NORFOLK -- Virginia's Board of Education decided to pull the accreditation of Norfolk's Booker T. Washington High School.
The Virginia Board of Education reviewed that request at a meeting in Richmond on Thursday.
The school is one of more than a dozen across the state who have applied for conditional accreditation because they did not meet state minimum scores on the Standards of Learning tests and graduation rates for the past four consecutive years.
Booker T. Washington is the only school in South Hampton Roads that Dr. Stephen Staples recommends be denied the conditional accreditation. However, the Newport News Daily Press is reporting that two Newport News Schools — Sedgefield Elementary and Newsome Park Elementary — were also denied conditional accreditation from the state Board of Education Thursday.
Board of Education: Schools applying for Conditional Accreditation
The board's agenda for Thursday explains the superintendent's rationale for denying the request for conditional accreditation to Booker T. Washington.
"Booker T. Washington High School has not met the accreditation benchmarks in
mathematics, history, science, and the Graduation and Completion Index for the past two years.
Based on the 2013-2014 test data, the school demonstrated improvement in student achievement in
reading and has currently met the accreditation benchmark for English. Student achievement in
history and mathematics has remained flat, with the pass rate for mathematics at 38 percent. Pass
rates for science have declined. "
Norfolk Superintendent Dr. Samuel King will address the Board of Education and request conditional accreditation for Booker T. Washington, along with Tidewater Park Elementary.
Schools in Hampton, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, and Newport News are also up for conditional accreditation Thursday. Conditional accreditation allows a district up to three years to make changes at a school that would lead to better scores and eventual accreditation.
In order to receive conditional accreditation, local school boards must agree to reorganize the school's leadership.
Norfolk public schools spokesperson Elizabeth Mather released the following information on how district officials are making progress at Booker T. Washington and Tidewater Park Elementary school.
Booker T. Washington:
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Realized a seven percentage point (7%) increase relative to the school's Graduation and Completion Index (GCI).
•
Met federal annual measureable objectives (AMOs) in English.
•
Transformed the leadership team (new principal, 3 new assistant principals, 4 new instructional. department chairs – English, mathematics, special education, and guidance/school counseling).
•
Expanded credit recovery opportunities during the regular school day.
•
Realized a decrease in student disciplinary referrals by 20.7%.
Tidewater Park:
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Realized an 11 percentage point increase in English Standard of Learning (SOL) scores.
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Realized a 16 percentage point increase in mathematics Standard of Learning (SOL) scores.
•
Realized improvements in four (4) targeted areas within the school's improvement plan:
- positive school culture
- quality instruction
- community/parental engagement
- positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS)
Dr. King continues to be proud of the leadership that has led to improvements at both schools. "We will work to ensure that the improvements continue and accelerate at Tidewater Park, Booker T. Washington and all of our schools," he said. "We will continue to analyze the needs of all students and to address appropriate needs across all subgroups of students."