Chesterfield County Public Schools -

Four teachers earn R.E.B. awards to pursue worldwide learning opportunities

Remarkable adventures in learning await four Chesterfield County teachers who won 2025 R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence and will receive a total of almost $50,000 in professional development grants from the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond and the R.E.B. Foundation. Congratulations to award recipients:

• Amber Kuper, Bird High: $15,000 to examine the deep connection between artists from Japan and France and how their artistic exchange has molded art and culture worldwide, both historically and in modern times.

• Annwyn Long, Alberta Smith Elementary: $9,700 to explore diverse American quilting traditions and engage students in making a collaborative school quilt that weaves together heritage, math and creativity.

• Bryan Sheetz, Thomas Dale High: $14,300 to visit sporting facilities across the United States and attend conferences to learn cultural and best management practices related to turf in various environments.

• Jenifer Williams, Enon Elementary: $10,000 to visit cultural and community spaces in Mexico, observe classrooms and explore Mayan sites.

The teachers learned they were heading for once-in-a-lifetime experiences when Chesterfield County Public Schools leaders popped in Nov. 5 during the school day to surprise them with the good news.

Read the full news release with details about their projects and see the video of them receiving the awards.

Congratulations also go to these five R.E.B. finalists who received $1,000 awards.

• Kenzie Clark, Clover Hill Elementary

• Alysse Cullinan, Bird High

• Alison Graham, Old Hundred Elementary

• Melissa Ligh, Bird High 

• Sarah Petty, Clover Hill Elementary 

At the Nov. 12, 2025, regular School Board meeting, Dr. Jenna Darby took the oath of office to serve as the interim representative for the Clover Hill District. She will officially assume the role on Jan. 1, 2026, following the Dec. 31, 2025, resignation of current Clover Hill representative Dorothy Heffron.

The School Board appointed Dr. Darby during a special meeting on Oct. 31, 2025. Her interim appointment will continue until a special election is held to choose a representative to serve the remainder of the term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2027. A date for that special election has not yet been set.

The Oct. 31 news release announcing her appointment can be found here.

Eighth graders from Chesterfield County Public Schools got an exciting hands-on experience exploring career possibilities at the Mission Tomorrow regional career fair, hosted by Chamber RVA and Junior Achievement. Watch this video to see how CCPS students interacted with and learned about potential professions available to them.

Holidays can sometimes disrupt students’ emotional well-being, but mental health support can provide the tools they need to stay resilient and thrive. Free online therapy for Chesterfield students in grades 6-12 continues even when schools are closed for winter break and holidays.

After completing the opt-in process for Hazel Health, families schedule telehealth sessions that occur at home. This connection can help students with anxiety, depression, stress, grief, social skills, bullying and more. It is important to note that Hazel Health does not replace emergency services.

In order for students to have access to this resource, parents must opt in via ParentVUE. Parents are encouraged to start the opt-in process no later than Dec. 17, 2025 to ensure their children can access online therapy sessions over winter break.

Use this simple process to get support for your child:

• First, sign in to ParentVUE in order to opt in to Hazel Health. After you opt in, Chesterfield County Public Schools will share your information with Hazel Health (usually this happens within one business day). View instructions in English and Spanish to use ParentVUE to opt in.

• Next, go to this Hazel Health page to create an account and complete the online consent.

• Finally, schedule an enrollment call and your child’s first appointment with Hazel Health.

Visit the CPS Mental Health Support page for more information.

For National Fraud Awareness Week (Nov. 16-22) Chesterfield County is bringing awareness to its Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline (804-318-8000) and encouraging County residents and employees to report wrongdoing involving fraud, waste, and abuse of Chesterfield government and school assets or resources.

Tips are consistently the most common way to detect fraud. The Chesterfield County Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline (804-318-8000) can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and callers can remain anonymous as caller ID and call back features have been disabled to maintain confidentiality. Some examples of violations may include, but are not limited to:

• Falsification of records

• Serious abuse or excessive use of time

• Theft of funds 

Visit the Reporting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse website for more information.

Gates Elementary hosted several adults from the Richmond Virginia Black Deaf Associates in late October. They spoke about protactile signing with students in the school’s American Sign Language dual language immersion program. Gates Elementary is one of only two schools in the United States offering American Sign Language dual language immersion.

Protactile signing is a method of communication used by individuals who are deafblind. The presenters demonstrated protactile signing and shared how having a disability does not limit the potential of deaf individuals. 

The Career and Technical Center @ Courthouse held its first clinical day for the students in health and medical science classes. The event helped students experience the collaboration required in real-world patient care:

• Medical administration students handled patient check-in and verification of ID and insurance.

• Medical assistant students performed tasks like taking vital signs and acting as preceptors for patients.

• Radiologic technology  students wheeled patients in for simulated chest X-rays.

• Dental students provided stabilizing care during a medical crisis until a patient can be seen by a dentist

How many game changers do you know in Chesterfield schools? This CCPS in the Know video explains how you can easily nominate school employees for Superintendent's Game Changer Awards. Think about the outstanding teachers and school staff members you know, then nominate them as Game Changers.

CCPS in the Know videos to give quick-but-helpful insights into central Virginia’s largest school system. Do you have a question for CCPS In the Know? Ask it here for a chance to be featured. Watch all past episodes of CCPS in the Know on YouTube.

Matoaca Elementary picks great pumpkins

Matoaca Elementary staff members connected children’s books with pumpkins and created an adorable competition. Pumpkins on display in the school library represented “The Adventures of Captain Underpants,” “Hi! Fly Guy,” “Charlotte’s Web” and others.

After students vote for their favorite pumpkin, these gourds came out on top:

First place - “Despicable Me” created by instructional assistant Ashanti Whitfield

Second place - “Hello Kitty Halloween” created by Arianna Lee of Brothers’ Keeper.

Honorable mention - “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” created by itinerant STEAM teacher Alex Bortz

Kids with ADHD see the world in amazing ways, but staying on track can be tricky for them. 

Join us online at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, for a workshop to give families simple, practical strategies to help children manage routines, build focus, and shine at school and at home. Get tools that celebrate progress and strengthen confidence. Special guest is Melissa Ackley from Chesterfield Prevention Services. Sign up to attend here.

Parenting is tough and children don’t come with an owner's manual. So, grab a cup of coffee and get some friendly support each week with Coffee & Conversation. We’ll have a topical discussion with community experts to help understand and foster success in your students.

Missed a conversation? Visit our Programs for Families page to watch past sessions.

The Chesterfield County School Board held its regular meeting on Aug. 12. The meeting included a special education update, a presentation about support provided for new teachers, and a repor on accreditation and continuous improvement. There were also awards and recognitions for our students, schools, staff, partners and more.

Check out all the highlights from the Nov. 12, 2025, board meeting.

This is an important reminder that the 90-day conditional enrollment period for students who are missing required school immunizations will end Nov. 17, 2025 for students who were enrolled as of the first day of school.

After Nov. 17, any student who does not have documentation showing they have received all required vaccines will be at risk of being excluded from school until their immunizations are up to date.

Families of students missing immunizations should have already received additional communication from their school with specific details.

For questions or assistance finding a healthcare provider to obtain required vaccines, contact your school nurse for support and available community resources.

Registration is now open for our fall 2025 sessions of the SOL/W!se academies. Fall sessions will take place Mondays through Thursdays from Dec. 1-4 and Dec. 8-11 at Clover Hill High. The deadline to register for fall is Nov. 24.

• SOL Academy is free and open to any student who passed a class in science, social studies, math, reading or writing but did not pass the end-of-course SOL test.

• W!se Academy is free and open to any student who passed the economics and personal finance class but did not pass the W!se financial literacy test and needs a career and technical education credential to graduate.

Learn more about the SOL/W!se academies and register to attend online.

Academies are offered in the fall and spring. Students who have questions about their diploma status should contact their school counselor. Learn more about the academies. For questions, email solacademy@ccpsnet.net.

Each fall, Chesterfield County Public Schools eighth graders explore their options for high school and decide whether or not to apply to a specialty center, governor’s school or regional technology school. 

• The online application for specialty centers and governor’s schools closes Dec. 5, 2025. 

• The online application for CodeRVA opens Jan. 5, 2026 and closes Feb. 20.

Full details about high school options are online at bit.ly/CCPSoptions. That includes the online application form, links to specialty center websites and more. 

Open houses offer an in-depth look at specialty centers and regional schools to help eighth grade families explore high school options. Here are the open houses that remain in 2025:

• 6:30 p.m. Nov. 20: Center for Mass Communications at Manchester High (12601 Bailey Bridge Road)

• 6 p.m. Dec. 9: CodeRVA Regional High School (2601 Durham St. in Richmond and virtually via coderva.org

Want a full-time job with optional summers off or maybe part-time work with a flexible schedule? Become a bus driver for Chesterfield County Public Schools! Join us at our hiring event Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, from 5-6 p.m. at Manchester Middle (7401 Hull Street Rd., North Chesterfield). Registration is preferred, but not required. 

• No experience needed. 

• Get paid while you train for your CDL. 

• Starting pay is $24.15/hour or higher with experience.

Learn more and register to attend.