One Virginia Beach elementary misses accreditation

It's called Lake Edward. I believe there are good, loving, involved parents there and my heart breaks for them, for they are definitely swimming upstream in a community that seems more third world in its values than not.

You know the panhandlers on the corner of VA Beach BLVD and Newtown Road? Well, they are adults, not legal, but if they get hit, they took their chances. However, the latest thing over there is for some adult to organize a youth organization and put the kids out at that intersection to walk between traffic and hold out ballcaps or plastic bottles for donations. A couple of times when I have not seen an adult to go to, I have called the police to go over there, figuring that it was only a matter of time till a minor would be hit by a car, panhandling that corner. Not the way to teach self-sufficiency! Cheers, MGM

My children have gone to this school and it is not just the teachers fault. The parents do not support the students at all. My child who was in the 3rd grade, has been repeatedly threatned by a student who has already been suspended for fighting, and the school had requested a parent conference with her parents and myself to resolve it and 3 times she didnt bother to show at all. Your children did not ask to be here so by god help them out!!!!

It’s amusing how quick people judge when they have NO idea what it’s like to teach at that school. I taught there for several years and put my heart into those kids. However, I was cursed at, given attitude, and broke up fights on a regular basis—in an elementary school! Parents would look up my #, call me at home, block their #, and yell at me when I answered. No amount of incentive could have made me stay there another year. I know many teachers there still, and they work so hard. I’d like to see how half of the people who left comments on this page would fare with just 10 of these kids in a class. How would you make a history test relevant to students whose parents are in jail, do drugs, or don’t value education? I do have to add there are MANY great kids and parents at that school; however, they are far outnumbered. Please, before you judge, realize you probably have no idea what you’re talking about.

JFR you are right on one point. All we have been doing over the past 30 years is lowering the bar on individual responsibilities and then because we are paying our taxes lets look to blame someone else for everything that goes wrong in our society. Lets start raising that bar again. Let it begin in the home with the family. Have you heard any suggestions from family at that school as to what they can do to help the situation there. Ask the teachers, and I've known a few very good ones that could not take the lack of interest on the part of the "Families" of their students so they transfered or finally just gave up the losing battle after teaching for 20+ years. Those good teachers couldn't have done anymore if you paid 10 times the amount of school taxes you paid. Place the blame where it belongs in this instance.

this is the only school that has parents who may not be as supportive as they should be. Let's be real here folks. If we want to "lower the bar" or accept excuses for less than acceptable results, guess what you get? We all know the answer to that question and do you want to accept it? I don't. I'm not saying that parents have no role in their child's education as they do. Teachers and the school administration have a role also. I, as a taxpayer, have a role in this also, and I perform my role in a satisfactory manner. Obviously some are not performing well in this particular case.

I would venture a guess that 95% of that schools body could be a minimum of a 70% student, if these kids did not return to their "Home, environment" at the end of the school day. The teachers cannot, with all the legal restrictions put on them, force on your children what you don't even try to apply to your own kids. It's the parents(and I use that term very loosely) 9 times out of 10 that are the problem. A class that might be benificial to start teaching in 4th or 5th grades is "How to be a good parent". Then test the kids on what is taught compared to how it relates in their personal lives. I believe we would find that the majority of the failing students will be directly proportional to the family failures. This is I'm sure not a politically correct comment on my part, but I'm also sure that if it gets printed it will be a majority that agrees. Now how do we correct this disaster?

How about a new rule...in order to be eligible to get the "free" education, your kid has to show up on time, every day, with a full stomach, good behavior, and his homework complete. Only THEN can we start blaming the teachers. They can't be held responsible for the failure of a parent to provide a good home and discipline.

Lets not lay all blame on teachers please...I know some of the hard working teachers there and some of the students-some not so hard working. Lets try looking back at the household environment these kids are coming from as well. The hard working teachers can bust their butts all they want but when they run into some kids that they do with an attitude; such as not wanting to be in school, no desire to learn-I think has to do with whatever is going on at the homefront too.

If you think this is deplorable then hustle on over and volunteer to help. Most companies today will give you time to give back to the community and why not use it at a school that needs help.

As a teacher I have worked in that very school in the past and we were accredited at the time but it took a LOT of hard work and I feel sure the teachers over there gave it 100% but let's not forget that this was a transition year and one of the schools in the tri-campus was not ready on time so they were shuffling kids mid-year. Not to mention that their scores can't be boosted by another grade level's score. Oh what that sounds like a shady way to make the numbers work-- it is- but EVERY school manipulates the numbers to stay accredited. Bettie F. can't now that one of the testing grades has been pulled from the school. If you think your kids school is so great I bet you would be unpleasantly surprised by the "raw data" that gets manipulated so those flags can continue to fly. Rather than beat up on the teachers over there and blame them how about pitching in and giving them a hand!

Wow, what a surprise! A school that is zoned to be exactly what it is which is a catch all for the lower income housing (why is it Cypress Point children go to Luxford when Betty Williams is right across the street). Put all these children in one school and lets throw some money into it and pretend like we are doing all we can to help the needy children. Then we can blame the teachers for not doing their job. People should educate themselves as to what really happens before they react. These children are from dysfunctional homes where I am betting most of the parents view school as a babysitter rather than a place for education. Many of these children lack both the structure and discipline that one would expect children from this age group (Betty Williams has 4th and 5th grades only) to have. So lets put about 20-25 of the children in a room with one teacher and complain about tests scores at the end of eac

that so many people rush to judge teachers and admin so harshly. Nobody ever wants to look at home life and parental support. When we serve the under priveledged, and poverty stricken (which this school does) we see very little parent support, teachers spend HOURS on the phone trying to find a number that works. Parents even block out school numbers so as not to be bothered. I am not saying that the staff should not try harder, but really this is a door that swings both ways. If you want NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (LOL!) then every EVERY parent or guardian must be on board, until then this is an argument which will not die. Hold us accountable please, but also hold yourselves accountable.

Hey this just doesn't cut it. Agree with poster below. This is our children's education we're talking about, not some athletic contest with no significance. What happens next, some more "really, really hard" work? People are paid for results, frankly, not lame excuses.....don't care where it is.

"Our staff worked really, really hard," said the principal but the accreditation remains incomplete. Either the teachers or the supervisors are not doing their job......who? I'd bet it's the teachers as the other 84 or so elementary schools have passed and been proudly "flying flags" to show the world: "We're accreditated!" Now, what will the mighty elected school board do about this? We'll see!

Wow! You mean Virginia Beach has terrific schools? You might not think so due to the Pilot's anti-Beach leaning headline and story. How many elementary schools failed accreditation in Portsmouth, Norfolk, or Newport News? We don't know. The anti-Beach Pilot failed to include that relevant information in their article. Parents, let's give credit where credit is due, shall we? Virginia Beach does an excellent job educating the children of our city. With over 77,000 kids in our school system and having more families living in poverty (in real numbers, not percentages) than other city in our region, everyone involved in the Virginia Beach education system is to be commended. It is not easy to deal with children these days. There are so many destractions competing for their attention.

It's good to know that this school just did not get passed along and that the standards really mean something in this case.

Failure, too, can instruct if you let it.