Serving Scott County for
More Than 104 Years!

Scott County Schools Honored as 2006 Distinguished Title I School Division

From staff reports

Two public school divisions and 21 schools are being honored today by the Virginia Board of Education for raising the achievement of economically disadvantaged students and for exceeding state accreditation standards and the annual objectives of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).

Scott County earned the designation of “Distinguished Title I School Division” for 2006 by making what NCLB defines as adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two consecutive years and exceeding all annual achievement objectives.

Fairfax County earned the “Highly Distinguished Title I School Division” designation for exceeding federal benchmarks for achievement in reading and mathematics, and for making progress in closing achievement gaps between student groups. Board President Mark E. Emblidge presents the division-level awards at today’s board meeting in Richmond to superintendents Jack Dale of Fairfax County and James B. Scott of Scott County.

Attending the ceremony in Richmond on behalf of Scott County Public Schools are the principals from eight Scott County Schools including Duffield – Otis Bowen, Dungannon – Jennifer Meade, Fort Blackmore – Kelsey Taylor, Hilton – Tim Spicer, Nickelsville – Greg Ervin, Shoemaker – Kathy Musick, Weber City – Tammy Quillen and Yuma – Sammy Parks. Scott County Superintendent Scott acknowledged the hard work and dedication of faculty and staff at county schools in achieving this distinction.

“We are really proud of our schools as they continue to meet and exceed state standards and the credit lies with our principals, teachers, students and their families,” Scott said. “We are fortunate to have students respond to teaching methods that are clearly paying off dividends.”

Scott County Public Schools is also one of 12 school districts in Virginia that have been recognized by Standard & Poor’s as an academic “outperformer.” According to S&P’s School Evaluation Services, this is the third time Scott County has been designated as outperforming.

To be identified as an outperformer by Standard & Poor's, school districts, over the course of two consecutive school years (2003-04 and 2004-05), had to report significantly higher percentages of students that scored proficient or above on state reading and math tests than other school districts with similar levels of economically disadvantaged students. Of the 12 outperforming districts, 10 districts including Scott County were recognized as outperformers last year by Standard & Poor's, and, therefore, have outperformed for three consecutive years (2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05).

Academic achievement levels were compared with the percentage of economically disadvantaged students because the two indicators are often correlated.

The 12 outperforming districts in addition to Scott County include Charlotte County Public Schools, Franklin County Public Schools, Halifax County Public Schools, Mecklenburg County Public Schools, Norfolk City Public Schools, Northampton County Public Schools, Patrick County Public Schools, Poquoson City Public Schools, Rockingham County Public Schools, Salem City Public Schools and West Point Public Schools.

Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Mecklenburg, Norfolk, Northampton, Rockingham, Salem, Scott and West Point were identified as outperforming school districts last year as well, meaning they outperformed for three consecutive years.

Standard & Poor's developed the analysis used to identify outperforming school districts as a way to highlight outstanding academic performance, and to help educators in school districts with similar characteristics identify appropriate benchmarks to guide their own improvements.

"Congratulations to these outstanding school districts," said Thomas Sheridan, vice president of Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services. "The data reveal that ongoing improvements are occurring in these Virginia classrooms. We hope that the effective strategies these districts are employing can be replicated or adapted elsewhere." Achieving proficiency in reading and math for all students by 2014 is one of the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Linking school districts in need of improvement with outperforming school districts that have similar student demographics so that effective practices can be shared, replicated or adapted is one method that can help educators reach that target.

Standard & Poor's conducted its analysis using state-reported data. Standard & Poor's used the state department of education's definition of economically disadvantaged students. Analysts determined academic performance by using the aggregate percentages of students scoring proficient or better on the state's reading and math tests.

Gate City Middle School was also recognized by S&P for having narrowed the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and all students.

According to data used by S&P, Scott County Public Schools has 3,648 total students with approximately 50.2 percent considered economically disadvantaged. Regardless of their economic standing, 90.1 percent of Scott students earned proficiency in reading and math test results.

At today’s meeting of the Virginia Board of Education, 21 schools that receive funding under Title I of NCLB are being recognized as “Title I Distinguished Schools” for meeting federal benchmarks in reading and mathematics, maintaining full accreditation for two consecutive years, and having mean test scores for both English and mathematics at the 60th percentile or higher.

“What happens during the school day is all the more critical when children don’t come to school with the advantages enjoyed by their peers from more affluent families,” said Dr. Emblidge. “The success of these schools and school divisions demonstrates that with effective and focused instruction, all children can learn and achieve.”

“The increased achievement of students in the honored schools and divisions is the result of the hard work of thousands of teachers, principals, and other educators,” said Patricia I. Wright, acting superintendent of public instruction. “By analyzing data and tailoring instruction to meet the needs of individual students, teachers and instructional leaders in these schools are fulfilling the ideals of NCLB and moving the commonwealth closer to achieving the objectives of the law.”

Each Title I Distinguished School will receive a framed certificate and an outdoor banner celebrating its status and achievement. Shoemaker Elementary School is among the 21 schools receiving an award.

Title I of NCLB provides funding to school divisions and schools for programs to raise the achievement of economically disadvantaged students. The federal education law requires schools and school divisions to meet annual objectives for increasing student achievement on statewide assessments in reading/language arts and mathematics. Schools and school divisions meeting these objectives are considered to have made AYP.

Title I schools that do not make AYP in the same subject area for two consecutive years are identified for Title I School Improvement. These schools receive funding under Title I of NCLB to provide educational services to low-income children and are the focus of most of the accountability provisions of the law. Sanctions increase in severity if a school fails to make AYP in the same subject area for additional consecutive years. A Title I school escapes federal sanctions by making AYP for two consecutive years.

Eight out of 10, or 609 of the commonwealth’s 763 Title I schools made AYP during 2004-2005. Thirteen Virginia Title I schools that had previously been sanctioned for low achievement made AYP for a second consecutive year and exited school-improvement status. Of the Title I schools that did not make AYP, 49 met all but one of the 29 AYP objectives and benchmarks, 35 met all but two, and 30 met all but three.

Business Directory

Vacation Guide