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Education

The Farmville Area is fortunate to have excellent public and private schools. In addition, Longwood University, Hampden-Sydney College, and Southside Virginia Community College offer the best in higher education.

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Prince Edward Public Schools educates 2,600 prekindergarten to 12th grade students from Farmville and throughout the 357-square-mile county. The 135-acre Prince Edward Public Schools campus just south of Farmville includes 10 buildings that house an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.

Prince Edward County Elementary School encompasses grades pre-K through four in a campus-style facility. The elementary school focuses on language arts, science, math, and social studies. The school has four computer labs and computers in each classroom.

Prince Edward County Middle School serves grades five through eight. The school features three computer labs and a library-media center. The middle school provides outstanding classes in band, chorus, foreign languages, and art. After-school tutoring is available.

Prince Edward County High School boasts a library media center, three computer labs, and computers in all classrooms. The school offers 24 dual-enrollment courses with local colleges, ranging from calculus to electronics. The Career and Technical Education Center offers a wide range of classes in business and information technology, computer-assisted drafting, auto servicing, electronics, health and medical sciences, family and consumer sciences, building trades, agriculture, and horticulture. Through the Southside Regional Technology Consortium, the CTE Center houses a two-way audio-video instructional classroom.

Each year, a large percentage of juniors and seniors earn dual enrollment credit (high school honors classes and community college classes), and 12 students participate in the Governor’s School for Global Economics and Technology, just a few minutes away at Longwood University. Hampden-Sydney College also permits Prince Edward High School students to take courses on its campus free of charge. Approximately 70 percent of the graduates go on to college, and 80 percent of the graduates complete a career-technical program. AP classes include biology, calculus, and english.With its school year of 181 days, Prince Edward is unique among the 134 school divisions in Virginia. Several innovative programs also offer students an additional month of instruction during the summer. Prince Edward also has a high level of student participation in after-school activities, which includes athletics, tutoring, Academic Challenge and Battle of the Brains, drama, and Future Business Leaders of America. Beginning in fifth grade, students may take band. Each year during the spring and again prior to the beginning of school, students in kindergarten, fifth, and ninth grades are invited, along with parents, to extensive orientation sessions.

Prince Edward Schools employs 450 people, of whom 259 are faculty and administrators. Of the faculty members, 41 percent have earned graduate degrees. Teachers take advantage of numerous professional development opportunities, including classes from Longwood University and the University of Virginia and workshops and conferences in their teaching specialties.

Parents are encouraged to volunteer in the schools, join their children on field trips, and participate in the parent-teacher organizations and booster clubs. An updated phone system provides parents with access to their child’s teachers by way of teacher “mailboxes” and information lines.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Cumberland County Public Schools is a model, rural school division that promotes the academic success of each student through quality instruction. The school division has dramatically improved the academic performance of students in grades pre-K to 12 through innovative and research-based programs designed to promote excellence in academic achievement. All three schools are fully accredited by meeting or exceeding the Standards of Learning (SOL) benchmarks established by the Virginia Department of Education. Quality programs such as the prekindergarten 3- and 4-year-old program, Reading Mastery, Cortez History, and Math at the high and middle schools, elementary Spanish program, Saxon math, Read 180, GEAR-UP, Personalized Learning Communities at the high school (New Beginnings, AVID, and ADVANCE), laptop initiative, Senior Project, 21st Century summer school bridge programs, and staff development have been implemented to consider the needs of the whole child—including the child’s academic, emotional, physical, and social well-being.

Cumberland County Public Schools educates approximately 1,500 students in three schools: Cumberland County Elementary School (grades prekindergarten to five), Cumberland Middle School (grades six to eight), and Cumberland High School (grades nine to 12). A new High School/Middle School complex opened in Fall 2008. Approximately 140 instructional staff members are working toward preparing students for our global, technologically advanced society. We are at the forefront of technology—from our fiber-optic networks, technology labs, and classroom equipped with Promethean boards and computers to individual laptops for all teachers, in addition to students at the high school level.

Dual enrollment classes are offered in conjunction with Southside Virginia and J. Sargeant Reynolds community colleges for college credit. In addition, each year, students are selected to attend school part of the day at the Governor’s School for Global Economics & Technology at Longwood University and the Pre-Engineering Academy located at the Amelia-Nottoway Career and Technical Center. Students in the ADVANCE program are afforded the opportunity to earn an associate degree and a high school diploma concurrently. These offerings are in addition to a full spectrum of courses in academic and career and technical areas. The Cumberland school system is also competitive in academic achievement results, sports, extra-curricular activities, teacher salaries, attendance rates, and graduation rates.

Vision Statement – The Cumberland County School System will be a model rural school system that serves as the educational and resource center for the community.

Mission Statement – To inspire and prepare all students with the confidence, courage, and competence to achieve their dreams; contribute to community; and engage in a lifetime of learning.

FUQUA SCHOOL

Fuqua School—a pre-K to 12, college preparatory, independent day school—strives to serve as a model of educational excellence for rural America. Endowed by J. B. Fuqua, a nationally known businessman and philanthropist, the school serves more than 500 students from 13 counties. A strong curriculum, high expectations for academic achievement and behavior, and a nurturing learning environment foster the development of individual potential, character, and a sense of self-worth. Of Fuqua School’s graduates, 98 percent go to college, and for the past five years, each graduating class (average 45 students) has been offered collectively from $1.8 to 2.9 million in college scholarships.

Located on a 60-acre campus, Fuqua School facilities include an 18,000-square-foot lower school Commons with gymnasium, library, and offices; the Wall Memorial Building with gymnasium, stage, and fitness center; the Gee-Price Activity Center; two library media centers; four computer labs; two science labs and a nature trail; two music centers, two art centers and a studio theater; an applied industrial technology workshop; and extensive athletic fields, including tennis courts, a swimming pool complex, and a quarter-mile track.

The school has a technology-rich environment with a student to computer ratio of 2:1, which includes five computers in every lower school classroom, five computer labs (one on the lower school campus, four on the middle/upper school campus), and two automated media centers, all connected through a network. Also included in every classroom are television access (cablevision, VCR/DVD players) and telephones.

Fuqua School’s instructional program is based on the concept of “continuous progress.” Each student advances at his/her own rate of learning without predetermined limits to that advancement. The lower school (grades pre-K to five) is multi-aged. Classes consist of two grade levels, and students typically remain with the same teacher for two years, increasing continuity of learning. Art, music, library, computer, and physical education classes are provided weekly by specially trained teachers. In addition, students visit the science lab weekly for hands-on experiences under the guidance of a science lab coordinator. The average class size is 17 students with a full-time teacher assistant in each pre-K to three classroom and a part-time assistant in each classroom for grades four and five.

At the middle school level (grades six to eight), instruction is delivered through planning teams in order to allow for flexible scheduling, to provide collaborative planning time for teachers, and to closely monitor learning and social/emotional well-being. In addition to the core subjects, students are required to take courses in computer applications and Latin, as well as to explore a range of elective offerings. The average class size is 17.

At the upper school level (grades nine to 12), students complete a traditional year course in one semester by taking only four classes each semester rather than the traditional seven. Class periods last approximately 85 minutes, providing increased instructional flexibility. A wide range of advanced courses, including Advanced Placement, is available, as well as courses through Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University. Fuqua School strongly endorses the arts and is extremely proud of its award-winning senior band, theater program, and young graphic artists. Class sizes range from three to 24, with an average size of 15.

Fuqua School students participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. Athletic opportunities range from football and basketball to swimming, tennis, and soccer. A wide range of student clubs are also available, such as the Student Cooperative Association, Future Business Leaders of America, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Youth for Christ, Ecology Club, and Model General Assembly.

Fuqua School maintains an “open door” policy to ensure constructive, ongoing dialogue among all members of the school community and actively participates in numerous events within the broader community. The academic program is available to home-schooled children on a course-by-course basis, and the school’s outdoor swimming pool is open to the community during the summer months.

Fuqua School is fully accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (VAIS), the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

For further information, call (434) 392-4131, or access our web page at www.fuquaschool.com.

NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

New Life Christian Academy enrolls preschool through 12th grade students from a five-county region in South Central Virginia. The school is fully accredited by the Virginia Council of Private Education and offers instruction in a variety of courses, including English, history, physics, geometry, algebra, chemistry, trigonometry, Spanish I-III, art, and music. The school houses a 2,500-volume library, made possible at the elementary school by Target Stores’ gift of $10,000, while the high school library offers computer tracking of the advanced reader program. A computer lab assists students with access to the Internet resources.

The school was established in 1985 to offer a Christ-centered educational alternative. The Academy views itself as an extension of the Christian home, reinforcing the ideals, social norms, and beliefs of a Christian family. New Life provides services, policies, and programs necessary to accomplish this task and expects students to incorporate Christian beliefs in their academic, social, physical, and vocational realms. Its vision statement is “Transforming Lives Through Excellence in Christian Education.”

New Life Christian Academy participates in Christian Conference Volleyball, Junior Varsity Basketball for boys, a team for varsity girls, as well as a team for varsity boys. Students also produce a full-color yearbook publication.

Of the last four graduating classes, 94 percent have been accepted to colleges that include Longwood University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Virginia, Hampden-Sydney College, Liberty University, Light University, Hocking College, and Southside Virginia Community College, as well as Continental Theological Seminary in Belgium.

The staff is led by a Doctor of Ministry instructor and students are taught in a multi-grade setting with an average class size of 10 students. All staff have at minimum a bachelor’s degree; several have master’s degrees. The Virginia Department of Education recently licensed the Academy to offer special education services to eight students at the elementary school level through the New Life Learning Center Division.

For further information, call (434) 392-6236 or access our web page with applications at www.nlca.net.