Norfolk School Board Fires Superintendent; Morehouse Student Found Dead in Tysons; Finally: Voting Locations for Rushed CD11 Election
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Norfolk School Board Ends Contract of Superintendent
Last night in a 4-3 vote, the Norfolk School Board ended the contract of the district's superintendent, Dr. Sharon Byrdsong. The decision took place during the School Board’s meeting late Wednesday, June 11.
Dr. Byrdsong was appointed as superintendent in February 2020. The board selected Dr. James Pohl to be interim superintendent.
Dr. Byrdsong’s full statement after her dismissal is below.
It is with a heavy heart I share with you that I will no longer serve as the superintendent of Norfolk Public Schools. I share this news with mixed emotions, as I feel somewhat regretful to be leaving an organization for which I have tremendous love; however, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. Over the past six years, it has been my distinct honor and privilege to lead Norfolk Public Schools. Throughout my 26-year tenure with this exceptional school division, I have remained keenly aware that public education is a noble profession. With the exception of the family unit, there is no other force more critical for children in ensuring that they achieve to their highest potential than public education.
Early on in my career while serving as a classroom teacher, I realized the life-changing potential of my chosen profession. As a teacher, I would be responsible for encouraging students’ intellectual curiosity, competence, and confidence. It was imperative that I worked to equip them well as they moved toward futures of limitless possibilities. Today, as a departing superintendent, I can say unequivocally, it has been a blessing to facilitate this work on a division-wide level. The 5,600 teachers, administrators, and staff members of Norfolk Public Schools are everyday heroes who inspire, comfort, uplift, and simply love our precious 27,000 children each and every day. Any and every achievement accomplished during my tenure can be attributed to their support and dedication.
In Norfolk Public Schools, we lovingly and with great commitment use the refrain “No Matter What” as a promise that we will do whatever it takes to move children towards academic success as well as physical and social-emotional well-being. To guide our efforts, we utilized the strategies within our strategic plan, Continuing the Drive - Equity and Excellence for All, which we developed alongside our division stakeholders. Some of the outcomes of our “No Matter What” spirit included strategic action to ensure that every student has access to the Internet within their homes and a mobile device to support their learning. NPS is now a 1:1 student-to-device school division. We have more social-emotional learning supports to uplift our students than ever before; we have increased positions for school psychologists, social workers, school counselors, graduation coaches, and attendance technicians. We have invested in additional after-school clubs and activities for our students. We have worked to ensure the safety of our students and staff, from increasing security staff positions to installing a weapons detection system in every school. We even navigated the pandemic together - improving our use of technology and significantly improving the infrastructure and physical environments of our schools. Today, Norfolk Public Schools stands alone in Hampton Roads in continuing to provide a remote learning option through the NPS Virtual Scholars Academy. Academic outcomes for students have steadily improved over the past six years.
A focus on advancing childhood education and early literacy has resulted in increased enrollment in our preschool classrooms and improved readiness of our Pre-K students for
K-12 schooling. Our investments in instructional and social-emotional learning supports for some of our most vulnerable students, our students with disabilities and our English Learners, have resulted in improved student outcomes. We have worked to ensure that the division has the most competitive salaries. The beginning salary for classroom teachers has increased almost 30% during the past six-year period. We are especially proud to meaningfully engage our community back into our schools through our innovative Equity and Excellence Learning Centers that have increased the home-school-community partnership.
I would be remiss if I did not thank our families and the community for their unparalleled support. Families have worked with their children at home; cheered them on at countless sporting events and activities; supported myriad school-level events and extra-curricular opportunities for their children; and embraced our collaborative efforts, to include a new International Welcome Center for our English Learner families.
So, let me address this inevitable question: Considering such progress, why am I now poised to depart from my beloved Norfolk Public Schools? I will answer this question within the framework of my faith: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Quite simply, my faith tells me that there is a time when you know your season has concluded, when you know you have served your purpose. That time for me is now.
Dr. Sharon Byrdsong
Kyle Coleman🌹: Police ID Body of in Tysons Pond as Missing Morehouse College Freshman
WTOP this morning: Police confirmed that a missing student from Prince William County was found dead Tuesday in a pond in Tysons, Virginia. In a Wednesday release, Fairfax County police said 19-year-old Kyle Benjamin Coleman was reported missing Saturday after crashing. Coleman, of Gainesville, had been reported missing on Saturday after he had crashed into a wooded area near Tysons Boulevard late Friday night.
When officers got there, they found Coleman’s blue Toyota still running along with his keys, wallet and phone inside. An investigation into the crash revealed Coleman had been driving on Galleria Drive when he crossed into the eastbound lanes, left the roadway onto the grass and struck a tree. Officials and witnesses said that he then got out of his vehicle and fled. No one else was injured in the crash. Read entire at WTOP
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June 27-29, 2025: Women’s Summit
Only 16 Days Before Election, Details of CD11 Election Emerge
FINALLY the information regarding a rushed “firehouse” election process for CD-11 has been announced. On JUNE 28, 2025, only 18 before voters are called to participate in a “unassembled caucus,” to select the Democratic nominee — which is the entire ballgame in a bluer than blue district — the voting locations have finally been made public.
Early voting: June 24, 25 and 26, 2025.
The compacted process put together after the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly🌹 on May 21, 2025 also features one of the highest filing fees ever heard of: $6,990. The process obviously benefits insiders and established players and disenfranchises voters. Below are the voting locations.
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