Botetourt County’s teachers are back in school today and students return next Wednesday, Aug. 8.

The school division’s 36 or so new teachers went through orientation at The Glebe on Tuesday, Superintendent John Busher said. It was their first instruction in what Busher calls “The Botetourt Way.”

All teachers are gathering today at Bonsack Baptist Church where elementary and secondary teachers will meet separately for programs the administration has put together.

“We’re not doing new things,” Busher said. “We’re focusing on what we do well…. We need consistency in the way we do business, and we’re working with new teachers to be sure they become a part of The Botetourt Way.”

Busher noted that hiring three dozen new teachers means the division lost the same number of experienced teachers who knew The Botetourt Way.

That way includes his direction to teachers that they need to teach more than the Standards of Learning (SOLs)— to teach enhanced skill sets and focus on the learning environment and culture.

While the approach to teaching won’t change, there are a little “new” in the division.

Students attending Botetourt Technical Education Center (BTEC) will be greeted by a new principal. Shaun Sparks assumed the position on July 1. The former principal, Mike Ketron, will also be headquartered at the school in his new role as the school division’s Coordinator for Career and Technical Education (CTE). He takes over for Lisa Barnett who retired.

Sparks came from Greene County where he was that division’s CTE Director. Prior to that he was an assistant principal at William Monroe High School in Stanardsville. He also served as the Director of School Counseling at Wilson Memorial High School in Augusta County.

School bus routes have been set and are available for individuals on the Botetourt County Public School website.

The bus routes are under the Parent tab, click Resources and Bus Information 18-19.

Parents will need their student’s PowerSchool ID number or register their student to access the individual bus route.

The school division will no longer use Greenfield Education and Training Center at Botetourt Center at Greenfield for the Science, Technology Engineering, Math and Health Science (STEM-H) Academy.

Health Science is moving into a newly renovated lab at Lord Botetourt High School. Space for the lab opened up when the school division moved the engineering/mechatronics and technology programs to BTEC last year.

Stacey Jones, who was principal at the STEM-H Academy since it opened in 2012, has returned to Read Mountain Middle School as an assistant principal.

Superintendent of Schools John Busher said moving the Health Sciences lab to LBHS also provides an opportunity for collaborative work with the school’s agriculture and other programs.

James River High School students in the Health Sciences program have the option of making LBHS their home school. Students who complete the two-year Health Sciences program in the county school system can attend Virginia Western Community College’s program and may graduate with an associate’s degree at the same time they finish high school.

Botetourt had 10 students do that this past spring, and three the year before.

Work has been completed on the school division’s Energy Performance Contract. The school division is expected to save $7.6 million in energy and operational costs over the next 15 years after making $6.3 million in improvements to all of the school buildings over the several months.

Johnson Controls, which had the contract for the program, guarantees the energy savings that includes, among other things, new LED lighting inside and outside all the school buildings.

Other work included sealing the air systems at LBHS and RMMS and replacing the 20-year-old air-handling unit at LBHS.

Boilers were replaced at LBHS, CAMS, RMMS and BTEC. The chillers were replaced at LBHS and CAMS as part of the project, and there were smaller upgrades at various schools, including some kitchens, and insulating some walls and insulating areas around windows and doors.

The project also included installing water conservation fixtures to reduce water consumption for school buildings that have water bills.

Student numbers have been a concern the past few years as enrollment took a downturn, and projections were that would continue.

The numbers have stabilized, though, because of the increase the number of students in the southern part of the county.

Busher said as of Monday, 284 kindergarten students had enrolled across all seven elementary schools— and more are continuing to enroll, as are students in some other grades.

He said there’s slight growth in the kindergarten enrollment, but more importantly, it’s consistent.