Education

HILLSVILLE  —  Carroll County schools may avoid teacher layoffs and get funds to modernize facilities if the White House’s proposed “American Jobs Act” passes Congress.
The White House invited Carroll school officials to participate in a Sept. 12 teleconference about the components of the jobs act, and Schools Superintendent Greg Smith told school board members the next day that he found the hour-long conference call informative.

Galax High School’s homecoming game will be held Friday. Homecoming court members include (from left, front) Grace Wilson, Kristin McMickle, Ashley Nale, Allison White, Holly Mays, Hailey Cassell, Harley Brewer, (back) Chantasy Cottrell, Julianna DiGiacomo, Channing Russell, Rebecca Shirey and Jade Webb.

As standards continue to rise for Adequate Yearly Progress, the benchmarks are becoming more and more unobtainable, said Galax Schools’ Superintendent Bill Sturgill.
“No Child Left Behind served as a great platform to encourage high expectations for schools,” said Sturgill. “But benchmarks of 100 percent are unrealistic... By design, No Child Left Behind has ran its course.”