Hi, readers, and welcome to Extra Credit, a weekly roundup of education-related news from across Southwest and Southside Virginia.
I’m the new education reporter for Cardinal News. Although I just finished my first week on the job at Cardinal, I’m not new to the education beat. I’ve covered education in Florida, Texas and for nearly seven years in Tennessee.
I’ve spent time touring aging school facilities, talking to students about their dreams after high school, or the challenges they face in school, and attending countless long, sometimes rowdy, school board meetings.
I moved to Virginia in 2024, and I’m new to the southern part of the state, but I’m excited to learn more about local schools and communities, the challenges they face and what sets them apart.
Have a story idea, tip or just want to introduce yourself? Email me at meghan@cardinalnews.org.
Thanks for reading!
State funding will support college and universities’ compost and food waste programs
Some Virginia colleges and universities are looking to keep food out of the landfill.
Now, thanks to almost $8 million from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, a dozen schools will be able to ramp up efforts to reduce food waste, such as through composting and other food recovery initiatives.
Virginia Tech was awarded the bulk of the funding — $3.5 million — to support the construction of an industrial-scale composting facility that could ultimately process up to 2,700 tons of campus food waste and help improve the school’s manure management practices.
Washington and Lee University was awarded more than $320,000 to support its new Full Circle Food Initiative, a collaboration between the school’s Office of Sustainability, dining services and facilities department.
The program seeks to enhance how dining services procure, prepare and portion food to reduce waste, as well as train staff on how to recover leftovers and keep food safe for donation. It will also help purchase an additional refrigerated food delivery vehicle that will be used to collect food donations and distribute them to food-insecure members of the Lexington and Rockbridge County community, according to a news release.
Radford University was also awarded more than $200,000 to support the launch of a composting system and hiring of students to assist with food recovery operations and training.
DEQ is pleased to partner with the state’s higher education institutions to address food waste, department director Mike Rolband said in a news release. “Reducing food waste and encouraging composting provides a range of environmental benefits that will extend beyond these campuses.”
These projects aim to reduce landfill methane emissions by preventing wasted food, recovering surplus food to feed people and composting remaining food waste, according to the release. A total of 12 colleges and universities were recently awarded funding for these efforts.
Local school leaders recognized as ‘principals of distinction’
Several local school leaders were recently recognized by the Virginia Department of Education.
The department’s 2025-26 class of its professional development program, Principals of Distinction, graduated in Richmond on Thursday. Over the past six months, the group of selected principals participated in a professional training symposium and completed a capstone project.
Twenty-five principals were in this year’s cohort, including:
- Megan Arthur, Montgomery County Public Schools
- Christopher Benson, Hidden Valley Middle School, Roanoke County Public Schools
- Kim Hires Smith, Fort Lewis Elementary School, Roanoke County Public Schools
- Cynthia Jackson, High Point Elementary School, Washington County Public Schools
- Malinda Morgan, Christiansburg Elementary School, Montgomery County Public Schools
- Angela Ramsey, Galileo Magnet High School, Danville Public Schools
To be eligible for the program, administrators must have had at least five years of experience in a public school and have shown “strong leadership in improving student achievement, providing effective instructional leadership and cultivating a school environment that reduces non-academic barriers.”
The program is cosponsored by the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals and the Virginia Board of Education.
“This class of Principals of Distinction is truly inspiring,” Virginia Board of Education President Mashea Ashton said in a statement. “With innovative leadership represented in improving instructional outcomes and building strong culture, it is clear that Virginia has great schools.”
VDOE reconvenes math, literacy and assessments task forces
An Alleghany Highlands Public Schools teacher has been appointed to a state advisory group focused on education policy and math instruction.
Laurel Bradley is a third-grade math, science and phonics teacher at Mountain View Elementary School in Covington.
She was appointed to the Mathematics Advisory Task Force, one of three state advisory groups recently reconvened by the Virginia Department of Education under an executive order issued by Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
The governor’s Executive Order 4 called for the department to convene new or reconvene existing panels focused on implementing the Virginia Literacy Act, strengthening math instruction to improve student outcomes and advising the governor’s office on a new assessment system. The order also called for the department to ensure that members of each workgroup include broad perspectives from educators, families and community members, according to the Education Department.
Bradley said she is honored to serve in the role.
“I am excited for the opportunity to collaborate with educators and leaders from across Virginia,” Bradley said in a news release. “I look forward to sharing classroom experiences and learning from others as we work to support student achievement.”
Bradley is in her eighth year of teaching at Mountain View.
“We are incredibly proud of Ms. Bradley. … She brings strong classroom experience, a collaborative spirit and a deep commitment to student learning that will serve Virginia well,” Mountain View Principal Mallory Thompson said in the release.
The state Education Department this month announced updates to three advisory groups: the Mathematics Advisory Task Force, the Virginia Literacy Act Workgroup and the Innovative Assessment Workgroup.
The mathematics task force works to improve student achievement, expand access to strong instruction and support teachers. The literacy workgroup focuses on improving reading outcomes, especially in early grades. The assessment workgroup will help guide decisions on Virginia’s statewide testing system.
All three groups include educators, school leaders, parents and higher education representatives from across the state, according to the release.
“The department is committed to those closest to kids,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway said in the release. “They will help guide how we continue to shape academic excellence in Virginia.
