Roanoke City held its annual convocation at the Civic Center on Monday which has become a pep rally of sorts for teachers and administrators. School Board Chairman David Carson congratulated attendees for helping 26 of 27 city schools become state accredited. He told the more than 2,000 teachers, principals, and staff members that they have to be “agents of change.” With privatized busing, new attendance zones and some schools now closed, Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop said they needed to focus on successes – and sustaining them.
“It’s just all over the place what our successes are. They touch every area. Now it’s keeping the energy up, yes we can, we’re going to keep on doing it,” said Bishop.
That may be hard for some faculty to do with the recent on SOL testing scandal at William Fleming High School, but Bishop says it shouldn’t reflect the whole school system.
“I see it as an unfortunate event. When we have problems, we don’t deny them. We go on, we move on and that’s what we’ll do,” said Bishop.
Bishop says the new William Fleming High School will act as a symbol of the successes of city schools. “Would you all please try to come and take a look at that school. It’s a very important statement about how this School Board, the citizens of this community, the city officials feel about the importance of public education,” Bishop added.
The superintendent also highlighted the school system’s strategic plan, contained in a document titled “Our New Direction, 2009-2014.” A consultant group in Lancaster, PA, where Bishop came from several years ago, helped assemble the plan. Closing the achievement gap, graduating “100% of our students and raising the academic achievement level of all students, should be the school system’s main focus, according to Bishop and the strategic plan.
Carson welcomed a handful of area legislators and fellow school board members before he addressed the convocation gathering. He then launched into one of his favorite punching bags – the federal No Child Left Behind mandate:
“Notwithstanding the insane and myopic dictates of No Child Left Behind, 26 of 27 of our schools are fully accredited by the state – highest number in Roanoke City Public School history.” Carson is critical of mandates that can take money away from schools if they are failing – claiming that is where funding is needed the most. For the first time ever Lucy Addison was among the accredited schools.
Carson also noted a “double digit increase,” in the city’s high school graduation rate, the new Forest Park overage academy, Fallon Park Elementary (rated as a top-12 urban school nationwide) and Virginia Teacher of the Year Stephanie Doyle (Breckenridge Middle), who also spoke. Sixty graduates of the system are now enrolled tuition-free at Virginia Western.
“This next year, it is our collective expectation that all of our schools will be fully accredited and make [Average Yearly Progress standards],” said Carson, who asked teachers and administrators to be role models and agents of change. “Let us rearrange our priorities so that perseverance, truthfulness, kindness, and respect replace greed, materialism, and excess as what is important.” He’d like to see those that work in the city live within its boundaries also – and have their children go to school there.
Carson finished off on an up note: “the time has come for all of us to grab any and every opportunity to recognize and celebrate our achievements… we’re on our way and we’re all in this together.” City schools open after Labor Day.
(Includes information from media partner WSLS-10)
