Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) has earned a 2007 Partnership District Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University. The school division was honored for its outstanding results in developing meaningful partnerships and for guiding individual schools to develop comprehensive programs linking school, family, and community.

Two VBCPS programs of note are the Military Child Initiative and the Single-Parent Family Initiative. The VBCPS Military Child Initiative was launched in 2006 to specifically target the needs of military-connected families. Outreaches include school-based support groups for students and transition assistance/support for students new to the school division due to a military transfer of their family. In addition, requests for the school division’s military welcome packs have come from across the United States and around the world, including Germany, Djibouti, England, and Portugal.

The Single-Parent Family Initiative began in February 2007. Trainers from the National Network of Partnership Schools visited Virginia Beach to provide strategies for meeting the unique needs of single-parent families. Schools were encouraged to offer outreach activities to assist with parenting, scheduling issues, and ways for parents to volunteer from home.

“A successful school division must constantly seek ways to better serve its families,” said Superintendent Dr. James G. Merrill. “We must acknowledge that different segments of our population have different needs and then find the most effective way to meet them.”

To qualify for the NNPS District Award, Virginia Beach schools provided detailed descriptions of specific strategies for helping schools improve their partnership programs to support school improvement goals. Essential elements include teamwork, leadership, plans for action, implementation, facilitation, evaluation, and network connections.

“Virginia Beach Schools are clearly demonstrating that research-based approaches can be used to increase family and community involvement in ways that contribute to student success in school,” said Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Director of NNPS.

For additional information about the school division’s partnership program, contact Melissa McQuarrie, Directory of Community Relations at 263-1936 or by
e-mail at melissa.mcquarrie@vbschools.com. For information on the National Network of Partnership Schools, visit www.partnershipschools.org.