Central Virginia Region

The Balance Project - Central Virginia Region

A Community of The Balance Project
Richmond, VA

Our Mission

The Balance Project – Central Virginia Region empowers families and communities to cultivate healthier relationships with technology by aligning around shared values and intentional practices. Through collective action, we promote environments where connection, mental well-being, and real-life engagement thrive in balance with the digital world.

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Upcoming Events

Featured
Virtual

The Balance Project | Central Virginia Region

The Digital Delusion: A Statewide Book Discussion Series

November 02, 2026
7:30 PM EST - 8:30 PM EST
Ed Tech
Join the Conversation A free statewide community conversation about The Digital Delusion A teacher watches a class disappear into their Chromebooks and wonders whether the lesson would have landed better on paper. A parent reads a screen-time report from the school portal and has no idea what to do with it. Those two people should be talking to each other. That's what this is. This fall, The Balance Project- Central Virginia is hosting a six-part community conversation around Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath's The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning — and How to Help Them Thrive Again. We read about fifty pages every two weeks, meet on Zoom for an hour, and talk it through. On January 25, Dr. Horvath joins us live to answer the questions we've gathered all fall. It's free, it's open to anyone in Virginia, and you don't need to have made up your mind about technology in schools to belong here. The best conversations happen when people who see things differently actually sit down and talk it out. If you teach, or lead a school, you'll leave with: - Language for what you've been noticing: the research behind why a room goes quiet and unproductive the moment the laptops open - A clear read on what the evidence actually supports, so when a purchase or a mandate comes down you can respond with something sturdier than a hunch - Colleagues in other divisions working through the same thing. This is a statewide room, not a building-level gripe session - An hour with a Harvard-trained learning scientist who spent years teaching If you're a parent, you'll leave with: - A grounded sense of what screens are doing to learning: separate from the screen-time panic, and separate from the marketing - Specific questions to bring to your teacher, your principal, or your school board, and the confidence that they're the right ones - A much clearer picture of what teachers are actually working with, which changes how those conversations go - Company. 4,041 Virginians have signed our petitions on this. You are not the only one asking. The details - Six Monday evenings, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., on Zoom October 19 · November 2 · November 16 · December 7 · January 11 · January 25 - Free and open to anyone in Virginia - About fifty pages every two weeks — and come even if you didn't finish - You will need to obtain your own copy of the book. - Live only, never recorded, so people can say what they actually think - Register once; the same link works for all six evenings Register by October 5 and the reading schedule reaches you in time to start. After that you're still welcome — you'll just be reading a little faster.
In-Person

The Balance Project | Central Virginia Region

Powhatan County School Board Meeting

November 10, 2026
6:00 PM EST - 8:00 PM EST
Ed Tech
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS - REGULATION In accordance with School Board Policies BDDH and KD, any resident of Powhatan County or PCPS staff member may address the board during public comment. The Board Chair will call speakers who have signed up for the podium. Speakers must stay at the podium and wait to be recognized by the Chair. Each individual will have three minutes, and delegations will have five minutes to provide their comments. Please respect this time limitation so others may address the board, and note no one may sign up to speak and then relinquish their speaking time to another or previous speaker. A maximum of thirty minutes will be designated for public comment this evening. Please address your comments to the board as a whole, not individual board members, the audience, or the staff. Please begin by stating your name and district. The board requests that all speakers maintain an environment that promotes listening and respect. The board will not respond to or address issues raised by speakers during public comment, and speakers are reminded that the Board Chair is authorized to stop or remove any speaker who uses vulgar, disruptive, or threatening language. Your acceptance and adherence to these guidelines will be greatly appreciated. All speakers who wish to participate must sign up before the Public Comment period begins, providing their name and address. Speakers will be announced by the Board Chair to approach the podium to speak, and only those individuals who have signed up in advance will be able to approach the podium. If speakers have handouts or information for the Board, please give these to the School Board Clerk before approaching the podium. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS Members of the community, including students enrolled in the division, are invited and encouraged to attend meetings of the Powhatan County School Board to observe its deliberations. Any resident of Powhatan County or employee of Powhatan County Public Schools may address the School Board on matters related to Powhatan County Public Schools at any regular meeting. Persons wishing to address the School Board are requested to contact the superintendent, the School Board clerk, or their designee for placement on the agenda. The chair is responsible for the orderly conduct of the meeting and collaborates with the other School Board Members & the Superintendent to the subjects being presented and the length of time allocated for such presentation. Upon recognition by the chair, the speaker shall address the chair. If, at the conclusion of the speaker's remarks, any member of the School Board desires further information, the member addresses the speaker only with the permission of the chair. No one is allowed to make additional presentations until everyone who wishes to speak has an opportunity to make an initial presentation.
In-Person

The Balance Project | Central Virginia Region

Chesterfield County School Board Meeting

November 10, 2026
6:30 PM EST - 8:30 PM EST
Ed Tech
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS The School Board encourages public participation at regular meetings. The order of business of any regular meeting shall include opportunities for the public to address the School Board as provided in School Board Policy 1110. Please refer to the policy for specific procedures for Public Hearings and the Public Comment portion of the agenda. Following is the procedure by which the public may speak before the School Board: Public Hearings: Persons wishing to speak at scheduled public hearings are required to notify the School Board Clerk’s Office by 2:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Individuals shall limit their comments to four minutes. Individuals may not yield their time to other speakers. The Chair may further limit the time allotted to speakers in order to ensure the orderly conduct of the meeting and the conclusion of the meeting at a reasonable time. Upon recognition by the chair, the speaker shall address the chair and if, at the conclusion of their remarks, any member of the School Board desires further information, the member will address the speaker only with the permission of the chair. Speakers shall limit their comments by addressing only that which is the subject of the public hearing. Public Comment Period: Persons who have requested to offer comment on subjects germane to the services or policies of Chesterfield County Public Schools not a subject for a scheduled public hearing will be heard during the specified public comment period of the meeting. Public comment will be conducted under the agenda topic "Public Comment" at each regular School Board meeting at such time as the School Board determines in its meeting agenda development. Persons wishing to speak are asked to notify the Clerk by 2:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting and to provide the specific subject of the schools-related comments to be offered. Individuals shall limit their comments to four minutes. Individuals may not yield their time to other speakers. The Chair may further limit the time allotted to speakers and the number of speakers in order to ensure the orderly conduct of the meeting and the conclusion of the meeting at a reasonable time. When limiting the number of speakers, the Chair shall give priority to those who did not speak during the public comment period of the immediately previous meeting. Citizens are encouraged to submit their written comments via the online form found at https://tinyurl.com/CCPS101326WrittenComment. Comments submitted via the online form will be distributed to the Board prior to the start of the meeting and included as an addendum to the meeting minutes. Citizens wishing to address the Board in person during the public comment period are asked to contact the Clerk's office no later than 2:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting or via the form at https://tinyurl.com/CCPS101326InPersonSignUp. Citizens wishing to address the Board in person during the public comment period who require an accommodation due to a disability, please note this when contacting the Clerk's Office as well. The online comment form will also close at 2:00 p.m. The work session and business meeting will be broadcast via live stream at http://chesterfieldschoolsva.swagit.com/live/ and via television on Comcast Channel 98 and Verizon Channel 28. Call 804-348-8011 or email Elke_Namola@ccpsnet.net for more information.

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Central Virginia Region

Petition for Intentional Technology Use in Powhatan County Public Schools

Our kids spend a big part of the school day on screens, and most districts don't have clear rules on how much is too much or how young is too young. This petition asks our school board for eight specific changes, including no devices for the youngest students, screen-time limits by grade, YouTube and games blocked on school laptops, and a way for parents to see what their child is doing and opt out. Henrico County worked through these same eight asks and adopted screen-time limits in August. The same eight asks are going to school boards across the state and to legislators in Virginia ahead of the January General Assembly session. Every name here asks for guidance at a district level, and also adds another voice supporting our kids in our state level advocacy efforts. Signing takes a couple of minutes. If you can, come to a board meeting too. The more we speak out, the more the issue comes to the forefront. Meeting times and how to sign up to speak are below. Your Powhatan County school board BOARD MEMBERS, MEETING DATES, AND HOW TO SPEAK https://www.powhatan.k12.va.us/o/pcps/page/school-board AGENDAS https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/powhatan/Board.nsf/Public WATCH MEETINGS https://www.youtube.com/@powhatancountypublicschool4639

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Ed Tech
Community Campaign
Join your neighbors in creating change

Central Virginia Region

Petition for Intentional Technology Use in Hanover County Public Schools

Our kids spend a big part of the school day on screens, and most districts don't have clear rules on how much is too much or how young is too young. This petition asks our school board for eight specific changes, including no devices for the youngest students, screen-time limits by grade, YouTube and games blocked on school laptops, and a way for parents to see what their child is doing and opt out. Henrico County worked through these same eight asks and adopted screen-time limits in August. The same eight asks are going to school boards across the state and to legislators in Virginia ahead of the January General Assembly session. Every name here asks for guidance at a district level, and also adds another voice supporting our kids in our state level advocacy efforts. Signing takes a couple of minutes. If you can, come to a board meeting too. The more we speak out, the more the issue comes to the forefront. Meeting times and how to sign up to speak are below. Your Hanover County school board Board members, meeting dates, and how to speak https://www.hcps.us/about_us/school_board Agendas https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/hcpsva/Board.nsf/Public

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