Gov. Northam awards grants for computer science education

By The Associated Press
February 18, 2020 | 4:06 AM

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is announcing new school grants aimed at promoting computer science education.

Northam announced Monday he had approved a total of $1.3 million in grants to a number of public schools and colleges.

Lawmakers authorized the grants last year, which are to be used on professional development for teachers, instructional resources and other areas related to computers science. Low-performing schools were given a priority for the funding.

School bus emergency? Fairfax County students have a plan to handle it

By Heather Gustafson
August 21, 2026 | 10:05 PM

This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage. The wheels on the bus will soon be going round and round again in Fairfax County, Virginia, and some of its young riders are learning what to do if there’s an emergency on the way to school. The annual Safety Patrol Training Camp, hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools' Office of Transportation Services, combined hands-on exercises with classroom lessons to teach students how to keep calm during emergencies on buses. The training can feel remarkably realistic, with overturned school buses on their side or completely upside down in the middle of the county bus depot. Other buses, right side up, fill with smoke that is water-based but mimics the intensity of a bus overheating.

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