Loudoun County Public Schools Va

Fewer Schools Meet Federal Standards

More than 50 percent of Loudoun County's Public Schools missed the federal benchmark dubbed Adequate Yearly Progress-19 of those 41 schools failed to meet the requirements for the first time. The school division as a whole fell short of AYP for the second year in a row.

The federal standards are the core of the decade-old law No Child Left Behind. They grow increasingly more stringent every year with an end-goal of all students testing proficient in reading and math by 2014. The law requires states to test for math and reading in grades three through eight and again in high school. Student scores are broken out by race, income and special needs, and schools must show they're making progress year after year to make AYP.

This year, the federal benchmarks were hoisted up by 5 points and 6 points, depending on the subject area, leaving behind a slew of schools many consider some of Virginia's best. To make AYP this time around, more than 86 percent of students had to test proficient in reading and 85 percent in math.

The results of the moving target are shown in Loudoun, where 34 percent of its schools missed the designation last year, and just 23 percent missed it in 2009.

The data, released Thursday by the Virginia Department of Education, tells some success stories, however. For example, Loudoun County High and Ashburn Elementary schools missed the AYP mark in 2010, but made enough progress throughout the past school year to meet the increased challenge and earn the designation once again. And Meadowland Elementary made AYP for the first time this year since 2008.

Sharon D. Ackerman, LCPS' assistant superintendent of instruction, said as the federal standards have grown more stringent, No Child Left Behind has lost its relevance as a means to measure schools' progress. During the law's first few years, the required annual improvements were attainable for most schools, but have since grown nearly impossible for many schools.

"When you are requiring a 90 percent pass rate of anything, you don't make great leaps after that," Ackerman said. "These are human beings we're talking about--kids--and they're not the same kids every year."

Although the AYP label may carry less weight, school administrators and teachers will continue to use the data from the state mandated Standards of Learning tests to hone in on needed improvements in the classroom, she added.

Local schools continue to outpace others throughout the commonwealth. Just 38 percent of Virginia's schools made AYP this year--a dramatic drop from last year when 61 percent of schools hit the benchmarks.

Parents+Teachers+School Board=Successful Students

Http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/letters/article/parentsteachersschool_boardsuccessful_students/

Since I announced my candidacy for school board a couple months ago, I have been hard at work going door-to-door talking with parents and taxpayers about public education in Loudoun County. It has been a great learning experience to hear what issues are important to them.

There are the perennial problems with growing class sizes, quality teachers, budget concerns, and the need for more facilities to accommodate students in the future. And, there are many issues new to me, such as transfer credits, participation in sports for home-schooled students, curriculum standards, inclement weather closings, quality of school lunches and the use of technology in the classroom.

A common sentiment expressed by many people is that the school board is not hearing their concerns. This should not be the case. It is the job of the school board to actively bring together parents, constituents, teachers and the administration to find creative solutions to all of our public education issues.

As a member of the school board, I intend to reach out to parents and taxpayers on a regular basis for input on every issue possible. The public should be given the opportunity to be involved and have an impact on the result. Many of the educational concerns can be resolved through a cooperative effort by all the interested parties.

Leadership is not defined by knowing what the answers are, but rather by understanding how to bring people together to work collaboratively toward the core mission of providing students with an excellent education. Loudoun County Public Schools need leaders who can develop solutions with all stakeholders and take action to implement the solutions.

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