waters (Broad Run District): lori.waters@loudoun.gov

Complaint Policy to Be Considered for Adoption

The School Board will consider a policy concerning student and parental complaints at our June 24th meeting. I've pasted it below.  I can't support the current draft, I will make a separete post with my reasons and changes.

New Policy – Comments and Complaints

To be created under 8-10 Students – General  or 8-64 Students – Community Relations.

 

A. Statement of Principle

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for parents and students to follow to offer input, comments, suggestions and complaints to school officials.

 

B. Precedence

This policy governs all written complaints not governed by other policies. Procedures enumerated in other policies supersede those created in this policy.

 

C. Definitions

“Parents and students” includes current students, parents of current students or other persons who enrolled a current student.

“Complainant” refers to the parents and/or student who have submitted a complaint.

“Respond” means to provide a written assessment of the complaint.  “Respond” does not connote a decision, agreement or resolution.

“Business days” refers to days in which LCPS administrative offices are open.

 

D. Procedures

Building principals shall establish appropriate procedures within their schools for encouraging, soliciting and receiving input, comments, suggestions and complaints from parents and students. 

Parents and students with complaints should attempt to resolve their concerns informally at the lowest administrative level possible, beginning with, where applicable, the teacher, school assistant principal or principal.

Parents and students may submit questions, concerns and complaints to teachers and school administrators through any means they choose, and are strongly encouraged to do so. 

 

E. Complaint Form

Parents with complaints may choose to use a complaint form developed by the Superintendent. 

The complaint form shall be distributed at least once annually to all parents and students and shall be accessible to parents and students at all times through individual school offices, electronically upon request from individual schools or the Superintendent’s office, and via the LCPS website and each school’s website.

The complaint form will record the child’s school.

The form will include an optional section for the complainant to categorize the complaint. This section will include various common categories, and a space for categories not listed.

LCPS will track the number of complaints by category and school.

 

F. Timeline

Complainants will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of written complaints in writing within 5 business days of receipt. The principal or the principal’s designee will respond in writing to complaints within 30 calendar days of receipt.

Within 30 calendar days of the principal's response, the complainant may file an appeal to the Superintendent.

The Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee will acknowledge appeals in writing within 5 business days of receipt, and respond in writing within 30 calendar days of receipt

 

G. Retaliation

Retaliation against parents or students who file complaints or participate in the related proceedings is prohibited is strictly prohibited, and any alleged retaliation shall be reviewed and dealt with appropriately by the Superintendent or other appropriate administrator. 

 

H. Multiple Complaints

Multiple complaints regarding substantively the same issue, whether submitted by one or more complainant, may be treated as a single complaint for the purposes of statistical tracking and response requirements.

Memorial Day 2008

I hope everyone will take time to remember why today is a holiday.

 

 

'No arsenal, no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men everywhere.' - Ronald Reagan

 

4th Annual "Beat the Odds" Scholarship Winners are Extraordinary

I've attended three of the four "Beat the Odds" Scholarship Award Ceremonies and have been taken aback every year at the extreme difficulties these students have overcome to achieve academic excellence. Its also very satisfying that the students were accompanied by their nominating teacher or counselor. This year five awards given to graduating Seniors: 

Award Winner                Nominating Teacher             High School

Alexandra Bentley          Kristi Lincicome                Loudoun Valley

Brandon Burke                Jeffrey Bohn                     Loudoun County

Megan Gregory               Pam Smith                        Park View

Jessica Embrey              Kerry Campane                Freedom

Victor Williams                Michael Daugherty           Dominion

The keynote speaker for the ceremony was Mr. Tom Maynard, the Executive Director of the Loudoun County Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services.

The Loudoun County Bar Association sponsors "Beat the Odds". If you'd like to contribute to this worthwhile program, please send a donation in care of Mathew Snow, 7 East Market Street, Suite 102, Leesburg, VA 20176