<p> Virginia Board of Education Summer 2016 Public Hearings</p><p>The Virginia Board of Education will hold a series of public hearings in July and August to gather feedback from families, educators, and community members on student expectations, how schools are accredited, and school resources. They are as follows:</p><p>Thursday, July 14 – Manassas 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 24 – Abingdon Osbourn High School (Auditorium) 6:30 p.m. 9005 Tudor Lane Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center Manassas, VA 20110 One Partnership Cir, Abingdon, VA 24210</p><p>Tuesday, July 19 – Williamsburg-James City Thursday, August 25 – Lynchburg County 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Heritage High School Lafayette High School (Auditorium) 3020 Wards Ferry Road 4460 Longhill Road Lynchburg, VA 24502 Williamsburg, VA 23188</p><p>Public comment will be accepted at each of the meetings listed above. While the Board welcomes all comments from the public, they are specifically looking for feedback on the Board’s work related to the following:  Development of a Profile of a Virginia Graduate, and changes to high school graduation requirements and how schools will be accredited in the future  Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Virginia’s accountability system  Recommendations regarding the Standards of Quality (SOQ)  Identifying conditions and needs of public education, for updating the Board’s comprehensive plan and annual report to the Governor and General Assembly</p><p>For more information about the Board’s work on student expectations, school accreditation, and school resources please see the attached presentation. </p><p>For planning purposes, kindly RSVP to the Director for Board Relations Melissa Luchau at [email protected] if you are able to attend one of these meetings (RSVPs are appreciated, but not required). If you know of others who would like to join, feel free to share this information with them. </p><p>A sign in sheet will be provided at each hearing for those individuals wishing to address the Board. So that Board members are able to hear from as many people as possible, each speaker is asked to limit their comments to 3 minutes. If individuals wish to submit a written copy of their remarks, or additional materials for the Board to consider, those will be accepted at the hearing. Comment cards will also be available. Before each public hearing, some Board members will hold a roundtable discussion with select, invited participants on the Board’s development of a Profile of a Virginia Graduate and changes to Virginia’s accountability system. The roundtables are open to the public, but public comment will not be accepted during the roundtables:</p><p>Thursday, July 14 at Osbourn High School (Manassas) from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. Tuesday, July 19 at Lafayette High School (Williamsburg-James City County) from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. Wednesday, August 24 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (Time TBD). Thursday, August 25 (Lynchburg) (Time TBD). </p>