“Learning should be interactive”—that’s what Superintendent Chip Jones was told by students at Cumberland County Public Schools. Well, message received: this school year, the rural Virginia district opened its first virtual reality lab, which was created and designed by those very same student advocates, says Jones, who was recently named a regional superintendent of the year.
“They came up with the business plan, they met with central office about funding, they built the computers that are going to be used, and they worked with our maintenance team to have everything installed,” says Jones, who is in his fourth year as superintendent and 20th year as an employee of Cumberland County Public Schools. “They built this from ground zero.”
As school gets underway, there is already a backlog of students and staff who want to use the VR lab, which is located near the career wing of the district’s combined middle and high school. Jones envisions students going underwater or taking virtual trips to the pyramids during their studies of ancient Egypt. “It brings the learning right here to Cumberland County,” Jones says. “It should help kids see more relevance and explore different careers.”
Jones recently sat down (virtually) with District Administration to discuss new teachers, the challenges rural districts face and how the superintendent’s job has changed over the last few years.
1. DA: What are you most excited about as the 2023-24 school year begins?
Chip Jones: “I’m excited about the new teachers we’ve welcomed to the division. I think it’s always good to have fresh, new faces. I’m excited about the talent they bring.
“We have a lot of different capital improvements going on. We’re a small, rural school division that doesn’t always get capital improvement done. This year we have new outdoor seating that can be used as an outdoor classroom. We have a new resurface of a track that physical education, JROTC, and athletic teams can use. We have a new playground going on for our middle school students. We’ve done some floor work and some roof work on some of our buildings, so we’re making progress.”
2. Speaking of teachers, how are you doing staffing-wise? Does being a rural district make it harder to recruit?
“Teacher recruitment is a big issue for Cumberland County Public Schools. Right now, we have about six positions that are still open. We’re blessed for the team members we’ve recruited, we are even more blessed for the team members we have retained, and we are still recruiting other people to join our staff. We’re doing OK, but I’d like for us to do better.
“There are challenges with being a rural division. As people look to relocate they look for housing, they look for things to do outside of work, and they look for connectivity to the internet. Having the internet is like having food, water and shelter, it’s become an essential of life. Cumberland County is working on bringing high-speed internet, but it will take time.
“When you’re in a rural area, you’re used to driving—you may drive 20-25 minutes to get to a grocery store or just into town where you can go out to eat and do different things. Now, with rising gas prices that becomes more of a challenge because that is an extra expense.”
3. What keeps you up at night as a district leader?
“What keeps me up at night? I don’t sleep a lot anyway. I’m always thinking about teacher recruitment because I want our students to have the most qualified teachers in front of them all the time. And I’m looking at different funding sources to make sure that our students have opportunities. Just because we live in a rural area that has challenges, they shouldn’t be penalized.
“Of course, you always think about school safety. Every time you turn on the news now you hear about different things. You’re always thinking about safety—and student learning; just making sure as we transition back from when schools were closed due to COVID, and there was some inconsistent learning going on, just making sure students are getting the education they need.”
4. How is Cumberland County Public Schools ensuring learners can bounce back from COVID?
‘We offer summer learning, and we’ve extended that. We’ve mirrored it to be more of a school day where there’s a combination of academic recovery and some enrichment. We offer afterschool opportunities for students at our at elementary, middle and high schools where students get some assistance.
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“And then, professional learning for our teachers, having them learn a little more about literacy approaches or math interventions. We’ve partnered with Longwood University, where we send in 15 teachers and when they finish the program next summer they will be certified reading specialists. We’re making sure they are getting the skills they need, which ultimately improves their delivery of instruction, which should improve student learning.”
5. How has the role of superintendent changed over the last few years?
“I officially began the job on July 1, 2020, right at the start of COVID. The previous superintendent announced her retirement on March 5, 2020, I was named superintendent on March 5, 2020, and schools shut down on March 13, 2020, so I really had a learning curve—but so did every other superintendent across the United States.
“The way the job has evolved is that you have to become more flexible. You may have a plan, then all of a sudden plans change and what is your plan B? Are you ready to go in a different direction or regroup and rethink? What COVID did is, one size doesn’t fit all—you have to have various avenues for students to learn, whether it’s online classes or in-person. Another thing that’s been highlighted throughout COVID is making sure you have mental health supports in place, not only for students but also for teachers.
“And this has always been important but it’s been highlighted as well by COVID is how much a community depends on a school system and how much a school system depends on a community. It’s strengthened that relationship.”
6. What are some of the long-term impacts of how the K12 landscape has changed over the last few years?
“It’s made school leaders—whether you’re private, public or homeschool—look at what they offer. There are so many different choices now for families. You have to reflect on what you offer, and is your brand or the way that people view Cumberland County Public Schools, is it in a positive manner and if not, how do you improve.”
