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Hello, and welcome to my Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School website. I have served as BRVGS Director since the Fall of 2005 (I know... that's a really long time!), and I am still excited every day to work with all of our students, teachers and schools, and to see our students achieve their goals throughout their time in BRVGS.
On this site, you will find a little information about me and about what I do as Director of BRVGS, as well as some links to some of the specific things in BRVGS that I work with, such as the BRVGS Program of Studies, the BRVGS Academic Success Skills, and BRVGS projects and events.
I am always happy to hear from students, parents and community members, so please always feel free to contact me at the email address and phone number below:
Email: mcarraway@brvgs.k12.va.us
Phone: 434-989-3972
My Philosophy as Director:
My Philosophy as Director:
My Philosophy: I believe that every student can and should learn to their full potential so that they can be fully prepared to pursue their dreams, and that students do best when they learn the skills for success as well as academic content.
The most important thing to know about me and my role in BRVGS is that I truly love working with BRVGS students, staff, parents and local schools. When I first came to work for BRVGS, we had under 300 students in the program. Now we have nearly 700 students, and one of the best parts of my job as Director is getting to know our students over the time that they are in the program, and to see what our students are able to accomplish in their time in BRVGS.
Important links:
Important links:
Director's Duties
Director's Duties
A lot of students have asked me over the years, "What do you really do in your job?" That's a little difficult to answer, because every day in BRVGS is different. Here are some of the things that I do as Director:
Curriculum and Instruction: I work with teachers and staff to decide what content and skills our students will learn, and how they will learn those. This includes a LOT of work with BRVGS projects, and with our educational partners (Uva, Shenandoah University, etc.). I also oversee instruction across the program.
Logistics: I work with the rest of the BRVGS staff to plan and put on student events and projects, etc.. These include kickoffs, presentation events, workday trips, international travel, and design of projects and instructional activities.
Finance: I oversee the BRVGS budget, which is over $900,000. This money pays for BRVGS staff salaries, stipends and training for teachers, field trips, and of course, pizza. A lot of pizza.
Student and parent communication: I communicate with and work directly with students and parents on many issues, from scheduling, to concerns about classes, or issues with BRVGS policy.
BRVGS Board and Steering Committee: I work with the BRVGS Steering Committee, which consists of counselors and administrators from our member districts, and with our Board, which consists of Board representatives from member districts, to craft BRVGS policies and procedures.
Representing BRVGS: I represent BRVGS as part of a state-wide organization of Virginia Governor's Schools in working on issues of funding, diversity and policies.
My Background:
My Background:
After graduating from the University of Virginia, I started my working life as a professional musician, performing throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Central America for 8 years.
My first teaching position was at Orange County High School. I got interested in school leadership, so went back to school to George Mason University, for a Master's Degree in Education Leadership in 2000. When I became an Assistant Principal at OCHS, one of my duties was to work with a new program called the "Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School," and I supervised BRVGS at OCHS as the program first started.
I was hired to be Principal of Madison County High School in 2001. In 2005, I was offered the opportunity to apply for the position of Director of BRVGS. With my prior experience with the program, I was really pleased to come to work with BRVGS. After 15 years, I still love every day of working with BRVGS students and staff!
Outside of my time working for BRVGS, I still play music professionally across central Virginia twenty to thirty times a year as half of the acoustic duo "Scuffletown."
When I am not working or playing music, I love to sail my 45-year old sailboat with my wife Lisa, who is a special educator at Liberty High School in Fauquier County, and with our dog Joey.
I also love to travel, and have been to Europe around a dozen times, as well as to Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Asia. In the past few years, I have also taken groups of BRVGS students to China and to the Galapagos Islands.
When I am not doing all that other stuff, I enjoy paddleboarding, reading, spending time with friends and family - and hearing from BRVGS students and alumni, so I hope that current BRVGS students will stay in touch long into the future!
Yeah... I used to have hair.
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