VASSP members Dr. Linda Scott, principal, Oscar F. Smith Middle School, Chesapeake Division, and Skyles Calhoun, principal, Woodbridge Middle School, Prince William Division, have been notified by NASSP that their schools are among 10 middle schools throughout the nation that are being recognized for their academic successes through the 2012 MetLife Foundation-NASSP Breakthrough Schools program. …
November 2011 archive
Nov 29
Extend Your Thinking on Merit Pay
Governor McDonnell campaigned on the idea of merit pay for teachers and administrators. Whether you agree or disagree with his idea, I think you have to respect someone who actually implements something they campaigned on. Approximately 10% of the school divisions are piloting a merit /incentive pay plan during this school year using the revised teacher …
Nov 28
Thanksgiving and HB2395 have both come and gone
Just as the Thanksgiving turkey has come and gone, HB2395, another effort by homeschool advocates to open VHSL activities to their children is gone…. for now. The subcommittee of the House Education Committee convened by Chairman Bob Tata voted Tuesday, November 22nd to effectively “kill” Delegate Rob Bell’s bill to allow homeschooled students to participate in …
Nov 27
Group Critizes Virginia School Disciplinary Tactics
According to a new report, more than 90,500 individual students were suspended or expelled from Virginia schools during the 2010-11 academic year. JustChildren, a legal aid program that advocates on behalf of low-income students, issued a report Thursday, November 17, 2011, that is critical of disciplinary practices at Virginia’s public schools. According to the report, more …
Nov 21
VASSP/NASSP Positions on Reauthorization of ESEA
This is an update for our members on the VASSP and NASSP rationale on the Senate vs. House ESEA bills: VASSP advocates overall for a swift reauthorization of ESEA and is working with NASSP as they work with both the Senate and House to reach this point. While in the meantime we appreciate the …
Nov 21
Changes ARE Coming with State Waivers and You DO NOT WANT Your School Involved
Educators have been asking for years for changes to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and to the way schools are identified as failing schools through the use of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). It appears those changes are forthcoming. Since Congress has lagged in its efforts to reauthorize NCLB, the President and Secretary of Education …
Nov 07
Good News for All Virginia Principals
In a recent posting from the Virginia Department of Education on their web site,http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/graduation_completion/cohort_reports/index.shtml, the announcement was made regarding the on-time graduation rate for the 2011 graduates. Among the facts reported by the DOE, the on-time graduation rate rose one point to 86.6 percent along with a corresponding one point fall in the state dropout …
Nov 02
Javaid Siddiqi Appointed Deputy Secretary for Education
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced October 21,2011 that Javaid Saddiqi, Principal at Robious Middle School had been appointed as Deputy Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Javid, a member of VASSP, will assume his new duties in November. Javaid’s response, when asked about making the transition from building administrator to the Governor’s Cabinet was …