It is a great honor and privilege to serve as superintendent of such a wonderful school system. Please know that our successes are a direct result of our hardworking, talented, and skilled stu-

2019-2020 School Year Winter Edition

dents, staff and school community members. Radford City Schools continues to shine! Check out the following accomplishments thus far during the 2019-2020 school year!

All schools fully accredited according to the Virginia Department of Education’s requirements

State Class 2 Golf Champions

State Class 2 Girls’ Cross Country Champions

State Class 2 Third Place Boys’ Cross Country

State Class 2 Girls’ Volleyball Champions (back to back titles)

First Place Shelor Motor Mile Talent Show - IOPZ Drummers - $10,000 for RHS

Advancing Computer Science Education Grant Award - $149,983 funding

New secondary hybrid schedule with one lunch program

Active Learning Classrooms at JDIS and RHS

“Good Choices” program at JDIS and BHES

Successful Exhibition Night at BHES

HOUSES Positive Behavior Support System at BHES

HOUSE Partnership with RU Women’s Basketball Team

Rock Your School Day at BHES and MES

International Hour of Code at BHES and MES

Approval of the Design Process for MES Additions and Renovations

Santa Breakfast at MES

Outstanding Partnerships with the City of Radford, Radford University, Virginia Tech, New River Community Col-lege, Bobcat Backpacks and many city businesses

The Radford City Public Schools’ commitment to a diverse and quality education will allow our students to compete in an ever-changing world with far-reaching effects. As superintendent, I believe it is important for me to not only stay abreast of new and research-based educational programs, but also challenge myself to grow as a leader. Below are a few of my professional partnerships.

Co-Chair - State Work Based Learning Committee

Board Chair - Smart Beginnings New River Valley

Board Chair - Western Virginia Public Education Consortium

Board Member - Vinod Chachra Impact Lab at Radford University

Board Member - Radford Heritage Foundation

Board Member - Radford Tourism Commission

Committee Member - CTE Work Based Learning Guide

Member - United Way of Southwest Virginia Early Childhood Advocacy

UVA K12 Advisory Council

Professional Development Representative for Region VII Superintendents and Virginia Association of School Super-intendents

I look forward to another successful second semester working with you all. Best wishes for a safe, peaceful and relaxing holiday season! Sincerely,

Robert F. Graham

Dalton Intermediate students and staff have been VERY busy

this year. They started the year off with some successful events,

like an SCA hosted dance, a 7th grade Career Quest field trip to

Roanoke where hands-on displays were enjoyed by students,

and a DIS Tailgate Party before a home varsity football game

with over 250 folks in attendance. Life Science students incu-

bated chicken eggs and excitedly observed the hatchlings as

part of their cell unit. Successes continued with the Etiquette

Luncheon where the Radford Noon Rotary Club was the special

guest of the day. Other fun and educational successes were re-

sults of the 8th grade English Appalachian Thematic Unit, such

as a field trip to Selu farm for a hands-on look at Appalachian

life without electricity and technology in the 1930’s, and the

making/selling of apple butter as a culminating activity for the unit,

making over $650 to be used for an 8th grade field trip to Richmond.

Dalton Intermediate Has a Successful First Semester

McHarg Elementary Renovation Update

This fall Radford City Schools and Thompson and Litton Architects / Engineers

started the design process for the renovation of McHarg Elementary. The pro-

cess started with a meeting with our Architectural Renovation Committee con-

sisting of school board members, central office administration, teachers, par-

ents, and city officials. A public forum was held to get feedback and input from

the public. During the fall the design has been refined through additional meet-

ings with the architect, Architectural Renovation Committee, and McHarg staff.

At this time the plans are in the preliminary design phase. Additional meetings

will be held to continue the design phase of the project with hope that the pro-

ject will be put out to bid in Spring of 2020.

The Parent Educator Resource Center (PERC) held a Family Engagement Night on September 26th, for families with students receiving any type of special education services through Radford City Public Schools. Families were invited to Radford High School to receive free resources to help learners with reading skills, homework skills, fine motor skills, and sensory needs. This included materials such as reading rulers, whisper phones, adaptive scissors, pencil grips and pencil weights, whiteboard materials and markers, whiteboard calendars, folders, specialized calculators, and numer-ous sensory toys and tools. Every family was also given a free copy of the book The Everything Parent’s Guide to Spe-cial Education and a binder filled with helpful special education tips. Special education teachers, therapists, and spe-cialists were available to answer questions and give advice. Pizza, snacks, and drinks were provided in the cafeteria. We were excited to have twenty-four families with one or more students receiving special education services attended! Also, families of students at Radford City Schools and the entire Radford City community were invited to the movie Intelligent Lives which was shown in the auditorium of Radford High School. The movie stars three young adults with intellectual disabilities navigating high school, college, and the workforce. A discussion afterwards on the value to students and the community of a welcoming and inclusive education setting was led by guest speakers Cyndi Pitonyak from VCU’s Autism Center for Excellence and David Pitonyak, owner of Imagine consulting practice for behavior and relationship development.

Family Engagement Night

McHarg’s PSA Holds Annual Santa Breakfast

On December 7, 2019 McHarg Elementary held its annual Santa Breakfast sponsored by the

McHarg Parent Student Association. Planning for the Santa Breakfast started in October and

continued through the end of November. Several community partners assisted the McHarg PSA

in making this annual program a success. Over 500 were in attendance this year. Students and

their families were treated to a wonderful breakfast, games, crafts, story time with Mrs. Claus,

and a visit with the main attraction, Santa Claus. Thanks to the McHarg PSA for making this

annual program a huge success and to the community partners who donated or who were a sponsor.

Radford High School is rebranding its career services as “The Bridge” to better reflect how we help connect students to

their future, whether that is enrollment at a community college, university, or trade school, employment directly after

graduation, or enlistment in a branch of the military.

Since the mid-2000’s RHS has offered a variety of services to assist students with creating their academic and career

plans, accessing college and training, and making informed decisions about life after high school. These services have ex-

panded in recent years to address labor needs and credentialing. New this year is a Youth Registered Apprenticeship

(YRA) program which is a partnership between the Department of Labor & Industry and the Virginia Department of Edu-

cation. Youth apprentices receive on-the-job training in their selected field and work with an industry mentor. YRA par-

ticipants earn hours toward a journeyman’s license, and they are paid for their time.

Services offered at The Bridge include: interest, skills, and work values assessments; career pathway exploration

(including individual research, lunch & learn sessions, field trips, job shadowing, internships, and the YRA); assistance

with applications (college and work), resumes, and interview skills; connections to credentials (through Career Studies

Certificate programs); and opportunities for participation in leadership, service, and scholarship programs.

Margaret Sproule, certified Career Services Provider and Career Coach at Radford High School, is The Bridge contact for

students and parents (msproule@rcps.org). Jamie Little, Education Specialist for Radford City Public Schools, is the com-

munity and industry liaison for The Bridge (jolittle@rcps.org).

In high school?

Interested in job shadowing, an internship, or an apprenticeship?

Fill out the Work-Based Learning Interest Form at

https://tinyurl.com/w6nspv5

RHS “Bridge” Program

RHS Percussion Ensemble- IOPZ- Wins Big Bucks for the Arts Departments

On November 16, 2019 thirteen schools in our area sent two entries each -for a total of 26 acts to the Shelor Motor Mile Talent show, hosted at Christiansburg High School. These were the top two winners from each school's own talent show. RHS held its tal-ent show on October 23. Both of the top winners from Radford’s talent show made it into the top 5 acts of the big show in Christiansburg. The schools that participated were from Montgomery County, Giles, Craig, Floyd, Wythe, Pulaski and competed against Radford for the grand prize of $10,000. Out of 26 Acts, singing, banjo playing, dueling pianos, modern dance, etc., our percussion group, comprised of Owen Taylor (senior), Peyton Nape (senior), Zoe Tapp (junior), and Ian Epperly (junior) came away with the big prize for the night. The group calls themselves IOPZ for their names: Ian, Owen, Peyton, Zoe. They did their own arrangement of a percus-sion piece, Stinkin' Garbage," by Ed Argenziano, that they had worked on in their percussion Ensemble Class with band director Daniel Frankenberger". Frankenberger explains that “This percussion piece was not played on traditional con-cert instruments such as snare and bass drums, but on TRASH CANS.” The group had black lights, glow masks, and fluorescent paint on all of the trash cans. The performance was a collaboration of the Arts departments. Casey Worley, theatre teacher, and George Saunders, assistant band director, both helped the students tighten the music and add the-atrical elements to the performance. The students won $10,000 for Radford High School and $2,000 to share amongst themselves. Alyssa Wilson, from Radford High School came in 4th and won $2,500 for RHS and $500 for herself. Alyssa is a student in Mr. Goad’s choir program. She did a song from the Musical "Waitress." In total, these students won $12,500 for RHS and $2,500 for themselves. The big winnings were split amongst the Arts departments (Band, Theatre, and Choir). The cost is very high to keep our strong programs going. This money will help these programs continue to serve our most creative and talented singers, musicians, and actors.

Students Say New Schedule and OneLunch Initiative a Success

As the 2019-2020 school year began, many parents and students were nervous about the new schedule and OneLunch initiative. The idea for the schedule and the hour long lunch initiative began with several years of research, discussion, school visits, and brainstorming by the Innovative Grant Committee, chaired by Ellen Denny, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. As with anything new, nerves were high as school busses dropped students off at new times, teachers, parents, and students had to learn how to keep track of a different schedule on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and students had to figure out how they wanted to spend their time during the one hour lunch period.

Since we are at the halfway point, it is important to evaluate how students are feeling about these initiatives. Here are some comments by a group of Freshmen and Seniors (since this is all new to the freshmen and the seniors have had three years of the old schedule). A freshman at Radford High School says: “I like being able to get extra work done. Having extra time to finish work at lunch is very helpful, especially with a busy schedule. I have gotten help from teachers during one lunch. I feel like I have more time to get help from teachers, be-cause I usually eat in about 15 minutes, so I have 45 more to get help from teachers. Having a day in the middle of the week to sleep more is awesome. I personally don't like Thursdays because they feel so long with four hour and a half pe-riods.” A freshman at Radford High School says: “I enjoy having an hour of lunch because it gives you time to relax and ...to ask teachers questions. Wednesdays are my favorite day because I get to sleep in, and I have my easiest classes that day. However, the classes last for a very long time. Thursdays I have my harder classes back to back so it is hard to stay completely focused the entire day. I go to my teachers [during OneLunch] and ask for help on certain subjects. Which really helps, because in class there are also many other students asking questions so during lunch it is more one on one. I love Wednesday mornings because I get to sleep in and because it is a very easy day with all of my classes.” A senior at Radford High School says: When asked “What do I like about one lunch?” Nate replied: “I like the extra time for school work. When asked “What do I like about Wednesday mornings?” Nate replied: “I can go swim without having to wake up at 4:45 A.M.” When asked what he likes about the new schedule, he said, “I like all of it!” A senior at Radford High School says: “I like that it [One Lunch] allows me to knock out work for the next day.” When asked if she ever uses OneLunch to get help from teachers, she stated: “Yes, to make up work and clarify different homework problems, or even review for tests.” When asked about the new schedule, she stated: “I like the freedom and break it provides throughout the day with one lunch.” It seems that the students unanimously approve of the OneLunch initiative. Many of the students are getting help from teachers, participating in clubs or activities, or simply relaxing with their friends. The students all seem to enjoy the Wednesday, but it seems to be a mixed review on the block days, in terms of the hour and a half class length. Some seem to enjoy it and some feel their Thursdays, especially, are long days.

On June 3, 2019 the cross country summer runs started with a lot of excitement. A new state course was on the slate and with the realignment came high hopes and high expecta-tions. The season kicked into high gear in August and September with both the boys and girls teams running well despite the high number of days in the high 80’s and 90’s. The season ended with a bang at Green Hill Park in Salem on November 16th, as the girls claimed the 2A State title and the boys finished 3rd. The girl’s team had 4 runners earn All-State Honors, with Emma Hastings Crummey finishing 6th, Abby Barnes finishing 7th, Anneliese Stewart finishing 8th and Angie Lin finishing 11th. William Hartig earned All-State Honors for the boy’s team by finishing 4th.

Cross Country Brings Home Another State Title

RHS Golf Team Wins First State Championship

On December 18, 2019 the RHS Golf Team celebrated their historic season

by receiving their championship rings. The season was full of ups and

downs, but culminated in bringing RHS it's first state championship in

golf. Congratulations to Coach Roberts, Coach Minarik, and the RHS Golf

Team on a job well done.