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Virginia Beach students return for first day of school

Acting Superintendent Dr. Don Robertson lays out his goal for the new school year.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Holland Elementary School student Laila Allen said she had a great summer with friends and family.

“I’ve been getting in the pool and like going on trips and stuff,” the fifth-grader said.

However, Laila couldn’t wait for the first day of school.

“I’m excited to go back to school and see my friends,” she said.

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“There’s nothing like the first day of school," said Virginia Beach City Public Schools Acting Superintendent Dr. Don Robertson. "It is controlled excitement as parents -- particularly elementary school students -- come for the first time and drop their children off.”

Dr. Robertson, school board members, and other administrators stopped by schools across the division to greet students on Monday morning.

“To check in and make sure that our students are safe, our staff have what they need and the environment is based upon what we’ve been preparing for,” he said.

As Dr. Robertson steps into his new position as acting superintendent, he’s sharing his goals for the new school year. He said he’s focused on taking advantage of new opportunities to advance student learning. 

That means looking into artificial intelligence. He said the division organized a committee that spent the last six months understanding how artificial intelligence could be used in schools.

“What we’ve chosen to do is provide our staff with several resources so they can investigate how AI can benefit their students and there is a wealth of opportunities,” he explained.

Dr. Robertson said they haven't introduced artificial intelligence to students just yet.

"We're working out some privacy and data concerns that we have to make sure we're comfortable with before we do that," he said. "When that comes to fruition, it now gives a student the opportunity to potentially have a tutor through artificial intelligence."

Dr. Robertson also addressed staff vacancies and said it’s not a challenge administrators are seeing this year. He said the division currently has 36 unfilled positions but that reading specialists and literacy coaches will cover classrooms in need of teachers until those positions are filled.

He said last year, the division started the year with 35 vacancies.

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