By Joanne DiMaggio

Wondering what the score is for area schools? This first in a two-part series gives you an overview of public schools in Central Virginia. (Next week we focus on private schools.) We’ve included highlights and provided Web sites for more information about individual schools.

Albemarle County Public Schools
www.k12albemarle.org
In 2008, Forbes magazine named Albemarle County as one of the top 20 best places to raise a family in the nation. Forbes selected localities that are safe, fun, affordable, and have a strong, high-performing public school system. Listed below are a few reasons why Albemarle County Public Schools is so competitive:

•    Art, music, physical education, special education, and gifted services in all schools.
•    Male and female athletes at all three comprehensive high schools are district, regional, state, and national champions in AA and AAA.
•    Students are accepted to the most prestigious universities; 10 National Merit Scholars in 2009.
•    Advanced technical skills prepare students for the 21st-century workplace.
•    Performing arts programs are nationally acclaimed.
•    Two-thirds of students graduate with college credit.
•    Destination Imagination teams have been to global competition for 15 years running.
•    Students consistently capture district, regional, state, and national titles in science fairs, History Day, and Envirothon competitions, among others.
•    High school band, orchestra, and choir programs consistently earn superior ratings in state and national festivals.
•    Highly qualified teachers with advanced degrees and continuous professional development.
•    Class sizes average 21 students in elementary school and 24 students in middle and high school.
•    Achievement rates on standardized testing benchmarks surpass state and national averages by wide margins.
Every day, nearly 200 buses travel more than 11,000 total miles to transport nearly 12,700 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 to 1 of 27 schools. The school division operates 16 elementary; six middle; and five high schools, including a public charter school, Murray High, and Charlottesville-Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC), which is jointly operated with Charlottesville City Schools. In 2008-2009, an arts-infused charter middle school was opened and in 2009-2010, a Math, Engineering and Science Academy (MESA) will open at Albemarle High School.

Charlottesville City Schools
www.charlottesvilleschools.org
Serving nearly 4,000 students, the Charlottesville City School Division consists of six elementary schools (preschool through 4); one upper elementary school (grades 5-6); one middle school (grades 7-8); and one high school (grades 9-12). The division’s per pupil expenditure in 2008-09 was $15,514. Charlottesville City Schools maintains a tradition of small class sizes. Student/teacher ratios vary, from 17:1 to 20:1 in K-4, 16.25:1 in grades 5-8; and 20.5:1 in high school.

All schools are fully accredited by the state. In Standards of Learning testing, division-wide pass rates continue to improve and the achievement gap continues to narrow. SAT scores in reading, math, and writing are above both state and national means.

In recent years, Charlottesville City School Division has made substantial progress in meeting academic standards and in expanding 21st-century learning opportunities for all students. Classes for three-year-old children have been expanded and alternative learning options for high school students have increased the number of CHS graduates.

Six Charlottesville City schools were among those recognized under a new incentive program for schools and school divisions to advance Governor Kaine’s “competence to excellence” agenda.

For the third time in four years, the Virginia High School League has awarded the Group AA Wachovia Cup for Academics to Charlottesville High School. Greenbrier Elementary School has been nominated by the Virginia DOE for the 2009 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools Award, one of seven schools in Virginia to receive this nomination.

The CHS Class of 2009 included 15 National Merit Commended Scholars; one National Merit Achievement Program Semifinalist; one National Merit Achievement Finalist; and eight National Merit Finalists.

City schools have a long-established reputation for exemplary fine arts programs. The Charlottesville High School Orchestra (CHSO) is one of the largest high school orchestra programs in Virginia. This year, CHSO was the only high school orchestra in the U.S. to participate in the inaugural Castleton Music Festival, hosted by Maestro Lorin Maazel, world-renowned conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

CHS and Buford Middle School both earned the prestigious "Blue Ribbon School" designation this year. It is the sixth year for CHS and the third for Buford. The Virginia Music Educators Association bestows this honor upon schools where all musical ensembles earned superior ratings at their respective district concert festivals.

City students at all grade levels collaborated with professional singers and musicians to present the opera "Noye's Fludde," a project made possible through the Ash Lawn Opera Company and a grant from the Prana Fund.

Fluvanna County Public Schools
www.fluco.org
The Fluvanna County Public Schools system is comprised of five schools: Central Elementary, Cunningham Elementary, Columbia Elementary, Fluvanna Middle School, and Fluvanna County High School. Construction is currently underway on a new high school. All of Fluvanna’s schools are fully accredited. The mission of Fluvanna County Public Schools is: “to provide quality education whereby all students acquire the skills, knowledge, and values necessary to develop into responsible and productive citizens of the twenty-first century.” To that end, Fluvanna County Public Schools are one of eight Virginia school divisions recognized by Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services for narrowing the achievement gap.

Student enrollment is a little over 3,800 students with a targeted student-teacher ratio of 22:1. The school system offers a variety of student programs, including special education, gifted and talented education, career and technical education, and alternative education. Parental involvement is high, as is the school system’s expectation of its students.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and Old Dominion University recognized Fluvanna County High School by certifying that its Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering and Engineering Technology Program met the stringent standards of quality set by the college. Fluvanna County High School is one of only five schools certified by PLTW in Virginia.

Greene County Public Schools
www.greenecountyschools.com
Greene County Public Schools (GCPS) educates approximately 2,800 children in grades PreK through 12 in one primary school, two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and one technical school. Greene County Public Schools has five nationally board certified teachers; 43% of the division’s professional staff has a master’s or doctoral degree, while 98% of its professional teaching staff are considered “highly qualified.”

GCPS has a lot to be proud of:

•    The Class of 2009 received $791,400 in scholarships.
•    Seventy-four percent of the Class of 2009 will continue their formal education after high school.
•    Thirty-nine students earned at least 15 college credits at William Monroe High School.
•    Ninety-one percent graduation rate in 2008-2009.
•    Two Greene County teachers were selected to participate on the 2009 CDOE SOL Assessment Review Committee.
•    RES teacher Donna Shifflett was chosen to present at the National Conference of History Educators in Boston.
•    Hope Harlow and Diane Kenney were recognized as Educators of the Year for the 2008-2009 school year.
•    A five-year, $1.7 million Teaching American History Grant was awarded to GCS in partnership with surrounding counties.
•    The State Board of Education awarded William Monroe High School the VIP Excellence Award for meeting all of the state and federal accountability benchmarks for at least two consecutive years.

Louisa County Public Schools
www.lcps.k12.va.us
Louisa County Public Schools (LCPS) currently has five schools: one high school (9-12), one middle school (6-8), and three elementary schools (preK-5). The building of Moss-Nuckols Elementary School, the county’s fourth elementary school, is expected to be completed for an August 2010 opening. The division also has an alternative education center for students at the middle and high school levels. The high school has an extensive career and technical education department and access to a Governor's School.
All five schools were accredited for 2008 by the Virginia Department of Education, having met or exceeded the standards required on the SOL assessments.

During the 2008-2009 school year, the school division employed 379 teachers—44% of which had master’s degrees—serving approximately 4,730 students. The division strives to maintain a 21:1 student/teacher ratio at the elementary level and a 25:1 student/teacher ratio at the middle and high school levels.

In May of 2009, the largest senior class in Louisa County High School’s history graduated. A total of 357 students received their diplomas at the high school’s sixty-ninth annual commencement service. Approximately 35% planned to attend a 4-year college, 30% planned to attend a 2-year college, 32% planned to work, and 3% planned to enlist in the military.

Louisa County Public Schools utilizes the Effective Schools process, where the staff examines school needs and sets goals each year. Both at the school level and at the district level, the schools’ procedures and processes are continually assessed to ensure they are meeting the needs of its students and its community.

LCPS has seen continual progress since 1998 when Standards of Learning testing began. Test scores have risen despite the fact that a different group of students are being tested each time and the SOLs are revised periodically and additional SOL tests have been added over the years.
           
Madison County Public Schools
www.madisonschools.k12.va.us
The educational philosophy of Madison County Public Schools is to provide equal opportunity for every student to achieve maximum intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth, to ensure that each individual be equipped to communicate effectively with other people, to be competent both in the workplace and in higher education, and to feel confident of the ability to make creative and constructive decisions in his/her life.

The school district includes Madison County High School, William Wetsel Middle School, Waverly Yowell Elementary, and Madison Primary School. All schools were fully accredited for the 2008-2009 school year.

The high school has been awarded Virginia High School League’s Wachovia Cup for Academic Excellence for 15 out of 16 years and recently won state awards in forensics, debate, and drama. Sixty-one percent of 2009 graduates earned an advanced studies diploma. During the 2008-2009 school year, the wrestling team placed third overall in state competition, the boy’s basketball team went to the semi-finals, the baseball team was a quarter-finalist, and the boys cross country team participated in the state meet.

Madison students are entering their second year of participation in The Blue Ridge Virtual Governor’s School, with 15 sophomores and 14 freshman enrolled for the 2009-2010 school year. Middle and high school students wrote articles, which were published in state and national publications. The middle school received an excellent rating in state band competition; the elementary school’s student council association continued participation in various community outreach projects, including organizing a canned food drive as well as a food and toy drive for the animal shelter; and Madison Primary School continues to focus on character education and parental involvement, holding conferences with 100% of parents.

Nelson County Public Schools
www.nelson.k12.va.us
“Empowering generations through excellence in education.” That’s the vision of Nelson County Public Schools. Its mission is to educate students to become skilled, responsible, productive, and enlightened citizens who contribute to society. To accomplish this, the school district is committed to:

•    Learning for all.
•    Maintaining an environment conducive to learning.
•    Supporting communication, collaboration and teamwork.
•    Using the growth and learning process as a critical component of the organization.
•    Teaching the importance of mutual respect, character development, and diversity.
•    Including the community and businesses as key partners in the educational process.
•    Maintaining positive and proactive public relations.
•    Learning as a lifelong process.

Low student/teacher ratios in modern facilities provide an array of educational opportunities for students of all ages. All Nelson County schools are fully accredited by the Commonwealth of Virginia and they continue to exceed Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) benchmarks of achievement.

During the 2007-2008 academic year, Nelson County Schools had a total of 1,986 students in pre-school through 12th grade. The district employs approximately 80 teachers, with 45% holding a master’s degree. The pupil to instructional staff ratio is 12:1 and the student to computer ratio is 1.7:1. Fifty-three percent of high school graduates in 2008 planned to attend higher institutions and 80% received an advanced diploma. The SAT average test score was 1440, with 51% of seniors taking the test.

Nelson County Public Schools partners with community agencies and institutions of higher learning to provide opportunities for its youth.

Orange County Public Schools
www.ocss-va.org
Orange Schools employ 90 high-quality, creative teachers who this fall will educate approximately 5,200 students in eight schools, including five elementary, two middle schools, and one high school. Average pupil/teacher ratios are 1:21 in elementary; 1:24 in middle; and 1:25 in high school. All schools in the system are accredited by the Virginia Department of Education.

OCPS has approximately 633 identified gifted and talented students. OCPS offers summer scholars program for enrichment as well as Head Start, Early Head Start, and a Head Start Spanish immersion program.

OCPS graduated 360 students in 2009, of which 203 students graduated with an Advanced Studies Diploma. Blue Ridge Virtual Governor’s School, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, and distance learning are offered by OCPS.
Approximately 70% of this year’s graduating class is continuing their education.
92.8% of their graduates enrolled in a Career & Technical Education Course during middle or high school. In addition, advanced math and foreign language instruction is offered.

OCPS has a five-year capital improvement plan and a new middle school is projected to be opened in fall 2011 at the eastern end of the county.