Bacon District honored for ‘Highest Achievement’, Top 100 status
Published 5:48 am Wednesday, November 20, 2024
- Representing Bacon District at the school board meeting were, from left, Mrs. Watkins, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Ingram, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Hudson, Ms. Devin, Mrs. Agee, Mrs. Toombs, Mrs. Snead, Mrs. Newcomb, Mrs. Nichols, and Mrs. Reed.
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You can officially say Bacon District Elementary is one of the Top 100 schools in Virginia. The school was one of just 92 across the state to earn the Virginia Board of Education’s Highest Achievement Award this year. The annual award is given out to recognize schools that excelled in all areas. Every year, the Board of Education gives out two sets of “Exemplar” awards. The first is to recognize growth, to honor schools that improved from year to year. There were 49 on that list for 2024. The second is to pay tribute to schools like Bacon District that excelled across the board.
In order to make this second list, a school has to perform higher than the state standard in reading, math and science in the Standards of Learning tests. That goes for all student groups across the school. Also, the school in question has to be rated better than the state average in the graduation and dropout rate, as well as chronic absenteeism. And based on scores, pass rates and data from this past school year, Bacon District certainly qualifies.
To put this achievement into perspective, there are roughly 1,900 schools in the Commonwealth. That means only 5% of Virginia schools earned this award, including the one here in Charlotte County. Bacon was also the only elementary school in this region to get the award. And to celebrate, the Charlotte County School Board paid tribute to the Bacon District staff during their Tuesday, Nov. 12 meeting.
“Such results are even more difficult to achieve in a small school like Bacon District, because each student’s results greatly impact overall school performance more so than in larger schools,” school district staff said in a statement. “This recognition is a testament to the diligence and commitment of all staff members at BDES. We are extremely proud of our students and staff at Bacon.”
A look at the award given out by the state for Bacon District’s achievement.
Bacon District, growth from year to year
As we pointed out, the school succeeded in all areas. But Bacon District didn’t just exceed state standards. The test scores also beat pre-pandemic numbers. In 2019, 84% of Bacon students passed English. This time, 88% did it. A total of 78% of Bacon students passed science last year. Now that number’s spiked to 82%. And finally in math, 93% of Bacon students passed, better than the 89% that did it in 2019.
“I am very proud of the students and staff at Bacon District Elementary for earning this honor,” said Charlotte County Public Schools Superintendent Robbie Mason. “Bacon is the only elementary school in Region 8 to earn this recognition and it is a testament to the family atmosphere that exists at Bacon and the hard work of everyone in the school, as well as their collaboration with families.”
Bacon District also continues to address the chronic absenteeism problem. Two years ago, 23% of students at the school were absent for 10% of more of classes. That dropped to 16.43% last year and then 13.57% this time.
“Being recognized in the Exemplar School Recognition Program is a direct reflection of a school’s commitment to high performance and increasing excellence,” said Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons. “I am proud of each of the 141 schools that have been recognized today, and I commend each school’s leadership, educators, students, and community for earning this achievement.”
