Virginia Board of Education Honors High-Performing Title I Schools
Sixteen area schools and one school division in the Williamsburg/ West Point and Hampton Roads area were honored last week for raising the achievement of disadvantaged students.
The awards are based on student achievement on state assessments during the 2010-2011 and 2009-2010 school years.
West Point and Highland County earned the designation of “Distinguished Title I School Division” by exceeding all federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) achievement objectives in reading and mathematics for two consecutive years.
The board also recognized 16 area schools (out of 92 in the state) as “Title I Distinguished Schools” for maintaining full state accreditation under the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning program for two consecutive years, meeting federal benchmarks in reading and mathematics and having average test scores in both subjects at the 60th percentile or higher.
“The foundation of each of these success stories is the conviction that all children – regardless of family income – can learn and achieve,” Board of Education President David M. Foster said.
“The success of these schools and divisions is particularly noteworthy given how the federal benchmarks increase every year,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright said.
The recognized area schools, grouped by division, are as follows:
- Gloucester County – Abingdon Elementary, Achilles Elementary, Bethel Elementary, Petsworth Elementary and Thomas C. Walker Elementary
- Isle of Wight County – Carrsville Elementary
- York County – Bethel Manor Elementary, Dare Elementary, Grafton Bethel Elementary, Tabb Elementary and Waller Mill Elementary
- Norfolk – Ocean View Elementary
- Virginia Beach – W.T. Cooke Elementary
- Williamsburg-James City County – Matthew Whaley Elementary and Rawls Byrd Elementary
- West Point – West Point Elementary
Title I of ESEA provides funding to school divisions and schools for programs to raise the achievement of students identified as being at risk of academic failure. The federal education law, whose most recent reauthorization is also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, requires schools and school divisions to meet annual objectives for increasing student achievement on statewide assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics. During 2010-2011, 294, or 40 percent, of Virginia’s 729 Title I schools met all federal objectives.
Mr Williamsburg, Revolutionary ideas on real estate!Hampton Roads Virginia 
Leave a Reply