Four of Charlotte County’s five schools received full accreditation for the 2016-17 school year, according to data released Wednesday morning by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The remaining school, Bacon District Elementary, was listed as “To Be Determined.”

These rankings are based on performance on english, math, history and science Standards of Learning (SOL) tests during the 2015-16 school year.

According to VDOE, in order for a school to receive full accreditation, elementary and middle school students must achieve 75 percent or higher in English; and 70 percent or higher in mathematics, history and science. High school students must meet the same subject benchmarks and also attain a point value of 85 or greater according the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI).

A “To Be Determined” (TBD) status indicates a school is in its fourth consecutive year of not meeting accreditation standards and has applied to be placed into the “reconstituted-partially accredited” status rather than being denied accreditation. These schools must submit an application to VDOE showing SOL improvement and their goals and actions to continue progress to become fully accredited. According to VDOE, 145 schools across the commonwealth fall into this category for the 2016-17 school year. The accreditation status of those schools will be determined later this year, according to VDOE.

Superintendent Nancy Leonard said she is proud of the schools’ performances. “Charlotte County met or exceeded state average on 20 of the 28 SOL tests administered.”

Eureka Elementary, Phenix Elementary, Central Middle and Randolph-Henry High schools all received Fully Accredited status. Randolph-Henry High earned 93 points on the GCI-a full 8 points higher than required for accreditation.

Leonard noted that the high school performed higher than state averages in nearly every content area.

Bacon District Elementary School met benchmarks in mathematics, history and science but received a warning for their 60 percent pass rate in English.

According to VDOE, more than 80 percent of Virginia’s 1,482 public schools are fully accredited for the 2016-2017 school year. This is a 3-point improvement from scores earned during the 2015-2016 school year.

Seven schools earned full accreditation after undergoing reconstitution last year, VDOE said, which included “significant changes in school leadership, governance, faculty or attendance.” Reconstitution status must be approved by the state Board of Education.

The one school pending accreditation will enter into reconstitution status if its applications is approved by VDOE in coming months.
Leonard said, “Charlotte County Schools is a small rural school division with limited funding and resources, and the state accreditation report released yesterday compares us to the wealthier regions across Virginia including Northern Virginia with their unlimited resources.” However, she said, students graduating from the county continue to improve and perform above the state.

“Hats off to our wonderful students, teachers, principals, staff and parents,” said Leonard.