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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ALBEMARLE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
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UNWANTED MEDICATIONS & SHARPS
City school board candidates detail priorities in pre-election forum
Free Collection and Disposal
Bring your unwanted household medications and sharps (syringes) to our FREE drive-through event at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital.
By Brielle Entzminger
We will accept any unwanted prescription or over-the-counter medications and syringes. To be accepted, household medical sharps (syringes and needles) must be in a puncture-proof container, such as a laundry detergent bottle or red sharps container. All medications will be handled by the Albemarle County Police Department and properly destroyed. No medical waste from commercial organizations will be accepted.
reporter@c-ville.com
I
n addition to electing a new governor and several other local and state leaders, Charlottesville residents will vote for city school board members on November 2. Five candidates are competing for three spots: Strive for College CEO Christa Bennett, real estate agent Emily Dooley, Albemarle County youth entrepreneurship facilitator Dom Morse, school board chairwoman and physical therapist Lisa Larson-Torres, and longtime board member Leah Puryear. In a virtual forum hosted by the Black Parents Association and the CCS Joint PTO last week, the candidates detailed how they would address critical issues affecting the school district, including racial equity, COVID recovery, school reconfiguration, teacher retention, and staff shortages. Daniel Fairley, the city’s youth opportunity coordinator, moderated the event. Bennett explained her plans to hold biweekly listening sessions in downtown Charlottesville, allowing community members to easily express their concerns and ask questions outside of school board meetings. “It’s important to check in with people of color on how they view equity, and what we can do to get there,” she said. Dooley, who was a teacher and principal for 10 years in central Virginia, said the school district needs to focus less on standardized testing that is “in and of itself rooted in racial inequities,” and more on guaranteeing all students have access to “high level instruction” that teaches critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Larson-Torres and Puryear pointed to the equity work they have championed
For information on our permanent Drug Drop Off Box, please call the Outpatient Pharmacy at 434-654-3350.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021 10:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
Patient Transport Area in Back of Hospital Peter Jefferson Parkway (Near State Farm)
SAFETY MEASURES DUE TO COVID-19: • Facemasks are required • You will not be allowed to exit your vehicle (separate medications from sharps before you arrive) • Do not come if you are not feeling well and/or have a fever, cough, sore throat or difficulty breathing
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“We need to not make [teachers] feel like they have to be a martyr to their job.” EMILY DOOLEY, SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE
Tiffany Zambrana 540-226-0490 (TTY: 711) Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. tzambrana@humana.com Humana.com/tzambrana Facebook.com/tiffanyinsuranceagent
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October 20 – 26, 2021 c-ville.com
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For more information, call 1-800-SENTARA (1-800-736-8272) or visit sentara.com
since joining the school board, including developing a three-year-old program, creating an equity and anti-bullying policy, and hiring the district’s first supervisor of equity and inclusion. To Morse, CCS could do more to implement equity and social-emotional learning into its learning models. “That looks like supporting our teachers to help them design a curriculum that allows our students to explore their own interests [and] identity,” he said. Despite the numerous challenges faced during the pandemic, the school district was able to provide laptops and resources to all students, and maintain high graduation rates, said Puryear. But as schools continue to recover from the pandemic, the district must address learning loss, said Bennett. From her research on what other schools are doing to help struggling students, she learned that high-dosage tutoring—during which a teacher works one-on-one with a student, or a very small group of students, for 30 to 60 minutes—has been “one of the most effective tools.” Discussing the district’s substitute teacher and bus driver shortage, Bennett suggested the board create a program allowing substitute teachers to receive full-time pay and benefits and commit to working at one school for a year. Dooley also recommend-
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The five school board candidates who are competing for three spots made their cases at a virtual forum last week.
