Jesse W. Magruder, principal of Locust Grove Elementary School, and Linda Carlton, director of secondary instruction for Orange County Public Schools, led a lively and informative discussion of civics education at the club’s monthly meeting on March 17.
The educators assured members and guests that local schoolchildren are getting the kind of instruction they need to become well-informed and productive citizens — from kindergartners who learn to take turns and share to high school seniors who are encouraged to register as voters.
Mr. Magruder and Ms. Carlton provided a broad view of civics education that included the legal requirements mandated by Virginia’s Standards of Learning and examples of charming trinkets made by students to sell at a “market day” event intended to teach the fundamentals of economics.
The educators distributed several informative documents for participants to read to further advance their understanding of civics education in Orange Schools. Among them were these:
- Social Studies K-12 Course Sequence
- Civics instruction at Locust Grove Elementary School
- A quiz given to fourth graders on state government
Participants were encouraged to learn more by studying the Standards of Learning for History and Social Science on the Virginia Department of Education Web site.
Mr. Magruder, whose school benefited from a fund-raising auction and raffle last fall organized by the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club, told members that “My fellow principals are kind of envious of me when I say, ‘Let me tell you what the LOW community did for me!’ ”
Ms. Carlton reported that Dr. Robert Grimesey Jr., superintendent of Orange County Schools, had testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee in Washington this week on the impact of federal regulations and reporting from the perspective of an administrator in a small rural school division.