By Channing Shilling
Buena Vista City Schools jumped 44 points in Virginia rankings this year, thanks to more tutoring, new programs and extra resources for students. And higher teacher salaries have made it easier for the district to retain its best educators.
The district is now ranked 38 out of 131 schools, compared to 82 in 2021, reflecting gains since the pandemic and more state funds.
“We’ve used a lot of state money that comes through to us to improve teacher salaries, try to recruit teachers and get those salaries up,” said Tony Francis, superintendent of Buena Vista Schools.
Todd Jones, Parry McCluer High School principal, also said that COVID-19 made student-teacher relationships harder to maintain. Since returning back to in-person school, the school has taken a different approach to fostering relationships by meetings after school and one-on-one help.
“We found ways to work with families that might not have been as traditional,” Jones said.
Test scores have risen across subjects and all grades, according to the Virginia Department of Education.
The percentage of students passing the Virginia reading test has increased by six percentage points over the past year. Since 2022, students’ math performance has risen by 11 percentage points, according to the Virginia Department of Education.
Jones said these improvements are the result of the teacher’s commitment to their students on an academic and personal level. This year, Parry McCluer High School was also able to cut its chronic absenteeism rate by over 20 percent.
This year, Parry McCluer High School’s chronic absenteeism is below 10 percent.
“We did a lot of data tracking and made sure we were on it. Oftentimes we would go out and do home visits if a student was struggling to get to school to make sure we had the resources they needed to get here,” Jones said.
The school is also taking “creative risks” to improve student success, Jones said.
“We have a leadership program going with our students. We have about 40 to 50 kids involved in what’s called Blues Presents. We’re bringing in speakers,” said Jones. “For example, we’re bringing in the president of Sweetbriar this month to speak to the kids about women’s leadership.”
The emphasis on accountability and students’ needs can be seen in the high school’s rising test scores.
At Parry McCluer High School, the percentage of students passing the state mathematics exam has increased by 21 percent since 2022. On the state reading exam, two percent more students are passing compared to last year.
Brandi Kerr, a sixth and seventh grade English teacher at Parry McCluer Middle School, said that new programs are having an impact of students’ test scores.
“We incorporated something called ‘All-In Tutoring’ and that is an hour chunk of time each day where students who are struggling or aren’t quite reaching the mark get an extra hour of individualized help with English and math,” Kerr said.
Kerr said they’ve also implemented a new class called “Resource” to help students who are falling behind in certain subjects.
“Some of our students are getting a double and even a triple dose of English and math each day just depending on where their needs are,” Kerr said.
Parry McCluer Middle School’s reading performance scores increased by four percent since 2023. In math, six percent more students are passing the state exams than in 2022.
This month, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin passed a new set of standards for Virginia public schools. The new measures will help the state gauge Virginia schools’ success.
The Virginia Department of Education’s website said that the new ratings are based on accreditation and accountability standards. These measures place schools in four different categories: Distinguished, On Track, Off Track, and Needs Intensive Support.
Francis said that the new measures put Buena Vista in the On Track category. Looking ahead, Francis says the school will “maintain its team” by keeping and recruiting quality teachers.
“We’re going to continue doing the things that we’ve been doing which is focusing on students first,” Jones said. “If we do that, really, that is 90 percent of what will get us to where we need to be.”