BACK TO SCHOOL Caroline County

An Interview with Superintendent Sarah Calveric

Caroline County rightfully has a reputation as a relatively sleepy place. But so did Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and Stafford three decades ago. And we know how that turned out.

So does Sarah Calveric, the 7-year superintendent of Caroline County schools who previously worked in Spotsylvania. And she knows that growth requires planning.

“Our county is growing,” she told the Advance. “By September 30, 2023, we grew by about 227 students over the previous year, and our three elementary schools are either above, or right at, capacity.”

Were that a one-year blip, the school district with a total of about 4,700 students wouldn’t have given it much thought. But growth has been consistent for the past few years. That translates to a growth rate of about 7.7% over just the past three years.

And for that reason, Calveric is planning for the future — specifically, she’s “starting to talk about building a bridge plan to a new facility.”

That’s smart; but Calveric also knows that the future is now. And this school year she’s leading significant changes on several fronts.

A new cell-phone policy is in place. The middle school will deploy lock boxes, while at the high school phones are to be turned off and out of sight from the moment students walk into the building until classes end for the day.

The Virginia Literacy Act is also looming large this year. But with the pool of available applicants down, Calveric has turned to a new program that is allowing the district to grow its own reading specialists.

“We landed on a partnership with William and Mary,” Calveric said. “We’ve paid for ten teachers to enter a program leading to a reading specialist degree. For some it’s a Master’s, for others it’s an endorsement added to their Master’s degree.”

Teachers who take advantage of the program must commit to spending three years in the district.

While every district in Virginia is wrestling to deploy a cell phone policy and roll-out the Virginia Literacy Act, Caroline County isn’t stopping there.

This year, the high school will be rolling out the Academies of Caroline.

Based on a program in Kentucky, the Academies of Caroline marries industry “seamlessly with education,” Calveric said.

Each entering freshman takes part in Freshman Seminar. These students are exposed to the 16 career clusters which supports their selection of a 10th grade Academy of Caroline. Over the course of their academic career, students can change academies one time.

Teachers will stick with each academy throughout their tenure, which develops a cohort. It’s a way of focusing studies in school as well as focusing on life after school. It also creates small groups that allow teachers to get to know, and grow, students, while allowing students to feel part of a group throughout high school so they don’t get lost in the crowd.

It’s a watershed year for Caroline County schools. But given the changing demographics, the district has little choice. Fortunately, Calveric has both the vision and the willingness to take the risks required to meet the future.