Students and staff of Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) benefit from the support of thousands of school volunteers and community partners each year. It is estimated that more than 23,000 individuals and 2,000 partners donated approximately 340,000 hours of service last school year.

VBCPS celebrated the importance of community engagement and recognized the dedicated service of 86 Volunteers of the Year and nine Model Partnerships at the Community Engagement Awards Reception April 17. Volunteers of the Year were selected by each VBCPS school and center for making a difference through their support of academics, athletics, activities and the arts. Model Partners were selected from nominations of exemplary school-community collaborations that support the academic growth and social-emotional development of students.

The school division's 2018 Model Partners are:

• Old Donation School and Seatack Elementary School An Achievable Dream Academy
• Tallwood High School and Tallwood Elementary
• Princess Anne Middle School and Operation Smile
• Advanced Technology Center and Virginia Student Training and Refurbishment Program (VA STAR)
• Landstown Elementary School and GMF+ Architects
• Cooke Elementary School and Cox High School National Honor Society
• Linkhorn Park Elementary and Virginia Beach Schools Federal Credit Union
• Dey Elementary School and Oyster Reef Keepers of Virginia
• Technical and Career Education Center and Sentara Southside Hospitals

From among the exemplary Volunteers of the Year, the Virginia Beach Council of PTAs (VBPTA) selected the following elementary-level and secondary-level volunteers as the 2018 PTA Citywide Volunteers of the Year:

Gary Lennon, Fairfield Elementary School
Leading his school's Trout Program is just one way Gary Lennon assists students and staff at Fairfield Elementary School. Known for being incredibly dependable, Lennon is sometimes found in the evenings and on weekends maintaining the school's garden boxes. Lennon is also known for his technical savvy. He helps with the robotics program, assisting students with coding and building robots, as well as being available every day to ensure morning announcements run smoothly.

George Sauer III, Princess Anne High School
Even after his daughters graduated Princess Anne High School, George Sauer continued to volunteer. He has become a sought-after substitute teacher and math tutor who conducts math remediation during the school day. Sauer also dedicates his time as the chorus manager, handling the accounting for the Chorus Parents Association, as well as operating the sound board in the auditorium, building sets, and planning upcoming chorus trips.

More information about the 2018 Model Partnerships and 2018 Volunteers of the Year will be available on the Partners in Education and Volunteers in Education pages at www2.vbschools.com.

To learn more about these programs or related opportunities to support VBCPS, please contact Meghan Raftery, school/community partnerships coordinator, at [email protected] or 757-263-1799.

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Department of Media and Communications, [email protected]

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