SUPERINTENDENT MEMO
Executive Order 33
Dear Cougar Family:
With the Tuesday, July 9 announcement of Executive Order 33, Establishing Cell Phone-Phone Free Education to Promote the Health & Safety of Virginia’s Students, I wanted to provide some additional details regarding this order to better inform our school community. Please see the following:
· If you have not had a chance to review the order, you may do so by clicking on this link - EO-33---Cell-Phones-7.9.24.pdf (virginia.gov).
· The VDOE announced Eight Commonwealth Conversations on Cell Phone-Free Education and has invited parents, educators and interested community members to attend. Additional information regarding Executive Order 33 and information about the Commonwealth Conversations can be found here. I plan to attend the meeting in Abingdon at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center on August 1st from 3:00-4:30. I am sure other central office and building leaders will join me.
· The PCPS Leadership Team will be participating in a book study, The Anxious Generation – How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt during the next several months to learn more about the so called arrival of the, “phone-based childhood in the early 2010s.”
· We still have a lot to learn about this order and how it will impact our students, staff, school division and school community members as we move into the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
As always, please feel free to contact a central office or building administrator if you have questions or concerns regarding this memo, but please know that this is new information that we are all trying to better understand.
I hope everyone is enjoying a safe summer season filled with family, friends and fun!
Sincerely,
Mr. Robert Graham
Superintendent