Monument could come to Ashland

CONTRIBUTED REPORT

Just in time for the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s historic Triple Crown of 1973, a majestic bronze monument entitled “Secretariat – Racing into History #2/2” by renowned sculptor

Jocelyn Russell may be placed in Ashland. At 21 feet long and 11.5 feet tall, this is the largest sculpture of Secretariat in existence, dramatically illustrating the Virginia-born champion’s largerthan-life presence as an equine athlete and American icon.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Town of Ashland and Randolph-Macon College entered into a lease agreement on a location for the

As part of a pilot program initiated by the Virginia Department of Education, HCPS is one of 25 school divisions in the Commonwealth using data collected from students’ test scores to help identify and support students in danger of falling behind.

Bridging the Gap, an initiative unveiled by Gov. Glenn Youngkin at the beginning of the current school year, is now underway in two Hanover schools, Bell Creek Middle School and Beaverdam Elementary School.

“School divisions across the Commonwealth have stepped up and answered our call to action to provide real-time data on students’ learning loss and chart a path forward,” said Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow when the initiative was announced last September. “This pilot is all about building partnerships – between schools and parents, between schools and our office.”

The program, described during its unveiling as “a critical piece of our efforts to restore educational excellence to Virginia’s public schools,” provides participating school divisions with access to individualized student data reports, support developing personalized learning plan models and continued training. It also