The Petersburg school system is entering territory not seen by any other in Virginia. Starting this month, Petersburg will begin requesting proposals to evaluate for a new, independently managed middle school program for the 2009-10 school year, Superintendent James M. Victory said last week at a Petersburg School Board meeting. Although the city’s schools made gains on Standards of Learning test scores, he said, they have “not met the benchmarks set forth in the memorandum of understanding” with the Virginia Board of Education in 2006.

This daily column features short news items from the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. On Mondays, we run at least one item from each of the localities. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at Amelia Work has begun on the visitors center at Amelia County’s Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park. The $1.1 million center is expected to be completed next summer.

Hopewell Grant’s Headquarters at City Point in Petersburg National Battlefield will welcome visitors to observe an archaeological survey starting this weekend as part of Virginia Archaeology Month. Students from the College of William and Mary will conduct test excavations of the park grounds surrounding Appomattox Manor from Saturday through Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional excavation may take place Oct. 18. For details, call (804) 458-9504 or visit the City Point Archaeological Survey online

PETERSBURG—Police are investigating a home invasion Sunday night in the 700 block of East Wythe Street. Two masked intruders forced their way into the home about 11 p.m. and demanded money from three victims, police said. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Petersburg/Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at (804) 861-1212.

Getting to Petersburg football practice in the afternoon is a lonely drive. Grass grows ankle high around empty driveways. Salons have hand-painted signs advertising over dark windows. No cars are parked at the gas pumps. Streets are blocked off in the middle of the day, but no one is working on them. Making it to the football field isn’t necessarily easy for the kids that live there, either. The dropout rate for Petersburg High School is more than four times the state average. Of those who stay in school, 60 percent qualified for free or reduced-price lunch this year.

Richmond Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, 14 W. Duval St., will hold a historic-preservation seminar on Monday. The seminar will focus on the importance of preserving black heritage and will be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The seminar will include a panel discussion, lunch and a walking tour of Jackson Ward in downtown Richmond. The cost of the seminar is $35, and it is open to the public. To register, call APVA, (804) 648-1889, or the church, (804) 648-7511.

This daily column features short news items from the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. On Mondays, we run at least one item from each of the localities.

The Petersburg school system’s latest failure to meet state education goals will result in a new approach to middle school for the troubled system. The Virginia Board of Education has requested that Petersburg move forward with a plan to provide an independently managed middle school program for the 2009-10 school year, as well as report quarterly to the state board with data on student achievement and teacher quality.

The Petersburg school district and Superintendent James M. Victory need some wins—and quickly. The school district is being left behind by its peers statewide. Once again, Petersburg has the only five schools in Virginia denied accreditation. In a year in which 95 percent of Virginia’s public schools achieved full accreditation, Petersburg lost ground. Only one of its schools—Robert E. Lee Elementary—achieved full accreditation.

In a year in which a record 95 percent of Virginia’s public schools achieved full accreditation, Petersburg City Public Schools took a step backward. Only one of its schools achieved full accreditation this year, compared with two last year. Among the results: