All schools in Suffolk on track to receive full accreditation

SUFFOLK

Every Suffolk school is expected to be fully accredited by the state come fall, administrators said Thursday.

That's an improvement over last year, when John F. Kennedy and King's Fork middle schools failed to meet benchmarks on math Standards of Learning tests.

Superintendent Milton Liverman said the division received this spring's raw SOL scores in English, history, math and science about a week ago. The state will release official results later.

Liverman shared the preliminary data with the School Board during its annual retreat, scheduled so members could discuss the division's previous goals and set new ones.

"That is, by far, the best news that I've heard since I've been on the board.... It's a critical milestone," said Michael Debranski, the Suffolk Borough representative. He's been on the board two years.

Divisionwide, middle school pass rates in math increased from 2007. For eighth grade, three of Suffolk's four middle schools had a 100 percent pass rate in Algebra I. John F. Kennedy Middle had a pass rate of 97 percent.

King's Fork High School did not meet the state benchmark for math but is still expected to be accredited because of a rule that allows officials to use a three-year average calculation, Liverman said.

School Board members decided to renew a 2007-08 goal for annual improvement among all schools on Standards of Learning tests. Debranski said he wanted the division to continue paying special attention to those students who appear to be barely meeting state targets.

The board also refined three other goals from last school year. Those include:

- Taking a closer look at capital improvement needs and making changes to the 10-year plan, if necessary;

- Promoting a safe and positive school environment;

- Encouraging the higher achievement of all students, specifically minorities, with the 2008-09 focus on establishing magnet schools for the arts and science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

Earlier in the day, at the regular monthly meeting, board members learned that more than $150,000 worth of textbooks have been reported as damaged or missing.

The division loans textbooks to students for free, but the books are supposed to be returned at the end of the school year.

Letters are sent home to parents, but school officials can't do much more than that at this point, said James Thorsen, executive director of facilities and planning.

Lost or damaged textbooks have become such a problem, Liverman said, that administrators have talked about turning the debts over to a collection agency.

At Thursday's meeting, Thorsen suggested taking away a student's right to park on campus.

Board members said they plan to take a closer look at the issue in the future.

"It's costing us a couple teachers' positions," said William Whitley, who represents the Chuckatuck Borough. "It's just not acceptable."

 Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com