Virginia
Virginia school system ranked 9th best in US. Here’s why.
WASHINGTON – Virginia’s school system is one of the best in the country, according to a new report by WalletHub.
The personal-finance website released its 2024 report on the best and worst school systems across the U.S. this week. Virginia secured the ninth position nationally, down from fifth in 2023.
The report compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety, including pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rate, and median standardized-test scores.
Maryland and Virginia schools introducing new grading policies
School districts from Maryland to Virginia are reminding students and parents about grading policy changes going into effect this school year. The new rules regarding grades will impact students from Montgomery County to Fairfax County. FOX 5’s Tisha Lewis reports from Falls Church with more.
According to the study, Virginia performs well in ensuring that low-income students graduate from high school, ranking 13th nationally.
The rankings show the state is positioned for positive growth in high school graduation rates over the next decade.
While math scores are decent at number 15th, there’s room for improvement in reading, which ranks 28th, according to the report. Virginia excels in preparing students for AP exams, ranking tenth in the U.S.
The state ranked 18th nationally for pupil-teacher ratio, with numbers indicating a reasonable balance between student enrollment and teacher availability.
Virginia also ranks well in terms of safety, with low incidence rates of violence, bullying, and threats. The state also has a high percentage of parents who believe their children attend safe schools.
FULL REPORT: States with the Best & Worst School Systems (2024)
BUNNELL, Fl. — An 11-year-Virginia boy is charged in Florida with calling in more than 20 bomb or shooting threats to schools and other places, authorities said Thursday.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said during a news conference that authorities worked hard to find the caller before the school year resumed.
“This kid’s behavior was escalating and becoming more dangerous,” Staly said. “I’m glad we got him before he escalated out of control and hurt someone.”
Swatting is slang for making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to send a SWAT team or other armed police officers to a particular place.
Flagler County emergency services initially received a bomb threat at Buddy Taylor Middle School on May 14, officials said. Additional threats were made between then and May 22. Flagler County is in central Florida on the state’s Atlantic coast.
Investigators tracked the calls to a home in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside Richmond. Local deputies searched the home this month, and the 11-year-old boy who lived there admitted to placing the Florida swatting calls, as well as a threat made to the Maryland State House, authorities said. Investigators later determined that the boy also made swatting calls in Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Alaska.
The boy faces 29 felony counts and 14 misdemeanors, officials said. He’s being held in a Virginia juvenile detention facility while Florida officials arrange for his extradition. Investigators didn’t immediately say whether the boy had a connection to Florida.
A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Florida in May, several days after the initial call, for making a copycat threat to Buddy Taylor Middle School, officials said.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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(WSET) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress on Wednesday.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) is one of over 70 politicians who missed Netanyahu’s address.
Sen. Kaine said he had a commitment on his calendar at William and Mary for months, so he couldn’t attend the prime minister’s address. He said he’s read coverage of the speech and has heard many of Netanyahu’s past addresses.
What I think people who attended the speech, and in my own reading of it, we’ve got to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire,” Sen. Kaine said. “That’s gonna be the best thing for Israel, the best thing for suffering Palestinians, the best thing for tension in the region. That has seemed tantalizingly close, but we’re not there yet, and I think that’s what the prime minister’s focus should be.”
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Kaine said a ceasefire is the only way the U.S. will be able to provide needed humanitarian aid to suffering Gazans and ultimately have a conversation of peace between the two states.
In response to the speech, thousands of protestors rallied on Capitol Hill opposing Netanyahu’s visit.
ABC13 asked the senator for his thoughts on that protest. He said they have the right to speak their minds, but violence isn’t acceptable.
I condemn any burning of the U.S. flag, any protest that gets into violence,” Sen. Kaine said. “I get why people feel strongly about it, I feel strongly about it, but you express that in a peaceful way, not in anything that suggests violence.”
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Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress. He told reporters Thursday that he was deeply disappointed by one major aspect of the address. Sen. Warner said Netanyahu was impassioned and he agrees that Israel has the right to defend itself, but he said the prime minister didn’t acknowledge the suffering and death of more than 40,000 Palestinians.
Warner said there can’t be a release of hostages without a ceasefire in Gaza and he thinks the only way to get permanent peace is a two-state solution.
We’ve seen this hope for a ceasefire and those hostages released dashed time and again, and it’s gonna take both parties, both the Israeli government and the Hamas leadership, to make compromises,” Sen. Warner said.
Warner said he thinks those compromises will bring forward the hostage yield and an ultimate ceasefire.
The 2024 college football season is getting closer and Virginia Tech’s season opener vs Vanderbilt is nearly a month away. The Hokies are getting ready for what should be an exciting 2024 campaign and they are seen as a team that could contend for a spot in the ACC Championship. One of the reasons for that is the play of quarterback Kyron Drones, who had a great second half of the season and is going to be one of the conference’s best quarterbacks in 2024. When naming each top 25 team’s most exciting player for the upcoming season, 247Sports analyst Carter Bahns listed Drones for Virginia Tech:
“College football fans ought to familiarize themselves with this name as Drones is one of the top breakout candidates for the 2024 season. The dual-threat weapon rushed for 818 yards last season and posted a 17-3 touchdown-interception ratio.”
Our own RJ Schafer previewed the quarterback position for the Hokies and thinks Drones is ready for a huge season:
“Drones lead the Hokies with his arm, as well as his legs. He finished the season with 2,085 yards passing, and 818 rushing yards. Drones was one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the ACC, and with a full season of production, he could touch on 4,000 yards in total.
According to Brad Crawford of 247Sports, Drones will be the fifth-best quarterback heading into the 2024 season. Crawford only listed Haynes King (Georgia Tech), Grayson McCall (NC State), DJ Uiagalelei (Florida State), and Cam Ward (Miami) higher than Drones.
Kyron Drones obviously isn’t perfect. There are two main points for progression for the QB1 heading into next season: ball-carrier vision and panic control. Drones was very solid in the run game last year, breaking off some big runs, but he also has issues. Drones will struggle to find open lanes at time, finding himself running into a tackle, or a crowd of offensive linemen. Drones has room to improve in the passing game too. Drones was extremely efficient when everything worked, his first Reed was open, you bet he’s making the pass. When nobody’s open? Different story. Drones sometimes panics in the pocket, which puts him in positions as a quarterback he should never be in. If Drones can work on his pocket presence in the offseason, he can contend with the top quarterbacks in the ACC.
Despite the standouts of the Virginia Tech offense, it’s no question that if Kyron Drones improves, the whole team will improve. With all of the players returning, this will likely be one of the best offenses in the ACC, led by a quarterback who can run the ball and pass, I’d be scared if I were an opposing ACC coach.”
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