Blog

Get Ready. Set. Blog!

Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Web site, vbschools.com, recently launched a new feature, a blog entitled On the Mark. On the Mark has been designed to encourage meaningful dialogue on public education. Princess Anne High School art teacher and citywide Teacher of the Year Betsy DiJulio started the conversation by sharing advice for students on how
to prepare for a “picture perfect” school year. Linda Hayes, principal
of Pembroke Elementary, followed with an engaging account of her back-to-school week.

Do you have a topic you would like to suggest we consider for a future edition of the On the Mark blog? Better yet, are you interested in being a guest blogger or would you like to recommend a colleague?

The decision to launch On the Mark was prompted by the Compass to 2015 Strategic Plan for Student Success. “Our strategic plan is built on the principle of communicating and collaborating with our stakeholders. We all want to ensure that our students have the 21st century skills that will help them be successful. So, we want to converse with our community about this all-important goal in a 21st century way,” notes Superintendent James Merrill.

On the Mark will address educational subjects throughout the school year, but we are especially interested in topics that tie back to the Compass to 2015 Strategic Plan for Student Success. Below are some guidelines for all you potential bloggers:

Guidelines for Guest Bloggers for On the Mark

1.	On the Mark, by virtue of being posted on vbschools.com, is designed to engage the larger community audience. Therefore, when you submit a topic for consideration, work to ensure it is one of high public interest.
2.	Blogs by nature are a medium that thrive on short, pithy commentary. Therefore, On the Mark is not the place for long scholarly articles. Staff in the Department of Media and Communications Development reserves the right to edit all submissions, working with the contributor to ensure that the message is well-delivered.
3.	On the Mark is designed to give our community a meaningful glimpse of education in the classroom and in the school. It’s a good medium to share success stories and to encourage at-home/community support.

Take a few minutes to read both Betsy’s and Linda’s engaging back-to-school blogs. On the Mark can be accessed from the home page of www.vbschools.com by selecting the link Blogs (bottom right-hand corner) or from the Compass to 2015 page. The direct link to On the Mark is http://blogs.vbschools.com/vbschools/.

To offer recommendations for topics or guest bloggers, contact Nancy Soscia, public relations coordinator and content manager for vbschools.com, or Kathy O’Hara, assistant superintendent for media and communications development. You can reach them via e-mail at nsoscia@vbschools.com or keohara@vbschools.com or by phone at 263-1075.