Norfolk schools superintendent stepping down

NORFOLK

Norfolk Superintendent Stephen C. Jones, whose division has been roiled recently by student test violations and policy debates, said Wednesday that he will retire in June to spend more time with family.

Recent school stresses did not influence his decision, Jones said.

"I know in my heart that's not the reason," he said.

Jones said he told School Board members in June of his retirement intentions. He noted that his wife died two years ago and that he has spent 39 years in education. Jones became superintendent in 2005; his contract expires at the end of June this year.

School Board members said they were sad to see Jones go. His evaluations have always been excellent, School Board Chairman Stephen Tonelson said.

"I think we would have asked him to stay," Tonelson said.

Jones told board members Wednesday that his decision was firm, Tonelson said.

Jones' midyear performance evaluation with the School Board took place last week in a closed session. He said he has not received verbal or written criticism from board members.

"It is far from a forced retirement," board member Jim Driggers said Wednesday. "He's a good man."

Jones said the division's accomplishments during his tenure include improved school accreditation, more Blue Ribbon schools and more students taking Advance Placement exams.

His tenure has been marked by several lows, including being criticized multiple times for failing to seek input from the community and the School Board on key decisions such as a change in how F's would be recorded in teacher grade books.

"My e-mails are lighting up with people asking if I'd reconsider," Jones said. "When you get at this point in life, with 39 years, at some point you want to pass on the baton."

Jones came to Norfolk in 2005 after heading the 23,000-student school district in Syracuse, N.Y. The Norfolk division currently has about 31,500 students.

When he arrived at his new Norfolk office, Jones was welcomed with signs and dozens of educators wearing Hawaiian leis.

He became known for his quick rapport with students, staff and the public, and his passion for making Norfolk's schools "world-class."

In 2006, the School Board stretched his four-year contract out to July 2010. Jones received $10,000 bonuses in 2006 and in 2007. His salary is $213,724.

In a 2007 essay, Jones pledged to maintain a "laser-like focus" on monitoring every student's progress to identify what each needed to advance.

He also said local media gave too little attention to the district's accomplishments.

"We may never get the respect we believe we deserve in the media," Jones said in his 2007 State of the Schools speech. ""But it's more important to me and to my colleagues that each of you, each of you in the community, that you understand the commitment we have."

In a television interview last month, he said: "I plan on being a superintendent as long as I want to be a superintendent. And I have not set a date for when I plan to conclude my career."

That comment came after Pilotonline.com reported that a state investigation found questionable practices in student assessments at Lafayette-Winona Middle School.

Findings by the Virginia Department of Education included student work with identical answers - including misspellings - and more than 20 special education students who were not tested.

School Board members learned about the assessment problems in November, weeks after the state investigation ended and its report was published. Most did not receive the report until early December.

After the investigation was publicized, Jones also said in an interview: "My integrity, as well as that of the school system, has been questioned."

This month, the division acknowledged Standards of Learning testing irregularities at Campostella Elementary School that violated local and state policies.

The violations and the failure last year of five Norfolk schools to win full accreditation drew criticism from some members of the City Council, which appoints the School Board.

Council members grilled Jones last fall after five of the city's 49 public schools failed to be fully accredited because of low test scores. Council members noted that additional schools were also close to falling below the minimum pass rates.

"We're going to have to do better than that, and you're the person in place to do that," Mayor Paul Fraim said. "Citizens hold us responsible, and we have to hold you responsible."

Jones said at the time that he was making changes to lift test scores and promised every school would win accreditation by next school year.

"If they don't, I'll kiss a pig," Jones said. "On the lips."

Jones also faced skepticism from the City C ouncil last fall over the district's policy of allowing students a score of 61 even if they got a flunking grade.

In a letter to council members, Jones expressed regret for initiating the new grading procedures without adequately explaining the reason to the public.

"He's faced a lot of challenges, as have a lot of school districts and those challenges sometimes were met head-on and sometimes sort of skirted," Councilman Paul R. Riddick said.

Riddick cited Madison Career Center, where staff last year complained of low morale, ineffective discipline policies and poor leadership as an example. Jones replaced the center's top administrator and asked all teachers to reapply for their jobs.

"I don't believe that the Madison alternative school was met head-on as it should have been," Riddick said.

Fraim said that he admires Jones. "He's been through a great deal since he's been here."

The superintendent has done a marvelous job, said Margaret Burke, president of the Campostella Elementary School, said. Jones threw his support behind parents' desire to convert Campostella into a specialty science and engineering school, she said.

"I'll just be sad to see him go," she said. "The parents trust him, like him, believe what he says."

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com