All Chesterfield County schools are accredited for the 2011-12 school year. The Virginia Department of Education establishes accreditation status each year based on student achievement on SOL tests taken during the previous school year.
Chesterfield students continue to show strong performance on Standards of Learning tests, surpassing state averages. The division’s pass rates for all students are 92 percent in science,
91 percent in English, 90 percent in writing, 88 percent in math and 86 percent in history.
Chesterfield SOL scores are so strong that earlier this year nine schools won waivers from the Virginia Department of Education, making them fully accredited for three years. Only 54 schools in Virginia achieved this three-year accreditation; 16 percent of those high-achieving schools are in Chesterfield County: Evergreen Elementary, Grange Hall Elementary, Greenfield Elementary, Robious Elementary, Swift Creek Elementary, Bettie Weaver Elementary, Winterpock Elementary, Cosby High and Midlothian High.
“Our students and our schools continue to thrive,” Superintendent Marcus J. Newsome said. “Despite budget cuts of $80 million and 500 positions over two years, our teachers and staff members have worked as a team to keep our school system strong. I am proud of our students and employees.”
Chesterfield schools classified as fully accredited are
Elementary schools
- Bellwood
- Bensley
- Beulah
- Bon Air
- Chalkley
- Marguerite Christian
- Clover Hill
- Crenshaw
- Crestwood
- Curtis
- Davis
- Ecoff
- Enon
- Ettrick
- Evergreen
- Falling Creek
- Gates
- Gordon
- Grange Hall
- Greenfield
- Harrowgate
- Hening
- Hopkins
- Jacobs Road
- Matoaca
- Providence
- Reams Road
- Robious
- Salem Church
- Elizabeth Scott
- Alberta Smith
- Spring Run
- Swift Creek
- Watkins
- Bettie Weaver
- Wells
- Winterpock
- Woolridge
Middle schools
- Bailey Bridge
- Carver
- Elizabeth Davis
- Falling Creek
- Manchester
- Matoaca
- Midlothian
- Providence
- Robious
- Salem Church
- Swift Creek
- Tomahawk Creek
High schools
- Lloyd C. Bird
- Clover Hill
- Cosby
- Thomas Dale
- James River
- Manchester
- Matoaca
- Midlothian
- Monacan
Despite significant improvements on their test scores, two schools are provisionally accredited: Chesterfield Community High and Meadowbrook High. The Virginia Department of Education changed its criteria this year by including a Graduation and Completion Index for high schools. The GCI calculation awards full credit for students who earn a Board of Education-approved diploma and partial credit for other outcomes. For a school to be fully accredited, a GCI of 85 percent is required; high schools with a GCI of 80 percent to 84 percent are eligible for a rating of provisionally accredited — graduation rate, according to the Virginia Department of Education.To improve the number of students graduating on time and earning Virginia Board of Education-recognized diplomas, Meadowbrook High is increasing its focus on relationships by creating smaller learning communities within the school and by adopting a college model in which every student meets regularly with a faculty adviser. Strengthening relationships will increase student engagement, keeping students in school and on track to graduate in four years. Meadowbrook High has increased efforts to track students who leave Meadowbrook, to see if they are enrolling in another school division.
“Because of dedicated staff members working diligently with students and high levels of community investment in our schools, Chesterfield County students are making significant progress in terms of academic achievement,” Dr. Newsome said. Mathematics pass rates for all students have increased by 11 percentage points over the past five years. Science and history pass rates have increased 6 points over the past five years. Reading pass rates have improved 4 points to 91 percent.
Going deeper into student achievement on SOLs, federal No Child Left Behind subgroups have made significant gains over the past five years in Chesterfield County Public Schools. For example, mathematics scores have increased
- 20 percentage points for economically disadvantaged students
- 17 percentage points for Hispanic students
- 16 percentage points for black students
- 15 percentage points for students with disabilities
- 15 percentage points for students with limited English proficiency
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