Across 15 schools, Washington County centered its Community Schools work on attendance to drive improvements in student engagement and family involvement. The division built a visible attendance culture through branded campaigns at every building, from “Step into September” shoe drawings to “Bases Loaded” classroom competitions to “World Changer of the Week” recognition. The approach is already showing results: six schools exceeded their 94% attendance target in the first quarter, and the division averaged 95% across all 15 schools.

That attendance culture is reinforced through student-led service projects, peer leadership programs, multigenerational family events, and programming for multilingual families that bring students, families, and community partners together in every building. When Hurricane Helene hit, Damascus Middle became a community hub for families during and after the storm, providing a proof point for the very connections the division had been building every day in every school.

Student Support Branch: Student Motivation & Engagement

Learning remains a central priority in Community Schools, with a focus on expanding both opportunity and engagement. This branch includes strategies that extend learning time and provide meaningful experiences that connect students to school. Supports may include tutoring, enrichment activities, and career exploration, alongside strong instructional practices and high expectations. Together, these efforts help increase student motivation, engagement, and connection to their learning.

Washington County

Nottoway County

Nottoway County’s Community Schools program is anchored at the high school, where the coordinator built a bridge between the school and local community through an internship program. In the program’s first year, it placed 15 students with five employers across the county. Students gained access to career experiences across local government, higher education, food service,

Radford City

Radford City recognized that students facing barriers such as chronic absenteeism, homelessness, or repeated disciplinary removals were at increased risk of falling behind academically and becoming disconnected from school. The division’s answer came through its Community Schools work: after-school programming designed to increase student engagement and help them make up time. The Nighttime Community School

Amherst County

Amherst County is where career-connected learning meets Community Schools. Across both Amherst County High School and the Amherst Education Center, the division is working to reduce chronic absenteeism, improve academic performance, and lower discipline referrals. At the high school, students engaged in 354 work-based learning experiences in the first quarter alone, from internships and student-run

York County

York County designed its Community Schools program around the idea that belonging drives attendance. All three participating schools — Queens Lake Middle, Yorktown Middle, and Magruder Elementary — paid stipends to staff to build programming that gives students a reason to come to school, supported by dedicated coordinators, implementation teams, and professional development on community