Hampton School Board recognized during School Board Appreciation Month

Hampton City Schools joins school divisions throughout the Commonwealth in February to celebrate School Board Appreciation Month. Nearly 850 elected and appointed school board members throughout Virginia are recognized by schools and communities for their service and dedication to public education. HCS School Board members include: Stephanie Jackson Afonja; Dr. Tina Banks-Gray, vice-chair; Ann Cherry; Joe Kilgore; Dr. Richard Mason, chairman; Jason Samuels; and Dr. Reginald Woodhouse.

The Virginia School Boards Association theme for this year is “Building the Future of Public Education” which reflects the partnership of the Virginia School Boards Association with local school board members as they serve their local divisions and advocate for public education with local, state, and federal leaders on behalf of all students.

Members of the Hampton School Board were recognized during the Board’s scheduled meeting on February 7, 2024. Board members viewed a video that was created honoring them as recipients in “best supporting roles” at the first ever Hollywood to Hampton Walk of Fame ceremony. The video included clips of board members fulfilling the various roles of their responsibilities as School Board members. Additionally, each were presented with a goodie basket that reflected the evening’s theme. Students from the Hampton to Hollywood event from last spring presented the Board members with their baskets, certificates, and framed “Hollywood star”.

Joseph Kilgore, Hampton’s longest sitting board member shared, “I would like to thank the team for the recognition. I have had quite a few of these and every year is special and every year I am blown away by the creativity. None of us sit up here looking for the recognition but we all absolutely appreciate it. There are 132 school divisions in Virginia so there are a lot of people who truly believe in public education and are the heart of education and I can’t say enough about how great Hampton City Schools is. As we go around the state and we go to conferences and see other school divisions, we stand so proud because of what the people and the students in this school division do every single day.”

Chairman Richard Mason said, “From the bottom ofmy heart, thank you so much. I can’t say enough about all the hard work that goes into Hampton City Schools. It truly is a team effort. You all give us something to brag on each and every day. We know we are truly moving the needle on teaching and learning and innovation here in the city of Hampton. It is a team and community effort in terms of what we do in Hampton City Schools. As a board, we take nothing for granted. We continue to work hard each and every to make sure we are doing what we can for each child here in the city of Hampton. Every child, every day, whatever it takes!

We thank our School Board for their time and dedication to serving the students of Hampton City Schools.

Click here to view the video.