The Virginia Association of Counties released the latest episode of its County Pulse podcast, “Dark Sky Parks and Reducing Light Pollution,” on May 22. The episode highlights Rappahannock County Park as one of two dark sky certified parks in Virginia, focusing on efforts to preserve the night sky and reduce light pollution.
According to the podcast, Staunton River State Park and Rappahannock County Park are utilizing their dark sky designations to offer recreational and educational opportunities. The discussion includes strategies for communities to limit artificial lighting in order to protect natural nighttime environments and support both ecological health and human well-being. Rappahannock County Park is noted as Virginia’s only county-level park with a dark-sky designation.
The park’s recognition comes at a time when local schools are also seeing changes. Rappahannock County Public Schools District enrolled 774 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Virginia Department of Education. Among these, Rappahannock County Elementary School had the highest enrollment with 466 students.
White students represented the largest ethnic group in county schools at 82 percent, followed by Hispanic students at just over ten percent. Enrollment increased by 5.2 percent from the previous school year, reaching a total of 774 students across all grades.
In terms of grade-level distribution for that year, tenth grade had the largest enrollment with 74 students, while pre-kindergarten was the smallest with 39 enrolled.
