Welcome back to Extra Credit, a weekly roundup of education-related news from across Southwest and Southside Virginia.
Schools across the state are reflecting on student achievement after the Virginia Department of Education last week released results from state testing that occurred during the 2025-26 school year.
Several school divisions in Southwest and Southside Virginia were recognized for particularly high levels of improvement in reading or math. Bland, Danville, Dickenson, Giles, Henry and Lexington schools were among them. Read the full story here.
Have a story idea, tip or think there’s something I missed? Email me at meghan@cardinalnews.org.
Thanks for reading!
More Virginia schools join the Common App Direct Admissions program
This school year, some eligible students might be offered admission to colleges and universities before they ever apply.
The Common App’s Direct Admissions program allows more than 230 colleges and universities to offer preemptive admission to first-generation college students and those from low-income families.
More than a dozen new colleges and universities joined the program this year.
The Virginia schools that participate include:
- Batten University
- Christopher Newport University
- Eastern Mennonite University
- Emory & Henry University
- George Mason University
- Hollins University
- Mary Baldwin University
- Marymount University
- Old Dominion University
- Richard Bland College
- University of Virginia’s College at Wise
- University of Lynchburg
- University of Mary Washington
- Virginia Commonwealth University
Students who receive offers from any of the schools participating in the program will have access to information about their admissions opportunities along with other resources through the Common App, an online platform that allows students to apply to multiple colleges and universities through one application, according to a news release.
Eligible students include those whose parents have never earned a bachelor’s degree, those who request an application fee waiver and those who are identified as low- or middle-income based on their ZIP code and meet GPA and residency requirements.
“Direct Admissions is helping colleges reach students who may not have otherwise seen themselves at those institutions, while giving students more opportunities to find a college that’s right for them,” said Common App CEO Jenny Rickard in a statement. “The continued growth of this program reflects the commitment of our members to finding new ways to connect more students with postsecondary opportunities, and help give them the confidence and security that they are welcome and wanted on college campuses.”
For more information, visit commonapp.org.
Clear bags policies becoming the norm at school events
Buchanan County Public Schools is among the latest school divisions to institute a clear bag policy for sporting events held on school property.
The new policy — meant to “enhance the safety and security of students, athletes, staff, families and community members,” according to a news release — will also apply to Little League and other community athletic events held on any school property.
Supporters of student athletes in many localities across Southwest and Southside Virginia face similar security measures.
More schools are banning backpacks, purses and other bags from athletic events and instead opting for clear-bags-only policies.
Bedford County Public Schools announced a similar policy that limits attendees to bringing only small personal wallets, clutches or clear bags to sporting events this summer. In Tazewell County, the policy extends to the backpacks and lunch boxes used during the school day.
As of five years ago, about 4% of schools that completed the School Survey on Crime and Safety from the National Center for Education Statistics reported requiring clear bookbags on school grounds.
Now, many of Virginia’s largest school divisions, including Roanoke and Roanoke County schools, as well as those in smaller rural communities, are instituting the policies.
Naval Reserve program established at Liberty University
Liberty University is adding a third ROTC program in partnership with the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps and the University of Virginia.
Students at the Lynchburg university will be able to train through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Applications are now open for scholarships for the 2027-28 academic year.
Applicants selected for the program receive military and leadership training to serve as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Scholarships for such students typically cover full tuition and other costs.
Liberty’s unit was established with help from U.S. Rep. John McGuire and Hung Cao, the acting secretary of the Navy, according to a news release.
“We are privileged to partner with NROTC in preparing more young men and women to protect and defend our great nation,” Liberty’s president, Maj. Gen. Dondi Costin, said in a statement. “Our Army and Air Force ROTC units at Liberty are developing some of the brightest, bravest, and faith-driven leaders in our military today, and we are grateful for Congressman McGuire and Secretary Cao for helping us offer this exciting, life-changing opportunity to more students who answer the call to serve.”
The new unit will operate under an agreement with its host university, the University of Virginia, according to the release. Liberty already hosts Army and Air Force programs. Email NROTC@liberty.edu for more information about the program.
LIFE@Lynchburg, an academic program for older adults, is back
The University of Lynchburg’s weekly program for adults ages 50 and older returns for its fifth year starting Sept. 9.
The LIFE@Lynchburg program features a variety of speakers and topics presented during weekly sessions from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.
This fall’s schedule kicks off with the lecture “Are We Alone in the Universe? The Search for Life on Other Worlds” from Taz Daughtrey, a longtime physics and astronomy professor at the Lynchburg university who has also taught at James Madison University and in Lynchburg public schools.
Daughtrey describes himself as a “true child of the Space Age.” He avidly followed all the adventures from Sputnik through the earliest astronaut flights, missions to the solar system planets and now the International Space Station, according to a news release.
Other courses this fall include sessions on topics such as the history of the Lynchburg Fire Department, time travel, autism spectrum disorder and the life and legacy of Dr. Robert Walter Johnson, the first Black physician to be granted privileges at Lynchburg General Hospital.
The program costs $100 for a full semester or $15 for an individual class. LIFE@Lynchburg memberships include reduced-price meals in the dining hall, borrowing privileges at the university’s library and access to live recordings of each event.
Scholarships are available. Contact program director Sarah Rhodes at rhodes_sm@lynchburg.edu for more information.
