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Vol. 31, No. 16 | Richmond Suburban News | August 20, 2014
STOPS AT EVERY HOME IN TOWN
Student achievement numbers mostly good By Jim Ridolphi for The Mechanicsville Local One obvious result was missing when Jennifer Greif, Hanover County Public Schools director of accreditation and accountability, provided an update for the Hanover County School Board
Jim Ridolphi for The Local
Jennifer Greif, former principal at Atlee High School and now director of accreditation and accountability for Hanover County Public Schools, said students are performing well and have an excellent on-time graduation rate.
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on recent performance scores by students at last week’s meeting. Recent SOL (Standards of Learning) scores were not included in the report because they haven’t been officially released yet. In spite of the omission, Greif said the figures were comprehensive and provided good indicators for just how well Hanover students are achieving in most areas. “After our presentation this evening, you will notice there is something conspicuously absent and that is the SOL results, Dr. Michael Gill, assistant superintendent for instructional leadership, said. In addition to the unreleased data element, he provided another explanation for presenting the figures with
A group of citizens tasked with studying Hanover County Public Schools’ facilities, boundaries and capacities met for the first time last week. David Myers, assistant superintendent for business and operations, updated the Hanover County School Board on the committee’s inaugural session. The group is composed of school administration and personnel, local business leaders, interested citizens and school board members, and will tackle
see NUMBERS, pg. 20
see FACILITIES, pg. 7
Facilities work eyes boundaries and capacity By Jim Ridolphi for The Mechanicsville Local
Support strengthens local woman’s breast cancer battle
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By Jodi Deal jdeal@mechlocal.com
ast year, at 37 years old, Beth Oliver noticed a mass in her breast. After a trip to the doctor, a mammogram and an ultrasound, she said she was told that the mass wasn’t cause for concern. “They thought everything was fine — just dense breast tissue and was nothing to be alarmed about,” Oliver said. But the lump remained and began to grow.
Other symptoms started appearing. “I went back to my doctor, she sent me back for another mammogram. Otherwise, I would be in a lot of trouble,” Oliver said. “It had grown by leaps and bounds.” On June 5, Oliver learned what had been lurking beneath her skin — rapidly growing stage three, grade three invasive ductal carcinoma. Right away, she started an aggressive regimen of chemotherapy — six rounds in 18 weeks – which will be followed by a double mastectomy. After that, she’ll continue treatment targeted to block HER2 proteins found in her cancer, which make it not only fastgrowing but more likely to return. “I have a gene that’s kind of dangerous and makes it prone to come back,” Oliver said. “If they don’t treat it with intense chemotherapy, I see BATTLE, pg. 4 Photo courtesy of Beth Oliver
Beth Oliver, left, who is fighting breast cancer, said her mother, Ronie Gumbleton, right, keeps her strong as she endures treatment. “I am so blessed that I have her to walk with me on this journey,” Oliver said. Related story, page 20.