The Virginia Board of Education voted yesterday to a approve the opening of an academy at the Pruden Center for Industry and Technology in Suffolk and to close The Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled in Hampton.
The Suffolk academy, Fostering Innovation and Relevance Through STEM and Trades (FIRST), was one of six Governor’s Career and Technical Academies announced earlier this year. It will include science, technology, engineering and math.
FIRST will focus on two “career pathways”: interactive media with a specialization in geographic information systems as well as engineering and technology with a specialization in modeling and simulation.
The latter program is set to begin next school year, while the GIS offering is slated to start in 2009-10. Additional programs may be developed over time.
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices is providing $120,000 for the planning and start-up of the academy, a partnership between the Pruden Center, the Isle of Wight and Suffolk school divisions, Tidewater Community College, government agencies, and business and industry.
The school for deaf and blind children in Hampton will close at the end of June. The state plans to consolidate its students at two schools that serve students with visual and hearing impairments.
The board's vote on Wednesday also will end state-operated programs at the Hampton school, including residential and day-program services..
Some of the students will graduate this year, others will move to the state's other school in Staunton. Officials will work with 14 families to arrange for their continued education in their home districts.
The General Assembly approved a plan in 2006 to consolidate the Hampton and Staunton schools. The Staunton school has about 120 students enrolled.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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