Board of Education
April 26, 2006
Video Transcript

Charles Pyle, Virginia Department of Education

Governor Timothy Kaine made his fist appearance before the Board of Education and outlined his agenda for public education. He expressed his support for the Standards of Learning, but said it is time for the Board to challenge more schools to move beyond the SOLs.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine:

The commonwealth’s vision for educational excellence must combine SOL competency requirements with incentives that recognize and reward higher levels of performance and achievement on multiple indicators of school and student performance. We have to have a formal process and we need to dialogue about this to recognize and reward schools and school divisions on an annual basis that significantly exceed the standards for state accreditation.

Charles Pyle:

The Governor also recognized newly-appointed Board member Thomas M. Brewster of Tazewell County. Dr. Brewster is an assistant professor of education at Concord University and a former principal of Tazewell’s Pocahontas High School.

Both the 2006 National High School Principal of the Year and the 2006 National Middle School Teacher of the Year are Virginia educators. And Mel Riddle of J.E.B. Stuart High School in Fairfax County and Sharon Byrdsong of Azalea Garden Middle School in Norfolk were honored by the Board at the April meeting. Both of these outstanding instructional leaders told the Board that improving literacy was fundamental to their success in raising student achievement.

Mel Riddle/2006 National High School Principal of the Year

Without literacy skills, students have really very little opportunity to succeed in today’s world. If students are not proficient and can’t read proficiently, what can they really do in high schools today?

Sharon Byrdsong/2006 National Middle School Principal of the Year

We were one of the lowest-performing schools in the district, if not in the state. The results of the Standards of Learning tests indicated that the majority of my students had not mastered core-content material. All teachers at Azalea knew that they would have to commit themselves to being teachers not only in their content areas but teachers of reading as well.

Charles Pyle:

The Board also received the report and recommendations of its 2006 Student Advisory Committee. The students are recommending the expansion of peer mediation programs, an increased focus on “real world” experiences for students, and the creation of a “Spirit of the Commonwealth” award for high-achieving, well-rounded students.

Alexandra Whitehead/Student Advisory Committee

That will recognize student leadership in the school and community, student involvement in clubs, sports, societies, and service organizations, academic achievement, and finally civic involvement.

Charles Pyle

High school and middle school students interested in serving on next year’s student advisory committee should contact their guidance counselor. Several speakers voiced support for the revised Standards of Learning for the Fine Arts, which the Board approved.

The Board also approved objectives for Economics Education and Financial Literacy.

Linda Wallinger, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction

These objectives were developed in response to legislation that was passed by the General Assembly in 2005 and the Board was required at that time to develop and approve objectives for economics education and financial literacy to be required of all middle and high school students by July 1 of this year. These objectives do allow school divisions the flexibility to determine the format and strategies that they will use in helping students to meet these requirements.

Charles Pyle

The Board of Education’s next meeting is scheduled for May 24, here in Richmond. It will mark the Board’s final review of the revised Standards of Accreditation. For the Virginia Department of Education, I’m Charles Pyle.