By Parker Butler
Enderly Heights Elementary School is working with the Virginia Department of Education and the local school board to redevelop its educational programs after the school’s Standard of Learning scores failed to achieve state accreditation for the fourth consecutive year.
The state education department is intervening at the elementary school to help get the school closer to meeting the passing rates needed to meet state accreditation. Representatives from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) have been meeting with the school administration to determine the next steps.
In 2012, the two elementary schools in Buena Vista, Enderly Heights and F.W Kling, underwent a reconfiguration. The schools, which both previously consisted of kindergarten to fifth grade, are now split by grades: Kling’s student body consists of kindergarten through second grade, and Enderly’s student body includes students in third grade through fifth grade.
Because Standard of Learning tests don’t begin until third grade, Enderly has become a very
“test-focused” school. Its curriculum is centered on unit assessments and an academic alignment
that prepare students to take the Standard of Learning (SOL) tests administered to students in grades three to five.
The Virginia Department of Education began administering SOLs in 1998. The tests evaluate students’ proficiency in math, science, English, and history. Virginia public schools are required to achieve a 75 percent-passing rate in English and a 70 percent-passing rate in math, science, and history to achieve state accreditation.
For the past four years, Enderly Heights has failed to achieve state accreditation. Currently, the
school’s fifth graders have a 54 percent passing rate in English and a 57 percent passing rate in
math. Both percentages are slightly higher than they were the previous year.
Enderly’s administration has been working to increase its students’ passing rates in recent years. Teachers now outline their classroom curriculums based off a professionally developed schedule that focuses on strong writing and reading.
While the school is working with teachers and the VDOE to increase passing rates on state testing, Enderly is facing another serious task: the search for a new principal.
Earlier this month, Christy Harris resigned after three years of being principal of Enderly.
“It’s very stressful and I’ve just kind of gotten to a point were I need a break,” Harris said. “It’s not like this feeling has just come up, I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
Harris plans to become a financial advisor, and said she she will begin working for Edward Jones Investments when she leaves Enderly at the end of November. Harris said she hopes the best for the school as well as the hardworking teachers.
“My teachers work so hard, and they want to see students get those 70-75 percent passing rates,” Harris said. “I tell them to focus on the small things—like by the end of the year if a kid is multiplying but doesn’t pass his SOL tests, just consider the progress that he’s made.”
Although Enderly has been labeled a “failing” school because of its SOL record, Harris wants people to understand that there is a lot more to the school than just those numbers.
“If people just knew what really took place, to see the great things taking place and the teachers work, we’ve got amazing things happening here,” Harris said.
Haley Sigler, director of teacher education at Washington and Lee University, said that Enderly is moving in the right direction when it comes to SOL scores, and she applauds the teachers for all of their hard work. However, Sigler said the constant “failing” label can be disheartening to the faculty and the 197 students.
“Consider what that does psychologically for people, for teachers that are working there, and for parents and students who hear that their school is a ‘failing’ school,” Sigler said. “There are just a lot of other factors outside of testing that people aren’t considering when they hear that Enderly isn’t meeting state accreditation.”
Such factors include the economically disadvantaged students attending Enderly. Harris said the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches has skyrocketed in the last decade from 30 to 70 percent of the student body.
Harris said she wants the Buena Vista school board to become more involved in the school, and really take an initiative in getting to know the school past the “failing” label. The Buena Vista school administrative offices did not respond to a request for a comment.
“It’s important to take the time to come into classroom and have some conversations with teachers and really get a feel for what they deal with on a daily basis,” Harris said.
The Buena Vista school board will begin interviewing candidates for principal on Friday.