Chesterfield County Public Schools

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Chesterfield County Public Schools is the school system of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States.

More than 58,000 students are enrolled in 61 Chesterfield public schools. There are 38 elementary schools (grades K-5); 12 middle schools (grades 6-8); 10 high schools (grades 9-12), and the Chesterfield Technical Center, which serves all high schools. ^[1]

The school system is one of the larger and higher-rated public school districts in Virginia.

Contents 1 Elementary 2 Middle 3 High 4 Specialty Academic Programs 5 Controversies 5.1 Susan Cohen Controversy 5.2 Stan Murmur Controversy 5.3 Intelligent Design Controversy 6 References

[edit] Elementary

• Bellwood Elementary School
• Bensley Elementary School
• Beulah Elementary School
• Bon Air Elementary School
• Chalkley Elementary School
• Marguerite Christian Elementary School
• Clover Hill Elementary School
• Crenshaw Elementary School
• Crestwood Elementary School
• Curtis Elementary School
• Davis Elementary School
• Ecoff Elementary School
• Enon Elementary School
• Ettrick Elementary School
• Evergreen Elementary School
• Falling Creek Elementary School
• Gates Elementary School
• Gordon Elementary School
• Grange Hall Elementary School
• Greenfield Elementary School
• Harrowgate Elementary School
• Hening Elementary School
• Hopkins Elementary School
• Jacobs Road Elementary School
• Matoaca Elementary School
• Providence Elementary School
• Reams Road Elementary School
• Robious Elementary School
• Salem Church Elementary School
• Elizabeth Scott Elementary School
• Alberta Smith Elementary School
• Spring Run Elementary School
• Swift Creek Elementary School
• Watkins Elementary School
• Weaver Elementary School
• Wells Elementary School
• Winterpock Elementary School
• Woolridge Elementary School

[edit] Middle

• Bailey Bridge Middle School
• Carver Middle School
• Chester Middle School
• Falling Creek Middle School
• Manchester Middle School
• Matoaca Middle School
• Midlothian Middle School
• Perrymont Middle School
• Providence Middle School
• Robious Middle School
• Salem Church Middle School
• Swift Creek Middle School

[edit] High

• Chesterfield Community High School
• Chesterfield Technical Center
• Clover Hill High School
• Cosby High School
• James River High School
• Lloyd C. Bird High School
• Manchester High School
• Matoaca High School
• Meadowbrook High School
• Midlothian High School
• Monacan High School
• Thomas Dale High School

[edit] Specialty Academic Programs

High school students may choose to attend the comprehensive high school in their neighborhood or apply to attend a specialty center or regional governor’s school based on their individual interests and talents. The Chesterfield Technical Center offers a full range of career and technical courses tailored to current workplace needs. Specialty Centers Specialty centers allow students to attend a high school outside their attendance zone to focus on an area of interest or in which the student excels.
Here are Chesterfield's specialty centers:

• Chesterfield Technical Center -- a vocational center serving students from all county high schools
• Health Science at Cosby High School
• Humanities at Monacan High School
• International Baccalaureate at Meadowbrook High
• International Baccalaureate at Midlothian High
• Leadership and International Relations at James River High School
• Mass Communications at Manchester High School
• Mathematics and Science High School at Clover Hill-- a NCSSSMST
• Pre-engineering at Lloyd C. Bird High School
• Spanish Immersion at Manchester High School
• Teaching and Learning Through Technology at Matoaca High School
• Visual and Performing Arts at Thomas Dale High School

Governor's Schools Chesterfield County students may apply to two governor's schools:

• Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology
• Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Susan Cohen Controversy

Mrs. Susan COHEN, Appellee v. CHESTERFIELD COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD and Dr. Robert F. Kelly, Appellants, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus Curiae
Pregnant Chesterfield County school teacher Susan Cohen was placed on mandatory unpaid maternity leave by the School Board of Chesterfield County, Virginia on December 18, 1970.

The school board's maternity leave regulation stipulated that a pregnant teacher leave work at least four months prior to the expected birth of her child; Cohen, however, wanted to continue teaching past that date.

School board regulations also stipulated that notice must be given in writing to the school board at least six months prior to the expected birth date.

Regulations only guaranteed re-employment to a teacher on maternity leave when she submitted written notice from a physician that she is physically fit for re-employment, and gave assurance that the care of the child would cause only minimal interference with her job.

Mrs. Cohen and her school's principal made written requests to the school board asking that Cohen be retained until the end of the semester for the continuity of instruction for her students. The requests were denied and the school system's maternity rules were cited.

School officials claimed that their maternity rules could not be deviated from because some teachers become physically incapable of adequately performing certain of their duties during the latter part of pregnancy. By keeping the pregnant teacher out of the classroom during these final months, the maternity leave rules protected the health of the teacher and her unborn child, while at the same time assuring that students have a physically capable instructor in the classroom at all times.

Cohen challenged the constitutionality of mandatory maternity leave rules on the ground that it deprived her of her rights to due process and to equal protection of the laws guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. On January 15, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that discrimination between pregnant women and other women and men, on account of pregnancy, was in violation of Equal Employment Opportunity Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-2(a).^[2]

[edit] Stan Murmur Controversy

Chesterfield County Public Schools in Chesterfield County Virginia attracted international attention after publicity announcing that an art teacher in their system had been placed on administrative leave, for art activities done outside of school.

Stephen Murmer, an art teacher at Monacan High School, was suspended from his post when school officials revealed that he paints floral and abstract artwork using his buttocks and genitalia under the pseudonym Stan Murmur ^[3].

Murmer, a Marine Corps veteran and teacher of the year, offers pieces called "Anthropometric Monotypes" at the Internet website ButtPrintArt.com. The Monotypes are acrylic on canvas and sell at prices from $400 to $2,100. A video demonstration of Murmer's unique technique is on YouTube ^[4], also on the Internet. The video was apparently originally part of a segment of Unscrewed with Martin Sargent that was filmed years prior to 2006. Fans of the canceled cable television show posted it on YouTube.

Although administrative officials of the school system had investigated his activities in 2004, it was not until late 2006 that the issue resurfaced and Murmer faced reprimand. Murmer was told, following his suspension, not to speak to the media. Chesterfield County Schools spokeswoman Debra Marlow stated that a teacher was placed on administrative leave because of the way he does his art ^[5] and that teachers are required to set an example for students.^[6]

Many have noted, however, that Murmer went to great lengths to conceal his identity. He is shown in the video clip wearing a fake nose and glasses, and calls himself "Stan Murmur" online.

In the days following his suspension, outraged parents and students called the news department of a local television station to report the teacher's unfair treatment. The station featured the story and news media from far away quickly focused on the reports.

Murmer was subsequently fired from his teaching post. He publicly stated that teaching was very important to him and that he wanted to let his students know how much he appreciated them.

On October 4, 2007, Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia (ACLU) filed suit in federal court in Richmond on behalf of the Chesterfield County high school art teacher. The Associated Press reported that the television appearance, which originally aired three years before on a cable television program, became a subject of conversation among students at Matoaka High School.

The ACLU condemned Chesterfield County's School Board for their actions, stating that Murmer's activities are an expression of his First Amendment Rights. ACLU representatives said had school officials not suspended Murmer, his protected art activities would not have been a topic of student conversation. Judge Robert Payne aggreed and objected to a county schools' motion to dismiss the case on Febuary 15, 2008.

On March 7, 2008 Stephen Murmer won a $65,000 settlement from the Chesterfield County School Board.^[7] "I am glad the School Board saw fit to pay Mr. Murmer about two years' salary to compensate him for the harm he suffered," said ACLU of Virginia cooperating attorney Tim Schulte. "I only wish that the students at Monacan High would also be compensated for the loss of an exemplary teacher who was brave enough to stand on principle."

[edit] Intelligent Design Controversy

Despite proponents urging that intelligent design should be included in the school system's science curriculum, the school board of Chesterfield County Public Schools decided on May 23, 2007, to approve science textbooks for middle and high schools which do not include the idea of intelligent design. However, during the board meeting, a statement was made that their aim was self-directed learning which "occurs only when alternative views are explored and discussed", and directed that professionals supporting curriculum development and implementation are to be required "to investigate and develop processes that encompass a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning" of the theory of evolution, "along with all other topics that raise differences of thought and opinion." During the week before the meeting, one of the intelligent design proponents claimed that "Students are being excluded from scientific debate. It's time to bring this debate into the classroom", and presented "A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism".^[8][9]

[edit] References