School stuff

 

Goochland County’s school division is a well-kept secret in the Richmond metro area. Awards, commendations, and achievements of the division, its students, and staff are too many to list here. Visit the school division’s website https://www.goochlandschools.org/ to find out more.

Broadway came to Goochland last week. The magnificent production of Newsies, staged by the GHS drama department was a tour de force of acting, singing, dancing, including tap, organization, and pure joy for those involved and the audience. Under the direction of Neil Burch, who has been the GHS drama teacher for more than a decade, Newsies was the latest in a long string of productions that get better each year.

The organization, commitment to excellence hard work by everyone involved, including more than 100 cast members, crew, parents, staff, and volunteers brought the story of how New York City newsboys fought media moguls and won, to life.

Superb acting, including accurate New York accents, feigning an injured leg, mastery of complicated choreography, and deft scene changes.

Superintendent search

Earlier this year, Jeremy Raley, who had been Goochland Superintendent of Schools since 2016, accepted a position as Chief of Staff for the Virginia Department of Education. During his tenure, Raley dealt with the pandemic and shepherd construction of a new Goochland Elementary School, currently under construction, from concept to groundbreaking. WE thank him for his service and wish him well in his new position.

The school board is now tasked with finding a worthy successor to Raley. Dr. Andy Armstrong was appointed to serve as interim superintendent. On April 11, the school board voted to retain BWP Associates (https://www.bwpassociates.com/), the search firm that brought Raley to Goochland, to find our next school division head.

A press release from the school division notes the following:

As part of the process, BWP will conduct a number of meetings with key leaders in the schools and the community to hone the leadership profile for the search. The Board also encourages input from parents and community members. An online survey regarding the superintendent search is also now available online here. The survey will be open through May 6, 2023.

Please take time to complete this survey, the right person in the top job in our school division is vital to its success.