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Former Norfolk School Board Member Dies

  • Anna Dodson Anna Dodson, a former member of the Norfolk school board, died August 4 at the age of 95.  

    During her 12 years as a board member of Norfolk Public Schools, Dodson was instrumental in helping the district narrow the achievement gap between students of different racial groups within the district’s schools. Dodson also developed the Dodson Scholars program, an academic and community service minded group for black male students, as well as several programs that involved community volunteers. She retired from the Norfolk school system after serving thirty years as a teacher, counselor, and administrator.

    In 2005, she received the Council of the Great City School’s Richard R Green Award, which recognized her as the nation’s top urban school board member. Dodson was also very active in the Council, serving as chair of the organization’s Board of Directors in 2002.  

    “Anna Dodson’s commitment to urban children shined through every meeting she chaired,” says Council Executive Director Michael Casserly. “She spent her life empowering young people and was an outstanding leader and mentor who inspired everyone around her. I am so glad to have called her a friend and she will be truly missed.”