Choice… but only on THEIR terms
The scores are in and only one Petersburg school remains fully accredited, according to the state Department of Education.
A sad reality for families in Petersburg, and unfortunately a sad reality for too many families in Virginia. While progress is being made across the Commonwealth, it is still unacceptable to have any students trapped in schools that are failing them.
But, there is somewhat of a ray of hope. As a result of the schools continuing to not meet their goals, the school system will be forced to implement some type of choice for students, albeit a choice that is still mostly under the control of the existing school system.
Pyle said the agreement with the Petersburg schools required a major restructuring of the schools if certain objectives weren’t met. “Those objectives have not been met,” Pyle said.
As a result, the school system must put into place a contingency plan that was developed at the time of the agreement with the state. Pyle said the city’s school system will have to work with a lead turnaround partner to create a charter-like program and provide a choice for parents and students.
“Independence in the instructional program is the key,” Pyle said.
He added that the other goal of the program would be to provide the city with a model for its secondary schools. “The city already has a model at the elementary school level with Robert E. Lee Elementary School,” Pyle said.
An independently managed school program has been used with great success throughout the country, Pyle said. Petersburg will be the first school district in the state to implement such a program.
Victory said that how the plan is implemented will be at the discretion of the board.
We hope that the board will give the new program the autonomy and flexibility it needs to be successful for Petersburg students. We just wish that the government would understand the benefits of choice for all students all the time, not just when government decides they want it.
Parents want choices in Roanoke…
Parents are taking action in Roanoke against the school system for closing one elementary school and assigning the students to another school that didn’t meet accreditation standards.
A Roanoke judge is being asked to decide the latest dispute arising from the controversial closing of Forest Park Elementary School.
In a petition filed Friday in Roanoke Circuit Court, the parents of four children who attended Forest Park in the last school year accused Superintendant Rita Bishop of failing to provide them with enough choices of where to go when city schools begin classes on Tuesday.
