BLACKSTONE, Va. – The Virginia National Guard hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 20 for the Blackstone STARBASE Academy.
STARBASE is a Department of Defense program that exposes young people to technological environments and positive civilian and military role models by providing 25 hours of hands-on instruction and activities in science, technology, engineering and math that meet or exceed national standards.
During the ceremony, Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the adjutant general of Virginia, and Nikole Johnson, the Blackstone STARBASE Academy director, explained the impact the program is expected to have on students in the community. Retired Col. Everton Nevers, the Virginia Department of Military Affairs chief of staff, joined them for the groundbreaking.
“We are very excited to break ground on the new STARBASE Academy here in Blackstone, and it demonstrates the continued commitment of the Virginia National Guard and Department of Defense in the Southside Community,” Ring said.
The academy will partner with public and private schools to serve students in Blackstone, Nottoway, Lunenburg, Brunswick, Amelia, Dinwiddie and Prince Edward beginning early next year.
“This is such an exciting time for Blackstone and the surrounding community to be establishing a STARBASE program right here in Southside Virginia,” Johnson said. “STARBASE is a premier Department of Defense program that is designed to engage and inspire our students to pursue a future in STEM.”
Since becoming director, she has visited two other STARBASE locations.
“I cannot wait to bring that same hands-on, problem-based learning to Southside Virginia,” she said. “The excitement and curiosity that the students displayed was amazing. You can really see that light, that spark, that point in time when students actually see the purpose for their own education.”
Johnson said the team is very excited to bring these learning experiences to this community.
“After spending 20 years working in the local public school system, our students need to be able to see how their learning connects to the real world, the world beyond the walls of their classroom and say, “Wow, I can do that,’ or, ‘That’s what I want to do when I grow up,’” Johnson said.
“Our target group is fifth grade, the best time to inspire students as they make the transition from elementary school to middle and high school,” she said. “We are enabling our students to see the world beyond Southside Virginia. It is one thing for a teacher to tell our students to have dreams and aspirations, but eye-opening when we can show them what that could look like.”
Johnson thanked the Department of Defense and the Virginia National Guard for investing in the community’s students and their future.
The VNG launched Winchester STARBASE Academy in 2012. More than 10,000 students have taken part in that program.
This year, Winchester STARBASE held four weeks of summer camp for 80 sixth graders in Winchester, led an Advanced STARBASE program with 138 high school Marine JROTC cadets at Randolph-Macon Academy, provided activities for over 100 children of National Guard Soldiers and Airmen at the National Guard Youth Camp, and held a summer camp at the Handley Regional Library for 15 students.
Winchester STARBASE Academy is serving 63 classes of students for the 2024-2025 school year from 13 public schools and four private schools. So far this year, 549 students have gone through their 5-day program.