By Matt de Simone
The Botetourt County School Board held its regular meeting last Thursday night at the Central Administration Office in Fincastle. Before the board heard its action and informational items, it recognized its Employees of the Month for April: Rebakah Reiner, school nurse at Cloverdale Elementary School, and Melissa McKinney, second grade teacher at Eagle Rock Elementary School.
The 2025 Division Spelling Bee Champion Savannah Colleluori of Read Mountain Middle School received a certificate of recognition along with division runner-up Josi Whitaker representing Cloverdale Elementary School.
Certificates were also handed out to VSBA Blue Ridge Regional Art Contest participants Averi Alderman, 3rd Place Elementary School Winner from Greenfield Elementary School, and James River senior Kaeli Berry who received first place honors at the high school level.
The county’s 2025 Western Virginia Regional Science Fair Award winners from Lord Botetourt, Preston Vaughn, Ella Dickerson, Raimee Sykes, Kane Reczek, Hannah Mizuba, and Brett Smith, who won first place at the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair, received recognitions from the board as well.
Dual enrollment students from both high schools received certificates of recognition for receiving their associate’s degree and/or a uniform certificate of General Studies along with their high school diploma. The students recognized included James River’s Kelsey Firebaugh and SarahGrace Laughridge, and Lord Botetourt’s Olivia Carswell, Ethan Cunningham, Dakoda Ferguson, Campbell Franco, Bria Harvey, Mia MacCormack, and Ena Sejtanic.
The board’s action items included ruling on the revised elementary report card policy and revised school calendars for school years 2025-26 and 2026-27.
BCPS Supervisor of Instruction Mike Tetreault presented the revised elementary report cards proposal to the board. The presentation highlighted the communication of student progress and performance, behavior, and social development. These revisions will provide parents and guardians with a clear understanding of strengths, areas for improvement, and progress toward learning goals, fostering collaboration between home and school.
School Board Chair Anna Weddle commended the work of Tetreault and the committee of educators on the revision. Tetreault added that report cards are now mainly distributed electronically, although paper copies are provided for parents who request them.
Key updates to elementary report cards include simplified language for parents, consistent formatting across grade levels, and a more streamlined one-page design with teacher comments on the reverse side. These changes are intended to foster better communication between schools and families while aligning with division-wide standards. The presentation noted that, throughout the process, committee members and elementary principals elicited feedback from teachers and the next step will be communication to BCPS students and families. The board upheld the revised report card policy.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Janet Womack returned to formally present upcoming school calendars for 2025-26 and 2026-27. The 2025-26 calendar, revised for readability and 2026-27, which was reviewed at last month’s meeting, saw a few changes brought on by feedback from a survey and by the calendar committee. Both calendars were approved by the board.
Photos courtesy of BCPS
Dr. Womack also presented an informative policy proposal on random drug testing for students. This proposal was developed by a committee consisting of School Board members, educators, and law enforcement. The purpose of the policy is to promote a safer, healthier environment by deterring drug use and supporting students’ well-being.
The policy is intended keep the school free of illegal drugs, alcohol, and performance-enhancing substances while promoting student responsibility and safety. It outlines who must be tested, the consent process, testing procedures, consequences of positive results, and the appeals process, emphasizing that participation in activities and school parking are privileges with responsibilities. The board will review this policy before taking action at a future meeting.
Additionally, Botetourt 4-H Extension Agent Tyler Painter gave a brief rundown of this past school year’s 4-H in-school STEM programming. He spoke about the various projects and activities students participated in and brought with him blue ribbon presenter and Breckinridge Elementary fifth grader Charlotte Molten, who recently took home the prize at the regional presentation competition. She presented a “how-to” demonstration about drawing animals using numbers.
To watch the meeting in its entirety, visit bcps.live/archives. Documents about the proposed policies presented to the School Board last Thursday can be found at go.boarddocs.com/vsba/bcps/Board.nsf/Public.
