Greetings,
With a new school year just hours away, I hope the last couple of months provided you and your family with time to recharge and prepare for the great year ahead. Over the course of the summer, our team has prepared and enhanced our facilities, refined our transportation routes, participated in professional learning activities, engaged in significant planning, and hired the newest members of the best educators in Virginia! Additionally, the construction of our newest school since 2008 – Ashland Elementary – made significant progress and remains on track to open for the 2024-25 school year.
While we all would like a little more summer, I can say that I am as excited as ever for this year! Last school year, I and many others felt as if we were able to regain much of the human connection that was undeniably curtailed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we experience the joy that a new school year brings as we reunite with one another, please know that the HCPS family remains committed not only to academic excellence, but also to strengthening relationships with students, families, and our broader community, bolstering that human connection.
To assist us in educating the whole child, we are excited to unveil our new Comprehensive Plan, which will be our guiding framework for the work of the school division, beginning this school year and carrying us through 2029. Students, families, staff, and community members worked extensively for more than a year to produce a plan that supports our long-standing Tradition of Excellence, ensuring that all students have access to a top-tier education. We purposefully named our Comprehensive Plan “Inspire. Empower. Lead.” because that is what we strive to do every day. This plan recognizes that we are a student-centered school community that is committed to excellence in teaching, learning, and leadership. This plan promotes exceptional, relevant, innovative, and engaging teaching that is needed to prepare students for the world in which they will live and work, empowering them to be confident, productive, life-long learners. We hope you will review our plan, unanimously approved by the Hanover County School Board, at https://www.hcps.us/about_us/comprehensive_plan_2023-29, to learn more about the ongoing and exciting work throughout HCPS.
In all school years, we are a direct reflection of the community we serve and I am grateful for the enduring strength of our community. We are thankful for your long-standing support and I invite you to continue to partner with us. Whether it’s through volunteer opportunities in our schools, serving on an advisory council, becoming a business partner, or simply attending any of the hundreds of events that take place in our schools, your partnership and support contributes greatly to our ongoing success. Collaborating together, we will continue to ensure that our schools remain second to none, and that our students are well prepared for life after graduation.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful school year. Have a great first day of school!
In education,
Michael B. Gill, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools