It was a great honor to receive a visit from Commander Mac McCarl of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8469 who, during our morning news show, awarded the Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award to Special Education Teacher Jeanne Gates, the Virginia state winner. Commander McCarl also awarded our school with the Smart/Maher Institutional Award for its recognition as the VFW's Virginia winner for citizenship education.

Established in 1999 and named for former VFW National Commander John Smart and retired VFW Quartermaster General Larry Maher, the award recognizes our nation's top teachers for their exceptional commitment to teaching Americanism and patriotism to their students by promoting civic responsibility, flag etiquette, and patriotism in the classroom.

Our school has a proud history of having had a national VFW Teacher of the Year just a few years ago, and now again, it demonstrates excellence with these two awards. Congratulations Ms. Gates!!