Key Middle School -Springfield - High Shool Plans?
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Anonymous
| Accreditation isn’t based on SOL scores anymore. |
Anonymous
I am talking about the accreditation percentiles on Lee's school profile. They are mid/upper 70s to mid 90s for English. What percentiles are the cut off for losing accreditation? |
Anonymous
That could be true. It could also be true that environments with lots of other students who perform above average will boost your child's performance. |
Anonymous
| Sure - in their AP or IB classes.... |
Anonymous
According to VDOE: High schools are Fully Accredited if: Students achieve pass rates of 75 percent or higher in English and 70 percent or higher in mathematics, science and history; and Attain a point value of 85 or greater based on the Graduation and Completion Index (GCI). Under legislation approved by the 2016 General Assembly, schools that earn full accreditation for three consecutive years are automatically rated as Fully Accredited for an additional three years. |
Anonymous
So if Lee is consistently in the mid to upper 70s for math and the low to mid 90s in English, what would be the justification for the rumor it is losing accreditation? |
Anonymous
None. GCI may become an issue one day but things are changing as far as alternative options so doubtful. |
Anonymous
So the losing accreditation thing here on dcum is most likely wistful thinking from a person who wants their neighborhood rezoned to another pyramid away from Lee? |
Anonymous
| Yep |
Anonymous
| With the way accreditation standards have changed for ESOL students recently, a school like Key or Lee stands to see a big increase, not decrease. |
Anonymous
So instead of lifting people to meet the standards, they lower than standards? |
Anonymous
| I’m not sure what that means. ESOL students have the same requirements as everyone else. The requirements for graduation will change for all incoming freshman, and this change will likely increase pass rates for all schools. |
Anonymous
That is a state thing, not a Lee thing. |
Anonymous
Gatehouse insider. I want to clear up a few things. First, this year's pass rates reflect the standards by the VA DOE that are going away next year. There are many, many ESOL students not included in this population even though they take the test. We've modeled based on the VA DOE standards going into next year and there are going to be issues if the state maintains the approach it current has in terms of assessing students' SOL scores for accreditation. There are some grumblings in Richmond that they may do another year extension and kick the can down the road, but no one knows and we were told nothing would be set until well into the fall by the state. Second, yes, Lee has issues with graduation rates, but again, there has been some relief from the state on that front when it comes to ESOL students. That actually helps Lee and isn't a big issue since the method of calculating grad rates isn't going to change to capture more ESOL students. Third, all of the admins in this pyramid are doubling down to try to get students up to speed on foundational learning. That's why there was this whole push to add math and language arts remediation at Key for example. They are trying to get as many students that are currently in the pyramid across the proficiency line before they get to Lee because... Fourth, Lee gets an influx of older ESOL learners as a designated learning site for ESOL because they got rid of the night school to save money. This population of students drop off at high rates (because they need to work and struggle learning and the day time schedule cuts into their ability to make money). One sad point -- graduation rates were 200 percent higher at the night school. It worked much better for these kids and they were able to learn, stagger childcare, etc. It sucks that it's gone as an option. Finally, they are looking into budgeting options for creating an IB center east that would encompass a middle MYP program at Key and an IB program at Lee that would be exclusively IB students. The point of contention is whether busing would be included and whether it would, indeed, save money. Another issue is the Western High school issue. The idea is being floated that if this occurs, it would be tied with the Western High school and a bond would need to be approved. It's all very theoretical right now and in the preliminary planning phases. |
Anonymous
| I’m calling BS on this actually being a “Gatehouse Insider” mainly because of the 2nd and 4th points above. While there might be relief as far as on time graduation, there isn’t for drop outs - a true “insider” would know that. . The 4th doesn’t even make sense. There is no such thing anywhere in the county as a “designated ESOL learning site.” The night school students did not have higher graduation rates because there was no graduation from Lee night school. They had to transfer to an adult high school to complete their requirements. So, that was just made up. Now that it is closed, they can go to Woodson Adult, Bryant, or Plum. |