Henrico schools achieve, maintain academic gains, according to new Virginia Department of Education stats

Information released Monday by the Virginia Department of Education shows Henrico County Public Schools making gains in some areas and maintaining recent progress in others.

All nine HCPS high schools attained Virginia’s “Level 1” status for English, math and science, meaning they met or exceeded state accreditation standards, or made significant progress. All 12 HCPS middle schools attained “Level 1” status in math, as well as in addressing absenteeism.

Fifty-nine of the school division’s 67 K-12 schools – or 88 percent – were designated as accredited. All nine Henrico high schools maintained accreditation. In the period since 2014-15, the school division has cut from 28 to eight the number of schools designated as not accredited or conditionally accredited.

Ratcliffe Elementary School regained its accreditation, and made impressive gains, including 7 percentage-point improvements in both English and math for all students, as well as noteworthy gains for black students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities.

Fair Oaks, Mehfoud, Montrose and Varina elementary schools – which all regained state accreditation in 2018 – maintained their accredited status in the new report.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the hard work and dedication of our students and staff members in making gains across a range of academic areas,” said Amy Cashwell, HCPS superintendent. “Academic growth doesn’t just happen. It takes all facets of a community working together. We are seeing the results of that hard work – by our staff members, our families, our School Board and our citizens.”

Other evidence of improvement included:

• 84% of HCPS schools achieved Level 1 for English.
• 97% of HCPS schools achieved Level 1 for math.
• 94% of HCPS schools achieved Level 1 for science.
• 91% of HCPS schools achieved Level 1 for addressing chronic absenteeism.
• Eight high schools achieved Level 1 for graduation rates.

Henrico County Public Schools continues to pursue an aggressive plan to ensure that all its schools reach and maintain accreditation. As part of that strategy, the school division is:

• Adding wraparound services outside the classroom to serve a variety of student needs. This full-service community model is a pilot project that is being expanded.
• Adopting a culturally responsive education model to integrate concepts of equity and multicultural awareness into curricula and teaching strategies.
• Adding instructional coaches to assist teachers with instruction and planning, based on data and student needs.
• Forming teams to aid in teacher collaboration.
• Adopting Virginia’s school improvement process at all HCPS schools, to ensure that everyone at a school is on the same page and focused on schoolwide data-driven objectives.