All Alexandria Public Schools Accredited For First Time

ALEXANDRIA, VA — All Alexandria public schools are fully accredited for the first time, according to the Virginia Department of Education's ratings for the 2019-2020 school year. That includes 13 elementary schools, two middle schools, one combined Pre-K to eighth grade school, and T.C. Williams High School.

A new accreditation system implemented during the previous school year grades schools not only on overall achievement but on student growth over a school year. Schools were evaluated in three categories: academic achievement, achievement gaps, and student engagement and outcomes. Performance was rated on three levels: level one (meets or exceeds state standard or sufficient improvement), level two (near state standard or sufficient improvement) or level three (below state standard). Accredited schools must receive all level one and two ratings.

For Alexandria's school district, a noteworthy accolade went to Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 School, which hadn't need accredited since 2008 and has been struggling with testing results. According to Jefferson-Houston's school quality profile, 65.4 percent of students were economically disadvantaged in 2018.

"Alexandria’s accomplishment is especially noteworthy given how far the division has come, said James Lane, Virginia's superintendent of public instruction, in a statement. "The journey to accreditation has been strategic due to a great team of teachers, educators, and leaders who have an equitable and innovative focus on every child. We have followed the growth trajectory in Alexandria for the past few years with excitement and know it has taken the entire community and many partners to make this moment of celebration possible."

Alexandria City Public Schools, which reported an enrollment of 15,968 in fall 2018, has faced challenges in improving student achievement. The district has 60.8 percent of the student population being economically disadvantaged, and 41 percent are English language learners. On the latest Standards of Learning (SOL) results, ACPS saw improvements in math results, including more black, Hispanic, English learner and disadvantaged students earning proficient scores. However, the district saw slight overall declines in reading, writing, history and science.

While achievement gaps are narrowing at ACPS, they still exist for Hispanic, black and economically disadvantaged students as well as students with disabilities in reading and math. ACPS says it's been focused on addressing barriers that can impact academic achievement.

The school district had a particular emphasis on math for improvement planning in the last school year. Next school year, the focus will be on improving reading skills. Planning has involved data analysis in quarterly meetings, monthly professional learning and intensive equity training for instructional leaders.

In all, 1,682 Virginia schools, or 92 percent of schools, received accreditation in 2019-2020. The Virginia Department of Education's accreditation system began in 1999.

See accreditation results for all Virginia schools or individual Alexandria school quality reports.