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Just click on the videos below for an impressive guided tour inside these world-class buildings!

George P. Phenix	Hunter B. Andrews

Newsweek Names Hampton High "One Of The Best"

Each year Newsweek Magazine selects "the best high schools in the country based on how hard school staffs work to challenge students with advanced placement college-level courses and tests. Just over 1600 schools— only six percent of all the public schools in the U.S.--made the list."

We are pleased to announce that for FOUR YEARS IN A ROW, Hampton High School has made the list! This year they ranked 845 out of 1,600! Hampton High is home to the school division's International Baccalaureate program.

On May 20, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell paid a visit to the school division's Performance Learning Center (PLC), an alternative school where students can gain diplomas by taking online courses under teacher supervision. The Governor applauded the school division's efforts and success in greatly reducing the drop-out rate and added that helping students graduate means fewer teens will end up jobless.

PRINCE SELECTED TEACHER OF THE YEAR!

The May 6, 2010 School Board meeting was filled with excitement as Hampton High School art teacher Steve A. Prince, was named Hampton’s top educator! Steve holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in printmaking and sculpture from Michigan State University. Being a practicing artist, Steve’s students are afforded the opportunity to see, as he puts it, “a living experience of what I teach.” Selected High School Teacher of the Year in late April, he is known internationally for his exhibitions and commissions. His latest commission is the awesome 15-foot stainless steel kinetic sculpture that sits in the middle of the median, as you head toward the Coliseum area. He is the co-author of several books. His latest is called, “Cargo Billups Goes Looking For Lips” and is co-authored with his wife.

View Steve's speech following the announcement.

Hampton City Schools saw many scores increase across the division as the district reached 97% accreditation for the second year in a row! High schools increased their scores in every category while elementary and middle schools saw increases across the board as well. The division fell just 0.12 % of being fully accredited this year. According to Paula Brown, the division’s Director of Instructional Accountability, the shortfall boiled down to “one student, one question.” Brown credited the increase in scores, coupled with the division having 97% of its schools achieve state goals, to the “hard work being done in our schools every day by so many caring teachers and administrators.”

Some Accreditation Highlights
· All 7 middle schools reached Full Accreditation
· All 4 high schools reached Full Accreditation
· Schools scoring in the 90’s in ALL Core Content Areas: Armstrong, Asbury, Booker, Tucker-Capps and Kecoughtan
· Booker: 100% of students passed 5th grade assessment of which 57% scored Passed Advanced
· Hampton Harbour Academy: Achieved Full Accreditation
· Bethel: 100% of students passed the Chemistry SOL Assessment (all first-time takers)

November 2008

HCS Earns Bronze Quality Team Award, a team comprised of Instructional Accountability’s Paula Brown, Bryan Elementary School principal Dr. Vatara Slade, Superintendent Dr. Patrick Russo and Dr. Sally I’Anson, made a presentation on November 17th at the 16th National Quality Education Conference held in Reno, Nevada. The presentation highlighted the division’s Student Achievement Focus Team (SAFT) initiative. Going up against international competition, the Hampton school division took the Bronze Quality Team Award!

Emma Freakley, a third grade student at Armstrong Elementary, won the "My Dream House" 2008 Governor's Housing Conference poster contest. Emma, her family, and her art teacher (Debbie Taylor) were all invited to attend a special luncheon where the Governor was to personally recognize Emma and present her with her award.

Skyland Barbee of Jones Magnet Middle School, won
3rd Place, Division II in the 2008 Virginia Association for Pupil Transportation Poster Contest

Hampton High School freshman Reginald Jones was selected
as the State of Virginia’s Outstanding Future Leader, by the Virginia Jaycees

Ian Masters Dansey, a senior at Phoebus High School, was named
the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Volunteer of the Year.

Jenna Napier of Kecoughtan High School won First Place, Poster Contest while Shawn Lugo of Kecoughtan won First Place, License Plate Contest in the 2008 State Driver Education Contest.

Kecoughtan High School was selected a 2008 Virginia Naturally School by the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, for its efforts toward environmental stewardship.

Kecoughtan High School’s Katheryn Bodie or Kecoughtan High School, and Joseph Luke of Phoebus High School both received Perfect Scores of 800 on the Verbal Critical Reading section of the SAT Exam (2008).

Jakyll Henry and Johnel Trammel of Bethel High School, Tracie Cabler and Jaclyn Stokes of Kecoughtan High School, and Michelle L. Ammons of Phoebus High School were all named Outstanding Participants in the National Achievement Scholarship Program.

Gerston James and Bradford Knight of Hampton High School were named Semifinalists in the National Achievement Scholarship Program.

Armando Aguilera, Joshua Garber and Grace Miller...all of Kecoughtan High School...have been named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

October 2008

HCS Social Studies Teacher Specialist, Charles “Chuck” Baumgardner, was named Outstanding Economic Educator of the Year by Christopher Newport University’s Center for Economic Education! His enthusiasm and dedication to teaching were cited as major reasons the Center for Economic Education was certain he was their top choice.

September 2008

Two HCS Teachers Honored By OfficeMax. Two HCS teachers recently had surprise in-class ceremonies after being selected as honorees for the Office Max “A Day Made Better 2008” program. Debra Costa of Tyler Elementary and Kitya Chandler of Tarrant Elementary were the two teachers selected by their principals as educators who have shown both dedication and innovative approaches to education.  Both were presented with over $1,000 worth of teacher resources and supplies.

August 2008

On August 7, representatives from the Farmers Insurance Group visited Hampton Superintendent Dr. Patrick Russo to provide a financial donation to the school division. The $500 donation was viewed “not as a donation but as support” said Russo. The check was presented by Farmers Insurance and Financial Services Agent, Michael Lewis. The funds will go toward implementing Division Leadership Team strategies for continuous improvement, as well as improvement of the division’s accreditation process.

At a School Board meeting held on August 6th, the HCS Technology Department received $15,000 from the Batelle Foundation to continue the internship program between Hampton City Schools, Thomas Nelson Community College and Batelle. For the last four years, the Batelle Foundation has provided HCS with funds to hire an IT student from Thomas Nelson to work for HCS.

June 2008

Cheryl McLaughlin’s 8th grade students at Syms Middle School earned first place state level honors in the annual Project Citizen competition. The Project Citizen service learning initiative is designed to increase students’ awareness of important community issues and how they can influence public policy to help solve these issues. The award winning entry was entitled “Wiping Out Homelessness in Hampton.” The students investigated the local homelessness issue and created their own action plan proposing policy changes to help homeless families in Hampton. Their first-place project will represent Virginia as they advance to the national level!

Anthony Winslow, a second grade student at Mallory Elementary School took First Place in the region in WHRO’s 14th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writer’s and Illustrator’s Competition (Second Grade Category) for his book entitled “Herman the Bear”. There were 600 entries for this year’s competition. Anthony’s book will continue competition on the national level. He has been featured reading his book on WHRO and received $100 and a book bag filled with books/tapes from the Reading Rainbow Program.

Warren Campbell, a Junior at Kecoughtan High School, was the First Place winner of U.S. Representative Thelma Drake's High School Students' Art Competition for the 2nd Congressional District. The competition’s theme was “An Artistic Discovery.'' With entries received from Hampton, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Warren’s winning entry was titled was titled “Warren, Age 5.” His artwork will hang for 1 year in the tunnel between the Capitol Building and the Cannon House Office Building, in Washington, D.C. where members of Congress walk on their way to vote. Warren is also eligible for one of 5 college scholarships.

The Hampton School Division was one of only six school divisions in the nation to be the distinguished winner of the 2008 NEA-Saturn/UAW Partnership Award. Hampton won for its New Teacher Induction & Mentoring Program called “TEACHERS HELPING TEACHERS.”

WHCS-TV Channel 46, our in-house television station, is the recipient of not one, but TWO 2008 Telly Awards! The Telly Awards annually showcase the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations & corporate video departments in the world. It receives over 14,000 entries annually from all 50 states and many foreign countries. WHCS won for the Warrior Classic production (Live Events) and one for its Math Zone program (Student Productions.)

WHCS-TV Channel 46 has been awarded 3 Videographer Awards plus an honorable mention! The goal of the Videographer Awards is to identify & recognize the artisans who excel in the scope of their own environment. The station received an Award of Excellence for Sports Coverage, an Award of Distinction for the Warrior Classic and an Award of Distinction for the HCS Teacher Recruitment Video. They also received an “Honorable Mention” for the Math Zone.

MAY 2008

Tucker-Capps 3rd grade teacher Aretha Livingston was selected as the Virginia Lottery’s Super Teacher of the Year for our region! She was surprised May 22 by Lottery officials and HCS administrators, and is one of only 8 Super Teachers selected across the state of Virginia! Super Teacher Awards are a combined effort by the Virginia Lottery, the Virginia PTA and The Supply Room Companies to illustrate what great teachers we have in Virginia – and to highlight the cream of the crop. She received a cash prize of $2,000, and a $2,000 classroom supplies credit from Virginia based The Supply Room Companies.

MAY 2008

For the second year in a row, Hampton High School has made the list of Newsweek Magazines Top Schools in the nation. Hampton High School was recognized for its highly impressive International Baccalaureate Program. A total of 83 schools in Virginia were listed, with Hampton High being the only school from Hampton to make the Newsweek list.

MARCH 2008

Bethel High School social studies teacher Mary Lynn Everhart Mary Lynn, who in October was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award by the National Council for Geographic Education, has recently been selected to participate in a study trip to Ecuador with 15 other Virginia teachers! The study/travel experience is sponsored by the Geographic Alliance. This is an exciting opportunity to expand classroom instruction, as Mary Lynn plans to certainly integrate her travel experiences into her Human and World Geography classes. That’s cool!

MARCH 2008

The Kecoughtan High School Band program was named a Virginia Honor Band for 2008! This is the highest award a band program can earn in Virginia, and is the second year in a row that the KHS band has earned this honor.

The distinction comes as a result of the students earning a superior rating at marching and concert band festivals. This award is based on the Music Standards Of Learning for Virginia.


MARCH 2008

Hampton City Schools finished 15th in the nation in the first-ever Safe Search Awards Program sponsored by netTrekker! The Safe Search Awards Program recognizes districts that are keeping kids safest when searching on the Internet. HCS was recognized for outstanding usage in the 2006-2007 school year, and for “an extremely successful” district-wide implementation of netTrekker d.i.

FEBRUARY 2008

Congratulations to the staff of Channel 46 WHCS TV! The new HCS Teacher Recruitment DVD…produced by the station…. won a Platinum Award in the Video/ Film/ Recruitment category from the International Ava Award competition. The Platinum Award is the highest level awarded in the competition!

The International Ava Awards recognizes outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, direction, shooting and editing of audio-visual materials and programs. Entries include film, analog & digital productions viewed in a wide variety of mediums – from movie screens to televisions to computers. Entries came from throughout the United States and several foreign countries.

FEBRUARY 2008

Angie R. Smith, school counselor at Smith Elementary School was selected Virginia’s Elementary Professional School Counselor of the Year by the Virginia School Counselor Association. She is a National certified counselor who has worked in public school, education for some 22 years.

JANUARY 2008

The Virginia Association of Secondary School Principal's (VASSP) recognized Kecoughtan High Assistant Principal Tiffany Sanzo, as Virginia’s Assistant Principal of the Year for 2008!

Sanzo, who has been a member of the HCS family for some 13 years, earned her National Board Certification (NBC) and uses that experience to mentor and support NBC candidates through the process.

DECEMBER 2007

The Keep Hampton Schools Beautiful Program won the 2007 Keep America Beautiful National Award for Beautification & Community Improvement. The program is a collaborative effort of Hampton City Schools, Hampton Parks & Recreation, Hampton Neighborhood Commission, the Volunteer Center of the Virginia Peninsula, United Way Day of Caring, the Virginia Cooperative Extension Hampton Master Gardeners, the Hampton Clean City Commission, and many individual and group volunteers. The award was presented at the Keep America Beautiful Annual Conference in Washington, DC on December 7.


OCTOBER 2007

Debby Martin, Hampton City Schools’ Teacher of the Year, has been selected by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) as one of the "20 to Watch" educators for 2007. This special recognition was launched to identify emerging leaders who will be helping to shape the world of education technology for the next 20 years. Martin, who joined the Hampton school division in 2001, is a Career and Technical Education teacher at Phoebus High School. The 20 educators identified this year by NSBA range from classroom teachers and technology directors to a superintendent and a non-profit foundation leader.


SEPTEMBER 2007

Mary Lynn Everhart of Bethel High school is the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Teaching Award given by the National Council for Geographic Education. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding contributions to geographic education and Mary Lynn is one of only 14 educators in the United States to receive this honor!

SEPTEMBER 2007

Mary Hurst of Cooper Elementary Magnet School for Technology was named the 2007 Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Virginia Technology Education Association. Mary is currently enjoying her recent retirement from the Hampton school division.

AUGUST 2007

The Hampton School division is the recipient of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) 2007 Golden Achievement Award! The award was given recently for the school division’s Schools Curb Appeal Initiative.

According to the award letter received, NSPRA’s Golden Achievement Award recognizes “exemplary work” with award judges seeking “outstanding achievement.” The initiative, which is an on-going project – serves as a keen example of the positive changes that can take place when schools work hand in hand with the community.

The Hampton School Division won a 2007 Partnership District Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University! This marks an important step in the school district’s leadership in building strong partnerships.

Hampton was honored for making excellent progress in helping schools develop comprehensive programs of school, family, and community partnerships to support school improvement goals. Essential elements included teamwork, leadership, plans for action, implementation, facilitation, evaluation, and network connections.


MAY 2007

The Hampton School division is the recipient of the 2007 Excellence In Education Award, given by the Virginia Tech School of Education. This annual award recognizes successful programs in PreK-12 schools and in community colleges as well.

Hampton won for its program, Community Visioning – HCS Community Priorities Workshop. This workshop, which began when Dr. Patrick Russo took over as Hampton’s Superintendent of Schools three years ago, engages the entire Hampton community in shaping a set of shared outcomes for the division.

APRIL 2007

The American School Board Journal tapped Hampton City Schools as the only school division in the State of Virginia to receive the highly coveted 2007 Magna Award. Over the past 13 years, the Journal has featured excellent examples of school governance, showcasing divisions offering practical advice on how districts solve pressing problems.

The Hampton School Board earned this national recognition for the division’s various program involvements with In-Sync Partnerships to develop collaborations designed to increase school success and improve neighborhoods.