Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Parks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Weems Elementary attendance improves; council hears school and parks updates
Summary
Principal and school board members told council Weems Elementary cut chronic absenteeism from about 28% to 14%; council also received Parks, Culture & Recreation updates including Marcellus School acquisition, Dean Park ribbon cutting, and museum attendance gains.
Manassas City officials on Jan. 27 highlighted school attendance gains at Weems Elementary and described park and cultural investments that council members said will support student and community needs.
Sarah Brescia, a Manassas City School Board member, introduced Weems Principal Michelle Huffman, who told council chronic absenteeism at Weems fell from nearly 28% in 2021–22 to about 14% in the most recent School Quality Profile. Huffman credited staff, community partners and improved engagement for the gains and linked better attendance with improved student achievement.
Huffman cited a 24% increase in early grades literacy pass rates year over year and a 6% increase in third‑ and fourth‑grade Virginia Standards of Learning reading pass rates. Council and school leaders said the city’s ability to fund competitive salaries helped the division hire and retain teachers.
On parks and cultural assets, Parks, Culture and Recreation Assistant Director Keisha Wilson‑Segunrow and staff described a full year in the renovated Manassas Museum, the Annenberg ribbon cutting and ongoing work on the former Marcellus School site. Keisha said ballfields at the Marcellus site will be available March 15 and listed community events scheduled for spring, including a Dean Park ribbon cutting March 14 and a Marcella community conversation and egg hunt April 20.
Keisha also said Stonewall Park Pool attendance has doubled since renovations and that about 95% of seasonal staff are bilingual, mostly Spanish speakers, and that the department is recruiting seasonal lifeguards and recreation staff in February. The museum reported attendance roughly double pre‑pandemic numbers after renovation and said it is hosting school programs for all fourth‑grade classes.
Council members praised the school’s attendance turnaround and the Parks Department’s outreach to students and families. In public comment, a speaker who identified herself as a school official noted EngageVA survey results that named lack of backup transportation when students miss the bus as the top reason chronically absent students miss school; she asked council to consider mobility improvements as part of attendance strategy.
