$2.3 Million Grant Supports College, Career Readiness for Middle School Students

Shelburne Middle School's seventh and eighth graders recently had their first GEAR UP activity in partnership with James Madison University (JMU).

Both student cohorts participated in a STEM design and career pathways workshop in which they designed a backpack on paper and voted on their favorite designs.

The workshop, led by Chvd Justin in collaboration with JMU, supports STEM principles, career-building and entrepreneurship and helps students understand the manufacturing process, from design to production. The two winning backpack designs from each grade level are now in production and will be delivered to students to wear when finished.

James Madison University began its partnership with Staunton City Schools in late summer after it received a $2.3 million GEAR UP federal grant. The funding will support all seventh- and eighth-graders at Shelburne to help prepare them for higher education and career opportunities, especially among first-generation and underserved students. The seven-year renewable grant will follow the students through graduation, providing tutoring, workshops, field trips, family nights and an academic summer program called Summer Jam.

Kelsi Weaver, a nine-year educator at McSwain Elementary, recently shared why she has chosen to work in SCS and what keeps her here.

Winter has brought more snow days than usual this school year, and we know some of you are wondering if we’ll have to make up time. Here’s the latest:

Our Current Status  

Good news: All of our schools are on track, with no need for extra school days at this point.

If we miss any more days, we’d consider converting the April 18 teacher workday to a school day if needed.

How We Build the Academic Calendar  

Our academic calendar includes 100 extra instructional hours beyond what’s required. Plus, we usually operate between 6.5 and 6.65 hours each school day, which exceeds the minimum state guidelines of 5.5 hours per day.

This gives us a significant cushion of banked time in our schedule. All planned breaks, workdays, and holidays are already factored into the calendar to meet our time requirements.

Thanks for your understanding and support during this unpredictable season. Trust us: We all have our fingers crossed that there will be no more snow days this winter!

In 2020, SCS qualified for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), allowing our schools to provide free meals to all students and eliminating meal debt for families and the school division.

However, a proposal by the House and Ways Committee threatens this eligibility, potentially cutting billions in funding and affecting 784 schools in Virginia, including ours.

When children's basic needs aren't met, they struggle in the classroom. Please tell your legislators to keep school meals free for all students. Check out a message from our superintendent for more information, and use #ProtectSchoolMeals and #CEP when posting on social media. Thank you for your support!

During its Feb. 10 business meeting, the Staunton City School Board reaffirmed SCS’ core values in light of recent statements and actions by the federal government impacting our learning community. 

Six students from Shelburne Middle School are getting the exciting opportunity to participate in the National Civics Bee. This nationwide competition aims to inspire young people to learn about American democracy and engage in civic activities. 

During the first round of the competition, students tackled a three-question essay in which they described ways they could improve their community.

Six finalists were selected by judges to compete in the second round on April 8 at Blue Ridge Community College, including Olivia Brooks, Asia Clerfius, Tzophia Francis, Ellen Miller, Promise Wayland and Makiyah Williams.

They will answer 20 multiple-choice civics questions and present their essay ideas to a panel of judges. The top three winners will win $500 (1st), $250 (2nd) and $125 (3rd) and advance to state competition this summer. One finalist from each state will compete in the national championship in Washington, D.C. this fall.

We wish our students the very best as they move on to the next stage of the competition.

The National Civics Bee is organized by The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and is an annual nonpartisan civics competition for middle schoolers.

In early December, some of our preschoolers had a scary moment when their bus was hit by a car just as it was turning into the school parking lot for morning drop-off. 

Thankfully, no one was injured. Our Staunton first responders were there in minutes to help unload students from the bus one by one and deliver them safely inside the school on a frigid morning.

On Feb. 18, the students on that bus had a thank-you breakfast and story time with the first responders who helped them from Staunton Fire and Rescue and the Staunton Police Department, along with city and school leaders. We greatly appreciate their support and dedication to protecting our schools and community. 

More Top News

Congrats to our Teacher and Support Staff Person of the Year

Karen Grady has been named the Division Teacher of the Year, and Debbie Bryd is the Support Staff Person of the Year. Both are from Ware Elementary School. Mrs. Grady is a first-grade teacher, and Mrs. Byrd is the school's bookkeeper. Congratulations to them both!

• Learn more about Mrs. Grady
• Learn more about Mrs. Byrd

We also congratulate all the 2024-25 Teachers and Support Staff of the Year at each school. Check out the news release to see all the honorees. A special thanks to the Staunton Lions Club for donating a monetary gift to all the honorees.

Penny Wars Raises Funds for Wildfire and Hurricane Victims

Shelburne Middle School WEB Leaders choose a service project each year to raise awareness and money for a cause. This year, they decided to help families and communities affected by Hurricane Helene and the wildfires in California. 

Students brought silver coins and dollars in for their homeroom to earn points, but if they had pennies, they could give those to other homerooms to deduct their points.

After a three-week collection period, the final tally was more than $1,920. The funds will be donated to Direct Relief, with half going to those affected by Hurricane Helene and half to those impacted by the California wildfires. 

March is Music in Our Schools Month

This month, we shine a spotlight on music education to show the importance of access to music education for children of all ages. Our bands, choirs and music teachers are doing amazing work every day.

Follow @stauntonbands, @shelburneband, and @stauntonchoirs on Instagram for tons of entertaining and enlightening musical content featuring our students and staff.

Also, check out upcoming musical performances at the middle and high schools this month and see the division event calendar for elementary school music performance schedules.

Welcome, Mrs. Wimer

Tammy Wimer joined us in January as a new assistant principal at Staunton High School. Mrs. Wimer was a Physical Education teacher for 23 years, most recently at Stuarts Draft Middle School. She was also a coach and a middle school athletic coordinator. 

In her introductory message to students and staff, Mrs. Wimer said, "I love sports, being an educator and working with students, helping them to grow mentally and physically. I believe in creating an environment where everyone feels supported and empowered to succeed, whether that's in the classroom, on the field, or through personal growth."

Congratulations to all!

The SHS Junior Varsity Girls Basketball team won the Shenandoah District regular season and tournament championships, going undefeated and finishing with a 21-1 overall record.

The SHS Boys Basketball team won the Shenandoah District Championship and went undefeated in the district this season. This is the team's third consecutive district championship.

The Shelburne Boys Basketball team won the middle school tournament championship.

Senior Joaquin Bell was named the Shenandoah District Boys Basketball Player of the Year and All-District First Team. He averaged 21.6 points per game this season.

Senior Ky'Ree Scott was named Shenandoah District Boys Basketball All-District First Team.

Junior Anthony Renne was named Shenandoah District Boys Basketball All-District Second Team.

Izaiah Reed won the long jump at the Region 3C meet in February.

Thomas Chisley finished second in the triple jump and fourth in the high jump at the Region 3C meet.

Trioux Williams was named Shenandoah District Girls Basketball All-District Second Team.