FRANKLIN—The Franklin City Public School Board will travel to Richmond for a School Improvement and Turnaround Conference in late January.

“We’re committed to doing better,” said Edna King, FCPSB chairperson. “We can’t demand of the staff what we would not do ourselves as a board.”

The conference is free to attend for school divisions that are invited, and the theme for the Jan. 28 event is the school board’s role in turning around a school division. All school board members except Johnetta Nichols are able to attend.

The purpose of the project, according to the Virginia School Boards Association agenda, is to:

n Develop a model for training and providing technical assistance to local school boards relative to school turnaround and differentiated school improvement. The latter term refers to providing different students with different methods to learning content, and also developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students in a classroom can learn the material effectively.

Establish the training and technical assistance for school board members on school improvement and turnaround within a broader perspective on differentiated school improvement as it applies to all schools within a division

Develop an Internet-based system to: A) provide materials related to the school board trainings; B) guide and track a school board’s planning for a differentiated school improvement process that includes turnaround; and C) share successes with other divisions.

In other news, the Franklin High School Marching Band requested permission for an overnight trip to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech Honor Band on Jan. 24-26.

Five high school and three middle school students were nominated to perform in the 2014 Va. Tech Honor Band, and three high school students and one middle school student will attend based on instrumentation needs, number of total nominations and teacher recommendation.

The students will spend three days in rehearsals, master classes and performances. They will have the opportunity to see the Va. Tech performance groups and perform in a concert on their last day.

Parents will be transporting the students and the trip will use FHS Band funds.

The Franklin City Public School Board unanimously approved the trip.

Presented for a first reading involving travel was a field trip for the Franklin High School/J.P. King Middle School Robotics program to travel to the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center in Richmond on March 20-22 for the Virginia FIRST Robotics Competition.

The trip is the culmination of six weeks of designing, engineering and team problem solving as Franklin’s robotics team competes against other high schools on the east coast.

FHS FRC money would pay for the trip.

The board was not required to take action, but Ward 1 board member Will Council and King discussed a grant to help pay for the program, so that students do not have to ask parents for money for the trip.

“I don’t want to see them out there raising money for the competition,” said King.