Where John Stands on the Issues.
NEW AND RENOVATED SCHOOLS: Our kids’ learning must not be compromised by crowded classrooms and hallways or poor upkeep. John is committed to the construction of a third high school to take the burden off of Varina and Highland Springs high schools and to the renovation and improvement of all our existing schools.
SAFE SCHOOLS, SAFE KIDS: No student should ever feel afraid at school and parents should not have to worry about their children during the school day. John supports giving teachers and administrators the authority to remove disruptive students from classrooms as well as an increase in safety officers when necessary.
A TEAM EFFORT: To be involved, parents must be informed. John will foster better communication between teachers, administrators, parents and students using such tools as online availability of School Board meeting minutes and local radio broadcasts of School Board meetings plus regular “Town Hall” style meetings at every school.”
SCHOOLS BUILT FOR LEARNING: Where children learn has a lot to do with how they learn. School systems across the country and here in Virginia are changing their approach to new schools to create the best possible learning environment while benefitting the community as a whole. Henrico County has the chance to join these leaders in education as it plans and constructs a desperately needed third high school.
High Performance--or “Green”--Schools are linked to increased student attendance and improved academic performance. The same design principles and building technologies that make green schools models of energy efficiency, reduced environmental impacts, and cost-savings can also make them places where kids stay healthier and do not have their learning hindered by noisy distractions and poor lighting.
The Environmental Protection Agency has found that the air inside buildings, including schools, may be two to five times as dirty as outdoor air. Green schools use heating, cooling, and ventilation systems that reduce contaminants and mold. The result is fewer infections and flare-ups for kids with asthma and other respiratory illnesses and a reduction in absenteeism.
Green schools maximize the use of natural daylight (lighting can account for 35 – 50% of a school’s energy consumption and cost). Daylight is the best light source for visual tasks (like reading from a textbook, studying diagrams, or seeing a teacher’s notes at the front of the classroom.) Studies have found a relationship between increased daylighting and rises in math and reading scores.
Schools can be noisy places. Outside sources like traffic are just a backdrop to the cacophony inside—band practice, the cafeteria during lunchtime, gym classes, and mechanical equipment rooms---and the reverberation of sound within classrooms. Particularly hard on the youngest students, the hearing impaired, or those learning English as their second language, bad acoustics make it hard for kids to concentrate and make stressful situations (like tests!) that much worse. Green design seeks to reduce all these distractions for a quiet environment ideal for teaching and learning.
Green schools also encourage learning outside the box—and the classroom. Renewable energy systems make for great science lessons and protected ecologically sensitive areas on the school site, such as wetlands or wildlife habitat, are ideal outdoor labs.
Does this sound like the kind of school you want your children to attend? John Montgomery agrees and as Varina District’s next School Board member he will prioritize bringing High Performance Schools to Henrico County.
A COMMUNITY PLAYGROUND, ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. When we think about our own school days, most of us can tell stories of playground antics and favorite games at recess. Our time outside the school building contributed to how well we absorbed the lessons inside and just as importantly, taught us how to get along with each other, no matter how different we might seem.
John Montgomery believes that all of our kids deserve those same opportunities. Henrico County Public Schools educates nearly 50,000 students and over 2,000 of them receive special education services because of a disability. Most of us are familiar with academic “mainstreaming” (bringing students of varying abilities together in classrooms whenever possible and also in other settings), but this important stride has not always extended to the traditional mixing bowl of the school playground where site and equipment design often create barriers for children with disabilities.
All Kids are Special, a group of Henrico educators and parents, has proposed a plan for a new kind of community playground at Dorey Park on Darbytown Road. Modeled after “A Playground for Katie and Friends” in Chesterfield County, the inclusive playground would welcome all children regardless of their differing physical and mental abilities. The Dorey Park location would conveniently serve several nearby schools that are zone programs for students with disabilities and unlike a school site, would provide access for the entire community.
All Kids Are Special promotes the Dorey Park playground as an invaluable resource for children to “engage, interact, communicate . . . [and] become part of the community where they live.” Inclusive play promote the physical, mental, emotional, and social development of all children and for those with disabilities it enhances the progress they make in physical, occupational, and speech and language therapy. John Montgomery supports the All Kids Are Special initiative and as a member of the Henrico School Board he will promote collaboration by the nonprofit, business, and school communities to make Dorey Park a place where all Henrico’s families can play.
John is committed to the construction of a third high school to reduce the burden on Varina and High Springs."