Celebrating the Grand Opening of the Barn and Classroom Building at the Land Lab

December 5 was a memorable day. Not just because of the snow we saw in Isle of Wight County, but because we hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new barn and classroom building at the Land Lab.  I was unfortunately under the weather and on doctor's orders for bed rest.  It was incredibly difficult to not be there, but I'm extremely proud of everyone involved for putting together an outstanding event.

The ceremony took place inside of the barn, complete with stalls of goats and piglets, and even some boxes of rabbits.  The event included remarks from our School Board Chairman, Vicky Hulick, and the Vice-Chairman for the Board of Supervisors, William McCarty.  Gracie Owney, a senior from Smithfield High and a student in the Agriculture program, also spoke to the guests about what the program means to her. Mike Lombardo, our Assistant Superintendent, shared the following on my behalf:

Three years ago the division embarked on an ambitious journey to redesign the CTE program to better meet the needs of our students.  The Agriculture program has been a part of the IWCS curriculum for decades, but we knew it needed to be updated.  In the 2016-2018 school year, we established a working farm (Land Lab) to expand the existing agricultural program. The land lab was constructed on existing division property behind Windsor Elementary School.   We hired a full-time farm manager for the Land Lab.  The farm manager and agriculture teacher collaborate to provide authentic real-world learning in the areas of agricultural business management and mechanization, along with plant, animal, and soil science.  Since opening in September of 2017, the students have transformed the Land Lab from six acres of uncut grass, to four fenced pastures, a vegetable garden, and housing for chickens, rabbits, goats, and, as of yesterday, pigs. Students receive real world experiences through the Land Lab, such as participation in “farm to table” marketing from the sale of farm products to the public and to the division’s culinary arts program.  The lab has welcomed groups of elementary students as teachers introduce science standards in their classes.  The working farm has made agriculture come to life for students throughout the division.  And now we have these two beautiful buildings to further enhance learning opportunities for our students.

The strides we have made with this program, many of our CTE programs, would not have been possible without the support and involvement of several key people and groups. The Isle of Wight County School Board had the courage and foresight to see the need for a redesign our CTE program. The Board of Supervisors listened to our proposal and publicly supported our vision for our schools with 7.9 million dollar investment.  Our Farm Manager, Daniel Judkins, and Agriculture teacher, Jason Brittle, and the leadership at our two high schools, Principal Laura Sullivan from Windsor High and Zachary Haney from Smithfield High.  We emphasize the importance of collaboration with our students.  The success of our new CTE model would not have been possible without this collaboration and I wanted to acknowledge their contributions this morning.

All of the speakers, along with Jason Brittle, Daniel Judkins, Zachary Haney and Laura Sullivan, joined together to cut the blue ribbon, officially opening the barn and classroom building for use.  As guests toured the facilities, they were able to enjoy refreshments provided by the IWCS Culinary Arts students and instructor Kyle Cousins.

This was really a milestone for our CTE program.  We are redesigning our courses to provide students with authentic learning experiences.  In order to meet that goal, we have to include facilities that realistically simulate those work environments.  These new buildings at the Land Lab do just that and continue to support our vision of ensuring students are college, career and life ready.

I encourage you to click on the link below to watch a video of pictures from the event.

Showcasing Our Schools: Westside=Best Side

Back in March, I began highlighting our schools in my Friday blog.  I started at Carrsville and moved up Route 258 to Windsor, then along Route 10 to Smithfield, Hardy and Carrollton.  This blog wraps up the series with a stop at Westside Elementary School. Westside has a rich history in its sixty year lifetime.The school served African American children in the county as Isle of Wight Training School/Institute, then as Westside High School until desegregation in the 1960s.  The school became Smithfield Elementary then Smithfield Middle until the early 2000s.  With the construction of a new middle school, the community recommended the building be renamed Westside Elementary to commemorate it's historical significance to education in Isle of Wight County.
There has always been tremendous pride associated with Westside.  You can see and hear it in the alumni who talk about the important role the school and staff played in their lives.  The students at Westside now share that same sense of pride.  The teachers use the saying "Westside Bestside" when they share information about the successes of their students on social media.  It's a mantra that reflects how they feel about their school, their classes and their work.
The video below highlights some of that Westside Pride.  Hear from students and staff as they explain what makes Westside the Best Side.

 

Working Together for a Better Community

The vision for Isle of Wight County Schools is to create a learning environment that enables every child to discover his or her unique gifts and talents. The mission is to enhance and expand on each child’s unique gifts and talents to ensure every child is college, career, and life ready. For this vision and mission to come alive in Isle of Wight County, it requires commitment from the School Board, school leaders, and all school staff. Another important group that may not always be acknowledged is the community.    The community of stakeholders is made up of taxpayers both parents and citizens without children, business partners, and the Board of Supervisors.  The old adage of “It takes a village” has never been more important in these very divisive times. We are fortunate to have two boards that have come together to look out for the interest of Isle of Wight County, first and foremost.  

 

Our future is based on strong economic growth, which is not possible without a strong, viable workforce. The Board of Supervisors (BOS) understands this more than any governing body that I have worked with before. For the budget proposed during my first year, we focused on the condition of our facilities and added line items to ensure infrastructure upgrades and schedules for furniture, playground and bus replacement, as well as cycles for painting and paving at all schools. The BOS funded an increase of $736,000 to meet these very important needs that had been neglected for too long. In year two, our school board and I agreed that we should try to meet the school needs while trying to be fiscally responsible and only ask when funds were needed.  We were able to improve our teachers scale without asking the county for any increase in local dollars. The BOS did fund an additional 2.7 million dollars in the Capital Improvement Budget to replace roofs at Carrsville, Carrollton, and Windsor Elementary school. In addition they agreed to take on the debt service for our new Career and Technical Education project that includes programs such as welding, agricultural sciences on the land lab, building trades, mechatronics, nursing, culinary arts, cosmetology, and global logistics.

This year, with increased enrollment, we met challenges in class size at the high school level that were not expected. Once again the BOS worked cooperatively with our Board to fund additional positions at SHS. The proposed budget for 2018-2019 had requests from several schools that would reduce class size and continue the quality education everyone has come accustomed to.  The request was large--$1,094,000. School Board members met and publicly shared the reasons behind the requests. The number of community members who came out to provide public input was more than I had ever seen.  The speakers were polite and stated their reasons for supporting the budget in a thoughtful and respectful manner.  It was encouraging to see.    The Supervisors came through once again by fully funding the schools operating request.  They also fully funded the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) requests to replace the HVAC at SHS (at a cost of $1.97 million over two years).

In my three years with IWCS, the Board of Supervisors have shown a willingness to work with the School Board to continue, and to even expand, the services provided to our students.  They understand that their investment in the youngest citizens of Isle of Wight County will pay dividends for all stakeholders in the long run.

Showcasing Our Schools: Packer Pride on Display at Smithfield High

A few weeks ago I started a series of blogs where I highlight one of our schools each week.  So far, I've featured Carrsville Elementary, Georgie Tyler Middle, Windsor Elementary, Windsor High, Carrollton Elementary and Hardy Elementary.  This week the focus is on Smithfield High School. When I visited SHS recently, I asked students and staff to explain what makes Smithfield High a great place to be.  I heard many different answers, but all of them help to form the culture at SHS of Packer Pride.  There are many amazing things taking place at Smithfield High.  Watch the video below to see and hear for yourself. 

Smithfield High School (video)

Showcasing Our Schools: The Windsor Way at Windsor High

I've been highlighting a school each week in my blog, and this week it is Windsor High's turn.  On my recent visit to WHS, I spoke to teachers, students and administrators and heard about the Windsor Way. What is the Windsor Way?  See for yourself by watching the video below.  Go Dukes!

The Windsor Way  (video)

Showcasing our Schools: Getting Creative at Carrsville Elementary School

This blog is the first in a series that will feature a visit to all nine of our schools. I will be talking with our amazing students, teachers, staff, and administrators as I travel through the buildings.  The first school I am highlighting is Carrsville Elementary School.  This is our smallest school--under 300 students from PreK-5th grade--and one of our oldest, originating in the 1940s. It is also the most southern of our schools, close to the city of Franklin.  There is a lot of creativity in Carrsville;  watch the video and see for yourself.

I hope that you enjoy watching the video as much as I enjoyed my visit to Carrsville Elementary School. 

Carrsville Elementary (video)

IWCS Culinary: Catering to Our Vision

What is Your Why?  At Isle of Wight County Schools, we know our Why, and it's to prepare our students to be college, career, and life ready. To do that, we have to provide them with opportunities to discover their unique gifts and talents. As they realize their gifts and talents, they will be able to determine the best pathway for their future. Career and Technical Education courses are key to providing students with those opportunities to discover and develop their talents as they prepare for life after high school.

Our Culinary Program is a shining example of this process.  Mr. Cousins, the culinary instructor, has done an amazing job providing our students with opportunities to cater a wide range of events.  The students have prepared and served lunches to the staff at Smithfield High, as well as for special guests from the community.  They recently assisted at Carrollton Elementary School with the "Empty Bowls, Full Hearts" event that raised money for Christian Outreach. What's more amazing is the program is accomplishing all of this while working out of a very small kitchen.  We are scheduled to open a brand new full service commercial kitchen, along with a restaurant, in September. I am proud of the growth of our culinary students and look forward to providing them with even more opportunities once the new space opens in the fall.

 

If you haven't experienced our culinary program first hand, you can get a glimpse of it from this short promotional video.  I have also included a few pictures from some of the events the students have catered.

 

VIDEO:  Culinary Promotional Video

 

Culinary students prepared and served food at Carrollton Elementary.

Teachers look forward to special lunches hosted by the culinary students.

Prep work is a key part of the culinary program.

Students learn the importance of food presentation.

 

It's not about Winning, It's about having Fun

Earlier this month I had a chance to watch a Tri-Rivers basketball game hosted at Smithfield High School during their Packer Block.  What a great game!  The players were tenacious as they battled their opponent, playing tough on defense and taking advantage of shot opportunities on offense.  While the competition on the court was intense, the most important part of the game was not the score.  The game was a chance for students to demonstrate all the qualities of being a great citizen. Whether they were on the court in a uniform, or a fan in the bleachers, everyone at the game demonstrated respect and kindness, and the importance of lifting up each other.  This is not unique to SHS.  The same is true at Windsor High when they host a Tri-Rivers game.  When a player makes a basket, the gym erupts with cheers, regardless of which team the player is on.  It is incredible to watch.  I wanted you to experience that same joy, so I have a video from the game at Smithfield High and pictures below from a recent game at Windsor High (thanks to Mr. Jon Smith of WHS for the photos).  And as the student says at the beginning of the video, "It's not about winning, it's about having fun." 

Tri-Rivers Basketball Game (video)