Lacey Spring Elementary School is a Rockingham County Public School that serves Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade students. About 350 students are enrolled this year!

We believe that education is a joint effort between parents, the staff at Lacey Spring, and the community. We appreciate all the parents, students, and volunteers that come to help us educate our children. Enter the office through the front door where you will sign in and receive a visitor’s tag to wear while you are in our school.

8621 North Valley Pike
Harrisonburg, VA 22802

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August 1, 2024

Greetings from Lacey Spring Elementary School.  I hope this summer has been enjoyable for you and your family. For the past several months, the 3 custodians have spent time preparing the classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, and gym for students to enjoy when they return to school. 

New Assistant Principal

My name is Paul De La Garza. I live in Grottoes, VA with my wife Mary Jo, and we have 3 children, Brandon, Brittany and Brianna. I was born in Alice, Texas, and I come from a large family (14  brothers and sisters). I graduated from Hesston College in KS, Eastern Mennonite College in VA, and James Madison University. My studies included Liberal Arts, Social Studies, Language, Educational Leadership, and Administration. Served at Spotswood High School, Elkton Middle and Cub Run Elementary. 

What We’ve Been Up To This Summer?

Although Mr De La Garza, Mrs. Pence, Mrs. Joiner, and I are not working on the cleaning and beautification of the building, we are taking care of other matters related to Back to School:  registering new students, updating Powerschool records, getting all handbooks ready, processing purchase orders, ordering school supplies, and so much more.

Staff Members Not Returning Next Year

Carolyn Dove (secretary), Rachel Staton (tech assistant), Kathy Keith (SPED assistant), Nancy McDorman (cafeteria monitor), and Phil Satolli - all of these wonderful folks have retired.  We wish them all the best.

Joseph Arbaugh (art teacher) will be moving to the middle school level, and Sharon Churchill (1st grade assistant) will be taking a year away from her role at school.  We hope to have her back as a substitute teacher and/or a tutor.

New Staff at Lacey Spring

Paul DeLaGarza - assistant principal, Cassie Bailey - reading specialist, Tynia Crider - cafeteria worker, ClayHarris - halftime PE teacher, Hannah Deavers - SPED assistant, Emma Reger - art teacher, Lauren Arbogast - preschool teacher, Ashby Harpine - LETRS assistant, Gracie McClure - kindergarten teacher, Ashley Banach - kindergarten assistant, Jessica Pultz - 1st grade assistant, Katelyn Shiflet - 1st grade assistant, Allison Williams - 1st grade teacher, Raegan Johnson - 3rd grade teacher, Amanda Whitman - 4th grade teacher, Brooke Simmers - 5th grade teacher, Kayla Ruff - 5th grade teacher, Kelly Gingerich - EL teacher, Kevin Quesenberry - bus driver, Chris Reisch - bus driver, Caden Lundquist - speech teacher, Virginia Moyers - Cafeteria Monitor, SRO - TBD

Staff Changes In Our School

Jill Pence - from preschool assistant to school administrative secretary, Alexis Showalter - from kindergarten assistant to preschool assistant, Amanda Siler - from 5th grade teacher to kindergarten teacher, Katie Landes - from preschool teacher to 1st grade teacher, Andy Sams - from Workforce Design assistant to EL teacher, Jennifer Swartzentruber - from kindergarten teacher to 2nd grade teacher.

School T-shirts

Our theme for this school year is “No One Is Alone - Stick Together”.  This message emerged as a result of our student designed t-shirt by a former 4th grade student.  Your child will receive one of these t-shirts at the beginning of the school year. THESE WILL BE PROVIDED BY GENEROUS DONATIONS FROM LOCAL COMMUNITY BUSINESSES AND LACEY SPRING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

NEW START AND END TIMES THIS YEAR

Our school day begins at 8:15 am and ends at 3:05 pm.  Be sure to have your child at school on time every day.  Tardies to school (after 8:15 a.m.), early dismissals, and absences from school truly do impact students’ continuity of learning and progress therein. If your child will be absent from school, contact the school office as soon as you are able @ 540-433-7819. 

 School Supplies and Other Important Information

Teachers are also working very hard to prepare for the new school year.  From eye appealing classroom designs to specialty items for students to enjoy and use, teachers and assistants are eagerly anticipating a new and exciting school year.  Be sure to come Back to School Night on August 15th between 5:00 and 7:00 pm where you can meet your child’s teacher, reconnect with other families, and chat with the PTO for volunteer and school support opportunities.

For the upcoming school year, here are some thoughts and reminders:

• Please check your child’s Seesaw messages, LSES Facebook posts, or other messages

  from school to stay current with all events.

• If you need to pick your child up from school, please send a note or call the school office no later than 2 pm. Let us know who will be picking your child up and the reason why.

• Breakfast and lunch is FREE FOR ALL STUDENTS again this year.

• Nurse Angela will be here to receive medicine for the children.  Forms will need to be filled out by parents for the medicine to be given at school.

• Be sure to send your child in tennis shoes on PE days. 

• READING is SO IMPORTANT!  Please take time to read with your child each day.

• School supplies are free for your child this year again.  You will need to provide a backpack and headphones for your child.

We look forward to seeing you all soon!

Tammy May, Principal and Paul DeLaGarza, Assistant Principal 

We strive to work towards healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthy relationships.

We believe:

Every child is entitled to a well-planned, well-organized, and well-implemented instructional program in a warm and supportive classroom setting. It is designed to:

• build the self-confidence and self-esteem of students.

• give children opportunities to develop their unique skills, communication, and leadership abilities.

• help children to understand that learning is lifelong and that the skills of "learning how to learn" are critical throughout the whole school program.

• prepare children for a technological future through the use of technology in the classroom and school.

• prepare children to be creative thinkers and problem solvers.

The first public school at Lacey Spring was built on a hill overlooking the spring in 1884. The principal of this school was John W. Taylor, who had operated a private school in the area since the late 1860′s. The school was well-known throughout Rockingham County and offered an advanced course of study which included modern and ancient languages and higher mathematics.

During the first decade of this century, citizens of the Lacey Spring community began to see a need to replace the aging original structure and appealed to the county school board for funds to erect a new school. The second Lacey Spring school was built on a lot south of the village and opened in January, 1919. The school operated at its new location until May of 1953, when the school was closed and the students bused to Linville-Edom and Broadway.

In 1987, the Rockingham County School Board, in order to relieve crowded conditions at Plains Elementary School and Linville-Edom Elementary School, chose a site at Lacey Spring for a new school. In September, 1989, the new Lacey Spring Elementary opened its doors and became the third public school to serve the Lacey Spring community

During its first six years, Lacey Spring experienced rapid growth, growing from 370 to 410 students. A mobile unit was added to provide additional classroom space. In the spring of 1995, the school board decided to alleviate the space problems at Lacey Spring by redistricting and sending 110 students to Plains Elementary and 30 students to Linville Edom Elementary. In October 2006, the Rockingham County School Board voted to approve the construction of a new elementary school on the Montevideo Middle School site. Redistricting was done and in August 2008 approximately 75 students from Lacey Spring Elementary were sent to the new Cub Run Elementary School. Lacey Spring Elementary received approximately 40 students from Plains Elementary. The current enrollment at LSES is approximately 220 students.

We would like to thank all our business partners for supporting our school!

Larry Huffman (1989-1998)
Donna Robinson (1998-2018)
Tammy May (2018-Present)