For Immediate Release: September 14, 2016
Contact: Charles Pyle, Director of Communications, 804-371-2420
Michelle Stoll, Communications Projects Coordinator, 804-225-2543
Eighty-One Percent of Schools Fully Accredited
All Schools Fully Accredited in 53 Divisions
RICHMOND, Va. — More than eight out of 10 Virginia public schools are now fully accredited as the result of improved performance of students on Standards of Learning tests and 2016 legislation providing multi-year accreditation for schools that have consistently met the commonwealth's accountability standards.
Eighty-one percent, or 1,482, of Virginia's 1,825 public schools are rated as Fully Accredited for 2016-2017, a 3-point improvement over 2015-2016, when 78 percent of schools earned the state's top accountability rating.
"I hope these results will encourage teachers, principals and other educators in all of our schools as they strive to help students meet Virginia's high expectations for learning and achievement," Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said.
Of the 218 schools rated as Partially Accredited: Warned School-Pass Rate during 2015-2016, 59 are now Fully Accredited.
For a school to earn full accreditation, students must achieve adjusted pass rates of at least 75 percent on English reading and writing SOL tests, and at least 70 percent on assessments in mathematics, science and history. High schools must also meet a benchmark for graduation and completion. Accreditation ratings may also reflect an average of achievement over several years.
Seven schools earned full accreditation after undergoing reconstitution last year. Reconstitution involves significant changes in school leadership, governance, faculty or attendance and reconstitution status must be approved by the state Board of Education. These schools are as follows:
- Bedford County — Staunton River Middle
- Buchanan County — Riverview Elementary/Middle
- Buena Vista — Parry McCluer Middle
- Petersburg — Walnut Hill Elementary
- Southampton County — Riverdale Elementary
- Suffolk — King's Fork High Virginia Beach — Williams Elementary
Two schools — Hunter B. Andrews School (PK-8) in Hampton and Kiptopeke Elementary in Northampton County — moved from Accreditation Denied to Fully Accredited as a result of improved student performance.
All schools are fully accredited in 53 of the commonwealth's 132 school divisions, compared with 36 divisions last year. The divisions with all schools fully accredited (other than new schools that automatically receive conditional accreditation) are as follows:
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Thirty-nine schools are rated as Fully Accredited for 2016-2017 as a result of legislation recommended by the advisory SOL Innovation Committee and passed by the 2016 General Assembly. Senate Bill 368 directed the state Board of Education to grant three additional years of full accreditation to schools that had previously earned full accreditation for three consecutive years. These schools are as follows:
- Albemarle County — Albemarle County Community Public Charter School and Paul H. Cale Elementary
- Alexandria — Cora Kelly Magnet Elementary and Mount Vernon Elementary
- Campbell County — William Campbell High
- Chesterfield County — J.A. Chalkley Elementary
- Covington — Edgemont Primary
- Danville — J.M. Langston Focus
- Dickenson County — Sandlick Elementary
- Fairfax County — Braddock Elementary, Bryant Alternative High, Dogwood Elementary, Fort Belvoir Elementary, Graham Road Elementary, Groveton Elementary, Mountain View Alternative High, Parklawn Elementary, Westlawn Elementary and Woodley Hills Elementary
- Fauquier County — W.C. Taylor Middle
- Franklin County — Gereau Center for Applied Technology & Career Exploration
- Galax — Galax High
- Greene County — Ruckersville Elementary
- Greensville County — Greensville County High
- Henrico County — Arthur Ashe Jr. Elementary
- Henry County — Axton Elementary, Collinsville Primary, John Redd Smith Elementary and Sanville Elementary
- Loudoun County — Forest Grove Elementary
- Lynchburg — Sandusky Elementary
- Newport News — Oliver C. Greenwood Elementary
- Orange County — Gordon-Barbour Elementary
- Prince William County — Potomac Middle and Triangle Elementary
- Roanoke County — Burlington Elementary
- Stafford County — Anthony Burns Elementary
- Tazewell County — Tazewell Middle
- Warren County — E. Wilson Morrison Elementary
Three of the 11 schools earning a rating of Partially Accredited: Improving School-Pass Rate achieved the designation under new accreditation rules approved by the Board of Education in July that recognize academic growth among the lowest-performing students. These schools are as follows:
- Chesapeake — Georgetown Primary Northumberland County — Northumberland High
- Richmond — J.E.B. Stuart Elementary
Twenty-nine schools in eleven divisions are denied state accreditation for 2016-2017 because of persistently low student achievement:
- Alexandria — Jefferson-Houston Elementary for a fifth consecutive year
- Danville — Woodberry Hills Elementary for a second consecutive year
- Dinwiddie County — Dinwiddie County Middle for a second consecutive year
- Essex County — Essex High for a second consecutive year
- Hampton — A.W.E. Bassette Elementary for a second consecutive year Henrico County — L. Douglas Wilder Middle for a third consecutive year
- Newport News — Hidenwood Elementary, Huntington Middle and Lee Hall Elementary for the first year; Mary Passage Middle and Willis A. Jenkins Elementary for a second consecutive year; and Newsome Park Elementary and Sedgefield Elementary for a third consecutive year
- Norfolk — P.B. Young Sr. Elementary and Tidewater Park Elementary for a second year; Southside STEM Academy at Campostella Elementary and Lake Taylor Middle for a third year; Lindenwood Elementary for a fourth consecutive year; and William H. Ruffner Middle for a fifth consecutive year
- Petersburg — Peabody Middle for an eleventh consecutive year
- Portsmouth — Churchland Middle for a second consecutive year
- Richmond — Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary and Swansboro Elementary for the first year; Amelia Street Special Education Center, Armstrong High, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle, Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts and Richmond Alternative for a second consecutive year Staunton — Bessie Weller Elementary for a second year
Schools denied accreditation are subject to corrective actions prescribed by the state Board of Education and affirmed through a memorandum of understanding with the local school board.
The status of 145 schools at risk of being denied accreditation — including 92 schools that were warned in 2015-2016 — will be determined by the Board of Education later this year. Under Virginia's accountability regulations, a school that has not earned full accreditation for three consecutive years — and fails to meet state standards for a fourth consecutive year — can apply for a rating of Partially Accredited: Reconstituted School if the local school board agrees to reconstitute the school's leadership, staff, governance or student population. A reconstituted school can retain this rating for up to three years if it is making acceptable progress.
Seven newly opened schools are automatically rated as Conditionally Accredited for 2016-2017.
Accreditation ratings for 2016-2017 for all schools and updated online report cards for all schools and school divisions are available on the VDOE website.
Federal Accountability
Like state accreditation ratings, federal accountability designations are based on achievement on SOL tests during 2015-2016, with accountability requirements focused on schools that receive Title I funding to support services for economically disadvantaged students. The lowest-performing Title I schools are identified as either Priority or Focus schools.
Priority schools — comprising the lowest-performing five percent of Title I schools — must engage a state-approved turnaround partner to help design and implement school-reform models that meet state and federal requirements. The 36 schools identified as Priority schools for 2016-2017 are as follows, by division:
- Accomack County — Metompkin Elementary
- Albemarle County — Benjamin F. Yancey Elementary
- Alexandria — Jefferson-Houston Elementary
- Buckingham County — Buckingham County Elementary and Buckingham County Primary
- Danville — Woodberry Hills Elementary
- Franklin — S.P. Morton Elementary
- Halifax County — Sinai Elementary
- Hampton — A.W.E. Bassette Elementary
- Henrico County — L. Douglas Wilder Middle
- Lynchburg — Dearington Elementary/Innovation and Perrymont Elementary
- Newport News — Horace H. Epes Elementary, Newsome Park Elementary, Sedgefield Elementary and Willis A. Jenkins Elementary
- Norfolk — Campostella Elementary, Chesterfield Academy Elementary, Jacox Elementary School, James Monroe Elementary and Lake Taylor Middle
- Petersburg — Peabody Middle
- Prince William County — Belmont Elementary
- Richmond — Binford Middle, Blackwell Elementary, Chimborazo Elementary, Elkhardt-Thompson Middle, G.H. Reid Elementary, Ginter Park Elementary, Henderson Middle, John Marshall High, Martin Luther King Jr., Middle, Oak Grove/Bellemeade Elementary, Richmond Alternative, Swansboro Elementary and Woodville Elementary
Focus schools (comprising 10 percent of Title I schools selected on the basis of achievement gaps) must employ state-approved, school-improvement coaches. Focus schools retain their designation for a minimum of two years — unless they are subsequently identified as Priority schools or no longer receive federal Title I funding. The 72 Focus schools for 2016-2017 are as follows, by division:
- Albemarle County — Mary Carr Greer Elementary, Paul H. Cale Elementary, Red Hill Elementary and Woodbrook Elementary
- Alexandria — William Ramsay Elementary
- Alleghany County — Mountain View Elementary
- Augusta County — Verona Elementary
- Bedford County — Moneta Elementary
- Bristol — Highland View Elementary
- Brunswick County — Totaro Elementary
- Buena Vista — Enderly Heights Elementary and F.W. Kling Jr. Elementary
- Campbell County — Altavista Elementary
- Charlotte County — Bacon District Elementary
- Clarke County — D.G. Cooley Elementary
- Danville — G.L.H. Johnson Elementary
- Fairfax County — Graham Road Elementary, Herndon Elementary, Saratoga Elementary and Woodley Hills Elementary
- Franklin County — Rocky Mount Elementary
- Frederick County — Middletown Elementary and Redbud Run Elementary
- Greene County — Nathanael Greene Elementary and Nathanael Greene Primary School
- Greensville County — Greensville Elementary
- Halifax County — Clays Mill Elementary
- Henrico County — Glen Lea Elementary, Harold Macon Ratcliffe Elementary, Highland Springs Elementary, Lakeside Elementary and Montrose Elementary
- Hopewell — Dupont Elementary and Patrick Copeland Elementary
- Isle of Wight County — Hardy Elementary
- Lunenburg County — Kenbridge Elementary and Victoria Elementary
- Lynchburg — William M. Bass Elementary
- Madison County — Madison Primary and Waverly Yowell Elementary
- Martinsville — Martinsville Middle and Patrick Henry Elementary
- Montgomery County — Prices Fork Elementary
- Nelson County — Tye River Elementary
- Newport News — Hidenwood Elementary and Lee Hall Elementary
- Norfolk — Norview Elementary, Richard Bowling Elementary, St. Helena Elementary and William H. Ruffner Middle
- Page County — Stanley Elementary
- Petersburg — Robert E. Lee Elementary
- Powhatan County — Pocahontas Elementary
- Prince Edward County — Prince Edward Middle
- Prince William County — Kerrydale Elementary
- Radford — Belle Heth Elementary and McHarg Elementary
- Richmond — Albert Hill Middle, Armstrong High, Bellevue Elementary, George Mason Elementary, George Wythe High, J.L. Francis Elementary, Lucille M. Brown Middle, Overby-Sheppard Elementary and Westover Hills Elementary
- Shenandoah County — W.W. Robinson Elementary
- Spottsylvania County — Riverview Elementary Staunton — Bessie Weller Elementary
- Suffolk — Booker T. Washington Elementary and Elephant's Fork Elementary
- Westmoreland County — Washington District Elementary