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Fauquier County classrooms will be ‘cellphone free’ this fall
Erin Mann, owner of Erin’s Elderberries and The Kitchen at Vint Hill, was selected to receive the 2024 “Spirit of Fauquier” Award by Fauquier Times readers. She was recognized at a luncheon on Aug. 1 at Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton.
By Meghan Mangrum Deputy Editor
Fauquier County Public Schools students — and teachers — will be returning to “cellphone-free” classrooms when they head back to school this month. The schools are implementing new policies that include cellphone-free instructional spaces this school year, officials announced in an Aug. 2 email to families. The move follows an executive order issued by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in July, requiring schools to update their cellphone use policies by January. The governor tasked the Virginia Department of Education with creating guidance for schools this fall, but many communities across the state have already been restricting cellphones — and screen time — in classrooms. Fauquier County schools already required all personal electronic devices, including cellphones, to be turned off during class, unless a teacher or staff member specifically allowed them to be used to complete classroom assignments.
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Erin Mann named ‘Spirit of Fauquier’ winner
See CELLPHONE FREE, page 6
Conference Center in Warrenton. Founder of Erin’s Elderberries Airlie Mann won four other Readers’ Choice awards: Best New Business for the Kitchen at Vint Hill, and The Kitchen at Best Coffeehouse, Best Gift Store and Best Vint Hill mentors others Health and Wellness Store. By Aimée O’Grady Contributing Writer
Erin Mann, who invented an elderberry jam to manage her young son’s allergies, built it into a multi-faceted business and now champions other local entrepreneurs, has been named the Spirit of Fauquier Award winner by Fauquier Times readers. The Spirit of Fauquier is the top prize in the Times’ annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Mann was nominated by many readers and was presented the award Thursday, Aug. 1 at a luncheon at
“These honors mean that Erin’s Elderberries’ mission and goals of providing quality goods at affordable prices while serving the community at large in its needs is on track,” she said. “That the amazing staff is a shining example of the vision I’ve had and that the community we support gives us the highest honor imaginable in supporting us back.” Less than a year after his birth in 2015, Erin and Craig Mann’s son, Lucas, fell ill. So ill, the family spent a week in the Pensacola Children’s Hospital where Lucas was tested for leukemia. See ERIN MANN, page 6
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Students and teachers won’t be allowed to use cellphones in classrooms or during instructional time in Fauquier County schools, starting with the 2024-25 school year, following an executive order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Fauquier Times celebrates dedicated public servants, page 12
Sept.
2024
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