Newsroom

YCSDigest - March 18, 2026

Student Calendar Adjustment – April 21

On April 21, Virginia will hold a special election requiring the use of multiple YCSD schools as polling places. As polling locations must remain open to the public throughout the day, the division will not be able to maintain our standard safety protocols for school visitors. Therefore, the School Board has approved adjusting Tuesday, April 21, to a student holiday/staff workday. Supervisors will communicate schedules and expectations to staff.

Unlike weather- or emergency-related closures, the Virginia Code does not recognize remote learning to offset instructional time lost due to election day closures. Wednesday, April 22 will be an A-day for high schools and middle schools. An updated calendar is available on the school division website and on the YCSD mobile app.

New Superintendent Officially Takes Office

Dr. James Carroll officially took his oath of office on Tuesday, March 17, and began his tenure as the new superintendent of the York County School Division. With more than a decade of service in YCSD and 36 years of experience in public education, he already knows our schools, our staff, and our community well.

Dr. Carroll has previously served in key leadership roles, including Human Resources and Operations, and most recently guided the division as interim superintendent. The School Board has expressed strong confidence in his steady leadership and commitment to doing what’s right for kids. We're excited to welcome him into this next chapter and look forward to the positive momentum ahead.

Change in Text (SMS) Numbers

To improve the reliability and security of our communications, our mass communications vendor will be updating the phone numbers used to send mass text messages. Beginning Monday, April 13, 2026, all division and school text messages will be sent from dedicated 10‑digit phone numbers rather than 5‑digit short codes.

New Text Messaging Numbers

General Outreach: 256‑521‑2354

Emergency Messages: 256‑646‑0661

This change applies only to mass text (SMS) messages from both the division and schools. Families and staff are encouraged to save these new text numbers in their contacts to ensure message delivery and easy recognition.

Student Spotlight

Four YCSD seniors were recently named as finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship competition. These distinguished high school students will compete against the top one percent of high school students across the nation for the opportunity to win college scholarships! Please join us in congratulating:

• Arushi Raizada, Tabb High
• Megan Way, Tabb High
• Eddie Zhu, Tabb High
• Marcus Mason, Grafton High

State Champions

YCSD is celebrating an outstanding winter season with multiple state championship titles, and some impressive streaks that might just qualify as dynasties in the making. Bruton High School bring home team titles in Girls Swim & Dive Team (fifth consecutive year), while the Bruton High School Boys Indoor Track Team made this their third straight championship. Individual event champions include:

Indoor Track:

• David Brooks, 500 meters, Tabb High
• Patrick Logan, 500 meters, Grafton High
• Johnie Askew, 55 meters, Bruton High
• Amiyah Smith, 55 meters and long jump, Bruton High
• Boys 4 x 400 meters, Grafton High
• Boys 4 x 200 meters (Abraham Owens, Will Mueller, Johnie Askew, Judah Aghaji), Bruton High

Wrestling:

• Jayden Crotty, Girls Wrestling 107 lbs., Tabb High

Swimming:

• Alyssa White, 200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, Bruton High
• Peyton Cleary, 50 Freestyle, 100 Backstroke, Bruton High
• Maddie Hubbard, 500 Freestyle, Bruton High
• Girls 200 Freestyle Relay (Cleary, Smith, Bevens, White), Bruton High
• Girls 400 Freestyle Relay (Veith, Thompson, Walters, Hubbard), Bruton High

Community Announcements

Each month, YCSD shares information from local organizations regarding educational/enrichment activities, events and opportunities for students and families. While the division neither sponsors nor endorses the announcements, they are offered as a community service for our families. Community announcements can also be found on the division website and each school's website.