NORFOLK, Va. — Enthusiasm to learn is high at St. Helena Elementary in the Berkley section of the City of Norfolk. The small school boasts improvements in its English and math scores, in spite of the COVID-19 shutdown.
"Our English scores have improved by 18% and our math scores have increased by 20%," said Principal Angel Robinson, who adds before the pandemic, those subjects kept the school from earning a fully accredited status.
Now science is the only area keeping the school accredited with conditions... and not for long, according to Robinson, because all fifth graders are being taught science by one of the school's most talented teachers, Jazmine DeLoatch.
One look inside her classroom and you're struck by DeLoatch's clear and concise style as she explains weathering and erosion, keeping the students engaged along the way.
"When they came in after the pandemic, they were very appreciative of teaching and learning," Robinson said.
Science scores dropped statewide.
According to Norfolk's Chief Academic Officer Dr. James M. Pohl, the pacing of science instruction was challenging with instruction delivered over multiple years, some virtually and some in-person.
The accreditation system that Robinson says keeps her school on its toes has been the subject of debate.
"It motivates us to do better and make sure that we have engaging learning strategies in our classroom."
When the state's ratings were released last week showing 89% of schools are fully accredited, Governor Glenn Youngkin immediately called for the accreditation system to be revised.
That's only a three percent drop from the fully accredited ratings before the pandemic of 92%.
In a statement, Youngkin said: "Today’s accreditation ratings do not reflect catastrophic learning loss and growing achievement gaps facing Virginia’s students. This broken accountability system fails to provide a clear picture of the academic achievement and progress of our schools to parents, teachers, and local school divisions."
State Superintendent Jillian Balow echoed his concerns and is critical of the accreditation system adopted by the state Board of Education in 2017 as too complicated.
"Even schools have difficulty with grappling with and understanding, so when schools are accredited and accredited with conditions, chances may be that even people in the school couldn't tell you why they're accredited or why they are accredited with conditions."
But some educators and Democrats are pushing back.
State Senator Mamie Locke acknowledges COVID learning loss but accuses the Youngkin administration of manufacturing a crisis in public schools in order to lure more support for privatization.
"I think the governor and his team need to get out and about and visit some of our schools and see exactly what it is that they are doing," Locke said.
Locke points out that WalletHub ranked Virginia as the fourth best state when it comes to public school education.
"To say that's manufactured is simply wrong. We want to make sure that the data that we're sharing is shared in a transparent and comprehensive way," Balow said.
There is no timeline for when the accreditation system will be revised.