January 18, 2019
Alumni Spotlight - Todd Yeatts - GWHS Class of 1983
Todd Yeatts is the Senior Manager of Government Operations for The Boeing Company based in Arlington Virginia. He joined Boeing following a 19-month assignment in the Middle East with L-3 SyColeman as Director of Communications for an Information Operations-Counter Improvised Explosive Device team based in Baghdad, Iraq.
Yeatts is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps retiring in 2011 after 25-years of service on both active duty and in the Reserves. He served operationally in Iraq, Haiti, Cuba, Rwanda and in joint training exercises with Canadian and Russian forces in Alaska.
His staff assignments included Director of Public Affairs for the Marine Logistics Command in Iraq; Director of Public Affairs for the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center 29 Palms, CA; and as the Public Affairs Officer for the Second Marine Division.
His command tours included Series Commander and Company Commander at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC; Platoon Commander, Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, VA and United Nations Company Commander in Port au Prince, Haiti.
He also served as aide-de-camp to the Commanding General of Parris Island, the Commanding General of Second Marine Division and as a Reservist he was appointed to the position on Military aide-de-camp to three Virginia Governors, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Bob McDonnell.
In addition to his military experience, he has worked in state government as the Director of Communications for the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission and in local government as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Danville, VA.
Yeatts serves on a variety of boards and commissions including the Virginia Aerospace Advisory Council; GO Virginia Region 7 Economic Development Council; Averett University Board of Trustees; Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, Arlington Long Bridge Park Advisory Committee, Arlington Military and Veteran Affairs Committee and is the Past Chairman of the Board of Directors for Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
He and his wife Cindy reside in Arlington and have two daughters and three sons.
Major Todd "Rowdy" Yeatts, DPS is very proud of you and your accomplishments! Thank you so much for your service to our country!
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
Vogler and Graves Speak to Bonner's AG Class!
Vice Mayor Lee Vogler and School Board Member Tyquan Graves spoke with Mrs. Nicholas’s gifted and accelerated 7th and 8th grade civics students about local government on Friday, January 11, 2019. They discussed the roles and functions of their governing bodies, as well as the process of getting involved in politics in Danville. They also shared future plans for the city and its schools and challenged students to get active in both small and large ways in their communities.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
#partnershipsmatter
ACEC Celebrates First GED Diploma for the Calendar Year!
Meet Shagariell Conway, our most recent GED recipient. We call her Gabby for a reason. Gabby came to us about a year ago and completed three sections of the exam and then left the program. She returned recently to successfully complete the math exam. Gabby will be registering at DCC to acquire additional skills. If you, or someone you know, needs a GED, please call Mary Dumont at 434 799 6471.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
Bonner Student Speaks to SPTC!
The Southern Piedmont Technology Council held its monthly meeting at Bonner Middle School on January 15, 2019. The meeting focused on the Career Exploration Labs at both Bonner and Westwood Middle Schools. A highlight of the meeting was when Skylar Payne, a student in the class, spoke to the group about her experiences in the labs. The Career Exploration Labs are available to all middle schools students (approx. 1,300).
The Career Exploration Labs will increase students’ knowledge of the 16 career pathways offered through the Career and Technical Education program. These pathways ensure students are knowledgeable about the changing industry demands, and more importantly, the curriculum will engage students beginning in middle school and continuing through dual enrollment pathways to post-secondary training in both non-credit and credit curricula. The five focus areas of the career exploration labs are: precision machining, welding, IT/cyber security, robotics/automation and mechatronics, and advanced materials.
In attendance were John Horin and Anna Crawley of Noblis. Noblis has given their time, talent, and financial support to the Passport Program, part of the Career Exploration Lab Class. DPS thanks Noblis for their continued support of this program that reaches 1,300 middle school students.
Pictured below (left to right): Skylar Payne, John Horin, and Anna Crawley.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
#partnershipsmatter
Zach Parker to Spend Summer in Madrid, Spain!
Zach Parker, a Galileo student, has been accepted to Spanish Language & Culture in Madrid, Spain and awarded a $4,920 Global Navigator Scholarship.
Over 3,000 students applied for this prestigious scholarship!
Zach gets to grow his Spanish in this lively capital with one of Europe’s richest art pedigree.
Experts will take him into the nooks and crannies of Madrid, far beyond the tourist trail. He'll meet local artists and artisans, shop where residents shop, cycle through neighborhoods, and taste the city’s incredible cuisine. After daily language classes, Zach will practice his Spanish vocabulary in the community on walks with his program leader, a U.S.-based Spanish teacher, and hang out with local high school students.
His home-away-from-home will be a huge learning experience in and of itself. Zach will live with a local host family, practicing Spanish as he prepares and shares meals, shops at local markets, hangs out with his host "siblings,” and soaks in the culture.
Not Your Typical Language Lab
On Language & Culture programs, all instructors are local teachers, certified by CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange). So they act as much as language learning experts as cultural insiders! Students are grouped by fluency levels, so everyone stays challenged throughout the program. Zach will take a language test (STAMP) before and after his program to measure progress and ensure success.
We believe in a task-based, communicative methodology. In other words, we help you communicate effectively and “function” in the real world!
Every day, for example, our teachers literally take the class outside and into the community to practice real-world situations such as asking for directions in the street, or buying a loaf of bread at the corner shop. They also use authentic materials in class, such as local newspapers, fashion magazines or local products. Anything that can help connect the dots between what you learn in class and what you see and experience outside.
We want Zach to learn vocabulary and gain skills that will help him make the most of his stay, and more importantly, stick with him for a long time. These won’t be just words he studied in a book, but experiences he actually lived.
Click here for more info on the program. Pictured below is Zach and his acceptance letter for the study abroad program.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
Donors Choose Awards Project to Gibson
Ms. Brumfield, a second grade teacher at E.A. Gibson Elementary School wrote a Donors Choose project for some new CD players and headphones to create a listening center for her students so they could listen to stories and help with their reading. The project was funded during the Winter Break and on January 9, 2019, the class received the CD players and headphones.
For more information on Donors Choose, a funding mechanism for teachers, please visit here.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
CFDRR Awards $25,000 Grant to DPS!
January 15, 2019 was an exciting day for Danville Public Schools! DPS was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region. Funds will be used to purchase supplies and consumables for the Career Exploration Labs at both Bonner and Westwood middle schools. This gracious donation will directly impact 1,300 middle school students in the Division.
We are deeply humbled by this opportunity and thank the Community Foundation for its support. It is important to note that the CFDRR awarded $714,000 in grants on this day.
Pictured below (L): Anne Moore-Sparks, the Director of the DPS Education Foundation, accepts the award. Pictured below (R): a group photo of all of the recipients.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
Sowers Speaks to SVRTC - 1:1 Chromebook Deployment
During the January Southside Virginia Regional Technology Consortium (SVRTC) meeting, members from seventeen SVRTC school divisions (Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Danville, Franklin City, Halifax, Hopewell, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Petersburg, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, Prince George and Sussex), with a total of twenty-nine professions were present to learn how Danville Public Schools distributed Chromebooks to ALL of their students in grades 6-12.
Cori Sowers, Lead Instructional Technology Resource Teacher at Danville Public Schools, shared how they started the process in 2016 with parent/student sessions to discuss Do’s and Don’ts with the Chromebooks. She also discussed student/parent responsibility and the equipment agreement and equipment use policy and the district’s policy on fees in case of damaged devices. Her presentation included the Google Sheets used to keep the deployment of devices organized across the personnel involved in deployment, technical support, and damages, as well as the collection of devices.
Congratulations Cori!
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
Virginia School Principals' Week
Governor Ralph S. Northam has recognized January 20-26, 2019, as Virginia School Principals' Week in Virginia. Last night, DPS Principals were invited by the School Board to attend the School Board Meeting for recognition. Those in attendance are pictured below (L to R): Everett Johnson, Pam Adams, Superintendent Stanley Jones, Dr. Jay Jones, Alicia Hightower, Kim Fortney, Kim Agnor, Angela Graves, and Wayne Mayo.
For those not in attendance, thank you Jay Lancaster, Carolyn Stephens, Robert Dalton, Timothy Saddler, Angela Ramsey, Daphne Wall, Cherie Garland, Larry Toomer, Dr. Dave Cochran, Lynn Kratochvil, James Kirkpatrick, Darlene Logan, Thomas Takacs, Mildred Richardson, Dr. Tonya Steele, Rhonda Wright, and Dr. Richard Wieringo for your hard work and dedication to the students of DPS!
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
DPSEF Awards Grant to Gibson!
Thanks to a generous grant from the Danville Public Schools Education Foundation, Gibson was able to purchase a monitor for the lobby that will highlight all the great stuff happening at the school. A donor had given those funds to the Foundation specifically for Gibson. Seen below is Dr. Jay Jones, Principal, showing off his new swag.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
Students Awarded $50 Gift Cards
As part of the SOVA Career ChoICE Youth Expo, students were requested to complete a pre and post survey. All students that completed the entire surveys had their names entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card. Each participating school had one winner and those winners were invited to the School Board meeting last night. Pictured below is winner Aniyah Carter from Bonner, her family, and Kim Agnor, Dr. Sandra Andrews, Joyce Culley and Superintendent Stanley Jones.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
DPS Part of VMSC Award!
The Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition has honored the Comprehensive Instructional Program (CIP) for the "significant work involved in the design and implementation and its impact on mathematics education".
DPS is a part of the CIP consortium of 30 Virginia school divisions. Congrats to all of our teachers who work tirelessly to make awards like this possible.
#everychildeverydayeveryclassroom
