Half of South Hampton Roads schools miss federal targets

Almost half of the public schools in South Hampton Roads will be branded as failing for the coming school year.

It's a black eye for the 97 schools. For most, that'll be the worst of it. For the majority, such as Lafayette-Winona Middle School in Norfolk, repeated failures garner no sanctions. Only a handful of schools that take federal funds for low-income children must offer options such as school choice or tutoring to parents when they repeatedly fall short.

The results are mainly a way for parents to see if their schools do as well as federal guidelines say they should in math and English. The results hold schools accountable for how students of different racial, ability and income groupings fare. Graduation and attendance also are part of the mix.

The scores come from the state's Standards of Learning tests, which are given in the spring to students in grades 3 to 8, as well as students finishing high-school-level courses.

Lafayette-Winona, by the way? It's never hit the mark in the eight years the federal government has been watching.

It's possible that schools won't be judged this way much longer. The federal No Child Left Behind law - the one that makes states measure schools against increasing targets - is up for revision. Under current rules, schools are expected to get all of their students passing by 2014, which many critics say is unrealistic.

Virginia also has its own way of measuring schools. It grants schools accreditation if they reach lower testing targets that don't change.

But the current federal measuring stick isn't totally discredited. Angela Ciolfi, a lawyer who advocates for kids in Central Virginia, put it this way:

"No measure is perfect." Benchmarks can tell us whether students are getting the basic skills they need for life after high school, she said.

Statewide, 39 percent of schools missed the mark this year, better than the 45 percent that fell short in South Hampton Roads.

The rules are a bit different than last year, when 59 local schools failed to meet the standard, which is also called Adequate Yearly Progress. Schools this year were expected to meet targets requiring about four out of every five students to pass tests in math and English.

High schools also faced an 80 percent graduation requirement, and many schools were affected by the loss of a loophole that added points to test scores for students with disabilities.

VIRGINIA BEACH

For the first time, a school in the city will face sanctions. The system will have to decide quickly to either offer school choice to College Park Elementary parents or offer before- and after-school tutoring at no cost. They have a choice if they participate in a state pilot program.

Other schools also missed targets for a second year but will not be sanctioned because they don't take federal funds for low-income students. Parkway Elementary missed in four areas last year but brought performance up enough to reach all 29 targets this year.

NORFOLK

Four schools that have repeatedly failed to meet benchmarks - Jacox, Lindenwood, Oceanair and Tidewater Park elementary schools - will be required to offer parents a choice of enrolling their children at other schools this year. Lindenwood and Jacox, which had to offer school choice last year, will have to also offer tutoring.

"A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work," said Christine Harris, Norfolk's chief academic officer.

Superintendent Richard Bentley, who took office earlier this month, said that initially he was disappointed and had "a little heartburn" when he saw that less than half of the division's schools met AYP requirements. He said the data would be an opportunity to home in on where more work should be done.

Rosemont was the only middle school to meet the mark this year after coming up short last year.

CHESAPEAKE

The weak point this year was special education: Sixteen of the 19 schools that missed the mark fell short on students with disabilities. For 12 of those, it was because the state eliminated those additional points. None of the Chesapeake schools that missed AYP take federal funds for poor children, and so none will be sanctioned.

Of the 19, Indian River Middle has fallen furthest off track, having missed AYP for four years. Division officials would not allow the school's principal to comment, but Patricia Powers, the division's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said students classified as having disabilities sometimes have very serious reading issues.

"The school will be identifying those students and finding resources" for them, she said.

SUFFOLK

After failing to meet federal goals for the past two years, Elephant's Fork Elementary succeeded. However, the school still has to offer school choice and tutoring. Elephant's Fork has to pass for two consecutive years before it can do away with those options.

Principal Veleka Gatling said she is eager for her school to shed the stigma that comes from failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress.

Three other Title I elementary schools - Mack Benn Jr., Mount Zion and Hillpoint - will have to offer school choice this year. It will be the first time for Hillpoint, which opened in 2008, and has never reached federal targets.

PORTSMOUTH

Brighton Elementary and Churchland Academy must continue to offer school choice, even though the latter improved enough this year. Both schools also must offer tutoring.

Four-year graduation rates of 44 percent at Wilson High and 68 percent at Churchland High were not enough. Norcom High improved enough to meet that target.

Superintendent David Stuckwisch said he wasn't surprised by the results but is more concerned about all the schools achieving full state accreditation. Preliminary numbers show that Brighton is just shy of the minimum pass rate.

"We focus on accreditation. AYP is a federal thing," Stuckwisch said. "We know that accreditation is going to be here today, tomorrow, the next day and the next day."

Pilot staff writers Hattie Brown Garrow, Elisabeth Hulette and Steven Vegh contributed to this report.

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com

Graphic: 2010 AdequateYearlyProgressReport