From school guard to superintendent at WJCC schools; Daniel Keever's journey
Happy Memorial Day weekend! Today we'll also tell you about a Williamsburg woman charged with leaving a gun at Bruton High School, and how a 3-inch bat bends VDOT to its will.
Editor’s Note: There will be no Tuesday May 27 edition so we can enjoy a long weekend!
The new superintendent of Williamsburg-James City County schools began his education career as a school security guard, working his way up the job ladder to head an 11,300-student school system.
We spent some time last week talking to Daniel F. Keever to learn about his background and his goals for the school system, which is still awaiting resolution of a two-year negotiation between the two governments that fund it.
In today’s installment of our two-part report, we ask about his personal history and the arc of his 30-year education career.
“I was pretty sure when I graduated from high school that I was going to go off to college and go to law school,” Keever told us.
Keever’s parents were in the ministry when they moved the family from North Carolina to Virginia Beach in 1982. Keever has spent most of his life there and considers himself a Virginia Beach native.
He was involved in student council and other student leadership activities throughout school, and served in the Senate page program, which “really turned me on to government and public service.”
Keever worked summers in the Virginia Beach schools’ leadership workshop program while getting his dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A principal he knew “suggested that I might want to consider education, because of my passion…for leadership development.”
“And my parents, frankly, weren't thrilled with the idea of continuing my studies in Chapel Hill (at) out of state (rates). And so…they suggested, you need a plan B, so plan B was to move back to Virginia Beach (and) take education classes after college graduation. I did that at Norfolk State. “
Keever took afternoon and evening classes for nearly three years at Norfolk State to receive his education certification, while working days as a school security guard at Ocean Lakes High School.
Certificate in hand, he became a social studies teacher at Ocean Lakes and taught history, government and leadership skills. He then obtained a master’s and a doctorate in educational leadership from Old Dominion University.
He rose through the ranks at Virginia Beach, getting promoted to a high school assistant principal, a middle school principal and a high school principal.
In 2015 he was promoted to senior executive director for Virginia Beach high schools until August of 2020, when he was hired away to the WJCC schools as chief operating officer.
Keever succeeds Olwen Herron, who retired in January after 13 years with the local school system.
He filled in as acting superintendent for four months until the school board named him superintendent, after a nationwide search involving 40 candidates. He officially starts his three-year contract June 1 at an annual salary of $240,000.
Q: Why did you want this role?
A: This is a pretty amazing school division. There is, as I've learned over the course of the last five years..a desire for this community to have premier opportunities for the students that live within the community. There is strong support from both the city and county.
Q: Do you have a family?
A: I have a wife and two children. My son is 20. going on 21. He works in Virginia Beach for the school division, as a physical education teacher’s assistant… And my daughter is an 8th grader rising 9th grader and will be attending the legal studies academy in Virginia Beach in the fall.
Q: So you commute from Virginia Beach every day through the tunnel?
A: I've moved to Williamsburg, James City County. I actually did that at the end of January. I made the commute for four and a half years, but it's important when I became acting superintendent for me to be here, day in and day out. I will be (home) there on the weekends, and sometimes for dinner, as the case may be, or to watch (her) play volleyball.
Q: Any hobbies?
A: I like to exercise, like being outside. And I enjoy watching my kids play sports. I like watching sports on television. I do a fair amount of reading, generally educationally related, which I think the staff would prefer that I stop because I often share articles ad nauseam.
Q: How do you spend your work day?
A: Some days, I start in the office and then I'm out in schools and having meetings in schools or visiting schools…Two weeks ago, I had shadowed a student in December (and) I remain in contact with her. I went over to Warhill and had lunch with her and her friends. Every day, I want to be in schools. Some days that's easier than others. …ultimately, it's important for me to be in schools every day.
Next week, part two will cover his goals for the schools.
Woman charged with bringing gun to
Bruton High School
The York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office charged a 36-year-old Williamsburg woman with bringing a gun inside her purse to a school concert at Bruton High School.
A school staff member found the purse in the school auditorium Friday and discovered the gun inside.
The school’s security officer determined the purse belonged to Rebecca R. Sandoval of Williamsburg, who had attended a concert at the school Thursday night, according to a department press release.
Sandoval was arrested and charged with possessing a firearm on school property.
Meet the fellow impacting VDOT tree cutting:
If you’ve wondered at all the half-cut trees along VDOT construction projects, here is the reason why – that cute little guy hanging up above.
The Virginia Department of Transportation’s resident administrator Rossie Carroll was filling in York County supervisors on the progress of road works in the county last week when District 5 Supervisor Thomas G. Shepperd Jr. told him he gets lots of questions about the department leaving high tree stumps along construction sites.
Carroll explained the department cannot cut trees from April 1 until winter because tree tops are the summer homes for the Northern long-eared bat, which was declared an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in November of 2022.
The 3- to 3.7-inch little bats face extinction from white nose syndrome, which infects bats living in the caves where the species spends its winter.
The disease is caused by a fungus that infects hibernating bats, sometimes creating a white fuzz on their faces that gave the diseases its name, according to the White Nose Syndrome Response Team.
In order to keep construction projects moving, Carroll said, all trees that need cutting must be felled by April 1.
“We may not be ready to go out and start …getting the stumps out….but we’re held to that date that we have to have the trees cut down,” he said.
Carroll said motorists probably saw the huge number of felled trees in the median of the I-64 Gap construction project north of Williamsburg.
“our workaround for that is to go cut the trees down and as the project progresses…. we take the stumps up….and we start building the roadway,” Carroll said.
Former JCC supervisor and chef opens new food venue
Serial restaurateur and former James City County Supervisor Jim Kennedy opened his newest food venture yesterday at the Jamestown Road site once occupied by the defunct Jamestown Pie Company.
Dizzy Izzy’s sells a variety of specialty pizzas and sandwiches but with a sustainable twist – the takeout operation sources high quality organic ingredients locally and from Italy and Spain.
“We don’t use seed oils, all drinks are organic and our soft drinks are all made with cane sugar,” Kennedy said.
The restaurant was named after Kennedy’s daughter Isabella Grace, a 19-year-old who is a rising sophomore at Virginia Tech on a prelaw track.
Isabella, who began learning to bake and cook at age 3, is also his partner in crime this summer, baking all of the restaurant’s desserts and tiramisus.
Kennedy represented the Stonehouse district of James City County on the board of supervisors and operated Dudley’s restaurant.
After closing Dudley’s he started a food truck, FoodaTude, before launching Dizzy Izzy’s.
State Headlines
Suffolk School Board reverses transgender policies.
What happens to Medicaid in Virginia if massive federal bill to slash billions becomes law?
Guest Opinion
The Dangers of Closing the Department of Education.
By Nate Ross.
On Thursday, March 20, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order dismantling the Department of Education (DOE), fulfilling one of his biggest campaign promises.
Among other things, the department serves as a vital source of funding for schools in under-privileged communities, providing much needed resources for these students through the Title I program. With Trump’s order to dissolve the department, almost 50,000 schools across the country will lose access to the money and support provided through Title I (James & Ragland, 2024).
According to the National Center of Education Statistics, its core purpose of Title I is to “provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps by allocating federal funds for education programs and services.”
It fulfills this purpose by allocating funds to both state and local education agencies, which then handle the distribution of more than $18 billion dollars to nearly 50,000, or 63%, of individual schools . There are seven Title I schools serving more than 3,500 K-5 students in the Williamsburg-James City County school division.
Receiving a high quality education has been shown to improve social cohesion, economic growth, and innovation (Runde, Bandura, & McLean, 2023). Just because a child is born into a low-income family does not mean they should lose the opportunity to receive a top-notch education.
Though Title I will continue without the Department of Education, it will be significantly cut. In 2023 Title I received a total of $36.5 billion dollars for its programs. That number has been cut in half. WJCC schools received $1,832,183 for Title I programs last year, according to the school budget.
Without the DOE, states would have final say in the distribution of all money received through Title I. The structured oversight and accountability that the DOE currently provides would be nonexistent, allowing bias and the possibility of inequitable distribution.
Little can be done to change the funding cuts that have already taken place, but one can prepare for the future.
For starters, it is up to every Williamsburg resident to make it clear to their representatives at every level just how important Title I is.
Rep. Robert Wittman, R – Va., represents the Williamsburg area and is a member of the political party threatening Title I. Reach out to him and make it clear that Title I funds and oversight need to be defended. 2026 is also an election year, and so if Wittman does not act to defend vital Title I funding, then maybe it is time for a new representative for the First congressional district.
You can also talk to the WJCC school board and ensure they have plans in place for the current Title I funding cuts, as well as any future cuts that may come about.
The WJCC school board holds its regular meetings on the third Tuesday of each month, where residents can come and speak their mind. Only by showing up in force can we make sure a plan is put in place for the loss of Title I funding, should the Trump administration continue on its current path.
While we cannot change the past, we can certainly prepare for the future; a future that should include Title I in its fullest potential, providing equitable funding for underfunded schools and education systems
Nate Ross is a William & Mary student
VDOT will suspend most lane closings and construction work during the Memorial Day weekend. Here are the plans next week for the James City County gap widening work:
I-64, Gap Widening Segment C, James City County:
Single-lane closures on I-64 east from Old Stage Road (exit 227) to Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234) May 27-31 from as early as 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Single-lane closures on I-64 west from Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234) to the New Kent County-James City County line May 27-31 from as early as 7 p.m. to as late as 7 a.m.
Full closures of I-64 west on- and off-ramps at Croaker Road (exit 231) May 27-31 from as early as 7 p.m. to as late as 7 a.m.
Long-term, temporary traffic shift on I-64 west from east of Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234) to the New Kent/James City County line. View the full traffic alert.
Long-term, temporary traffic shift on I-64 east between the New Kent/James City County line to Route 199/Lightfoot (exit 234). View the full traffic alert.
Government meetings next week:
James City County:
The board of supervisors will convey an $8 million grant in state funds to the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation for flood mitigation. May 27, 1 p.m. 101 Mounts Bay Road Government Center Board Room.
City of Williamsburg:
Architectural Review Board. May 27. 6:30 p.m. Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary Street.
Memorial Day Weekend Activities:
Colonial Williamsburg Public Auction. May 24, 1-2 p.m. bid on select items from CW stores and other items.
World Bee Day, Jamestown Settlement. Honeybee tastings and activities, included with museum admission. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Fifes & Drums March. May 24. 12:30 p.m. – 12:50 p.m. Join the corps as they march down Duke of Gloucester Street.
Yorktown Market Days. May 24. 8 a.m. – noon. Riverwalk Landing, Yorktown.
Colonial Williamsburg Memorial Day Commemoration. May 26. 10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., Palace Green.
York County Memorial Day Ceremony. May 26. Noon. York Hall lawn, 301 Main Street Yorktown. Fifes and Drums of Yorktown will mark to York Hall starting at 11:45 a.m.
Passings
Good for him. He was an awful assistant principle at Tall wood high. If you were not part of a sports team, he wouldn't treat you the same as others. He never actually listened to students, just handed down punishments. I don't see how anyone would find him qualified for his role, from my personal experience, he has no ability to help children who struggle. Now that I know my son is in a school district he oversees, i'm even more concerned.