Dr. Jaclyn Walker 4 Portsmouth School Board

08/31/2026

✨ Motivation Monday! ✨

Yesterday, The MAN Foundation hosted our annual Fathers Forward Back-to-School Summer Fest for a selected group of fathers and their children inside the Portsmouth City Jail.

The event focused on family reunification, strengthening father-child bonds, and creating meaningful memories before the new school year. 💙

📺 Check out the highlights from 13News Now!

I would also like to recognize and thank everyone who participated. I will share a bigger appreciation post recognizing everyone once we receive our professional pictures.

A Portsmouth back-to-school event reunited incarcerated fathers with their children, reinforcing family bonds and the importance of parenting.

08/28/2026

🎒🔍 Find-the-Board Friday: We Were Outside! 🔍🎒

On Sunday, the Honorable Lakeesha Klu Atkinson, a.k.a. School Board Klu, and I, a.k.a. School Board Barbie, brought a little Where’s Waldo? fun to Portsmouth with our Catch the Board School-Supply Tour!

In partnership with The MAN Foundation, Believe Pray Overcome, and sponsor Portsmouth United, we distributed book bags and school supplies in four Portsmouth communities: Churchland, Southside, Cradock, and Cavalier Manor!

A special shout-out to Velvet Smith, Tiffany Brooks, Markie Riddick, Sergio Neal/Sergio Neal, Jen T Lee and Endia Hatcher for volunteering and helping us make the day a success. We also thank every parent and family who followed the clues, found us, and came out to get school supplies!

We plan to do it again in the middle of the school year to help families replenish the supplies that always seem to disappear as the year goes on because the pencils may vanish, but our commitment to Portsmouth’s children will not! ✏️📚

We still have a few book bags available, so please reach out if your child needs one!

Shout out to Latricia Calloway for the pictures.

08/25/2026

First Day of School Monday! 📚✏️🍎

This marks my 23rd school year as an educator and my third year serving as a School Board member. However, long before I became an elected official, I was actively serving in the community and carrying out God’s mission.

Showing up has never been about holding a title or being an elected official. It is about being a little girl from Portsmouth who grew up wanting to help, encourage, and support others.

Early this morning, before starting my full-time job, I stopped by Brighton Elementary School to welcome our young scholars and wish them an excellent school year!

School Board Barbie will always be standing on the sidelines—cheering for our students, supporting our educators, and serving the Portsmouth community I love! 💕📚

Here’s to an excellent and successful school year!

08/23/2026

🚨 HAPPENING TODAY! 🚨

All right, today’s the day! Join School Board Klu and School Board Barbie for our “Catch the Board” Scavenger Hunt—Where’s Waldo: School Supply Edition! 🎒📚✏️

Can you find us at all four stops?

🔍 11:00 a.m. — Somewhere in Churchland
🔍 12:30 p.m. — Somewhere on the Southside
🔍 2:00 p.m. — Somewhere in Cradock
🔍 3:30 p.m. — Somewhere in Cavalier Manor

Follow the clues, find School Board Klu and School Board Barbie, and grab school supplies, books, healthy snacks, and giveaways while supplies last!

Let the hunt begin! Where will we pop up first? 👀

08/22/2026

📍 CAN YOU FIND US? 📍

Tomorrow – Catch the Board Tour with School Board Klu and School Board Barbie! 💖

Sponsored by the The MAN Foundation, Believe Pray Overcome, and Portsmouth United.

Here are a few clues about where we’ll be:
(Watch the video)

🎃 11:00 a.m. – Think Halloween colors!
🏘️ 12:30 p.m. – Think Boldens!
⚓ 2:00 p.m. – Follow the anchor!
🧡💙 3:30 p.m. – Think UVA’s mascot!

Can you solve the clues and find us?

Stop by for school supplies, healthy snacks, books, giveaways, and lots of fun! We can’t wait to see you! 🎒📚🍎🎁

08/20/2026

📚 Teaching and Training Thursday! 📚

Dr. Velvet Smith and I have built a strong reputation for providing innovative, creative, and interactive professional development. From serving as special education teachers to reading supervisors for Portsmouth Public Schools, teaching and training have always been important parts of who we are and it is a reputation we are proud to uphold!

Today, Dr. Smith serves as the Executive Director of Horizons Hampton Roads. I serve as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for 18 private day schools across Virginia, as well as an elected member of the Portsmouth City School Board.

Even in our current roles, we were honored to be invited back to provide professional development extremely early in the morning during Portsmouth Public Schools’ pre-service week(before our actual job work day began). Of course, we said yes because we absolutely love teaching, training, and supporting educators!

We presented:

🎤 PUSH IT!
Effective & Efficient Models for Collaborative Elementary Instruction

Our session gave educators practical and engaging strategies for co-planning, co-teaching, and taking collaborative instruction to the next level.

Through our business, Glamour Prestige, we also provide customized professional development and training for schools, businesses, churches, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. Be sure to check us out there as well!

We’re still teaching, training, and PUSHING people and organizations to the next level! 💪🏾🍎📖

08/18/2026

Teaching and Traveling Tuesday: I traveled all last week to do one of my favorite parts of my job, which is professional development! 🚀📚

As you know, my professional development sessions always have a theme! This week, I facilitated three exciting trainings at four schools:

🌌 A Galaxy of Resources (Midlothian)—a space-themed exploration of the many instructional resources available to support our teachers and students.

⭐ Twinkle, Twinkle, Little STAR: Let the Data Show Where Your Students Are (Fredericksburg)—a deeper look at understanding and using STAR Reading, STAR Math, and STAR Early Literacy assessment data.

🦁 The Reading Safari (Petersburg & Northern Neck)—a jungle-themed training focused on strategies for supporting students with disabilities in private day schools as they develop essential reading skills.

As you can see, everyone had a great time learning, collaborating, and engaging in the activities! A special shout-out to all of my Time to Climb winners! 🏆

Professional development is about building knowledge, strengthening instructional practices, and making learning meaningful and fun! I cannot wait to do it all again next week! 💫

08/14/2026

🎉 Fun Friday with The MAN Foundation! 🎉

Last Friday, The MAN Foundation had the opportunity to participate in a Friday Community Cares Day at London Oaks. We partnered with Horizons Hampton Roads to provide a fun and memorable experience for youth and their families.

During our interactive photo activity, participants answered a question on a whiteboard, posed for a picture with their response, and decorated their own picture frames. They added magnets to the backs of their frames so they could proudly display them on their refrigerators at home. Each participant also received a positive affirmation card and a Snack Attack bag!

The activity was a huge hit, and the youth truly enjoyed expressing themselves, taking pictures, and creating special keepsakes to take home. Thank you to Horizon Hampton Roads for partnering with us to make this wonderful experience possible! ❤️

08/04/2026

🚐👀 Catch the Board is Coming! 👀🚐

The countdown is on for our Catch the Board: Back-to-School Community Scavenger Hunt! 🎒📚

Join The Honorable Lakeesha "Klu" Atkinson and The Honorable Dr. Jaclyn Walker 4 Portsmouth School as we travel across Portsmouth bringing school supplies, books, giveaways, and community resources to families while giving you the opportunity to meet 2 of your School Board members!

We’re keeping a few surprises under wraps, but don’t worry—we’ll be releasing a video in the coming weeks with more information, clues, and everything you need to know before the big day!

Until then…
🩷 Mark your calendar: Sunday, August 23, 2026
🚐 Get ready to find the vans
🧩 Follow the clues
🎒 Fill your backpack
🤝 Meet 2 of your School Board members

Stay tuned… the clues are coming soon! 😉🎉

Sponsored by: Believe Pray Overcome, The MAN Foundation & Portsmouth United