Board of Education
July 26, 2006
Video Transcript

Charles Pyle, Director of Communications (Narrator)

The July meeting of the Board of Education was the first for Billy Cannaday as Virginia’s new superintendent of public instruction. After welcoming Dr. Cannaday, President Mark Emblidge announced the creation of a committee to study issues related to dropouts and graduation. The committee will be led by Vice President Ella Ward of Chesapeake and board member Andrew Rotherham of Earlysville.

Andrew J. Rotherham, Board of Education

We will get a handle on what the actual numbers are as best we can with the data we have in hand. Then we will have to look at the causes of the problem once we understand the extent of it, and then what can we do to address the problem and what kind of solutions we need. So, it’s a three-fold charge from getting a handle on the problem to figuring out how we are going to solve it to better serve kids in the state.

Ella P. Ward, vice president, Board of Education

Being a secondary teacher myself, or having been for 35 years, I’ve always been interested with what is going on with ninth graders. That transition period from middle school to high school has caused a lot of difficulty and I think this committee is going to allow us the opportunity to look at that very closely to see where we can make some improvements.

Narrator

The Board also discussed concerns recently expressed by the U.S. Department of Education regarding provisions for certain veteran teachers and secondary special education teachers to become “highly qualified” under No Child Left Behind. The president of the Virginia Education Association addressed the board on the issue.

Princess Moss, president, Virginia Education Association

The Virginia Education Association urges the board to be true to your own standards of excellence and tell the U.S. Department of Education that their definition of “highly qualified” pales in comparison with Virginia’s standard and we won’t accept it.

Narrator

The board also adopted cut scores recommended for the Modified Standard Diploma on the grade-8 reading and mathematics tests and cut scores for the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program. And finally, Superintendent Cannaday briefed the board on his plan to host regular orientation sessions for new division superintendents and school board chairmen. Dr. Cannaday says the goal is to build relationships that benefit students.

Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent of Public Instruction

The most important thing is that the adults who have the responsibility of overseeing the quality of education and the delivery of services to children need to demonstrate in public that not only do they work well together, but they are able to work through difficulty.

Narrator

The board’s next regularly scheduled is Wednesday, September 27, on the 22 nd floor of the James Monroe Building here in Richmond. I’m Charles Pyle for the Virginia Department of Education, thanking you for visiting us online and thanking you for your interest in the commonwealth’s public schools.