Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) is projecting 94 percent - or 77 of its 82 testing schools - will earn full Standards of Learning (SOL) accreditation for the 2016-2017 school year. This is a five percent increase from last year. VBCPS is making this projection based on SOL passing rates which will be released next week by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).

“In analyzing our SOL data, we are proud to report that gains are happening across all geographic areas of our school division,” said Superintendent Aaron Spence. “That means that we are making sure that every student - no matter his/her economic status, race or school - is provided with the tools and resources necessary to thrive and grow academically.”

Included in these successes are:

• All 11 comprehensive high schools are projected to be fully accredited.
• College Park Elementary School, which is projected to earn full accreditation for the first time in four years, made gains in all areas including English, science, mathematics and social studies ranging from 17-41 percentage points.
• Williams Elementary School, which is projected to earn full accreditation for the first time in five years, saw double-digit increases in science.
• Windsor Oaks Elementary School, which has not met full accreditation in three years, is projected to earn full accreditation with increases in all four subject areas, including double-digit increases in science and history.
• Green Run High School, which did not earn full accreditation in 2015-2016 and has 54 percent of its school population qualify as economically disadvantaged, is projected to be fully accredited for the 2016-2017 school year.

Even the five schools that are not projected to earn full accreditation - Bayside Middle School, Bayside Sixth Grade Campus, Birdneck Elementary, Larkspur Middle and Seatack Elementary - are projected to miss the necessary benchmarks by narrow margins. In fact, staff estimates that of the nearly 158,000 tests administered across the school division, VBCPS was 47 passing tests short from meeting accreditation benchmarks at all schools in all subject areas.

“While we are pleased with our SOL data and the significant gains we are seeing at many of our schools, we must remember that standardized tests are only one indicator of a school’s success,” Spence said. “The engagement of students in meaningful work, the involvement of community partners in our classrooms and the dedication of our high-quality teaching staff are the true hallmarks of our schools and will be key in our work to become the premiere school division in the nation.”

The VDOE is scheduled to release its state accreditation ratings Sept. 14.

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Department of Media and Communications, [email protected]

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