Newport News Public Schools update for January 2019

CNU and NNPS form partnership
to create path to college

A new partnership program will grant early admission to Christopher Newport University (CNU) to as many as 75 highly qualified Newport News high school sophomore students per year.

At a ceremony at Warwick High School on November 28, Christopher Newport University President Paul Trible and Newport News Public Schools Superintendent Dr. George Parker III signed the Memorandum of Understanding that will guide the Community Captains program.

The program is open to 10th graders if they will be a first-generation college student or if they qualify for free or reduced lunch. Eligible students must have a high school GPA of 3.4 or a PSAT score of at least 1150.

During their years in the program, the Community Captains will have access to on-campus learning opportunities, CNU student mentors and ongoing guidance and support through all aspects of preparing for college. As high school seniors, Community Captains will have the option of taking a free Christopher Newport statistics class and earn college credit. If they maintain their 3.4 GPA and fulfill all program requirements, they will be offered final acceptance to the university.

The first class of Community Captains, all 10th graders, will be selected in spring 2019 from An Achievable Dream, Heritage and Warwick high schools. They will be Christopher Newport freshmen in 2021 and graduate in 2025. About 25 NNPS students already enroll at Christopher Newport University every year and have a strong record of success, both in college and beyond. 

NN schools, teachers earn recognition
in Financial Literacy Education

Woodside High School and Warwick High School have been named 2017-2018 W!SE Blue Star Schools for their students’ performance on the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification Test. The national certification test is given to high school students upon completion of the personal finance course. To earn the Blue Star designation, students attending the school must achieve an 80 percent pass rate on the test with either a majority of students at a given grade level taking the test or an average score of 85 percent or higher by students who take the test.

Twelve NNPS career and technical education teachers also earned recognition for their students’ successful performance on the Financial Literacy Certification Test. Lisa McAlister and Linda Richardson, (retired) (Denbigh High); Tiffanie Smith (Heritage High); Adrienne Caldwell and Diane Zawadski (Menchville High); Michael Bellamy, Kimberly Grant, Lisa Jones and Reginald Neely (Warwick High); and Stephen Brown, Jo Ella Evans and Tina Shorter (Woodside High) were named W!SE Gold Star teachers.

To receive the Gold Star Award, a teacher must achieve a 93 percent pass rate on the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification test in at least one of their classes.