Amy's Yard
Cvillian, 40-something, mother of 2; full-time Realtor, sometimes vegetarian & local foods devotee, quilter; trying to find more hours in the day, like you.
I use this Posterous when what I have to say or share just won't fit neatly into the allotted box or 140 characters!
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Amy Bender Webb
Posted
by Amy Bender Webb
Charlottesville New Construction: Ken and Dawn's Dream Home is underway!
I am really excited to be helping Ken and Dawn and their 3 boys build their dream home.
I started working with this sweet couple in early fall and we looked at quite a few resale homes over the course of several months, even making an offer on one older home, before deciding to build.
Like all first time home buyers, Ken and Dawn are on a budget, but we were lucky to find a great lot, very well priced, for sale just a few miles from where Ken works and in one of their target school districts!
The final piece of the puzzle was selecting Piedmont Realty and Construction to build the home. Dawn and Ken had heard about Piedmont, had seen their homes online and were very impressed with their product. Drew Holzwarth, Piedmont's principal, was able to offer us the floor plan they wanted, with some great standard features and even quite a few desired upgrades, at a surprisingly affordable price.
The lot is a beautiful 2 acre parcel in a quiet Northern Albemarle subdivision. The home building process so far has been extremely smooth, efficient and enjoyable. Drew and his team - Greg Slater of Real Estate III, and Jodi and Brandon of Piedmont - have been super. Ground breaking tomorrow or early next week!
Here are some photos from the contract signing, our pre-build meetings and of the lot we will be building on!
As an aside, these two young parents, both military veterans, have really impressed all us older folks with their parenting skills: I have never met 3 more well behaved, polite and cheerful children !
Posted
by Amy Bender Webb
Concerned about Albemarle's 4x4 Schedule? Support CASE.
Mission Statement
“Our mission is to repeal the practice of compressing year-long courses into a one semester format, because semesterized teaching is detrimental to our children’s educational experience.”
What is C.A.S.E.?
Citizens of Albemarle Supporting Education is a citizens’ network dedicated to improving accountability and performance in Albemarle County Public Schools. This group was founded to educate the Albemarle community about the 4×4 schedule and semesterization using peer reviewed research. C.A.S.E. seeks to increase transparency and to improve community involvement in local educational policy.
A conversation I had this past weekend with a local high school teacher and friend has convinced me that this system is detrimental to the quality of education in Albemarle. My freshman daughter has complained about the 4x4 repeatedly, especially as regards keeping up with her English classwork. But it turns out the teachers, our most valuable resource, are also overwhelmed keeping up with the instructional pace and workload created by this system. In some topics (for example English) the semester scheduling simply does not allow sufficient time for the students to digest and the teachers to cover the curriculum. Let me know your thoughts: Is anybody out there in favor of the 4x4 for any reason other than "it saves money" ?
Posted
by Amy Bender Webb
Where to turn for help in Charlottesville and Albemarle
I came across this download from the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way on the City of Charlottesville website: it's a great resource list and well worth sharing.
Posted
by Amy Bender Webb
Fully Fund Albemarle County Public Schools: Petition, please forward.
Strong public schools make strong communities. Investing in Public Education is the only guarantee our community has to remain competitive in a global economy and maintain the quality of life that we so proudly enjoy. By not providing the funds that are necessary to educate and transform the young, we fail to provide a better future not only for them, but for the entire society.
In light of the imminent budget cuts that our community faces, the efforts that school administrators are making to continue to provide quality education for all children despite the persistent budget cuts, and taking into account the Board of Supervisors' campaign of providing a World Class Education which in turn is consistent with the data provided in this introduction, the citizens of Albemarle County feel compelled to ask the Board of Supervisors to fully fund the school's budget request.
read the full text and sign the petition at ipetitions.com
Posted
by Amy Bender Webb
Albemarle County Schools Announce Make Up Days - 7 scheduled, 2 more possible. for now.
Albemarle County School leaders announced students will now go to class well into June to make up for nine missed days in 2010. The make up days are:
February 16
March 12
June 11, 14, 15, 16, 17The school board will meet Thursday, February 11 to decide if students will also go to class on Monday, February 15th, and Friday, April 2.
via newsplex.com
Posted
by Amy Bender Webb
