Inclement Weather Keeps Schools Closed
Tonight's school board meeting has been canceled. (February 9, 2010)
The recent winter storms have been an extraordinary challenge for parents, students, and school staff. Frustration must be at an all-time high for parents and we have heard from many of you.
The school division is concerned that students have been out for so many days and our staff is, as always, worried about the loss of instructional time.
Safety of our students is paramount, be it in the classroom or on our school buses.
It is not easy to understand all that goes into making the decision to cancel school, especially when primary roads may appear safe and clear.
Many secondary roads, subdivisions, culs-de-sac and snow-blocked dead-end roads have been unsafe for our school buses. Further complicating our current situation is that there are significant power outages in the western end of the county and another winter storm is moving in from the west.
We assure you that we are constantly evaluating the situation and communicating with VDOT, the Sheriff’s Office, and other school divisions, as well as our own bus drivers. Transportation staff drive the roads and diligently monitor their status. All of these things are a part of what goes into making the ultimate decision on opening, closing or delaying school.
We have learned lessons from this unfortunate winter weather. For example, in the future we will prepare alternate bus routes and pick-up locations and communicate those prior to any necessary use.
We remain hopeful that we can return to a normal schedule soon. Please bear with us.
Welcome to Goochland County, Virginia
Goochland County Public Schools is dedicated to providing all students with a quality education for living in the 21st century. Located in central Virginia, Goochland County Schools currently serves over 2500 students between five schools. Learn more about our school division goals by visiting our school board page.
Strong Communication
We believe every school should strive for strong communication between families and classroom teachers. Since 2005, Goochland County Schools has initiated the teacher blogging program which provides a blog for each teacher to report classroom news, post homework assignments, and share student successes.
Since 2004 Goochland has been using the PowerSchool student information system which allows parents to gain access to student grades and attendance records. Likewise, secondary students can login to check their progress throughout the year.
Visit our School Websites
Each one of our schools maintains an informative website with school-wide news, important contact information, links to teacher blogs, and a media center webpage. Visit your child’s school webpage today.
Home to 21st Century Learning
Goochland County’s leadership with technology over the past 10 years has paved the way towards an instructional focus on twenty-first century skills and an evolution of pedagogy. Students and teachers alike have been engaged with product-based activities that stem from our G21 learning framework. G21 is synonymous with high-quality teaching and learning, focused on higher-order thinking, trans-disciplinary connections, creativity and 11 other key twenty-first century skills. Our long term goal with this initiative is to transform our schools into truly student-centered environments for learning following problem- and project-based philosophies. To learn more about G21, visit our G21 resource page.
