Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton shares his remarks at the State of the Schools Address at the Chesapeake Conference Center on April 26, 2022. (Photo Credit: Meredith Gray - WBH)
The Great Bridge High School JROTC presents the colors prior to the National Anthem. They are under the direction of Lt Col Christian Wendler, US Air Force (Ret), and Senior Master Sergeant Patrick Smith, US Air Force (Ret). (Photo Credit: Cadence Eanes -GHS)
Chesapeake Television crew member, Davis Hype, commemorates the event to be broadcasted. (Photo Credit: Katilyn Harrell -DCH)
Pastor Andre Chambers from One Generation Church prepares to give the invocation and blessing while also drumming up a round of applause for the JROTC cadets and Kaliyah Snowden for her National Anthem performance. (Photo Credit: Jayde Carrington - OSH)
Fire Chief Ed Elliott and Deputy Fire Chief Sam Gulisano were a few of the more than 450 guests in attendance at the State of the Schools Address. (Photo Credit: Cameron Olmo - IRH)
Kaylyn Ivey hugs Mr. Jay Archbell as he is presented with the 2022 “Pride of the ‘Peake” award. Kaylyn shared with the audience how much the JCA Foundation impacted her life. (Photo Credit: Alexa Kundrat - GBH)
Kaliyah Snowden from Western Branch Intermediate performs the National Anthem to begin the State of the Schools Address (Photo Credit: Kaden Kahrl - HHS)
Journalism students from all seven high schools served as Student Media Representatives at the State of the Schools Address (Photo Credit: CPS)
Earlier this week I had the honor of presenting the annual State of the Schools Address at a fundraising breakfast hosted by the Chesapeake Public Schools Educational Foundation. It was the first in-person event of its kind since the fall of 2019 and since then so much about education in our city and around the country has changed and evolved.
I was happy to be able to address those changes and how we, as a district, have adapted to meet the needs of our students and their families with the over 450 guests in attendance. My goal was to provide an update on our Strategic Plan, Empower 2025, and its four main goal areas: academics, employees, environment, and community. In doing so, I was able to share many of the moments that mattered the most to us this year.
Moments such as Ms. Daphne Fulson from Portlock Primary School being named the Virginia Teacher of Year, and moments like Ms. Holly Sawyer’s Oscar Smith students using coding to learn English all thanks to a grant funded by our friends at TowneBank.
We also celebrated a truly special moment when we announced our 2022 Pride of the ‘Peake recipient – the JCA Foundation. Kaylyn Ivey, a 2017 graduate from Deep Creek High School, joined me to present the award and shared how Mr. Jay Archbell and the JCA Foundation changed her life. His foundation’s efforts allowed her to just be a kid as part of the annual JCA Kidz Kruz in elementary school. Later, the JCA Foundation awarded her a full scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University.
It was sharing moments like these with our community that remind us what matters most. The state of our school district remains strong, and I remain incredibly proud to serve as superintendent.
If you were not able to attend, I encourage you to check out our photo gallery with some of the incredible moments captured by our student media representatives, or view our Strategic Plan in Action that features many of the great stories highlighted during the event.