RD243 - Annual Report on the Condition and Needs of Public Schools in Virginia


Executive Summary:
The 2005 Annual Report on the Condition and Needs of Public Schools in Virginia summarizes the most significant information to document the condition and needs of public schools in Virginia. The report contains the following:

• An assessment of local school division compliance with the Standards of Quality (SOQ) and the Standards of Accreditation (SOA);

• Complete text of the Standards of Quality (SOQ) as prescribed by the Board of Education and adopted by the 2005 General Assembly.

• A listing of the divisions and schools reporting noncompliance with SOQ and SOA requirement;

• A progress report on the academic performance of Virginia's students using various measures;

• An overview of the significant needs of the public schools that must be addressed in order to continue and enhance the academic progress made in recent years.

Highlights of the findings regarding the condition and needs of the public schools include the following:

• For 2004-2005, 93 of the 132 divisions in Virginia reported full compliance with the Standards of Quality. All divisions that were not in full compliance have filed a corrective action plan.

• Nine out of 10 Virginia public schools are now fully accredited, based on achievement of students in English, mathematics, history, and science during the 2004-2005 school year.

• Schools that are struggling to improve student achievement need additional help to use classroom instructional time effectively and to monitor the implementation of effective programs. Teachers and administrators also need additional assistance in using data to improve classroom instruction.

• This year, 80 percent of Virginia's public schools met or exceeded No Child Left Behind achievement objectives, compared to 74 percent last year.

While many objective measures show that the academic performance of Virginia's students is steadily improving, all of Virginia's schools face significant challenges in the next five to10 years. The challenges include the following:

1. The demand for ever-increasing levels of skills and knowledge--including career and technical skills--for all students, which presents the particular challenge to address the needs of students for whom achievement gaps persist: children of poverty, students who possess limited English proficiency, and students at risk of academic failure;

2. A predicted teacher and administrator shortage that will affect the supply, quality and diversity of teachers and professional educational personnel working in the state's schools, especially those schools that are hard to staff due to factors beyond the control of the school system, such as difficult economic circumstances in the community;

3. The need for the state to provide meaningful, on-going technical assistance to school divisions that are struggling to meet state's academic standards;

4. Barriers to learning-in particular, those affecting the critical years from birth to age 5--and conditions in homes and communities that threaten the well-being of children and prevent them from leading healthy, responsible, and safe lives, such as child abuse and neglect, family violence, crime, and substance abuse;

5. The rapid growth in technology and other career/technical fields that threatens to create a generation of underskilled and underemployed workers if students are not prepared to meet those challenges; and

6. The changing demographics of Virginia's schools, in which nearly all communities are experiencing significant growth in the number of students from different cultural, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds, thereby presenting challenges to ensure that all students are successful in school.

Based upon the needs of the public schools, the Board of Education's priorities for action are as follows:

Objective 1: The Board of Education will improve the quality standards for all public schools in Virginia.

Objective 2: The Board of Education will provide leadership to help schools and school divisions close the achievement gap and increase the academic success of all students.

Objective 3: The Board of Education will work to ensure meaningful, on-going professional development for teachers, administrators, and professional educational personnel.

Objective 4: The Board of Education will support accountability for au schools, with a focus on assisting chronically low-performing schools and school divisions.

Objective 5: The Board of Education will work cooperatively with partners to help ensure that young children are ready for school.

Objective 6: The Board of Education will assist teachers to improve the reading skills of all students, kindergarten through grade 12.

Objective 7: The Board of Education will continue efforts to enhance the training, recruitment, and retention of highly qualified teachers, educational support personnel, and administrators, with a focus on the needs of hard-to-staff schools.

Objective 8: The Board of Education will provide leadership for implementing the provisions of state and federal laws and regulations smoothly and with minimal disruption to local divisions.