The Virginia Lottery just completed the best year in its 35-year history, with profits earmarked for public education for fiscal year 2023 coming to $867 million.

The profits come on record-breaking sales for Virginia Lottery games that exceeded the $4 billion mark for the first time, totaling a record-breaking $4.6 billion.

“The Lottery’s business is all about games and excitement, but we also support an important mission: generating funds for our K-12 public education,” said Lottery Executive Director Kelly T. Gee. “The unprecedented success we saw in fiscal year 2023 is positive news for all Virginians, regardless of whether they choose to play Lottery games.”

The busy fiscal year benefited from three multi-state Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot runs each topping $1 billion and sales from instant games that topped $2 billion.

Inside the Numbers

• Total sales: $4.6 billion
• Profit for K-12 education: $867 million
• Prizes won by players: $3.4 billion
• Commissions earned by retailers: $137 million
• Operating expenses: $195 million
• Unclaimed prizes to the Literary Fund:  $12.6 million
• Debt set-off collected: $8 million
• Largest Virginia prize won during year: $156.7 million Powerball jackpot

For a complete list of Lottery funds distributed to Virginia school districts, visit the Virginia Lottery’s Giving Back page. For general information or to play games online, visit the Virginia Lottery’s website or download the Lottery’s app. Here you can find more details about sports betting and casinos. Connect with the Lottery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.

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Financial aid in the amount of $143,000 has been awarded to 32 graduating scholars to attend college in the fall.

The funding is from the Shenandoah Valley Scholars Latino Initiative and made possible by donations from Sentara Health and F&M Bank. Included is $87,000 for a $6,000 scholarship and a $1,250 computer award for each of the 12 graduating SLI scholars for their first year of college, as well as $56,000 in SLI Raíces Brillantes scholarships for 20 SLI alumni. Computer award funders include the JustPax Fund and the Gerald and Paula McNichols Family Foundation.

“It is SLI’s honor to support students accessing higher education,” Dr. Fawn-Amber Montoya, SLI board chair and associate dean of the Honors College at James Madison University, said. “We are proud of our SLI scholars, and grateful for the outpouring of support from Sentara, F&M Bank, the JustPax Fund, the Gerald and Paula McNichols Family Foundation, and so many others in our communities who have generously donated to make these scholarships and technology awards available.”

SLI supports Latino/a/x high school students with college access through rigorous academic challenge, leadership development, scholarships, and supportive mentorships. Through collaborations with university and high school staff, faculty, and students, SLI provides college access opportunities throughout high school, and has provided more than $535,000 in financial support since 2012.

SLI has served 159 scholars, including 46 current and 113 alumni. Before this summer, the nonprofit paid more than $392,000 in financial support for SLI scholars, who have attended 24 colleges and universities.

Seventeen of the scholarships awarded this summer are in part funded by Sentara, which provided $30,000 for Sentara SLI Scholar College Awards for students pursuing health related studies and careers. Recipients are:

• Adriana Irene Gonzalez Salinas (John Handley High School ’22) is studying health information management at Laurel Ridge Community College (vasli.org/adrianags)
• Amy Jui-Arteaga (John Handley ’21) will study biology and Spanish at Shenandoah University (vasli.org/amyja)
• Andrea Santiago Calixto (Harrisonburg High School ’23) will study clinical laboratory science at Eastern Mennonite University
• Axel Vega-Mancinas (John Handley ’23) will study neuroscience/pre-medicine at Harvard University (vasli.org/axel)
• Consuelo Elizabeth “Elly” Mazariegos Agustin (John Handley ’16) is studying nursing at Shenandoah University (vasli.org/elly)
• Everth Daniel Hernandez-Ventura (John Handley ’21) is studying nursing at Shenandoah University (vasli.org/everth)
• Galilea Gallardo-Mena (Huguenot High School ’21) is studying psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University (vasli.org/galilea)
• Gedalia Garcia (John Handley ’22) is studying nursing and psychology at Old Dominion University (vasli.org/gedalia)
• Helen Duarte Guerrero (Harrisonburg ’23) will study biological sciences and biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech
• Helen Rivera Rivas (Harrisonburg ’21) will study health sciences, occupational therapy, and medical Spanish at James Madison University
• Hillary Dayami Estrada Alvarado (Harrisonburg ’23) will study biology/pre-medicine at University of Virginia
• Janefer (Harrisonburg ’22) is studying biology and medical Spanish at James Madison University (vasli.org/janefer)
• Johana (Harrisonburg ’22) is studying at Eastern Mennonite University (vasli.org/johana)
• Kristy (Harrisonburg ’23) will study nursing at University of Virginia
• Leydy Ayala Arteaga (John Handley ’20) is studying speech pathology at Laurel Ridge Community College
• Lindsey (Harrisonburg ’23) will study biotech science at Blue Ridge Community College
• Yeyhlin (John Handley ’23) will study biology/pre-medicine at Hollins University (vasli.org/yeyhlin)

Three scholarships are funded by F&M Bank, which provided $15,000 for F&M Bank SLI Scholar College Awards for students pursuing business and entrepreneur-related studies and careers. Recipients are:

• Amy (Handley ’21) is studying accounting and philosophy at University of Pittsburgh (vasli.org/amy)
• Ariana (Harrisonburg ’23) will study business and economics at University of Virginia
• Naomi Rosas Conde (Harrisonburg ’23) will study business administration in marketing at James Madison University

Additional SLI college scholarship award recipients are:

• Adriana Ayala (John Handley ’18) is studying environmental sciences at George Mason University
• Ariana Perez (John Handley ’23) will study education at Laurel Ridge Community College (vasli.org/ariana)
• Ariel Morales Bonilla (Huguenot ’20) is studying political science, history, and Spanish at Eastern Mennonite University (vasli.org/ariel)
• Irais Barrera Pinzon (George Wythe High School ’21) is studying political science/pre-law at Eastern Mennonite University (vasli.org/irais)
• Israel (Huguenot ’21) is studying criminal justice, homeland security, and political science at Virginia Commonwealth University (vasli.org/israel)
• Guadalupe Tenorio Ramirez (Hopewell High School ’22) is studying engineering at Eastern Mennonite University (vasli.org/guadalupetr)
• Jimena Marquez-Marquez (John Handley ’23) will study political science at Dickinson College (vasli.org/jimena)
• Marvin Alexander Rivera Martinez (Harrisonburg ’22) is studying computer engineering at University of Virginia (vasli.org/alex)
• Noel Ayala-Gallo (Harrisonburg ’21) is studying foreign affairs, public policy and leadership, and astronomy at University of Virginia (vasli.org/noel)
• Keiry Lazo (Harrisonburg ’23) will study political science at University of Virginia (vasli.org/keiry)
• Raquel Perez Torrico (John Handley ’21) is studying computer science and web design at Washington Adventist University (vasli.org/raquelpt)
• Rosely Alvarado Villegas (John Handley ’22) is studying computer science at George Mason University (vasli.org/roselyav)

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Virginia Naturally Schools is the Department of Wildlife Resources’ official environmental education school recognition program in the Commonwealth.

The program’s goal is to recognize exemplary efforts undertaken by Virginia schools to increase environmental awareness and stewardship by students.

Schools’ environmental efforts support the Virginia Department of Education’s Profile of a Virginia Graduate through the development of the students’ communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creative thinking and civic responsibility.

For the 2022-2023 school year, 48 schools were recognized by the program, including 16 schools which were recognized for the first time since the program’s inception in 2000.

Three schools were recognized for 22 years of environmental efforts. The schools reached more than 33,000 students across the Commonwealth during the last school year.

Among school recognized this year are Staunton’s Bessie Weller Elementary and Roanoke County’s Glenvar High. Harrisonburg’s Spotswood Elementary was recognized, as well as Rockingham County’s Lacey Spring, Linville-Edom and John Wayland elementary schools. Fairfield Elementary in Rockbridge County and Post Oak Middle in Spotsylvania County were also recognized.

Schools interested in the program may apply online for next spring’s round of recognitions.

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This is what it means to go back-to-school in America today.

Instead of being taught the three R’s of education (reading, writing and arithmetic), young people are being drilled in the three I’s of life in the American police state: indoctrination, intimidation and intolerance.

Indeed, while young people today are learning first-hand what it means to be at the epicenter of politically charged culture wars, test scores indicate that students are not learning how to succeed in social studies, math and reading.

Instead of raising up a generation of civic-minded citizens with critical thinking skills, government officials are churning out compliant drones who know little to nothing about their history or their freedoms.

Under the direction of government officials focused on making the schools more authoritarian (sold to parents as a bid to make the schools safer), young people in America are now first in line to be searched, surveilled, spied on, threatened, tied up, locked down, treated like criminals for non-criminal behavior, tasered and in some cases shot.

From the moment a child enters one of the nation’s 98,000 public schools to the moment he or she graduates, they will be exposed to a steady diet of:

• draconian zero tolerance policies that criminalize childish behavior,
• overreaching anti-bullying statutes that criminalize speech,
• school resource officers (police) tasked with disciplining and/or arresting so-called “disorderly” students,
• standardized testing that emphasizes rote answers over critical thinking,
• politically correct mindsets that teach young people to censor themselves and those around them,
• and extensive biometric and surveillance systems that, coupled with the rest, acclimate young people to a world in which they have no freedom of thought, speech or movement.

This is how you groom young people to march in lockstep with a police state.

As Deborah Cadbury writes for The Washington Post, “Authoritarian rulers have long tried to assert control over the classroom as part of their totalitarian governments.”

In Nazi Germany, the schools became indoctrination centers, breeding grounds for intolerance and compliance.

In the American police state, the schools have become increasingly hostile to those who dare to question or challenge the status quo.

America’s young people have become casualties of a post-9/11 mindset that has transformed the country into a locked-down, militarized, crisis-fueled mockery of a representative government.

Roped into the government’s profit-driven campaign to keep the nation “safe” from drugs, disease, and weapons, America’s schools have transformed themselves into quasi-prisons, complete with surveillance cameras, metal detectors, police patrols, zero tolerance policies, lock downs, drug sniffing dogs, strip searches and active shooter drills.

Students are not only punished for minor transgressions such as playing cops and robbers on the playground, bringing LEGOs to school, or having a food fight, but the punishments have become far more severe, shifting from detention and visits to the principal’s office into misdemeanor tickets, juvenile court, handcuffs, tasers and even prison terms.

Students have been suspended under school zero tolerance policies for bringing to school “look alike substances” such as oregano, breath mints, birth control pills and powdered sugar.

Look-alike weapons (toy guns—even Lego-sized ones, hand-drawn pictures of guns, pencils twirled in a “threatening” manner, imaginary bows and arrows, fingers positioned like guns) can also land a student in hot water, in some cases getting them expelled from school or charged with a crime.

Not even good deeds go unpunished.

One 13-year-old was given detention for exposing the school to “liability” by sharing his lunch with a hungry friend. A third grader was suspended for shaving her head in sympathy for a friend who had lost her hair to chemotherapy. And then there was the high school senior who was suspended for saying “bless you” after a fellow classmate sneezed.

Having police in the schools only adds to the danger.

Thanks to a combination of media hype, political pandering and financial incentives, the use of armed police officers (a.k.a. school resource officers) to patrol school hallways has risen dramatically in the years since the Columbine school shooting.

Indeed, the growing presence of police in the nation’s schools is resulting in greater police “involvement in routine discipline matters that principals and parents used to address without involvement from law enforcement officers.”

Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, these school resource officers have become de facto wardens in elementary, middle and high schools, doling out their own brand of justice to the so-called “criminals” in their midst with the help of tasers, pepper spray, batons and brute force.

In the absence of school-appropriate guidelines, police are more and more “stepping in to deal with minor rulebreaking: sagging pants, disrespectful comments, brief physical skirmishes. What previously might have resulted in a detention or a visit to the principal’s office was replaced with excruciating pain and temporary blindness, often followed by a trip to the courthouse.”

Not even the younger, elementary school-aged kids are being spared these “hardening” tactics.

On any given day when school is in session, kids who “act up” in class are pinned facedown on the floor, locked in dark closets, tied up with straps, bungee cords and duct tape, handcuffed, leg shackled, tasered or otherwise restrained, immobilized or placed in solitary confinement in order to bring them under “control.”

In almost every case, these undeniably harsh methods are used to punish kids—some as young as 4 and 5 years old—for simply failing to follow directions or throwing tantrums.

Very rarely do the kids pose any credible danger to themselves or others.

Unbelievably, these tactics are all legal, at least when employed by school officials or school resource officers in the nation’s public schools.

This is what happens when you introduce police and police tactics into the schools.

Paradoxically, by the time you add in the lockdowns and active shooter drills, instead of making the schools safer, school officials have succeeded in creating an environment in which children are so traumatized that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, anxiety, mistrust of adults in authority, as well as feelings of anger, depression, humiliation, despair and delusion.

For example, a middle school in Washington State went on lockdown after a student brought a toy gun to class. A Boston high school went into lockdown for four hours after a bullet was discovered in a classroom. A North Carolina elementary school locked down and called in police after a fifth grader reported seeing an unfamiliar man in the school (it turned out to be a parent).

Police officers at a Florida middle school carried out an active shooter drill in an effort to educate students about how to respond in the event of an actual shooting crisis. Two armed officers, guns loaded and drawn, burst into classrooms, terrorizing the students and placing the school into lockdown mode.

These police state tactics have not made the schools any safer.

The fallout has been what you’d expect, with the nation’s young people treated like hardened criminals: handcuffed, arrested, tasered, tackled and taught the painful lesson that the Constitution (especially the Fourth Amendment) doesn’t mean much in the American police state.

So what’s the answer, not only for the here-and-now—the children growing up in these quasi-prisons—but for the future of this country?

How do you convince a child who has been routinely handcuffed, shackled, tied down, locked up, and immobilized by government officials—all before he reaches the age of adulthood—that he has any rights at all, let alone the right to challenge wrongdoing, resist oppression and defend himself against injustice?

Most of all, how do you persuade a fellow American that the government works for him when, for most of his young life, he has been incarcerated in an institution that teaches young people to be obedient and compliant citizens who don’t talk back, don’t question and don’t challenge authority?

As we’ve seen with other issues, any significant reforms will have to start locally and trickle upwards.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, if we want to raise up a generation of freedom fighters who will actually operate with justice, fairness, accountability and equality towards each other and their government, we must start by running the schools like freedom forums.

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

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Minorities including African-American and Hispanic/Latino children often have low to no swimming skills, and a Black child is five times more likely to drown than a Caucasian child.

These statistics were all too real this past weekend when three Muslim siblings from Albemarle County died in the James River in Rockbridge County Friday night. The circumstances surrounding the apparent drownings in the river have not been released.

However, a recent study shows that 70 percent of African American children and 58 percent of Hispanic and Latino children cannot swim and do not feel uncomfortable around water.

Income is also shown to be a factor in whether or not a child feels safe in the water.

According to Jeff Fife, Executive Director of the Waynesboro Family YMCA, data shows that 79 percent of children in households earning less than $50,000 in total income have few to no swimming skills due to a lack of resources.

The Waynesboro Family YMCA is working to change the statistics for minorities and low-income students in the River City – partnering with Waynesboro Public Schools to teach all Wenonah Elementary School second graders the skills they need to be water safe.

“There is nothing like the sight of a child that first realizes they can swim, can float, can protect themselves,” said Fife. “Some of the kids were never exposed to the water because their parents were afraid and passed that fear onto their children.

Wenonah Elementary School students are less likely than their peers to be water safe, due to several factors:

• Minority enrollment is 60 percent of the student body which is higher than the Virginia state average of 54 percent.
• 90 percent of the students meet the federal poverty guidelines to receive free and reduced lunch, according to Fife.
• ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) data shows that 50 percent of Waynesboro households meet the federal poverty guidelines. The average household income in Waynesboro is one of the lowest in the state at $47,000.

Fife hopes the water safety skills the students are learning now at the Y will have a generational impact and lead to more lives saved in the water and perhaps even more.

“The confidence these kids get by learning water safety and swimming is inspiring,” Fife said. “If they can overcome that fear, what else can they overcome?”

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David Doré became the chancellor of Virginia’s community college system in the spring and is now reimagining the system’s role in workforce development.

At the annual Chancellor’s Retreat, which prioritizes job placement beyond program completion, a new approach for community colleges was outlined to embrace technology and flexibility to serve a “new majority of learners,” including veterans, parents and working adults.

Doré outlined his vision in his keynote speech to the community college presidents, faculty and others present at this year’s event at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center yesterday. Doré is Virginia’s first new chancellor in 21 years, and he spent his first 36 days visiting all 23 community colleges on his listening tour, a 3,600-mile trip that was critical to hearing the voices of students and beginning to explore how Virginia’s Community Colleges will leverage innovation and best practices across the system.

“It is our time to lead the way for higher education in Virginia and in the nation. To be the standard bearer of what post-secondary education can do during these challenging and exciting times,” Doré said. He named three prominent gaps the system plans to address: educational achievement, technology and skills.

Doré said the system will partner with the Virginia Department of Education to propose legislation next year to remove barriers that hinder access to postsecondary programming and clearly define the path students will take to graduate with the skills and credentials necessary for a seamless transfer or immediate entrance to the workforce.

While dual enrollment and FastForward programs continue to grow, which are necessary for community colleges, according to Dore, aligning skills and training with local industry to fill high-demand jobs is also necessary. The system will focus on expanding and strengthening partnerships and collaboration across all industry sectors and in every region of the Commonwealth.

“This shortage of working-age adults who do not possess the skills needed for jobs in our most in-demand fields, healthcare, technology, and manufacturing, is stumping economic growth and widening income gaps, and exacerbating the shortage of those with the skills needed to train new workers,” Doré said. “New technology including artificial intelligence is disrupting the workforce, and community colleges must adapt to equip students with the skills they need for the modern world. Our instructors must leverage these tools in their learning models to remain relevant and effective.”

Doré’s focus is on prioritizing moving at the speed of industry, launching programs at a much faster pace and aligning Virginia’s Community Colleges with the nine GO Virginia regions to efficiently scale programming at the college level to meet regional job demands. He will advocate for a stronger investment in the community college system. The Virginia Community College System is the least funded of all Virginia public institutions of higher education and was among the lowest funded community colleges in the nation.

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There’s a lot of excitement around going back to school for children and adults as the weeks leading up to the return are full of planning and shopping for supplies and clothes.

However, as the actual first day of school approaches, some students find the new routine to be a big adjustment which leads to feelings of anxiety.

“Anxiety can be associated with the unknown, such as what will the teacher this year be like, what friends will be in my class, where will my classroom be, and likely other worries can pop into children’s minds,” said Cindy Smith, director of the Children’s Emotions Lab at Virginia Tech and an expert in child emotional development, parent-child interaction, and parenting behaviors. “As parents, understanding how children are feeling can be so important to helping them through school transitions.”

Adults should pay attention to changes in their child’s behavior during this time of year.

“Younger children are not likely to be able to label the emotions that they are feeling,” Smith said. “Anxiety about a new school year could look like an upset stomach or irritability about things that are not even related to school. Older children and teens might not openly express how they are feeling about the transition to a new school year,” she said.

“Always remember that children take their cues from the adults around them,” Smith said. “If parents are showing excitement about going back to school, then children will pick up on that excitement.”

Tips to ease back-to-school stress

Smith shares some ways that parents and guardians can help children ease the stress of returning to the back-to-school routine.

• Visit the school or classroom before the year starts, which helps children to visualize what their days might look like.
• Arrange a playdate or meet up with other children in their school.
• Read books with children about going to school and discuss questions as you read together. For families with more than one child, having the older child read with you can also give opportunities for modeling for the younger child and for the older child to express how they are feeling too.
• Talk with students about what goals they have for the upcoming year to help them get excited. Also, families can talk about what their children might learn in the upcoming year.
• Any activity done with children can provide opportunities to talk about how they are feeling about school, even if the activity has nothing to do with school. Having time dedicated solely to your students shows them that you are interested in what they might need and are there to support them. Make it a no-phones time to avoid distractions.
• Practice the routine of getting up and ready for school a few days before the year starts.
• Make sure children have their school supplies ready for the first day.
• Plan a fun activity after the first day of school, such as getting ice cream. This activity gives children something fun to anticipate.

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A chapter of study has caused the state of Florida to ban AP Psychology from high school classrooms.

USA Today reported Friday that the College Board, which oversees the Advanced Placement program, said Florida superintendents were advised by the state to drop AP Psychology classes unless topics related to gender and sexuality were excluded.

AP classes give high school students a jump start on college courses. Yet, the change would mean the courses would not earn students college credit, according to the College Board. The Board advised Florida high schools not to offer the classes until the decision is reversed by the state or the AP Psychology course would be in violation of Florida state law and college requirements.

“We are sad to have learned that today the Florida Department of Education has effectively banned AP Psychology in the state by instructing Florida superintendents that teaching foundational content on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under state law,” the College Board said. “The state has said districts are free to teach AP Psychology only if it excludes any mention of these essential topics.”

The College Board said in June it will not alter the course to comply with Florida law. A conference call last Thursday morning brought the news to Florida school superintendents about the state education department’s decision, days before the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Approximately 30,000 students were enrolled in the course for this fall.

The AP Psychology curriculum has included gender and sexual orientation for 30 years. However, last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican running for president in 2024, signed into law the Parental Rights in Education Act. The legislation prohibits instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through 3^rd grade. In the spring, the law was extended to 12th grade.

Unit 6.7 in AP Psychology discusses gender and sexuality, including definitions of gender, sexuality, gender roles and stereotypes and their socialization factors.

The largest LGBTQ+ group in the United States, The Human Rights Campaign, blasted the state’s decision, and called it a “disturbing” attempt to rewrite history.

“College Board’s AP Psychology curriculum is science-driven and endorsed by both educators and experts,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said. “Educational systems that reject the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people from their psychology courses are failing in their commitment to students.”

The American Psychological Association is also disappointed and called the exclusion in Florida an “enormous disservice” to students.

“Requiring what is effectively censored educational material does an enormous disservice to students across Florida, who will receive an incomplete picture of the psychological research into human development,” APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr. said. “An Advanced Placement course that ignores the decades of science studying sexual orientation and gender identity would deprive students of knowledge they will need to succeed in their studies, in high school and beyond.”

The clash over AP Psych is not the first between the Sunshine State and the College Board. In the spring, Florida said no to the Board’s AP African American Studies class because it violated state law with inclusion of topics like Black Lives Matter, Black feminism and reparations. The state’s “Stop WOKE Act” limits discussion of race in schools, colleges and workplaces. Teaching which could make students feel they bear personal responsibility for historic wrongs because of their race, color, sex or national origin is prohibited.

USA Today reported that teachers across Florida are “heartbroken” by the decision because they will now have to drop AP and teach alternatives deemed legal. The state education department released a statement blaming the decision on the College Board refusing to comply with Florida law and referred to the Board as “playing games” with Florida students.

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Which college you choose to attend may enable you to achieve your dream job.

Each college or university provides certain specialties, especially colleges offering degrees in the healthcare sector, but some stand above the rest in providing students the opportunity to obtain their dream jobs.

“While your place of study is no substitute for hard work, it just shows you that certain colleges are specialized to prepare students for specific career paths,” said Helpful Professor founder Chris Drew.

According to Drew, colleges such as Harvard have established reputations for cultivating exceptional business leaders which is ideal for students who aspire to be CEOS.

“These colleges offer rigorous curricula, comprehensive networking opportunities and access to renowned faculty members who possess invaluable industry experience,” Drew said.

Carnegie Mellon, recognized for cutting-edge research and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, is ideal for students interested in jobs with AI engineering.

“By immersing students in hands-on projects, providing access to state-of-the-art resources, and fostering collaborations with industry leaders, these colleges equip future AI engineers with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in this rapidly evolving field,” Drew said.

Individual effort by a student remains important, but college choice may enhance chances for success in a specific profession.

Liberty University in Lynchburg is included in The Best Colleges for Your Craft. Stanford and MIT are in the top 10 colleges for half of the 10 dreams jobs listed. Harvard is in first place for becoming a CEO or company founder.

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Waynesboro Schools welcomed 44 new staff members in a convocation ceremony Tuesday morning in the Louis B. Spilman Auditorium at Waynesboro High School.

But, first, returning staff was welcomed back and thanked for their continued dedication to the school system.

“Thank you to our returning staff,” said Waynesboro Schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ryan Barber. “Most of you are back, and we’re excited you’re here. We need you. So, those folks who have taught for two years or five years or 35 years, who are coming back and working with our students and making a difference in their lives, thank you.”

Barber said that the staff and the work they do is appreciated.

“There are lots of folks who do lots of work to get ready for the new school year,” Barber said.

He thanked maintenance, bus drivers, school nutrition staff, nurses, teachers and aides, clerical staff, mental health professionals, technical staff and instructional staff.

“We just are really appreciative of our amazing team,” Barber said.

Waynesboro Schools Superintendent Dr. Jeff Cassell, who marks 11 years with the school system, said Tuesday was the first day back.

“I thought we had a really great year,” Cassell said. Students were learning and were engaged in the classrooms.

He added that is why the school system is able to retain and recruit staff despite a national, state, and local teacher shortage. No administrators left the school system in 2023, according to Cassell.

“That gives us consistency in the building,” he said.

The school system is sure to maintain a culture of listening to staff, while also having a supportive school board and offering competitive salaries.

“While I know you don’t teach or work in public education for the money, that paycheck at the end of the month is pretty important,” Cassell said.

He provided an update on renovations within the school system, which continue at Wenonah Elementary School and Wayne Hills Center. Up next: a classroom wing of the high school.

“Today, having everybody back in here just feels good,” Cassell said.

Waynesboro School Board Chair Erika Smith pointed out that Waynesboro High welcomed its first classes of students 85 years ago this year.

“Like 1938, the students of today face challenges that were not experienced before. Back then, it was the recovery from the Great Depression and the growing threat of another disastrous World War,” Smith said.

The Waynesboro Education Association provided a presentation about its organization and invited new members to join.

“The WEA is here for all of us,” member Laura Riggan said. “It’s not just teachers.”

The ceremony’s keynote speaker was author and professor Dr. Laymon Hicks, a leading youth motivational speaker who encourages youth to overcome obstacles just as he did.

“I believe the more you learn, the more you realize how much more there is to learn,” Hicks said.

In the Louis B. Spilman Auditorium Tuesday afternoon, Hicks encouraged Waynesboro’s teachers and staff to look for opportunities for growth when working with youth by accepting challenges, encouraging dreams and minimizing negativity.

“Young people need you,” Hicks said.

He encouraged audience members to type on their phones about their why, their purpose in life.

And he shared that he believes while many children grow up being told that failure is not an option, he believes failure is an option. And children should be taught that failure is all right, because a few failures can lead to success.

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