The Rocket Rundown
Craig County Public Schools | August 2025
Dear CCPS Community:
I am honored and excited to welcome you to a new school year at Craig County Public Schools (CCPS). Whether you are returning to familiar halls as I am or stepping into our school community for the first time, we are thrilled to share this year with you. During the course of the year, we will collectively work to instill a love of learning and prepare our students to become responsible, contributing members of society.
At CCPS, we are committed to providing a challenging and rigorous educational program. We will provide instruction in a caring, safe and healthy learning environment which promotes critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship among our students.
Excellence is our goal; and every student is encouraged to strive for their very best. Our belief is that every learner, regardless of grade level or background, has the potential to learn and grow, and we will work tirelessly to support you in that pursuit.
Integrity is our foundation; we will strive to help students do what’s right at all times. Our school culture is grounded in honesty, respect, and personal responsibility, empowering each student to make choices that reflect the best of themselves.
Collaboration is our how; it will be at the heart of our division. Students, families, staff, and community members will come together to create a supportive and welcoming learning environment. We recognize that the best outcomes happen when we work together, and we look forward to partnering with you in every aspect of your child’s education.
Accountability is our gauge; it will be our approach to education. We are dedicated to ensuring that every student is held to high expectations and is supported to reach them. We are committed to being transparent, consistent, and responsive in all that we do.
I am eager to meet each of you and get to know your children. Together, we will make this a year of growth, success, and discovery. If you have any questions or need support, my door is always open.
Welcome back to school, and let’s soar to new heights and achieve incredible things!
Sincerely,
Jason A. Wheeler, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Craig County Public Schools
Strengthening Communication
Quarterly, or once every nine weeks, the Rocket Rundown will be published to keep our staff, families, and community informed and engaged. Each edition will highlight important updates, celebrate school and student successes, and share upcoming events and initiatives happening at CCPS. Our goal is to promote open communication between CCPS and our school community, and we are thrilled to showcase the great work happening in our schools.
Construction
- Safety Improvements - MES got an exciting security update this summer. The creation of a new vestibule is an added feature to help keep our students safe. When entering the building, visitors will still need to report to the main office and sign in. Additionally, several exterior doors were replaced to make MES safer for all students. Both the vestibule and the doors were paid for by a grant from Virginia Department of Education.
Contact Information
McCleary Elementary School
25345 Craigs Creek Road
New Castle, VA 24127
(540) 864-5173
Athletics
- Volleyball Camp - Hollins University conducted a camp at CCHS. Many students participated and worked on skills.
- Weight Room - Many students have taken advantage of the weight room this summer to continue training for the upcoming sports seasons.
Other Events
- FFA Banquet - The annual banquet was held on Friday July 18, 2025. Students were recognized for their achievements this year in FFA, as well their participation at the state convention. Additionally, staff members and volunteers were also recognized for their assistance to the program during the school year.
Contact Information
Craig County High School
25239 Craigs Creek Road
New Castle, VA 24127
(540) 864-5185
Curriculum Updates
- Instructional Focus - This year our instructional focus will be on increasing opportunities to respond (OTR) in the classroom. OTR refers to strategies that actively engage students by giving them frequent chances to participate, answer questions, and interact with the content. This can include think-pair-share, choral response, thumbs up/down, whiteboard answers, and digital response tools. By increasing OTR, we aim to boost student engagement, improve academic outcomes, and create more welcoming learning environments.
- IXL - We will continue using IXL as a key resource in our instruction. During our teacher workdays, staff received training on the latest features and enhancements in IXL. These updates are designed to make the platform even more engaging and supportive of student learning. IXL is a productive and useful tool that allows students extra practice on concepts they have learned in class. We’re excited about the year ahead and look forward to partnering with you to support student success!
Celebrations
- Comprehensive Instructional Program: Last year, CCPS joined a consortium of school divisions in VA (over 70 divisions) called the Comprehensive Instructional Program (CIP). CIP allows teachers to share resources, instructional materials, and common assessments. This collaboration produces more robust and rigorous materials for students while providing teachers will SOL aligned resources. CCPS was highlighted as a division that showed tremendous growth from 2024 to 2025 school years. Specifically, CCPS was 8th overall in Virginia for improved pass rates and ranked 5th in the Commonwealth for improvement in our percentile ranks. Significant improvement in student performance does not happen by chance. To accomplish this task, school leaders must set the conditions necessary for success, address the needs of staff, and work diligently to maintain the focus on instruction and student growth. Teachers must work diligently and collaboratively with their colleagues to maintain high expectations for their students and provide each student with differentiated instruction to be successful. CCPS is proud of this achievement and is thankful to all who made it possible.
Contact Information
Craig County Public Schools
6 Alleghany Circle
New Castle, VA 24127
(540) 864-5191
- Convocation - All teachers and staff returned to school on August 4, 2025 for Convocation. This district-wide event allows for all staff of CCPS to come together and reflect on the previous year and discuss the possibilities for the upcoming school year. Staff were celebrated for their years of service, new staff were introduced, and the whole staff engaged in team-building activities centered upon our mission, vision, and core values. This event is crucial for fostering teamwork and building meaningful relationships. The theme for this year's event was Soaring to New Heights. All staff were challenged to make a commitment to embody CCPS' four core values (excellence, integrity, collaboration, & accountability) in all of our actions with students, community members, and each other.
- Preparation - Faculty and staff have been busy getting their classrooms ready and putting the finishing touches on lesson plans for the upcoming school year. Teachers have spent many hours working in their classrooms and attending professional development (PD) activities in the pre-service weeks. Staff members took part in different professional learning activities such as Effective Classroom Systems, CoTeaching, Mentoring, IXL training, and health/safety training. Our transportation staff and administrators also attended division lead PD.
In an effort to be responsive to the stakeholders of Craig County Public Schools (CCPS), we are asking that all stakeholders (students, staff, community members, etc.) share their thoughts and perspectives of CCPS. This survey seeks to obtain information regarding what is working well and what areas we can improve upon. If you have not already done so, we invite all CCPS stakeholders to complete this short survey.
This survey will be open from July 24, 2025 - August 15, 2025.
In an effort to establish and promote open channels of communication, Craig County Public Schools (CCPS) is seeking nominations for the Superintendent's Advisory Council (SAC).
Council members will share their thoughts, represent their peer group, and contribute to the ongoing improvement of our school division. The council will provide valuable insight and perspectives in division-wide decision-making.
Membership will consist of the following:
- 2 Community Members
- 2 Parents (PreK-12)
- 2 Students (grades 9-12)
- 2 Teachers/Staff Members
Schedule will be as follows:
- The council will meet on the last Thursday of the month (4-5PM) at the school board office.
All nominations are kept confidential and you may nominate yourself or someone else. Nominated individuals will be randomly selected to serve on the council and will be contacted individually.
The nomination survey will be open from August 6, 2025 - August 22, 2025.
Dear CCPS Stakeholders:
My name is Jason A. Wheeler, and I am honored to be the next Superintendent of Craig County Public Schools (CCPS). I am truly humbled to return to CCPS, and I am eager to serve this wonderful community that means so much to me.
My career began right here in CCPS as a middle school social studies teacher. I was fortunate to work with and be shaped by amazing staff members, as well as the external Craig County community.
I transitioned into administration at CCPS and became the Middle School Coordinator for the high school. In this role, I worked closely with the building principal to help students transition into middle school, while providing leadership for all secondary students and staff members.
Additionally, I have served as a School-Testing Coordinator at both the elementary and secondary levels, as an Assistant Principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, a Co-Principal, and as a Principal of a PreK-7 elementary school. Most recently I served as Director of Human Resources and Teacher Development. In all roles, I have strived to work with all stakeholders to build and foster meaningful relationships that translate into improved outcomes for all students.
In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family. I am married and have three children, ages seven, nine, and 12. My wife is an educator, who also began her career in CCPS as a paraprofessional before becoming a social studies and alternative education teacher.
I genuinely believe that my role is to support all CCPS students, employees, families, and external stakeholders so that we all can work collaboratively to instill a love of learning within our students, while simultaneously preparing them to become responsible and contributing members of society.
To this end, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of service. I truly look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting the new members of the CCPS family.
Sincerely,
Jason A. Wheeler, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Craig County Public Schools
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