Rockingham County Public Schools

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Rockingham County Public Schools is the public school district in Rockingham County in the U.S. state of Virginia.

Contents

[edit] General Information

  • RCPS has received nearly $2 million in 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants from the U.S. and VA Depts. of Education to operate before- and after-school programs at five elementary schools in cooperation with Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
  • The three high schools offer students a variety of opportunities to earn college credit while in high school, including dual enrollment classes, as well as Advanced Placement (AP) classes in all major content areas.
  • All middle and high schools offer alternative education programs for at-risk students.
  • All high schools have multi-purpose computer labs that remain open to students until 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, during the school year.
  • A Smaller Learning Communities grant for $300,000 was received from the U.S. Dept. of Education to improve programs such as middle to high school transition.
  • The Character Counts program has been implemented in all elementary, middle and high schools.
  • RCPS has over 4,000 computers, which are deployed in every classroom, office, library, and computer lab. All middle school students take two year-long computer technologycourses.
  • The Career Cluster Program provides a focused program to assist participating students with a seamless transition from school to work. RCPS is supported privately by the Rockingham Educational Foundation, Inc. During the 2006-2007 school year, the Foundation will contribute approximately $75,000 in support of a variety of school initiatives and student scholarships.
  • The Rockingham Educational Foundation provides a Teacher Supply Depot for classroom teachers. The Depot is a warehouse where teachers can select hundreds of free items for classroom usage.
  • Summer Science Camps are conducted at all elementary schools through a contribution from Merck & Company, Inc. to the Rockingham Educational Foundation, Inc.
  • The three high schools collaboratively publish a monthly community newspaper called, etc... It has a circulation of about 30,000.
  • During 2005-2006, 3,524 parents, college and high school students, business people, members of civic groups, and others volunteered in our schools. They donated over 113,786 hours of service.
  • All teachers are required to possess eight Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel.
  • Many teachers have achieved certification based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers.
  • Over 37% of Rockingham County teachers have master’s degrees.
  • Elementary and middle schools provide after-school tutoring and homework assistance.
  • Each high school sponsors a Future Educators Association and teaching mentorships for credit.
  • RCPS teachers receive strong central office support.[1]

[edit] School district

District Name County Students* Grade range
Rockingham County Public Schools Rockingham County, Virginia 11404 Prekindergarten - 12th Grade

[edit] High schools

School name City Students* Grade range
Broadway High School Broadway, Virginia 1102 9th Grade - 12th Grade
Nickname Fighting Gobblers School colors Green and white
Spotswood High School Penn Laird, Virginia 1381 9th Grade - 12th Grade
Nickname Trailblazers School colors Blue and gray
Named after Former Virginia Lt. Governeror Alexander Spotswood Year opened 1980
Controversy Spotswood made headines briefly in 2000, when teacher Jeffry Newton, with the backing of 'freedom of speech' advocacy organizations including the ACLU and American Library Association, went to court over an incident covering several weeks in September 1999, when then principal C. James Slye ordered Newton to remove some pamphlets from his classroom's door that had been posted in observance of Banned Books Week. The suit was dismissed before the case could be heard, when Newton resigned from the district.
Notes The school colors were selected from the colors of the two high schools it consolidated in the 1980s: Elkton High School (blue and gold) and Montevideo (maroon and gray). In the fall of 1984, Spotswood became a 9-12 school and changed to its present name, Spotswood High School. Spotswood High School website
Turner Ashby High School Bridgewater, Virginia 1115 9th Grade - 12th Grade
Nickname Knights School colors Black and white
Named after Confederate Civil War General, Turner Ashby Year opened 1956

[edit] Middle schools

School name City Students* Grade range
Elkton Middle School Elkton, Virginia 480 5th Grade - 8th Grade
J. Frank Hillyard Middle School Broadway, Virginia 843 6th Grade - 8th Grade
Montevideo Middle School Penn Laird, Virginia 596 6th Grade - 8th Grade
Wilbur S. Pence Middle School Dayton, Virginia 796 6th Grade - 8th Grade

[edit] Elementary schools

School name City Students* Grade range
Elkton Elementary School Elkton, Virginia 634 Prekindergarten - 4th Grade
Fulks Run Elementary School Fulks Run, Virginia 169 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
John C. Myers Elementary School Broadway, Virginia 462 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
John W. Wayland Elementary School Bridgewater, Virginia 552 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Lacey Spring Elementary School Harrisonburg, Virginia 307 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Linville-Edom Elementary School Linville, Virginia 185 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
McGaheysville Elementary School McGaheysville, Virginia 397 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Mountain View Elementary School Harrisonburg, Virginia 480 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Ottobine Elementary School Dayton, Virginia 179 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Peak View Elementary School Penn Laird, Virginia 536 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Plains Elementary School Timberville, Virginia 530 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
Pleasant Valley Elementary School Harrisonburg, Virginia 295 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade
South River Elementary School Grottoes, Virginia 382 Prekindergarten - 5th Grade

[edit] Other schools

School name City Students* Grade range
Dayton Learning Center Dayton, Virginia

*Student counts as of 2006

[edit] Awards

  • Rockingham County Public Schools is one of only 24 school divisions in Virginia which met or exceeded No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) achievement objectives during the 2005-2006 school year. Rockingham County was one of the largest school divisions on this elite list.

  • Congressman Bob Goodlatte recognized Montevideo Middle School Instructional Technology Resource Teacher Joe Showker with a Children's Champion Award for his work with the Web Wise Kids (WWK) program throughout Virginia.

  • The newest grant news would be for our Title I school that were recognized as Distinguished Title I Schools and received Academic Achievement grants. Fulks Run and South River Elementary Schools each received $17,000 for the past two years of SOL Assessment achievement. Pleasant Valley and Mountain View Elementary Schools received $8,500 each for their students' SOL Assessment achievement.

  • RCPS teacher, Janis Churchill, was selected as the outstanding elementary school technology teacher in Virginia by the International Society for Technology in Education Association.

  • For their work during the 2005-2006 school year, numerous RCPS teachers received Shenandoah Valley Economics Awards, and many of those teachers received state-level recognition.

  • High school agriculture, business, family and consumer sciences, health sciences, marketing, technology, and trade and industrial students competed in regional, state, and national level competitions, receiving numerous individual and team awards. Students served as regional and state officers of their career and technical education youth organizations. Annually, RCPS middle and high school students win scholarships from the State Fair of Virginia and other agencies as a result of their participation in career and technical programs.

  • The Spotswood High School Chapter of the Future Educators of America (FEA) received an invitation to present at the 2007 National Conference for FEA.

  • Rockingham County employs 11 teachers that have earned certification as master teachers by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rockingham County Public Schools http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/quickfacts/quick.htm
  2. ^ Rockingham County Public Schools http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/quickfacts/quick.htm