Washington County Public Schools

🍎 Looking for a part-time job with a little flexibility?

Washington County Public Schools is looking for Substitute School Nutrition Assistants to join our School Nutrition teams across the division.

These positions are part-time and flexible, making them a great option for someone looking to work around their schedule. School Nutrition Assistants help prepare and serve meals to our students while working alongside a friendly and welcoming team.

*$15/Hour
*Part-Time Flexible Positions
*Multiple Positions Countywide
*Food Preparation & Service
*K-12 Schools
*Friendly & Welcoming Environment

Interested? Learn more and apply here: https://washingtonco.schoolspring.com/?jobid=4980135

Come be part of the team that helps keep our students fueled throughout the school day!

📢WCPS Receives More Than $400,000 in State Grants to Support Students, School Safety, and Career & Technical Education

Washington County Public Schools has been awarded a total of $415,532 in grants from the Virginia Department of Education to support student services, school safety and innovative learning opportunities for the 2026-2027 school year.

The grants include $250,000 for the Community Schools initiative, $115,532 through the School Security Equipment Grant Program, and $50,000 to support planning for an innovative approach to programming at the Washington County Career & Technical Education Center.

Grant Writing Partnership

More than $300,000 of this grant funding has been secured during the first six months of our partnership with the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) and the Wellspring Foundation of Southwest Virginia. The partnership provides professional grant writing support, fully funded by CNE and the Wellspring Foundation of Southwest Virginia, at no cost to students or taxpayers.

Grant funding is competitive and is not guaranteed. The partnership brings together professional grant writing expertise with the school division’s knowledge of the needs of its students and schools. Together, that expertise has helped WCPS pursue additional funding opportunities and bring more resources into the division.

This early success demonstrates the value of continued partnerships in helping WCPS create additional opportunities and resources for students.

Community Schools Initiative – $250,000

WCPS has been awarded a $250,000 grant to continue and expand its Community Schools initiative across all 16 WCPS schools during the 2026-2027 school year.

Community Schools is a statewide model that brings together schools, families and community partners to address the range of needs that can affect a student's ability to learn and thrive. The model connects academic support, behavioral and physical health services, family engagement and basic needs resources, such as food and clothing, so students and families can access coordinated support through their schools.

The funding is part of a $7.5 million statewide investment from the 2026 Virginia General Assembly and will support efforts to expand behavioral health support capacity, strengthen family engagement, continue in-school student support coordination and help provide basic-needs resources for students across the division.

WCPS has participated in the Community Schools initiative since 2023, and 14 of its 16 schools have already earned official Virginia Community Schools Designation.

School Security Equipment Grant – $115,532

The Virginia Department of Education has awarded WCPS a total of $115,532 through the 2026 School Security Equipment Grant Program. The funding will support security improvements and equipment at four schools in Washington County:

*E.B. Stanley Middle School: Security vestibule and two-way radios
*Meadowview Elementary School: Two-way radios
*Valley Institute Elementary School: Security cameras
*Wallace Middle School: Security cameras and two-way radios

These improvements will provide schools with additional tools and resources to support safe and secure learning environments for students and staff.

Innovation Grant – $50,000

WCPS has also been awarded $50,000 to support planning for an innovative approach to programming at the Washington County Career & Technical Education Center (WCCTEC).

The project will explore ways to integrate government, English and mathematics instruction with career and technical education so students who choose to do so can spend their full school day at WCCTEC rather than returning to their home high schools for core academic classes.

The goal is to create a more integrated learning experience that connects academic coursework with career and technical education and gives students opportunities to apply what they are learning to real-world situations.

The grant funding will support the planning and development work needed to explore this model.

Together, these grants provide $415,532 in new funding to support student needs, innovative learning opportunities and school safety across Washington County Public Schools.

🎡🐄 It's Washington County Fair Week

We're excited to see our WCPS students out at the Washington County Fair this week, showcasing their hard work, talents and school spirit! Check out the flyer below for a look at the events and activities happening throughout the week.

And don't forget about WCPS Student Fair Free Admission Day!
*Friday, September 18
*1:00–4:00 p.m.

WCPS students may be checked out of school at 1:00 p.m. by a parent or guardian and will be admitted to the Fair free of charge from 1:00–4:00 p.m.
*Parent admission: $10

🌟WCPS Alumni Spotlight

Are you a graduate of Washington County Public Schools? If so, we'd love to hear from you! We're excited to learn about your accomplishments and share your story and advice with our current students, families, and community.

Please click here, to fill out a submission form: https://forms.gle/7qzqxJCpCjryVsfW8

📢 School Facilities and Capital Improvement Plan: Updates and Resources

As conversations continue about the conceptual facilities plan being discussed by Washington County Public Schools, we have added new information to help answer questions that have been asked recently.

Our Frequently Asked Questions document has been updated with new questions and answers based on questions we have received from families, staff and community members in various public forums, school board meetings, and in community conversations.

We have also added additional resources to the School Facilities and Capital Improvement Plan page on the WCPS website, including:

*An updated Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) priorities timeline
*The School Board Resolution regarding the proposed 1% local sales tax referendum
*A letter to the Washington County Board of Supervisors regarding a potential spring special election
*Additional information and resources related to the conceptual facilities plan and future planning

We encourage families and community members to visit the School Facilities and Capital Improvement Plan page to review the updated information and resources.

Website Link: https://www.wcs.k12.va.us/page/school-facilities-and-capital-improvement

We also want to hear from you. As this conversation continues, community input will be an important part of the planning process. If you have questions, ideas or feedback about the future of WCPS facilities, we encourage you to share your input with us.
As a reminder, the facilities plan remains conceptual, and no decisions have been made regarding the proposed school configurations or projects. We will continue to share information as the conversation develops and as additional questions are raised.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more, ask questions and be part of the conversation about the future of WCPS.

📚🍪 Learning yearbook design — with a tasty twist

The Phoenix Yearbook Staff at John S. Battle High School recently took part in a “Delicious Design” lesson to learn the anatomy of a yearbook spread -- using food to help bring the lesson to life!

After putting their design skills to work, they got to do the best part of the assignment: eat their homework!

We Remember.

Today, we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and to honor the courage and sacrifice of the first responders, service members and countless others who helped in the days that followed.

We remember the lives changed, the families affected and the spirit of unity that brought our country together.

September 11, 2001 -- We will never forget.

☕️ Talk about a great way to start the morning

Mrs. Griffin’s class at Greendale Elementary recently rolled out their very first coffee cart, and our little baristas were ready to get to work!

Teachers placed their orders, while students helped sort creamers and sugars, put everything together in bags, and deliver coffee to staff throughout the building. With a little help from Greendale’s COTA and PTA to navigate the halls, these students brought plenty of smiles along the way.

🐾Kindness in Action

We love hearing about the little moments happening in our schools that show just how much kindness, compassion and character our students have.

Recently at Watauga Elementary, students were caught doing the right thing simply because they saw a need and stepped up:

*Wiping syrup off a teacher’s table
*Giving a group hug to a friend having a rough morning
*Helping serve hotdogs at Open House
*Cleaning the gym floor to help save our custodians some time

These may seem like small acts, but they make a big difference. They show kindness, empathy, responsibility and a willingness to help others -- qualities we hope to see in all of our students.

📢 Washington County Public Schools has been monitoring the heat conditions throughout the day, and temperatures and wet-bulb globe temperatures have remained consistently above the Virginia High School League’s recommended threshold for outdoor activities.

As a result, all outdoor athletic activities and practices are suspended until 5 p.m. today, Friday, September 4. Conditions will be reevaluated at 5 p.m. to determine whether outdoor activities can safely resume.

All of our high school football teams are scheduled to play on the road today. Any decision regarding those games will be made by the host school divisions based on conditions.

🍕Meadowview Elementary’s 4th graders put their math skills to work with a fun word problem pizza activity!

Students created their own word problems using pizza as the theme, then challenged their classmates to read, solve and show their thinking.

📚 Building Strong Readers Through Structured Literacy

We’re excited to have 35 Washington County Public Schools teachers participating in Orton-Gillingham (OG) Structured Literacy training this week at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center!

Each year, WCPS provides this training for new staff members as part of our ongoing commitment to evidence-based literacy instruction and helping every student become a strong, confident reader.

The Orton-Gillingham approach gives teachers explicit, systematic, sequential and multisensory strategies that support the development of reading, spelling, writing, vocabulary and oral language skills.

These strategies benefit all learners while providing important support for students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. Most importantly, our teachers are gaining practical tools and strategies they can take directly back to their classrooms and put to work with students.

We’re incredibly proud of these educators for investing in their professional growth and, most importantly, in the success of their students!

A special thank you to Shane Baxter, our OG instructor, for sharing his expertise, knowledge and passion for structured literacy with our teachers. We appreciate his continued partnership and dedication to supporting our educators!

📢Washington County Public Schools has been monitoring the heat conditions throughout the day, and temperatures and wet-bulb globe temperatures have remained consistently above the Virginia High School League’s recommended threshold for outdoor activities.

As a result, all outdoor athletic activities and practices are suspended until 5 p.m. today, Thursday, September 3.

Conditions will be reevaluated at 5 p.m. to determine whether outdoor activities can safely resume.

🧢🎩 Hats Off to Our Valley Institute Students

Earlier this week, Valley Institute Elementary students joined in on their Never Miss a Monday campaign by wearing and showing off their favorite hats!

From fun and silly to stylish and unique, VIES students brought plenty of personality to the school day. What a fun way to add a little extra excitement to the week!

Due to a potential community threat this morning, Wallace Middle School and John S. Battle High School were placed on a brief soft lockdown as a precautionary safety measure.

The individual involved in the situation has been taken into custody. There was a significant law enforcement presence in the area as authorities responded, and law enforcement will remain in the area to provide additional security and reassurance for our students and staff.

We want to thank our law enforcement partners for their significant and quick response and continued presence in our community.

We will continue to share additional information as it becomes available.

📢Conceptual Facilities Plan Q&A

As we continue conversations about the conceptual facilities plan being considered by Washington County Public Schools, we know there are many questions about what the plan could mean for our schools, students, staff and communities.

We have compiled a Frequently Asked Questions document addressing many of the questions and misconceptions we have heard so far. The document provides additional context about the conceptual plan, including potential school configurations, facilities needs, transportation, academics and programs, athletics, staffing, the potential use of existing facilities, and the proposed 1% local sales tax referendum.

Because this is a conceptual plan and no decisions have been made, we recognize that this document cannot answer every question or address every concern. We expect questions and ideas to continue as the conversation moves forward, and public input will be an important part of any future planning process. As new questions come in, we will add those to the public FAQ. You can find the most recent version of the FAQ and other important documents related to this issue at this link: https://www.wcs.k12.va.us/o/wcps/page/school-facilities-and-capital-improvement

We encourage families and community members to take some time to review the Q&A. Our goal is to provide clear, factual information about what is being considered, what has – and has not – been decided, and what questions will need to be explored as the process continues.

To view the Q&A, click here: https://shorturl.at/tR7en

📢 Washington County Public Schools has been monitoring the heat conditions throughout the day, and temperatures and heat indexes have remained consistently above the Virginia High School League’s recommended threshold for outdoor activities.

As a result, all outdoor athletic activities and practices are suspended until 5 p.m. today, Wednesday, September 2. Conditions will be reevaluated at 5 p.m. to determine whether outdoor activities can safely resume.

🎯 Challenge accepted

Students in Mrs. Smith’s Career Strategies class at the Washington County Career & Technical Education Center put the Engineering Design Process to work with a catapult challenge!

Working with a limited set of materials, students had to research, design, build and test a catapult capable of launching a regular-sized marshmallow at least 10 feet. They had just five attempts to test their designs, make adjustments and see how well their ideas worked.

The challenge gave students an opportunity to put creativity, problem-solving, design and testing skills into action -- all while having a little fun along the way!