End of year message from Dr. K. Veronica Smith
Students in the Academic and Career Exploration (ACE) Program at Mount Vernon High School visited City Hall on Friday, November 1, 2024, to cast their early votes in the 2024 General Election. The trip incorporated independent living skills that they have been learning about for the past two to three years. With teacher supervision, they walked from MVHS and caught the Beeline bus, using metro cards for the first time.
The Graham School field and parking lot were filled with crisp leaves, loud music and sounds of enjoyment, as hundreds of Mount Vernon residents walked from table to table, enjoying fun activities, snacks and live performances. On November 2, 2024, the Mount Vernon City School District held its annual District-wide Fall Festival to promote unity and connection amongst the community.
Click here to view the photo gallery!
Mount Vernon STEAM Academy students traveled to Nelson Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer School on Thursday, October 24, 2024, to teach elementary children about financial management. The high school students taught their younger peers using lessons and teaching strategies they learned through Junior Achievement High School Heroes Program.
Creative costumes filled Mount Vernon City School District hallways on Thursday, October 31, 2024, as students celebrated Halloween. Among the celebrations, high school students at Rebecca Turner Academy handed out candy and painted faces of pre-K children, building community through collaboration. At Benjamin Turner Academy, parents, staff and students in the upper grades handed out candy to younger students in the library. At Graham School, the hallways were decorated with tables, and students walked around collecting treats. Hamilton School also held its annual trunk or treat.
Sheba Serna, a Mount Vernon High School Class of 1992 graduate, was recently awarded as Rebecca Turner Academy’s Teacher of the Year for the 2023-2024 school year by the Mount Vernon City School District. Ms. Serna worked in the Sundown Alternative Program prior to the founding of RTA, and she values her work deeply because she feels that she would have been an RTA student herself. The support she received at MVHS helped to propel her towards a teaching career within the District.
View the Q+A with Ms. Serna here!
Dr. K. Veronica Smith, Acting Superintendent of Schools:
This morning, we held a meeting with Mount Vernon STEAM Academy, Mount Vernon High School, Rebecca Turner Academy and Denzel Washington School of the Arts stakeholders regarding student searches at arrival and are working towards a resolution of this matter. These searches were implemented to keep all students in the building safe, and we are looking for an equitable solution that maintains our safety standards while providing a positive school culture and ensuring students are respected. We will continue to work with stakeholders to create a safe environment at all Mount Vernon City School District schools.
Click here to view the first 2024-2025 school year edition of Conversations with Dr. Kim on YouTube! Edward Williams School Principal, Dr. Crystal Waterman, joins Acting Superintendent Dr. K. Veronica Smith to discuss accomplishments at Edward Williams and throughout the Mount Vernon City School District.
Click here to view the presentation highlighting the District’s accomplishments!