Associated Press photo

In the tragic news out of Oklahoma yesterday there are also stories of heroic teachers, who protected their students fiercely and in many cases saved lives as a deadly tornado struck two schools there.

Here’s a look at some of the stories of educators who, not surprisingly, put students first.

– One mother recounted to reporters how her son’s teacher rescued him from debris. She said the teacher is now in the hospital.

“I have no doubt that God and his teacher….they lifted a wall off of these kids, several kids,” she told CNN.

– In this story from USA Today there are reports that “teachers shielded children with their bodies” to protect them during the storm.

– CNN has also apparently reported that people on the The Oklahoman’s breathtaking front page are teachers. The page shows a man carrying a child from the wreckage and behind him a woman holding the hand of a child also walking away from the rubble.

Welcome to another recap of the latest graduation stories. In case you missed the first installment you can find a link here.

Last week Virginia Tech graduated more than 5,800 students, including about 170 from the school’s smallest academic college. As reporter Tonia Moxley writes small doesn’t mean inconsequential. And what did outgoing university President Charles Steger have to say to the Class of 2013? Find out here.

Also check out the Storify Feed of Tech’s graduation. It includes tons of pictures from grads. It’s prettying interesting to see commencement through the eyes of those actually experiencing it.

Hollins University held its commencement on Sunday where the school graduated 217 students, including Isabel Booth, who has an inspiring story of the long journey to complete her college education.

Up next are graduation ceremonies at Washington and Lee University and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. They are May 23 and June 1 respectively.

And don’t forget to check out our graduations page, which includes links to stories and details on upcoming commencement ceremonies.

Thaxton Elementary School teacher Kathy Barton has been named Bedford County’s Teacher of the Year, according to a news release from the school system.

Barton, who has been at the school since 2008, is a fourth grade teacher. Her colleagues said she has the ability to deal with difficult situations by staying calm and keeping a sense of humor.

According to the press release, those who work with her also said she’s compassionate, dedicated and easy to talk to.

Thaxton Principal Kim Halterman said in a email Barton is an impressive educator.

“Her students cooperate well, share ideas, and discuss academic content in rich ways. She works very hard to reach every child in her class, and she teaches in innovative ways to improve student academic skills,” Halterman said.

Barton joins a crew of the area’s top educators. In recent weeks, local school systems have each named their teachers of the year. In case you need a recap here are a few links.

In Salem City Schools Tarri Gauck was named its top teacher. In Roanoke Daniel Kuehl was the Teacher of the Year and in Roanoke County Charlie Filer snagged the award. In Montgomery County Bradley Kraft was dubbed the system’s best educator.

One of Roanoke City Public Schools top leaders is retiring this summer after decades with the school system as a teacher, administrator and even as a student.

Submitted photo — Roanoke City Public Schools

Officials announced the retirement of Vella Wright, the school system’s assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, during Tuesday’s school board meeting. Hopefully you didn’t miss that nugget of important info in today’s story.

Wright has spent the last six years as assistant superintendent, according to the school system’s website.

Prior to that Wright served as executive director for human resources; director of research, testing and evaluation; mathematics supervisor and years as a math teacher and department chair at Patrick Henry High School.

She is also a graduate of the school system. Wright is an alumna of William Fleming High School.

Roanoke schools leaders lamented losing her and gave her a standing ovation Tuesday evening.

“Let me say this about Dr. Wright, it’s not only the school system, but the community, that has a lot of respect for you,” board member Annette Lewis said.

Board Chairman David Carson said Wright’s departure hits close to the heart.

“I hope you’re not going to go very far because we’ll miss you a great deal,” he said.

Have you work worked with Wright or perhaps been taught by her? How did she impact you? What role has she played in the school system? Thoughts? Comments? Stories?

In case you haven’t noticed graduation season is here and area commencement ceremonies are underway so let’s recap the stories of the Class of 2013 so far.

Virginia Western Community College and Jefferson College both held their graduations Friday.

A Virginia Western student’s achievement has earned her a full ride to Hollins University after financial strain put her dreams of a four-year school on hold two years ago. And at Jefferson an Army vet is graduating after studying health and exercise science, which is a new program of study at the school.

Radford University held its graduation Saturday. Here’s a touching piece on a Radford grad, who skipped her formal graduation for her doctoral degree in nursing practice, to instead be at her daughter’s graduation from  Liberty University. The two woman have an amazing story about perseverance through grief.

Virginia Tech will hold its graduation on Friday. So, what goes into planning the school’s commencement ceremony? Meet Dan Taylor the chairman of the commencement committee at Virginia Tech.

High school graduations are up next. Don’t forget we’re still looking for inspiring stories of high school graduates. Know someone? Comment here or email me.

Remember the U.S. News top high school rankings where local schools appeared and we talked how that list is different from the Washington Post list? Well, I said I’d be back with more information so here we go.

The Roanoke Times I File photo

Last month U.S. News and the Post released their lists (we’ll recap the local schools that made the Post list in a minute) and Monday Newsweek and the Daily Beast unveiled their own list of best schools.

By now you’re thinking: “huh?”

Stick with me.

There are three lists of the country’s top high schools. (Is that silly or constructive? Please let me know in the comments section.) Each list uses somewhat different methodology and the Newsweek/ Daily Beast list is the new(ish) kid on the block. According to a press release, this is only the second year it’s been compiled.

Putting the debate on the merits of such lists aside, it is kind of interesting to see how local schools vary from list to list.

So first the Post rankings and then onto the Newsweek/ Daily Beast.

The Post list, a longstanding tradition spearheaded by the paper’s education guru Jay Matthews, ranks high schools statewide and nationally.  The America’s Most Challenging High Schools list as it is known ranks schools through “an index formula.”

According to the Post’s website, the formula is a ratio: the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year. Schools are ranked in order of ratio. Get the full details here.

The following local schools made the cut:

– Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, which placed 33rd in Virginia and 397th nationwide.

– Blacksburg High School in Montgomery County, which placed 47th in Virginia and 672nd nationwide.

– Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke County, which placed 53nd in Virginia and 850th nationwide.

– Jefferson Forest High School in Bedford County, which placed 64th in Virginia and 1,058th nationwide.

– Faith Christian School, which placed 69th in Virginia and 1,163rd nationwide.

– Cave Spring High School in Roanoke County, which placed 77th in Virginia and 1,305th nationwide.

On to the Newsweek/Daily Beast list, which ranks the best 2,000 public high schools in the country. According to the Daily Beast website, the list looks at six components to identify schools that are most effective at making sure students graduate college-ready.

The rankings consider graduation rate, college acceptance rate, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests taken per student, average SAT/ACT scores, average Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education scores and percent of students enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education course. Check out the full methodology here.

The following local schools made the list:

– Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke County, which ranked 499th.

– Cave Spring High School in Roanoke County, which ranked 525th.

– Blacksburg High School in Montgomery County, which ranked 1,254th.

– Salem High School in Salem, which ranked 1,529th.

– Jefferson Forest High School in Bedford County, which ranked 1,593rd.

– Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, which ranked 1,868th.

So, what do you think?

Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent Rita Bishop has been named Virginia’s Superintendent of the Year, according to a news release from the school system.

The Charlottesville-based Virginia Association of School Superintendents named Bishop this year’s winner at its conference Tuesday evening.

Bishop was named the Region VI Superintendent of the Year in February, making it the third year in a row a Roanoke Valley superintendent has earned the distinction. She was chosen Tuesday as state’s top superintendent from a field of seven other regional winners.

Bishop, who has been at the helm of Roanoke schools since 2007, has been credited with improving the school system’s graduation rate and bolstering student achievement.

In a statement Bishop called the honor humbling.

“Any success that I have had is the direct result of the wonderful people I work with,” she said in the statement.

Bishop will now represent the state in the National Superintendent of the Year competition in February 2014.

Roanoke County Schools Superintendent Lorraine Lange was a finalist in the national competition in 2012. Lange was also named regional superintendent of the year and later Virginia in 2011.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas time.

Graduation season, duh. So I’d like to point your attention to our graduations page, which we’ll update all season long. It’s got details on area graduations and as they get underway we’ll link to stories and pictures.

In the meantime I’m looking for students to profile so if you know someone with an awesome story (think challenges or hurdles they’ve overcome to make it to graduation day) let me know. You can leave a comment here or email me.

I’d also like to hear your thoughts on grad time and what advice you might have for the Class of 2013. I’ve always liked this time of year because it’s pretty inspiring to see high school or college grads excited to begin a new chapter in their lives.

I’ve been to my fair share (and someone else’s) of graduations because as a reporter in Lynchburg we covered ALL the area’s graduations. Sure, the sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” got old, but that sense of accomplishment and new possibilities surrounding graduation never did.

What do you think? And don’t forget to visit our graduations page.

Faith Christian School senior Katherine Quiroz is among 1,000 students named a 2013 Gates Millennium Scholars, according to a news release from the school.

Among the 12 Virginia students selected for the honor Quiroz is the only one from the Roanoke Valley.

The scholarship program, which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, evaluates students on academic achievement, leadership and community service. According to the release, the scholarship is valued at $350,000 and will pay for Quiroz’s undergraduate education, and any studying abroad and graduate degrees.

“When I was in eighth grade and at another school, I begged my mother to send me to Faith Christian School.” Quiroz said in a statement. “I told my mom, who wasn’t working at the time, that if she paid for me to go to FCS that I would pay for college.”

Quiroz plans to attend Christopher Newport University in the fall and major in communications with minors in leadership and Spanish.  She also plans to earn a masters degree in teaching and eventually pursue her doctorate.

U.S. News has released its list of top high schools and several local schools made the cut, including schools from Roanoke, Craig and Bedford counties. The list, not to be confused with the Washington Post’s own list of the best of the best (more on that later), ranks schools nationally and statewide.

The methodology, which can be a bit dizzying, goes through three steps. The first looks at whether the school’s students are performing better than “statistically expected for the average student in the state.”

Schools that pass the first hurdle are then looked at to see if its least-advantaged students perform “better than average for similar students in the state.” And finally schools that make it through the first two rounds have their Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data scrutinized to look at college readiness.

Still with me?

These are the local schools to make the cut:

– Cave Spring High School in Roanoke County: 33rd in the state, 851st in the nation.

– Glenvar High School in Roanoke County: 43rd in the state, 1,778th in the nation.

– Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke County: 22nd in the state, 561st in the nation.

– Craig County High School in Craig County:  46th in the state, 1,971st in the nation.

– Jefferson Forest High School in Bedford County: 36th in the state, 1,001st in the nation.

(In case you’re wondering Cave Spring narrowly beat out my alma mater Mills E. Godwin High School, which placed 34th in the state.)

What do you think about school rankings?

I have often wondered how valuable it is to rank schools and whether the methodology definitively says how well schools are performing. School rankings are likely a piece of a school’s story.

Thoughts? Are such ratings a good measure of performance? Are other factors important to consider? Are you tired of rankings or maybe you’d like to see more? Are there local schools that you think should have made the list?