RCPS Community Partner Cafe

Beyond Band-Aids: How School Nurses Shape Student Wellness

Do you know the role of school nurses and the vital role they play within our school communities? 
In this timely episode, your hosts Katie LaPira and Donna Delisle talk with Ashley Houff and Myra Hensley about the way that school nurses have become an important part of school communities and how those roles have changed over time. 
 
Listen in to hear helpful tips for maintaining strong communication with school nurses and the larger medical community. Check out the practical advice about when to keep children home from school and when to send them back as well as how to handle yearly appointments and physicals for sports. 

Special Education Services and How to Get Involved

Do you know what services are available to your student with an IEP or a 504 plan? Do you know how to get support for a student who could qualify for special services but has not yet been assessed?
 
In this informative episode, special education experts Sarah Fawley and Melissa Bentley join your hosts Donna Delisle and Katie LaPira to share about special education support services.
 
Melissa shares a brief history of the laws that led to where we are today with IEPs and 504 plans for students, and Melissa talks about ways that students who qualify for services can be identified and assessed for services. Sarah shares about what special education services can look like for students in middle and high school as they plan for their future and what partnerships can support students on that journey.
 
Sarah and Melissa share about how community partners such as the Infant Toddler Connection, Massanutten Technical Center, the Community Services Board, DARS (Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services), and VAIL (the Valley Association for Independent Living) help students and families navigate individual challenges and needs.
 
Listen in to hear about ways that you can get support for the child in your life.

Celebrating and Reflecting on Public Education in the US with Beau Dickenson

What do you know about how public education came to the United States? In this episode, Donna Delisle talks with RCPS Social Studies Supervisor Beau Dickenson about the history of public education in the US and specifically in Virginia. With a grounding in major historical events, historian Beau Dickenson reflects on the beginning of American public education, how it has evolved, and how it looks today going into the future. 
 
As Beau shares in the episode, Rockingham County Public Schools were founded in 1876 as a result of changing legislation as Virginia rejoined the Union. Beau talks about the progression of public education, in the US and specifically in Virginia, beginning with the founding of the United States and moving through the Civil Rights era continuing into present day. 
 
Be sure to check out this fascinating episode where Donna and Beau reflect on the power of public education in Virginia. 

How to Prepare Your Child for School with RCPS Social Workers

Are you looking for ways to better support your child? In this episode, Katie LaPira, RCPS Coordinator of Community Engagement, talks with RCPS social workers including Donna Delisle, Ashlea Link, and Alexis Dovel, who share about specific challenges for each age group and what you as parents and guardians can do to best support your children as they grow and develop socially and emotionally.
 
Listen in to hear these tips about friend groups, social media, email etiquette, and other common struggles that your child may be facing. 

Introducing RCPS Community Partner Café

Listen to the RCPS Community Partner Café with your hosts Katie LaPira and Donna Delisle of Rockingham County Public Schools in Virginia.
 
As Katie and Donna share in the trailer, this podcast focuses on achieving the RCPS mission to empower all learners through conversations with guests who work within the RCPS schools and community. Subscribe to stay current and to hear new episodes.