On Tuesday, President Barack Obama will deliver a back-to-school address to the nation's students about taking responsibility for their success in school.
But that's not sitting well with some people in central Virginia.
School officials in Powhatan County have opted not to broadcast the speech, said Debbie M. Jones, vice chairwoman of the county's School Board. She referred more specific questions to Superintendent Margaret S. Meara, but attempts to reach her yesterday were unsuccessful.
In Henrico County, staff members at the school central office have fielded more than a dozen telephone complaints about the district's plan to show the Obama address, as well as several more by e-mail and an unknown number at individual schools, spokesman Mychael Dickerson said.
He said the county would make the speech available but won't require any school to show it or any student to watch it.
"We view this as a message from the president in his role as the president of the United States, not as a political speech," Dickerson said. "But out of respect to our parents, students can opt out."
He said he had sent two e-mails to county principals advising them on how to handle calls and what their options would be for showing the speech.
"Please be aware of parental requests for students to opt out of any viewing of this presentation from the president of the United States and plan accordingly for their supervision," one of the notes said.
In Chesterfield County, Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome and his top staff are meeting today to formulate a plan, spokesman Shawn Smith said.
Smith said the county had received numerous phone calls about the speech, with callers voicing objections to and support of Obama's address.
Felicia Cosby, spokeswoman for Richmond schools, said yesterday afternoon that the school system still was deciding how best to broadcast the speech but that it would be available. She said students would be allowed to opt out of watching it.
City parents will be notified of the speech -- and the fact that viewing is optional -- via an automated phone message.
Virginia Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle said the department sent a note to school divisions yesterday after receiving some calls about whether students are required to watch Tuesday's broadcast.
The message indicated the decision to air the address was a matter to be decided by principals and teachers, and that teachers were free to develop their own follow-up classroom activities from the speech.
It also said "schools that choose to participate in the webcast are encouraged to make reasonable accommodations for students whose parents may object to the viewing of the speech by their children during the school day."
Hanover County schools spokewoman Dale Theakston said the division will allow students to opt out of watching the address. She said parents need to call their child's principal to ask for other accommodations.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke is scheduled to appear for the viewing at a Richmond school, Cosby said. Details of that visit are pending, she said.
Obama will address students at Arlington County's Wakefield High School at noon. The speech will be broadcast live on the White House Web site and on C-SPAN; most local districts plan to show it at 1 p.m. The White House also will make available resources for discussing the speech.
Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or zreid@timesdispatch.com.
Staff writers Holly Prestidge and Jeremy Slayton contributed to this report.
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