Dr. Joseph Melvin, the superintendent of Petersburg City Public Schools, and other staff members of the school district toured William Marvin Bass Elementary School on March 28, 2014 to talk about the development of a year-round school program. This program includes additional remediation, small group instruction, and more time for learning and relationship-building. Bass Elementary School is a model program for a successful year-round public school calendar.
The visitors began with a tour of the elementary school that included a peek into the 5th grade class where the children were working on individual laptops as part of the LCS-ONE initiative. Following the tour, LCS Superintendent Dr. Scott Brabrand gave advice and spoke about the successes and challenges that came with the change to the calendar when the school was first converted to year-round in 2006. The Petersburg City Public Schools were very engaged in what Dr. Brabrand and fellow staff of the Lynchburg City Schools had to say about the instillation of this program. Program directors from Curriculum and Instruction, School Nutrition, Transportation and Facilities, and Public Information discussed their roles with the school’s day-to-day activities.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Brabrand commended the school, noting that “the connection with the community here is as strong as any place I’ve seen.”