MARIA HOWARDFitness It’s never too early to start an exercise program. Or at least that’s the premise for all these gyms, mobile tumbling programs and other workout options for preschoolers that have cropped up during the past several years. The more, the better, in my opinion. Preschoolers, just like older kids, tend to watch more TV and play more computer and video games than previous generations.

By The Associated Press Vice President Dick Cheney is visiting Virginia Military Institute this morning to speak to cadets. His visit comes during the school’s military appreciation day. Cheney will address the Corps of Cadets following a parade on the grounds of the state school. VMI’s superintendent, General J.H. Binford Peay III, says the visit by a senior administration official will be a special memory for the cadets. More than half of them go into military service.

Cosmonauts and borscht weren’t necessarily on the minds of two Henrico County students when they began work on biology projects during last school year. But last month, Suraj Mishra and Angela Menna, students at Mills Godwin High School’s Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology, were able to parlay those projects into a trip to Russia.

Richmond’s new School Board has two months to get ready for three busy weeks. When the board is officially seated Jan. 5, the clock will start ticking on the first item of immediate importance: hiring a superintendent. By state law, the board has 180 days to replace former chief Deborah Jewell-Sherman. She left July 31, meaning the new board will have only 22 days left to hire her replacement by Jan. 27.

Virginia parents will pay more for a state guarantee of college tuition for their children. The price of a pre-paid tuition contract will rise 10.3 percent on Dec. 1 when the state offers parents a new chance at enrolling in a program that guards against rising tuition rates and falling investments. Those forces—a stock market that has hammered investments and tuition increases at state colleges and universities that have outpaced expectations—have prompted the Virginia College Savings Plan to raise prices for pre-paid contracts to bolster the program’s diminished reserve fund.

Eight years after schools in Henrico County began a laptop initiative that provides a computer to each middle and high school student, some parents still have questions. At the second of three community forums this week, 13 parents came to Douglas Freeman High School last night to comment on their experiences, pose questions to Henrico County Public Schools staff and board members and offer suggestions for the future of the program. Ten attended a similar program Monday at Deep Run High School.

The chairman of the state House Appropriations Committee has stepped up pressure on Virginia Commonwealth University to hold former Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe accountable for the degree he received improperly. In a letter to VCU Rector Thomas Rosenthal, Del. Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford, spelled out three options for Monroe, now police chief of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, N.C.

Henrico County’s Evergreen Packaging shut down in May, and 51-year-old Preston Clark has been looking for a job ever since. “Everywhere I go, they ask for a high school diploma or GED,“ he said. That forced the Chester resident to begin taking General Educational Development classes in June, and he found he’s hardly alone. Chesterfield County’s Adult Continuing Education program has seen tremendous growth in recent years, said Deborah Hinton, program administrator. About 6,000 people have enrolled in GED, work-force, enrichment and English as a second language classes this year, compared with 3,300 two years ago, she said.

The Virginia Board of Education will receive comments on proposed changes to graduation requirements at five public hearings on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m., in the following locations: Alexandria: Thomas A. Edison High School, 5801 Franconia Rd. Chesapeake: Jolliff Middle School, 1021 Jolliff Rd. Highland Springs:Highland Springs High School, 15 S.

With headlines about home foreclosures, growing numbers of layoffs, rising college costs, increased use of debt, and uncertainty about the future of Social Security, few would argue that there is not a need for greater attention to financial literacy in our schools. Hand in glove with this is the need to learn basic economic principles and a framework for making choices—a skill that applies universally to individuals, businesses, and government. It is difficult to succeed in our economy without a good understanding of the factors that drive it, how they change over time, and what one can do to recognize those changes and adjust accordingly.

Sen. Barack Obama returns to Virginia Tuesday to hold a rally at James Madison University in Harrisonburg. For the event at the convocation center, doors open at 3:15 p.m. The program starts at 5:15. It will mark Obama’s ninth trip to Virginia since the end of the primary campaign. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but the campaign is recommending that attendees RSVP by visiting www.VA.barackobama.com.

Virginia Commonwealth University is celebrating its 40th birthday today with a bash at Monroe Park. It’s part of the “Fortieth and Forward” week on campus. VCU, now the state’s largest university, was born in 1968 through a merger of Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia. Today at Monroe Park party-goers enjoyed a range of activities, listened to music and took in the urban lifestyle of the growing campus.

The Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte, N.C., wants an investigation into Police Chief Rodney Monroe’s diploma from Virginia Commonwealth University. The Charlotte Observer reports this morning that the FOP believes the chief’s integrity is at stake over the degree. VCU has come under fire for preferential treatment in awarding the degree to Monroe. The chief, who had taken classes online from the University of Phoenix, received six credit hours from VCU instead of the 30 required under accreditation standards for his degree. He also fell short in other areas, according to a recent study by the state watchdog group, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Tailgating at the Yellow Jackets’ football game today. Segway tours of campus, alumni reunions and a black-tie gala. “It’s a great weekend,“ said Randolph-Macon College President Robert Lindgren. But homecoming festivities are not the only cause to celebrate on the Ashland campus. At the gala last night, the college announced it has received $7.5 million in gifts that will help build two new dormitories, a science building and permanent stands for the football field.

“For Africa,“ a benefit that raised about $50,000 to aid children in Ghana, yesterday received Virginia Commonwealth University’s first Currents of Change award. The award, announced during a university celebration at the Siegel Center, will become an annual honor to pay tribute to VCU’s legacy of community involvement, VCU President Eugene P. Trani said.