ADMINISTRATIVE

  Each year as a part of the Annual Report to the General
  Assembly on the conditions and needs of public education
  in Virginia, the Board of Education is required to report
  the level of compliance by local school divisions with the
  requirements of the Standards of Quality.  This
  requirement is in response to Section 22.1-18 of the Code
  of Virginia.  The information required to prepare this
  report is not available to the Department of Education
  from other sources.

  Please review the standards and the indicators (a list of
  standards indicators, Attachment B, is enclosed for your
  reference), and report on Attachment A only those
  standards or indicators that you determine your division
  is not in full compliance.  For each item listed on
  Attachment A, provide a brief corrective action plan for
  complying with the requirement.  Our purpose in receiving
  this information is to report accurate information to the
  Board of Education and the General Assembly, as well as to
  assist you in your efforts to be in compliance with all
  applicable standards.  Please return Attachment A along
  with any required corrective action plans as indicated on
  or before June 30, 1998. 

  If you have questions regarding this request, please do
  not hesitate to contact Charles W. Finley, Principal
  Specialist for Policy Analysis at (804) 225-2747 or via
  VaPEN to cfinley@pen.k12.va.us.

  PDS/cwf
  Attachments:  A hard copy of this memo and its attachment
                will be sent to the superintendent's office.

  ----------------------------------------------------------

                        ATTACHMENT A

                  COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
                  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

               AFFIDAVIT AFFIRMING COMPLIANCE
               WITH THE STANDARDS OF QUALITY

                    SCHOOL YEAR 1997-98

  INSTRUCTIONS:  Annual monitoring of local school division
  compliance with the Standards of Quality is required by
  statute.  This information is used to prepare, in part, the
  Board of Education Annual Report to the General Assembly. 
  Please check the appropriate statement, add any information
  necessary, sign the form and return it to the address below
  on or before June 30, 1998.


  School Division  _________________________________________

  CHECK ONE

  ____    I certify that the above identified school division
            is in full compliance with the requirements of
            22.1-253.13:1 et. seq. of the Code of Virginia
            (Standards of Quality for Public Schools in
            Virginia).

  ____    I certify that the above identified school division
            is in full compliance with the requirements of
            22.1-253.13:1 et. seq. of the Code of Virginia
            (Standards of Quality for Public Schools in Virginia)
            with the exceptions listed below:





     Attach a brief corrective action plan for each non
       compliance item listed above.


  Signature  ____________________________ Date  ___________ 
               Chairman, School Board


  Signature  ____________________________ Date  ___________
               Division Superintendent

  ---------------------------------------------------------

                         RETURN TO:
                     Charles W. Finley
          Principal Specialist for Policy Analysis
                  Department of Education
                       P.O. Box 2120
                  Richmond, VA 23218-2120
  ---------------------------------------------------------

                        ATTACHMENT B

                  COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
                  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

   SIMPLIFIED LISTING OF REQUIREMENTS IN THE STANDARDS OF
                          QUALITY
     NOTE:  The letter identifies the paragraph in the
            standards.  The number enumerates the various 
            requirements contained in the standard.
   Please refer to the full text of the standards for the
           complete language of the requirement.


  STANDARD 1: BASIC SKILLS, SELECTED PROGRAMS AND INSTRUCTIONAL
              PERSONNEL                  

  B.1.      The school division has implemented Standards of
            Learning objectives or the equivalent for the
            development of the basic skills.                      


  B.2.      The school division requires students to demonstrate
            achievement of the educational objectives utilized by
            the school division at each grade level.

  C.1.      The school division has developed and implemented a
            program of instruction in grades K-12 which emphasizes: 


     a.     Reading, writing, and speaking.          

     b.     Mathematical concepts and computations.  

     c.     Scientific concepts and processes.        

     d.     Essential skills and concepts of citizenship,
            including knowledge of history, economics,
            government, foreign languages, international
            cultures, environmental issues and geography
            necessary for responsible participation in
            American society and in the international
            community.

     e.     Fine and Practical Arts.                 

     f.     Knowledge and skills needed to qualify for
            further education or employment, or in the case
            of certain children with disabilities, to qualify
            for eventual employment and lifelong learning.

  C.2.      The school division provides programs of prevention,
             intervention, or remediation for students who are at
            risk including, but not limited to, students whose
            scores are in the bottom national quartile on VSAPT, or
            who do not pass the Literacy Passport Test.

  C.3.      The school division requires students who do not pass
            the literacy tests to attend summer school or
            participate in another form of remediation.

  D.1.      The school division has implemented the following:

       a.   Programs in grades K through 3 which emphasize
            developmentally appropriate learning to enhance
            success.

       b.   Programs based on prevention, intervention, or
            retrieval to increase the number of students who
            earn a high school diploma or general education
            development (GED) certificate.

       c.   Career education programs infused into the K
            through 12 curricula that promote knowledge of
            careers and all types of employment opportunities
            and emphasize the advantages of completing school
            with marketable skills.

       d.   Competency-based vocational education programs,
            according to a plan approved by the local board,
            which integrate academic outcomes, career
            guidance, and job-seeking skills for all
            secondary students including those with
            disabilities.

      f.    Academic and vocational preparation for students
            who plan to continue their education beyond
            secondary school or who plan to enter employment.

       g.   Early identification of students with
            disabilities and enrollment of such students in
            appropriate instructional programs.

       h.   Early identification of gifted students and
            enrollment of such students in appropriately
            differentiated instructional programs.

       i.   Educational alternatives for students whose needs
            are not met in programs prescribed elsewhere in
            the standards.

       j.   Adult education programs for individuals
            functioning below the high school completion
            level.

       k.   A plan to make achievement for students who are
            educationally at-risk a divisionwide priority
            which includes procedures for measuring the
            progress of such students.

  E.1.      The school division employs the required minimum number
            of licensed, full-time equivalent instructional
            personnel per 1000 students in ADM with state and local
            basic, special education, gifted, and vocational
            education funds.

  F.1.      The school division employs the minimum number of full-
            time instructional positions for each 1,000 students in
            grades K-12 in remedial programs for students estimated
            to score in the bottom national quartile on the
            statewide assessment program tests and who fail the
            literacy tests in accordance with funding provided in
            the appropriation act.

  G.1.      The school division has a ratio of pupils in average
            daily membership to full-time equivalent teaching
            positions (excluding special education teachers,
            principals, counselors, and librarians) no greater than
            the following ratios.

       a.   Twenty-five to one in kindergarten, 24-1 in grade
            one, and 25-1 in grades two and three with no
            class being larger than thirty at any of these
            levels.

       b.   A full-time teacher's aide is assigned to any
            kindergarten class where the average daily
            membership exceeds twenty-five pupils. 

       c.   Twenty-five to one in grades four through six
            with no class being larger than thirty-five
            pupils.

       d.   Twenty-four to one in English classes in grades
            six through twelve.

  G.2.      The school division assigns instructional personnel in
            a manner that produces schoolwide ratios of students in
            average daily memberships to full-time equivalent
            positions of twenty-five to one in middle and high
            schools.

  STANDARD 2:  SUPPORT SERVICES

  C.1.      The school division offers support services as
            prescribed by the standards.

  D.1.      The school division has a program of pupil personnel
            services which has been designed to aid students in
            grades K-12 in their educational, social, and career
            development.

  STANDARD 3:  ACCREDITATION, OTHER STANDARDS AND EVALUATION

  F.1.      All schools are accredited by the Board of Education. 

  F.2.      The school board reviews the accreditation status of
            all schools annually in public session.

  G.1.      The school board provides teachers and principals with:

       a.   Periodic inservice training in preparing tests
            and other assessment measures.

       b.   Methods for assessing the progress of individual
            students, including SOL assessment materials or
            other criterion-referenced tests which match
            locally developed objectives.

  H.1.      To assess the educational progress of students as
            individuals and as groups, the school division requires
            the administration of:

       a.   Criterion-referenced tests.

       b.   Teacher-made tests and alternative assessment
            instruments.

       c.   Virginia State Assessment Program Tests and the
            National Assessment of Educational Progress
            state-by-state assessment.

       d.   The Virginia Literacy Testing Program.

       e.   The school division analyzes the results from the
            Virginia State Assessment Program and the
            Virginia State Literacy Testing programs and
            reports this analysis to the public on an annual
            basis.

  STANDARD 4:  LITERACY PASSPORTS, DIPLOMAS, AND CERTIFICATES

  B.1.      The local school board awards Literacy Passports to all
            students, including students with disabilities, who
            achieve passing scores on literacy tests established by
            the Board of Education and make reasonable
            accommodations for children with disabilities to take
            the tests.

  C.1.      To receive a diploma from high school, the student is
            required to earn the units of credit prescribed by the
            Board of Education and meet such other requirements as
            may be prescribed by the local school board and
            approved by the Board of Education.

  C.2.      Provisions are made for students who transfer between
            secondary schools as outlined in the accreditation
            standards.

  C.3.      Reasonable accommodations are made for students with
            disabilities to meet the requirements for a diploma.

  D.1.      Students who have been identified as disabled who
            complete the requirements of their individualized
            education programs are awarded special diplomas.

  D.2.      Schools award certificates to students who complete a
            prescribed course of study as defined by the local
            school board when they do not meet the requirements for
            a regular or special diploma.

  STANDARD 5:  TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

  D.1.      Each member of the school board is required to
            participate annually in in-service programs on
            personnel, curriculum and current issues in education
            as a part of their service on the board.

  D.2.      The division superintendent is required to participate
            annually in professional development activities at the
            local, state, or national level.

  E.1.      The school board provides a program of professional
            development, as part of the licensure renewal process,
            to assist teachers and principals in acquiring the
            skills needed to increase student achievement.

  E.2.      The school board provides a program of professional
            development for administrative personnel designed to
            increase proficiency in instructional leadership and
            management.

  STANDARD 6:  PLANNING AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

  C.1.      The school board revises, extends, and adopts a
            divisionwide six-year improvement plan biennially.

  C.2.      The school division's six-year improvement plan is
            developed with staff and community involvement.

  C.3.      The division's six-year improvement plan has been
            approved by the local school board.

  C.4.      A public hearing was held to solicit public comment and
            the plan made available to the public prior to
            approval.

  C.5.      Each school in the division prepares a biennial plan
            which was considered by the board in developing the
            six-year improvement plan.

  C.6.      The school division's six-year improvement plan
            includes:

       a.   Objectives of the school division and an
            assessment of the extent to which these
            objectives are being achieved.

       b.   A forecast of enrollment changes and a plan for
            managing enrollment changes including
            consideration of the consolidation of schools to
            improve efficiency and economies in cooperation
            with neighboring divisions.

       c.   A technology component consistent with the
            six-year technology plan for Virginia adopted by
            the Board of Education.

       d.   An assessment of the needs of the school
            division.

       e.   Evidence of community participation in the
            development of the plan.

  C.7.      A report on the extent to which the objectives of the
            plan were achieved during the previous two school years
            was made by the local school board to the public by
            November 1 of each odd-numbered year.

  STANDARD 7:  POLICY MANUAL

  C.1.      The school division maintains and follows an up-to-date
            policy manual which has been reviewed at least every
            five years and revised as necessary.

  C.2.      The school division's policy manual contains:

     1.     Valid copies of Article 3 of Chapter 15 of Title
            22.1, concerning grievances, dismissals, etc., of
            teachers, and the implementation procedure
            prescribed by the General Assembly and the Board
            of Education.

     2.     A cooperatively developed procedure for personnel
            evaluation appropriate to tasks performed by
            those being evaluated.

  D.1.      The school division's policy manual, which has been
            developed giving consideration to the views of
            teachers, parents and other concerned citizens,
            includes the following:                

     1.     A system of two-way communication between
            employees and the school board and its
            administrative staff whereby matters of concern
            can be discussed in an orderly and constructive
            manner.

     2.     A policy for selection and evaluation of all
            instructional materials with clear procedures for
            handling challenged controversial materials.

     3.     (1)  The standards of student conduct and
                 attendance and procedures for enforcement.

     4.     A policy for school-community communications and
            community involvement.

     5.     Guidelines to encourage parents to provide
            instructional assistance to their children in the
            home, which may include voluntary training for
            parents of children in grades K-3.

  D.2.      An up-to-date copy of the school division's policy
            manual is kept in the library of each school and in any
            public library in the division and is available to
            employees and to the public.

  D.3.      An annual announcement is made advising the public that
            the policy manual is available in such places.