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The Montgomery County School Board meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. Here's the agenda.

Kipps Elementary School is hosting a "bear drive" to send teddy bears of support to schools on the Fort Hood Military Base.

The goal is to collect more than 300 bears — one for every classroom in the seven Fort Hood elementary schools — by Monday.

"We want to send the students of Fort Hood a bear as a source of comfort and a reminder that they have friends who know what they’re going through and care about them," teacher Allison Dinkel said in a news release.

Dinkel and Stephanie Johnston, both fourth-grade teachers, and their students came up with the idea. The Blacksburg school was hit hard by the April 16, 2007, shootings at Virginia Tech.

Kipps’ Bear Drive builds on a project started by students from Oklahoma City who sent "care bears" to a school in Washington, D.C., after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Washington school then sent a large box of stuffed bears to Kipps students after the Tech shootings.

Anyone interested in helping out with the bear drive should contact the school at 951-5760.

The board meets at 6 p.m. Here's the agenda.

A rematch between Giles and Radford highlights the first round of the high school football playoffs that begin on Friday. Other local teams set to play are Christiansburg and Narrows.

Eastern Montgomery, with its 8-2 record, was awarded a first-round bye.

For full slate of playoff action, click here.

Region C, Division 1
No. 6 Narrows (3-7) at No. 3 Bath County (6-4)
No. 5 Rural Retreat (3-7) at No. 4 Covington (6-4)
No. 1 Holston (9-1) and No. 2 Eastern Montgomery (8-2) have Week 1 byes

Region C, Division 2
No. 6 James River (5-5) at Fort Chiswell (9-1)
No. 5 Giles (6-4) at Radford (7-3)
No. 1 George Wythe (7-3) and No. 2 Chilhowie (7-3) have Week 1 byes

Region IV, Division 4
No. 6 Bassett (3-7) at No. 3 Christiansburg (7-3)
No. 5 Magna Vista (6-4) at No. 4 Carroll County (6-4)
No. 1 Salem (10-0) at No. 2 Hidden Valley (7-3) have Week 1 byes

Both teams will advance to playoffs next week. Learn more here.

The Blue Demons head to Tunstall on Monday for a playoff match. Read more here.

Both teams posted dominating performances Thursday in Botetourt County. Learn more here.

The Radford School Board meets tonight at 6 p.m. Here's the agenda.

The Montgomery County Education Association today announced its endorsements in local elections.

The association's education committee endorses Phyllis Albritton, District A, for the school board and Annette Perkins for the Board of Supervisors.

The association represents teachers and staff in the Montgomery County school system.

You can see Sunday's Current for a closer look at the school board candidates.

Here's the complete announcement.
The Montgomery County Education Association Political Action Committee (MCEAPAC)
has voted to recommend Phyllis Albritton for re-election to the Montgomery County
School Board and Annette Perkins for re-election to the Board of Supervisors. Both
candidates represent District A which includes a portion of the Town of Blacksburg and the
Northeast corner of the county.
The Educator PAC chose not to make any recommendation for candidates running in
either District C or D.
“Both Albritton and Perkins have lifelong records of service to children and public
education,” said MCEA President, Erin Bull. “Moreover,” Bull continued, “as they have done
the challenging work of elected leaders on the School Board and the Board of Supervisors,
their determination always to do what is best for school children and the professionals who
work with them has never waivered.

While there are also two candidates running for the School Board Seat in District D,
MCEA PAC chose not to make a recommendation in that race. In District D Lenny Session is
challenging incumbent Jamie Bond. “We had long conversations with both District D School
Board candidates,” said Karen Trear, MCEA-PAC Chairperson. “Both had much to offer.
Ms. Bond is a very enthusiastic person and demonstrates a far better grasp of the position than
she did four years ago. Mr. Session is very analytical and posseses a savvy understanding of
how the school board should function. In the end we decided that we could support
whomever the voters of District D elected."

And how does that compare to others around the state?

We have the latest stats on the Datasphere, our site for searchable data. You can find the graduation rates here.