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Stafford student studies in China
Softball 10u team takes state title
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NORTHERN VIRGINIA MEDIA SERVICES
JUNE 26, 2015
VOLUME 27, NUMBER 15
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School board prepares NCLB grant application TRACY BELL
For the Stafford County Sun
A Confederate battle flag is part of the landscape along Interstate 95 in southern Stafford County. Aleks Dolzenko/Stafford County Sun
Area flag stays above national fray BY JONATHAN HUNLEY, KARI PUGH AND ALEKS DOLZENKO
Stafford County Sun
A Confederate battle flag still hangs alongside Interstate 95 in Stafford County, dozens of feet above the roadway and, seemingly, above all the criticism levied against similar banners. Confederate flags of all shapes and sizes have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of the June 17 massacre at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C., that is believed to have been racially motivated. Government leaders in Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama have
removed, or urged the removal of, the symbol from state property and stateissued license plates. And large online and brick-and-mortar businesses have pledged to stop selling anything that bears an image of the flag. But the version adjacent to I-95 in Stafford, on a 90-foot pole, is on private property. So it exists in a realm away from those flags being removed from official government placements. Hubert and Debbie Cash own the land where that flag is displayed. Despite repeated attempts, they couldn’t be reached for comment. But the couple told WJLA they will continue flying it.
“The flag didn’t do anything,” Debbie Cash told the television station. “The flag is not to blame for this hatred.” The banner went up last year, part of the Virginia Flaggers project to hoist Confederate flags on private property around the state. On its Facebook page, which has more than 8,500 followers, the group says it stands “against those who would desecrate our Confederate monuments and memorials, and for our Confederate veterans.” There was a backlash over the Stafford flag last summer, with more than 23,000 people signing a “Say NO to the I-95 Confederate flag” petition. FLAG And now there’s renewed PAGE 13
The Stafford County School Board on Tuesday approved its No Child Left Behind grant application in the amount of just over $2 million. The application is formerly known as Title I. Stafford County Public Schools must submit the application to the Virginia Department of Education by July 1 to receive the federal funding. The exact grant allocation is usually determined after the application from the division is approved, according to the school board. The funds will be used primarily for four reading specialists, five math specialists, two teachers for class size reduction, 18 paraprofessionals to assist with reading instruction and response to intervention, a half-time social worker for the homeless, academic specialists paid hourly to work with teacher data teams, parental involvement, ESOL tutors paid hourly and professional development. According to guidelines for allocations, four schools with the highest percentage of low-income families as measured by free/ reduced lunch data will receive funding from this grant. The schools are: Hampton Oaks Elementary School (59.8 percent free/ reduced), Kate Waller Barrett GRANT Elementar y School (55 PAGE 2
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