School Board Recap
Catching up on this week's board meeting
Greetings PCPS Community,
Welcome to the latest edition of the School Board Recap. The Powhatan County School Board met on Tuesday, October 14. This month, the School Board modified its meeting structure slightly, transitioning from a separate workshop and regular meeting to a single combined meeting. The agenda format was also adjusted to provide greater transparency and clarity about the information and actions being considered. The goal of these changes is to make it easier for anyone reviewing the agenda or watching the meetings to understand the discussion and decisions.
With a two-hour closed session followed by almost three and a half hours of regular board business, the October 14 meeting was packed with information. As always, this recap highlights key points and decisions, but it is not a substitute for the full record and all of the context provided in the meeting. To explore further, you can watch the full meeting on the PCPS YouTube channel: Oct. 14 Regular School Board meeting. For complete agendas and all materials shared during the meetings, visit the School Board page, click on BoardDocs, and select the meeting you want.
Strategic Plan update process to begin
Dr. Angela Stewart, Chief Academic Officer, spoke to the board about the upcoming update to the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the 2023-2030 Strategic Plan. Since its adoption, the division has used the plan's four main goals to guide resource allocation and focus.
With new accreditation standards from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released in July 2025 and evolving expectations for schools, the division has identified a need to realign the KPIs used to measure progress. To ensure alignment with the state's revised standards and accountability requirements, PCPS will reconvene a Strategic Plan Committee.
Dr. Stewart emphasized the goal of the committee is not a complete rewrite of the plan. The purpose is to ensure that the division's measures of success remain accurate and aligned with state requirements. She also noted that, based on preliminary data from the new accountability standards, three PCPS schools are currently “On Track” and two are “Distinguished.”
Message from the School Board Student Liaison
PHS student Ella Yarhouse is doing an amazing job bringing the student perspective as the School Board Student Liaison, as you can see from her latest monthly report. She said:
We are approaching the end of the first quarter at our school. Over these past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with each of our schools and their students, who shared some valuable feedback regarding the first quarter. I want to begin by going over some of the activities the students engaged in.
Beginning with Powhatan High School, teachers and students could watch the 9/11 ceremony in person from the stands in the football field. Our JROTC members presented the ceremony and did an excellent job honoring 9/11. Later in the first quarter, the club fair took place. This event was where all clubs and organizations were encouraged to set up a booth on Main Street for the student body to ask questions and gain information about potential clubs to join. Students can currently sign up for clubs. I’ll be sure to gather some feedback once club meetings have begun. Lastly, on October 4th, we had our annual Homecoming dance, which included two pep rallies, one on the previous Thursday and one on the previous Friday. That Friday night, we had our homecoming game, where Powhatan won. Congratulations to our football team and Jackson Farris and Cassidy Moser, who were crowned Homecoming King and Queen.
Moving on to Powhatan Middle School. The students were visited by the Advanced College Academy Cohorts members from the high school to learn more about alternative high school pathways. The high school students went to various classes, sharing their experiences with the program and answering the middle school students' questions. Students and their families were also invited to the non-traditional high school night, where they learned more about ACA, Maggie Walker, and other options. The scholastic book fair was also held for the first time at the middle school. Typically, it is only available in elementary schools, but this was a welcome addition to middle school. It allowed students to find various books that sparked their interest.
Now, for our elementary schools, I’ve received some fantastic feedback on their first quarter that I’d like to share with you. I ask students from each school the following questions, and I’ll read their responses after each question.
1. What’s one thing you look forward to the most when you come to school?
- “I love art! We get to paint and use glitter.”
- “Library day! I’m trying to read every Dog Man book.”
- “Recess! I like swinging and racing my friends.”
2. What’s something that makes your school special?
- “Everyone knows each other, even kids in other grades.”
- “We have the best playground.”
- “Our teachers because they make learning fun and help us even when we mess up.”
3. What’s one thing that makes learning fun for you?
- “Working in groups because we can help each other.”
- “When we do activities instead of worksheets.”
- “When we get to draw or build stuff to show what we learned.”
Overall, each school has had a successful first quarter. I’m excited to see how next quarter will go. The students' feedback was incredibly helpful, and, of course, always welcome. I’d like to say a special thank you to the students who answered my questions. Another thank you to the teachers and staff who have made this first quarter possible. Students thrive when they are in a positive, collaborative classroom. I want to encourage our teachers to keep up their amazing work. As for the students, I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities before you, join a new club, read a new book, and let me know how it goes. As always, I look forward to hearing the students' feedback as the school year progresses. Thank you.
