The Petersburg school system's latest failure to meet state education goals will result in a new approach to middle school for the troubled system.
The Virginia Board of Education has requested that Petersburg move forward with a plan to provide an independently managed middle school program for the 2009-10 school year, as well as report quarterly to the state board with data on student achievement and teacher quality.
The initiative would give students and parents a choice to attend that program, which operates separately from the school system, or attend a traditional middle school. The independently managed program would be run by an outside educational organization.
These pending changes came about the same day it was announced a record 95 percent of Virginia's public schools achieved full accreditation.
A year ago, five of Petersburg's seven schools were denied accreditation based on low student achievement on Standards of Learning tests. This year, only one Petersburg school was fully accredited.
Petersburg's school system was first placed on division-level review in 2004 by the state board. In 2006, the school system entered into a memorandum of understanding with the board, which set a goal for at least five of Petersburg's schools to reach full accreditation by 2008-09 and to have all seven schools accredited in 2009-10.
The system's struggles to reach accreditation will take some time, Petersburg Superintendent James M. Victory said.
"We know that our students deserve a wonderful opportunity to receive a quality education. The staff that we work with, we're dedicated to doing that," he said. "I think, in due time, sooner rather than later . . . that we, too, will have all our schools fully accredited."
Walnut Hill Elementary was accredited with warning in English this year after being fully accredited last year, leaving Robert E. Lee Elementary as the lone school in the city to receive full accreditation. This marks the second consecutive year that Robert E. Lee attained accreditation.
Individual programs at three Petersburg schools are undergoing alternative governance -- an independent organization comes in to restructure the curriculum -- based on failure to meet federal academic benchmarks for several consecutive years.
Peabody Middle and J.E.B. Stuart Elementary went under alternative governance in English this year after missing federal Adequate Yearly Progress in English for five straight years. Vernon Johns Junior High, which was a middle school last year, went under alternative governance two years ago.
Fifteen months ago, when Victory became superintendent, he said Petersburg "should be the poster child in the commonwealth of Virginia for restructuring."
Some of the changes made under his watch include new principals at every school, a restructured central office staff and reconfigured secondary education.
Petersburg's schools have seen gains in some areas: Teacher turnover has decreased, and 98 percent of teachers in the system are licensed.
"I commend you for these next steps . . . but we really need to think big-picture about what are we going to do to radically change things down there," state board member Andrew J. Rotherham said during Thursday's board meeting. "It's simply not where it needs to be."
Petersburg has instituted several plans to help promote reform within the school system, including implementing the Standards of Learning curriculum framework, observation sweeps in classrooms, data review and assessment sessions with principals, and steps to improve graduation rates.
"Dr. Victory and his staff, they worked hard last year and continue to work hard this year," said Petersburg School Board Chairman Kenneth L. Pritchett. "Our board has fully supported the superintendent."
John Hart, Petersburg PTA president, said it will take a collaborative effort for the school system to achieve its goals.
"The instruction at school needs to be reinforced at home," Hart said. "All of us need to do this together."
Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or jslayton@timesdispatch.com.
Copyright 2008 Richmond Times-Dispatch
