Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recognitions Awards topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Harrisonburg schools honor teachers and student-athletes; division educator of the year named
Summary
At its June 2 business meeting the Harrisonburg City School Board recognized dozens of student-athletes and teachers across the division, and announced the HCPS Educator of the Year (Audra, referenced in the meeting as Ms. Vasiluskas). Presentations highlighted STEM, athletics, and classroom achievements.
The Harrisonburg City School Board spent much of its June 2 meeting recognizing student and staff accomplishments across the division, including electric-vehicle (EV) Grand Prix teams, multiple district- and state-level athletic placings, and the Harrisonburg City Public Schools Educator of the Year.
Superintendent Tim Richards opened the recognitions, noting Rocktown High School hosted the Shenandoah Valley Grand Prix and that student teams applied engineering and renewable-energy principles to build battery-powered endurance vehicles. Presenters described the EV cars as 48-volt systems (four 12-volt batteries in series) that race for one hour on a single charge, and credited parents, volunteers and sponsors for supporting the program.
The board also heard summaries from athletic directors and coaches. Callie Randolph, Skyline Middle School's athletic director, named multiple first-place district finishers and relay teams. Coaches and staff celebrated state qualifiers and record-setting relay finishes across middle- and high-school programs.
In the educator recognitions, staff read nomination narratives for teachers from multiple schools (Elan Rhodes Early Learning Center, Bluestone, Keister, Smithland, Spotswood, Stone Spring, Waterman, Skyline, Thomas Harrison and Harrisonburg High). The division announced its Educator of the Year as Audra (referred to in the meeting also as Ms. Vasiluskas). A board representative praised Audra's wide-ranging work with freshmen and advanced classes, and Joel Francis of the Bakkenrose law firm presented a $1,000 award in honor of Lucy Sims to support the winner.
The recognitions underscored the board's emphasis on hands-on learning, community partnerships and the role of extracurricular activities in student development. Many board members and staff noted graduation and end-of-year celebrations are upcoming.
The board continued with its agenda after the recognitions, moving into policy and calendar items.
