NELSON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AUGUST UPDATE
NELSON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEETING SUMMARY
as of August 19, 2025
During the August 14, 2025 School Board meeting, Superintendent Hester presented OneNelson awards to the graduating class of 2025 and to all high school staff who have dealt with this year’s renovations and the recently completed roofing project. She also gave awards to the Nelson County Historical Society who worked with the middle school summer program to incorporate the history of Nelson County in the curriculum.
Superintendent Hester also said that they had a great start to the school year and that the new cell phone policy has been rolled out - phones brought to school have to remain in backpacks the entire school day (bell to bell) and teachers are already noticing that students are more engaged with each other and staff. She reminds all drivers to not pass a stopped bus.
As reported in the Nelson County Times, the Monticello Area Action Agency (MACAA) is offering after-school programs at the two elementary schools but they were not ready for the first day of school because new staff have delayed the licensing approval process. Not discussed in this meeting but during the spring budget meetings, MACAA struggled to offer a good program last year and so registration is low this year until the parents can trust the agency to provide consistent, quality care.
Les Cambell gave a thorough update on the summer capital projects. There are still some residual issues with capital projects that should have closed, especially with the new chiller and controller, but the high school had conditioned air on the first day of school. The Phase II renovation project is on-time and on-budget with contractors now working a second shift from Monday to Thursday. Mr. Campbell showed a schedule of how classes will be moved around throughout the school year as the renovation progresses through the building. In newly renovated sections, staff have already commented positively about the new LED lighting.
Scott Belako, in his new role as Director of Instruction and Innovation, gave a presentation on the summer learning programs. 279 students attended five different programs that offered remediation and/or enrichment. Breakfast and lunch was provided free to all students along with take-home meals for some students.
Dr. Ryan Yarzebinski, Supervisor of Instruction, gave a presentation on the results of SOL testing last school year as follows:
NCPS administered:
• 2772 SOL tests across 24 tests areas
• Includes 474 retests/expedited retakes
Students results include:
• 1755 passes
• 300 pass advanced
• 24 perfect 600s
All schools in Nelson County improved their pass rate from 2024!
• Nelson Middle School improved by 4.54%
• Tye River Elementary improved by 2.99%
• Rockfish River Elementary improved by 1.78%
• Nelson High School improved by 1.09%
Overall NCPS improved by 3.81%. Within all 74 CIP Divisions (statewide data is not released yet), NCPS ranked:
• 7th overall in improvement in overall pass rates (72.17% to 75.98%)
• 1st overall in improvement in percentile ranking within the CIP (61.90 to 80.20)
The on-time graduation rate was 92.8% last year. More assessment data will be coming in the next few months.
Mr. Gregory Mullins, athletic director at Nelson High School, explained the new clear bag policy for all athletic events. The exceptions are a clutch no larger than 4.5” x 6.5” and diaper bags (which will be searched). He also went over the entrances and parking lots to be used for both inside and outside events. All middle and high school community events will have weapon detectors at the entrances.
In final action, the School Board approved their meeting dates as presented for the 2025-26 school year, which are generally the second Thursday of each month starting at 6pm.