VJMS to become VJJH; PHS graduation moved outside

The Board of Education of the Petersburg City Public Schools agreed on Wednesday to allow Vernon Johns Middle School to become Vernon Johns Junior High School. This fall, the school will have students in eighth and ninth grades, rather than the current setup of sixth through eighth grades. The city’s other public middle school, Peabody, […]

May 8, 2008; 4:55 PM • by brenda p

The Board of Education of the Petersburg City Public Schools agreed on Wednesday to allow Vernon Johns Middle School to become Vernon Johns Junior High School. This fall, the school will have students in eighth and ninth grades, rather than the current setup of sixth through eighth grades.

The city’s other public middle school, Peabody, will remain as Peabody Middle School, but will have students in sixth and seventh grades. Petersburg High School will have students in the tenth to twelfth grades.

The changes are part of the district’s secondary schools restructuring plan. The goal is to group students with other students closer to their age and maturity level and increase efficiency.

In other news from the meeting, the Board:

• Was informed that Petersburg High School will hold its graduation ceremony outside this year, as was traditional in the past. In case of rain, preparations will be in place to move the ceremony into the high school. The graduation will take place on Friday, June 6 at 10 a.m., at the PHS football field, and the schools will be closed that day to allow all district students and employees to attend.

• Deferred adoption of the proposed 2008-2009 school calendar, to ensure that the final result will be representative of the requests of the teachers and other employees who served on the Calendar Committee.

May 8, 2008 4:55 PM 0