[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Hello and welcome to Opportunity Ready 2025. I'm Shelley Clemons, chair of the Roanoke County School Board, and it's my pleasure to give you an update on the amazing progress and accomplishments our schools have made in the past year.

In 2025, Roanoke County Public Schools joined a national initiative to reshape the future of education for high school students. We are one of only 24 school divisions across the United States to be included in the prestigious Carnegie Foundation's Future of High Schools Network.  And this is all due to our mission of preparing our students to be opportunity ready.  Here's more on how our schools are preparing our students to be opportunity ready now and how we're helping reshape the education of tomorrow.

 

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

Our mission in Roanoke County Public Schools is to prepare all of our students to be opportunity ready. That is to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and mindset they need for future success. The two main vehicles we use to do that are through our senior defenses and our student led conferences at the middle and elementary levels. The opportunity ready graduate program in Roanoke County public schools truly represents a sea change. It's a transformation in terms of what students learning experiences are like.

So we want them to have their knowledge learn the content knowledge be able to demonstrate that by traditional means you know assessments. But it's also about skill building. And so the student led conferences in the earlier grades and especially the senior defenses in high school really represents a student’s opportunity to demonstrate the evidence that they have to prove that they've actually acquired those skills. And what's really powerful about this, they're actually implementing and demonstrating their skills while leading their student led conference or their senior defense. They're actually having to communicate. They're actually having to think critically and reflect on their learning and then to articulate that to the audience, whether it's their parents at the elementary and middle school level or the panel of judges at the high school level.

It's a metacognitive process of having to take a step back and really think about how am I learning? What am I learning? And be able to articulate that to the audience. It's very powerful.

The culmination of the opportunity ready graduate program is really to have students graduate from high school. And we want what we want them to be able to do is to go to local employers or employers even beyond our region and be able to take that evidence and say this is why you should hire me. This is what I've already demonstrated I can do in terms of those skills. And it should really give them a leg up and if nothing else a sense of accomplishment and sense of confidence going into those situations to have a better chance of actually having opportunities beyond high school.

[Troy Henderson – President of G&H Contracting]

I love opportunity ready. I mean that was one that got me excited because yes that is what we are looking for and they are they are opportunity ready. The these kids come in they're able to communicate and I think we make that better. We think we're a big component of opportunity ready as well and and we really like that Roanoke County Schools focuses on that.

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

The opportunity ready graduate process that skill development really begins in the early grades in the elementary schools. So we've taken the idea of the traditional conference which is usually between the teacher and the parent and really have the student voice be elevated. And so it's the student who's really thinking about their own learning and to articulate that which causes them to think, but also to actually practice their communication skills as they're thinking about and talking about what they're learning in in the class.

[Blake Duncan – Parent of a Green Valley Elementary Student]

I think it's great. It gives them the opportunity to speak about themselves, which will help them in the future when they're out having to promote themselves in different aspects in life and gives them that breakaway as a young child to do that now instead of waiting until the teenage years or adult years to actually have to explain what it is they're doing.

[Dr. Matt Neale – 2026 Va Teacher of the Year and Teacher at Hidden Valley High School]

For the senior defenses, their capstone project, it truly is a culmination of the learning experiences they've had in classes. This is an excellent opportunity for Roanoke County students to really showcase work that they've done not just in their school but also in their community and then also the extracurricular functions at the school as well. It just kind of really is an awesome opportunity to kind of have a look back on their high school career, but also it's looking forward into what they want to do after they leave this building because we're going to really create some great valuable skills for them that they're going to go out and use. like the ability to communicate, the ability to have successful interviews, the ability to build on things that they've already done, and all these kind of things are going to be really wonderful ways for them to jumpstart careers outside of the school.

[Mike Riley – Roanoke County Public Schools Executive Director of Secondary Instruction]

The Future High Schools Network is from the Carnegie Foundation for Teaching and Learning. We were actually one of probably well over a hundred school divisions in the country that were asked to apply to be a part of this. And we found out a couple months later they reached out and let us know that they wanted to partner with us and we were one of 24 school divisions across the entire country that were selected to do this work.

One of the things we're really excited about partnering with Carnegie in is we're really starting to work with them and some other schools across the country who have found ways unique ways of bringing those skills into the classroom every day. So, that's one area we're really starting to work on is how can we make sure that these skills are things that are used and taught and measured in classes every day.

So bringing that that information into the classroom, but we're also starting to explore more opportunities for students to learn and practice and be measured in these skills outside the classroom. As you know, we've got a really strong registered apprenticeship program right now. We want to continue to expand that, but we want to look for other ways to get students out in the community to utilize and learn and use these skills and at the same time maybe start to bring some of our business partners into the classroom to help us with that process as well.

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

The work around profile of a graduate in Roanoke County Public Schools began with our affiliation with the ed leader network which is the national network of school systems that have done similar work and really kind of rethinking what the high school experience should look like and more importantly what skills students need when you when they graduate. Other places have done similar work. So we're proud to be part of the Carnegie Foundation's Future of High School Network. That's one of 24 schools. Not every school system is doing exactly what we're doing and nor are we the first school system to do senior defenses for example.

What makes Roanoke County public schools unique though is the scale. It's the scope. What you'll find is a lot of school districts have done this with one high school or maybe one class in one high school. In Roanoke County Public Schools, our goal is for every single student, every single one of our over 1,000 graduates from our five high schools to participate in this. And so doing that work at scale, doing that in the scope that we're doing is truly unique across Virginia and even the nation.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

This is such an exciting time as we are taking an active role in shaping the high school education for tomorrow. Just one more way that  Roanoke County Public Schools is not just preparing today's students for graduation. We're also preparing tomorrow's students for new ways of learning. Another way we're doing so is to make sure our students have excellent schools, facilities, and opportunities. More on that when we return.

[promo – come teach in Roanoke County]

Are you ready to inspire and lead the next generation? Roanoke County Public Schools invites you to be part of an innovative community dedicated to excellence in education. You can experience a supportive teaching environment that values professional growth and student success. Roanoke County Public Schools offers competitive salaries, robust benefits, and unique opportunities for professional development and mentorship for new teachers. With modern facilities and a focus on the sea change framework, we're preparing students to be opportunity ready. And it starts with educators like you. Nestled in Virginia's stunning Blue Ridge Mountains, Roanoke County is a beautiful place to live and teach. Take the first step towards a fulfilling teaching career in Roanoke County Public Schools. Visit rcps.us/jobs to learn how you can join our team. Together, let's shape the future of education right here in Roanoke County.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Welcome back to Opportunity Ready 2025. Last year, we celebrated the groundbreaking of three exciting construction projects. Renovations and expansions at W.E. Cundiff and Glen Cove elementary schools and our brand new Roanoke County Career and Technology Center. Now, a year later, these projects are moving forward and already have reached some major milestones. Let's take a look at these accomplishments.

[April Brubaker – Principal, Glen Cove Elementary]

We're having our open house for our or unveiling for our new admin area here at Glen Cove. What this means for Glen Cove is as we build our new admin area, it's making room for additional classrooms within the building. And so with the new build for the admin, it allows us to expand and have enough room for our students for the future.

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

Today's a huge first step in getting one of the new pieces opened and done, the new admin part here at Glen Cove. And we already have some areas in the in the school that has been finished. That's really inspiring to the teachers because they're looking ahead to say this is a lot of inconvenience, you know, to try to work through construction schedules and everything else, but when they see the finished product, they're like, "Okay, this is worth the effort. This is worth the wait. This is going to really be a great new learning space for the kids here in the Glen Cove area."

[April Brubaker – Principal, Glen Cove Elementary]

We appreciate everybody that that showed up today from our partnership with Branch RMM as well as our school board and our central office staff and just as much as anyone else our staff and our teachers that we're here today to make this happen.

“Team Cundiff!!!  Team Cundiff!!!  Team Cundiff!!!

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

And today's a celebration of the opening of the new wing, which is the new cafeteria as well as the new administrative space which will make the school a lot more inviting for parents and families coming in and make it a better place, you know, for the students. These were the last two schools, in fact, probably some of the last schools in Virginia that still had the open concept classes. They were popular back in the early 70s. And over the years, gosh, these students and teachers have done an amazing job of having kids learn despite those challenges and barriers.

[Ashley McCall– Principal, W.E. Cundiff Elementary]

This community is very important to me because I was a student here. I started in kindergarten in 1980. And so to see it come full circle for the spaces that we had when I went to school here and now the new addition, the new administrative wing, the new classroom updates to, you know, prepare for 21st century learning. It's incredible to be at the forefront and the leader of our school.

[Tim Greenway – Roanoke County School Board Vinton District Member]

I was the first third grade class to go to WE Condiff and at the time obviously it was called Hardy Road. But for me having lived that experience I know the actual surroundings of having four to five classrooms in the same open pod. And I just can't tell you what it means to walk in this school now, see closed classrooms, these kids having the ability to learn in an environment just like the rest of the county.  So, our community and our kids are truly thankful.

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

I think the most important thing is just realizing that whenever you there's a big project that needs to get done, it takes a lot of people coming together. And you don't have to always agree, but it comes there comes a point where we all have to come together as a community and say this is important and so let's figure out a way to get it done. And this is really a celebration of just that kind of work. And so I'm so proud of our community and all the folks who had a piece and making this project a reality.

[Tim Greenway – Roanoke County School Board Vinton District Member]

It took a lot of planning, a lot of preparation with the board of supervisors and school board to come together to make W.E. Cundiff and Glen Cove and CTE possible and especially proud of where we're at with W.E. Cundiff and what it means for our community.

[Ashley McCall– Principal, W.E. Cundiff Elementary]

I'm very very grateful and thankful to our school board, to our board of supervisors, to central office, to my staff, students, and community for supporting us do this during this. We've had lots of changes, lots of different dismissal patterns. The way we arrive and leave each day has changed and they've been super supportive, which makes me even prouder to be principal of team kind of.

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

So, this is another milestone in the completion of our new career and technical center here in Roanoke County Schools. And the topping out ceremony is really a celebration of all the people who have had a part in making the progress on the building. So, I know when I've come out here and watched the workers, you know, doing their piece. I mean, it's amazing to me just every single person because there's hundreds of people here at the same time, each person doing their part, whether it's wiring, whether it's putting mortar in places, you know, no matter what the job is, each person does their part. And I think today is a celebration of just that the teamwork that requires to, you know, take something that started off as a vision and making it reality.

[Jason Suhr – Roanoke County Public Schools Director of CTE]

So, we had New Millenni representatives here at our ceremony. Um, and that was important to us because New Millenniis located in the Roanoke Valley and produces the steel beams going into our facility. So, we're proud that local product is being brought to bear and will forever be a part of this facility. And we just wanted to highlight that.

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

The construction started about a year and a half ago. So, we're almost a little over halfway through. So, we're still on track. In fact, a little ahead of schedule and planning to have this ready to open sometime mid year next year.

[Project coordinator]

“You'll be able to see -- we're trying to observe as much of this like mountain vista as we can.”

[Dr. Ken Nicely – Superintendent, Roanoke County Public Schools]

Today we also are launching officially what we call our campaign for excellence which is really an opportunity for businesses and individuals to come together and say I want to be a part of this financially and really contribute to the future evolving needs of the center - create an endowment. So today we were celebrating the Bower Heating and Air as well as Simpson Funeral Home. Each made a $100,000 donation.

[Jason Suhr – Roanoke County Public Schools Director of CTE]

That excitement isn't just because of our new center. There's excitement across our nation about the opportunities that career and technical education affords our students. And so with all that excitement, we felt like this is a great opportunity to think outside the box of what we do traditionally and what we've always done and to try to do something with a campaign that brought in at least a part of it an endowment to help our students launch into careers. Of course, to prepare them for that and to be ready for changes in technology as industry changes. As soon as this place opens, we're going to be trying to keep up. It wasn't that long ago. I think there were a lot of doubts as to whether this would ever happen. And due to the foresight and the planning and the collaboration of the school board and the board of supervisors really got this thing launched and looking at it as a workforce development tool for not just Roanoke County but for the region.

 This is going to be very impactful and for our region and we're just excited. The schools are going to be blessed for decades to come with this facility and everything that it brings to the table.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

We can't wait for these three projects to be completed and we thank the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors for their support as we work to prepare the workforce of tomorrow. When it comes to helping our students explore future career pathways,  Roanoke County Public Schools is pulling out all the stops and we're partnering with the business community to do so.  

[Jason Suhr – Roanoke County Public Schools Director of CTE]

Roanoke County Public Schools is truly pulling out all the stops to make connections in the classroom to workforce development to career opportunities. We want that all to come together especially as they get older and older and are getting close to graduating from Roanoke County Public Schools. We want them to be able to see the big picture and all the options that are in front of them. Part of that effort is the career quest for seventh graders and Roanoke County Public Schools sends all of its seventh graders to the Berglund Center on a set date. It's coordinated in conjunction with the Greater Roanoke Workforce Development Board and a lot of great industry partners who all come together to put on a great show for the students.

When the students show up, they get to come in, see what's going on in the different industries, and really do some career exploration as young as seventh grade. And it really is important for our students at that age to start contemplating what's out there and what might interest them as they get older.

And the next thing we're doing with the middle school age students is inputting Go Tec labs into Hidden Valley Middle School and William Byrd Middle School. These Go Tec tech labs are going to help our students at the middle school level really start getting a better feel for what's available to them at the high school level when they start looking at career pathways and these go labs help the students explore those areas so that as a student progresses through middle school they can start angling towards maybe some good programs at the high school level whether it's at their base high schools or at the new Roanoke County Career and Technology center.

Well, ultimately our goal is to have goat labs in all five middle schools. These Go Tec labs are grant funded through Go Virginia Region 2 funding. We were fortunate to be the only school system to get two labs this this circuit. So the next circuit we hope to get more and plan to get more to put into our other middle schools.

At the high school level, we have multiple opportunities to engage our students with opportunities in the workforce, out in industry to get those hands-on application-based programs that really help them apply what they're learning in the classroom to everyday life. So, the one of the ways we work with our high school students is with a manufacturing day program. And the manufacturing day is where we take a bunch of students, a group from each high school, and take them out into different manufacturers around the Roanoke Valley. And the students get to go out and see what's going on in the manufacturing front in  Roanoke County.

We're able to offer a lot of work-based learning. We like saying high quality work-based learning opportunities in Roanoke County Public Schools in partnership with a lot of business and industry in the valley. Anything from a job shadow that might last a few hours all the way to internships, school-based enterprises like school stores in our high schools to cooperative education in our marketing and business classes and the penultimate work based learning experiences, a registered apprenticeship.

So we have all these things going on and these work wonderful opportunities for our students to get firsthand experience in the workplace before they leave us. Registered apprenticeship is the capstone work-based learning opportunity because it's thousands of hours and it's paid. It's in student becomes a hired employee of the business that they're working for to learn the trade. A we have a really strong registered apprenticeship program.

We're proud to have started this back in 2017. Roanoke County Public Schools works collaboratively with a handful of other school systems around us as a consortiof school districts all speaking the same language. This using the same calendar of events to help the business community be more likely to come in and take advantage of the opportunity to be in front of these students and to help the students learn during their high school years.

We also want our staff, teachers, and counselors, administrators to understand the excellent career opportunities that our students have. what we've done is we've partnered with our Roanoke County Office of Economic Development and we arrange times in the evening for our staff to get out and take an industry insight tour. And we've been able to partner with multiple manufacturers and other industries to put these tours on. They last about an hour and a half. Staff come out, they meet industry personnel. They get to see what's going on behind the walls of that business and see all the manufacturing or whatever business it is going on and then are able to make those connections with their students when they go back to the classroom.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

The opportunities for our students continue to evolve and expand every year, and those opportunities are showing results. When we come back, we'll celebrate our academic accomplishments from the past year and take a look into some changes coming soon.

[Promo for CTE]

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Welcome back to Opportunity Ready 2025. It's hard to believe that the COVID pandemic first broke out 5 years ago. Back in 2020, Roanoke County Public Schools worked hard to provide as much in-person instruction as possible. Now, 5 years later, that vision has paid big dividends for our students in the classroom.

[Ben Williams – Roanoke County Public Schools Director of Assessment and Research]

During the pandemic, one of the things that we tried to do as a division was to keep the focus on face-to-face learning and minimize remote learning as much as possible. So, we did that to a greater extent than most divisions in the state of Virginia, and it really did pay off over the long term. If you look at where we are now versus where we are then, right now, we're tied for sixth in the state of Virginia in math, and tied for seventh in the state of Virginia in reading. That's out of 131 divisions. So, we're definitely,  pulling our weight in terms of, of our students achievement right now.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

We're so proud of our students and we're very proud of our amazing staff of teachers. Your hard work and persistence continue to make the difference for our students. Now, starting in 2026, the Virginia Department of Education is changing how student academic progress is measured, and parents are going to see some big differences.

[Ben Williams – Roanoke County Public Schools Director of Assessment and Research]

Starting next year, we're going to see a lot of changes in the SO system. changes that are brought both from the general assembly and from the state board of education. the biggest change is that accountability has been separated from accreditation and SOS will no longer be part of the accreditation system. The accountability system however has been totally redone and schools will be put into four categories. those categories are distinguished on track, offtrack and needs intensive support.

So those categories are determined by how well this the schools do in multiple categories. It's a matrix that puts all these categories together. Those categories are so results, so growth, the readiness category for high school, graduation for high school, chronic absenteeism, advanced coursework in middle school, and you know, those all come together to give us this this picture of where our schools are performing.

As part of the changes coming from the board of education, the state board has dramatically increased the target cut scores for our so courses for years and years. 400 has been passing for score. That's going to change and the numbers are going to get higher over time. This year we're in year zero. they won't change for 2025-26, but in 2026-27 the state board has voted to have a step up each year up until 2030. And so each year the number that schools have to hit and that students have to hit in order to be proficient will go up. So maybe 10 15 points a year to the point that that by 2030 we're going to be having to achieve much higher results in order to be proficient

In order to prepare for the new higher cut scores. we're also behind the scenes ramping up our rigor, providing more support to teachers, having more common assessments and making sure that everybody's sort of at the level that they need to be in order to be successful on these assessments. So, so you know, we definitely want to provide both our teachers and our students, support as we go through these changes.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

No matter how our schools are measured, one thing will remain the same. We are committed to making sure every student succeeds in the classroom. Now, when we come back, we'll highlight ways we're working to help our students stay healthy and safe.

[Promo – Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation]

The Roanoke County Public Schools Education Foundation helps provide support for teachers and graduates in Roanoke County Public Schools. From classroom grants to student scholarships to our annual Golden Apple Teacher of the Year Award, the Education Foundation relies on donor contributions to support teaching and learning. Make your tax-deductible donation today to support teachers and students in Roanoke County Public Schools.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Welcome back to Opportunity Ready 2025. In Roanoke County, more than a third of our students struggle with mental health issues. Roanoke County Public Schools is stepping up, providing support and even more resources to help students thrive both in and out of the classroom.

[Dr. Shawn Hughes – Roanoke County Public Schools Director of School Counseling]

At Roanoke County Schools, we are doing a variety of things to support our students mental health. In each one of our secondary schools, we have life counselors. These are trained mental health clinicians that are able to provide individual and group counseling with parent consent to our students. In all of our 27 schools, we have licensed school counselors that are available to help with any mental health need that our students may have.

We have a lot of support for our students and our families. First we have Speak Up, which is available to students and our families to share any type of mental health concern or just general safety concern. Our students can email or call our parents can as well for issues like concerns about bullying or safety concerns - concerns about a fellow student or just, you know, needing to check in to see how a particular student is doing. So that's available for all of our students in Roanoke County.

For our secondary students and staff, we have Reach Out, which is a mental health support and crisis line. Secondary students and staff can reach out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week about any mental health concern. if they're struggling with a difficult circumstance or they just need support all the way to if it's a crisis situation  - within 90 seconds they can be connected to a trained mental health clinician that can support them with coping skills. They will listen to their concerns. They can do deescalation and then they can also provide risk assessment when needed for more significant situations.

Our division applied for a state grant in order to provide telehealth mental health counseling services (Let’s Talk) to our secondary students as well as their parents and families. Each family can get up to five telehealth counseling services with a qualified u mental health clinician in order to work on issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship issues, academic concerns, or more significant issues.

We want to be able to provide these telehealth services in order to eliminate any barriers for our families with transportation. We want to be able to support our students and families with mental health concerns and help them to be successful in the school environment with their academics.

So, we continue to be in a mental health crisis. We know that our students continue to struggle with mental health issues and concerns. This is a wonderful opportunity. We know that the services in RoanokeV alley continue to be limited and this is a great way to go ahead and engage in these services in order to have immediate counseling available for your student and or family.

With all of the services that we have available, our licensed clinicians, our life counselors in our secondary schools, our school counselors that are in all 27 of our Roanoke County schools, Reach Out, which will provide immediate mental health support and crisis services, and now our new service as of 2026 to provide individual counseling directly to our students and families. This is a wonderful way that we can support mental health in the Roanoke Valley and also in RoanokeC ounty public schools through timely professional and confidential services.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

We've also recognized a major factor when it comes to student mental health, smartphones and social media. We're stepping up and encouraging our parents to say no to smartphones for students. Wait until 8.

[Nancy Hans – Partnership for Community Wellness]

PCW and Emily Harrison Consulting are bringing information around smartphones into the  hands of kids and teens to our community.

[Emily Harrison – Emily Harrison Consulting]

 

As part of this effort, we want to make sure that we are giving parents the tools that they need to manage online dangers at home. Give them a lot of information on what they can be doing, what they can be looking for, and how they can better prepare their kids for a 21st century without all of the online harms.

[Nancy Hans – Partnership for Community Wellness]

We want to equip the parents and grandparents of these kids and teens with all the tools because it is everchanging. It absolutely has changed very quickly over the even the last 5 years and it will continue to change. And if we can help them with the latest and greatest information, that's going to keep our kids safer and families safer, too.

[Emily Harrison – Emily Harrison Consulting]

Smartphones have really become ubiquitous in the lives of all of us over the past 10 to 15 years. And we didn't know at the outset how dangerous these devices were going to be for kids. But now that we do know, we want to make sure that we're giving parents the proper tools so they can raise kids in the 21st century, but also protect them from dangers and harms that are out there online.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Safety is at the forefront of everything we do, and the school board is committed to making sure our schools are safe and secure. A large part of that effort is due to the close partnership we have with the Roanoke County Police Department and Sheriff's Office. I'm very proud that every single one of our schools has a dedicated school resource officer. These officers and deputies play a role much greater than just providing law enforcement. They're an integral part of the school community and an integral part of our overall safety program.

[Tammy Newcomb – Roanoke County Public Schools Executive Director of Administration]

Roanoke County Public Schools has an SRO officer in each of our schools. all 27 including elementary, middle, and high and the Burton Center technology. This year the inclusion of having full-time officers at the elementary level has been well received from our community, our staff, and our students. When I'm in the schools, I see the interaction between the students and the officers. And it’s indescribable how the atmosphere is with those individuals in our buildings.

Each of the officers have roles that they play in the buildings. One, they do security checks every morning during the day of all the doors the surrounding areas. They have a direct communication line to our dispatch in Roanoke County. and they also have an interaction with our students so that if something is going on, they feel very encouraged to speak to an officer with that relationship that's been built. So that that alone opens up the avenue of conversation that helps keeps our buildings safe.

The vape detectors that were put into the buildings last year at the high school level have really made a difference with the availability of our bathrooms that the students had spoken of being jammed up with some students in their vaping. It also has given us the opportunity to educate parents and students of the risk of vaping, which was our main f focus of being the health issue that vaping causes for our students. Now that we know who is vaping, we were able to have that conversation with families and with the student about why you shouldn't vape. We are seeing a decrease in the number of vape detectors alarms. And what we're also seeing is students thinking twice now about bringing a vape to school because they know that we are able to detect when they are using the vapes.

We are always meeting to discuss what else we can do to help secure our buildings. We have a safety advisory committee that has folks on that committee from our community, parents, staff members, law enforcement that helps us generate new ideas that could help us make our buildings even safer. If students and staff and community feel like they can call us or go onto the SpeakUp app and say, "This is what I saw on social media. this is what I heard my student come home and say and they feel comfortable calling an administrator, calling the Roanoke County Police Department, calling the sheriff's department and saying, "Hey, I saw this." That helps us stay safe because all together it takes all of us to make our buildings safe. It's not one product. It's not one person. It is a community that's going to keep our schools safe.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

While Roanoke County Public Schools may be at the forefront when it comes to our safety initiatives, we won't rest on our laurels. We're always looking for new ways to enhance the safety and security of our schools.

When we come back, we'll celebrate the successes of our students and staff.

[PSA from Smartphone Free Childhood United States]

Hey, kiddo. It's about time for bed. Okay. Okay. Oh, remember there's a box in the corner over there with all the pornographic material that's ever been made in the world. Even the really weird stuff that could scar you for life. I'm trusting you not to look in there. Okay. Okay. Feelings are for losers. Oh, and this guy's going to be in your corner all night just randomly spewing out hateful things. Just ignore him. Okay, while I'm thinking of it, there's an order form on your desk where you can purchase illegal drugs. The mean girls from your school are going to be standing there talking about you all night and this Russian hacker is going to keep asking for your password. I'm not hacker. Amazon customer service. Just need you to ignore him. Okay. Love you, buddy. We ask too much of our kids when we give them a smartphone. Let's change the norm together. Maybe we go around Rome and share social security numbers. Join the movement at smartphone freechildhoodus.com. Yeah, I'll get it anyway.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Welcome back to Opportunity Ready 2025. From state titles to teachers of the year, the students and staff at Roanoke County Public Schools are among the best in the state. Let's take a look back at some of our success.

[Music – no spoken text]

 

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

Congratulations to our students and staff. Every year you'll see Roanoke County Public Schools leading the way in academics, athletics, and more. That's largely due to the amazing staff we have. And many of our staff have been with us for more than a decade or longer.

This year we started recognizing our staff for their years of service. And I'm very proud and amazed that we recognized two members for 55 years of service. You heard that right, 55 years of service with Roanoke County Public Schools. Joan Farley, counselor at Kring Middle School, and Vicky Carroll, school secretary at William Byrd High School. Both of these amazing women joined Roanoke County Public Schools in 1970, the same year the district celebrated its 100th anniversary. We are so thankful for Joan, Vicki, and more than 2200 employees who work every day to help our students become opportunity ready. When we come back, it's time to say hello and goodbye.

[Promo – now hiring school bus drivers and aides]

Roanoke County Public Schools is looking for some great people to join our transportation team. We're currently hiring bus drivers, bus aids, substitute drivers, and aids. Starting pay for bus drivers is more than $25 an hour, and starting pay for bus aids is more than 16 an hour. Plus, you could receive up to $1,500 in hiring bonuses and full-time health, vision, and dental benefits. For more information and to apply, go online to www.rcps. us/jobs.

[Shelley Clemons – Chair of the Roanoke County School Board]

As we wrap up this year's presentation, I wanted to take a few moments to thank one school board member who will be leaving the board at the end of 2025. Cheryl Facciani was elected to the school board as the Windsor Hills District member in 2021. On behalf of the entire board, we would like to thank Ms. Facciani for her service to Roanoke County Public Schools. And we look forward to welcoming Dr. Ryan White as the new Windsor Hills District member starting in 2026. ‘

Sadly, we will also be saying goodbye to another key member of the school leadership team. Our superintendent, Dr. Ken Nicely, will be retiring at the end of the 2025-26 school year after 35 years of teaching and leadership at Roanoke County Public Schools. Dr. Nicely joins a distinguished group of individuals who have led the outstanding school division since its inception in 1870.

I join the entire school board, students, staff, and our community in thanking Dr. Nicely for his visionary leadership and direction. His tireless and resilient service is a key reason why our school division is a national leader.

We're very fortunate, however, that we didn't have to look far to find the perfect person to continue the educational journey Dr. Nicely started. The school board was thrilled to announce that Dr. Jamie Soltis, our current deputy superintendent, will succeed Dr. Nicely as superintendent starting in July 2026. Dr. Soltis is a graduate of Glenvar High School and has held many positions with Roanoke County Public Schools since he first began as a teacher at William Byrd High School in 1999. Dr. Nicely and Dr. Soltis have worked together for many years, including the development of our C change framework, which is our roadmap for learning.

Under Dr. Soltis’s leadership, we will continue building upon the mission Dr. Nicely started to ensure every student is opportunity ready, prepared to take advantage of whatever opportunities may arise after high school graduation. As Dr. Soltis steps into his new role, Roanoke County Public Schools continues to move forward with a clear purpose.

That mission began long before today and will continue long into the future because it's built on the strength of our people, dedicated educators, engaged families, supportive community partners, and students who inspire us every single day. With a foundation of excellence and a vision for what's next, we're not just preparing students for graduation. We're preparing them for life and for the world ahead.

Together, we're shaping the future of learning in Roanoke County. And the future has never looked brighter. In short, we're all working toward one goal, preparing our students to be opportunity ready.