McAuliffe on increase in number of fully accredited schools

Governor Terry McAuliffe comments on the announcement that 1,573 of Virginia’s 1,823 schools are fully accredited – a record high for his administration.

“This is a significant accomplishment for Virginia’s public schools, and one that is the result of tremendous diligence and hard work of our students, teachers, principals and division leaders over many years,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “These schools are proving the strong leadership at the state and local level, combined with smart policy and adequate resources can make a real difference how our Commonwealth prepares the next generation to succeed in a new Virginia economy. I am proud of the success we are seeing in schools across the Commonwealth and look forward to building on these results in the months to come.”

Today the Virginia Department of Education announced that of the Commonwealth’s 1,823 schools, only 250 are not fully accredited for the 2017-18 school year. The number of fully accredited schools is now 86 percent, up from 77 percent when Governor McAuliffe took office during the 2013-14 school year.

“This accomplishment is made possible by the passion, dedication, and enthusiasm of the teachers, principals and leadership across the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Education, Dietra Trent.  “Virginia has high standards for quality teaching and learning, and I am proud of what our teachers and students have accomplished together in recent years.”

Investing in and supporting public education has been a top priority of Governor McAuliffe’s administration. Working with bipartisan leaders in the General Assembly, Governor McAuliffe invested more than $850 million in K-12 education, including targeted investments in school improvement; championed the redesign of the secondary system to better align the high school experience with jobs and post-secondary opportunities; and reduced the number of Standards of Learning (SOL) tests students are required to take and shortened the length of those tests while maintaining rigorous standards.

Yesterday, Governor Terry McAuliffe visited Sussex County Public Schools and announced the full accreditation all the division’s schools for the first time since 1998. The announcement was made at the Sussex County School Board Office with Superintendent Dr. Arthur Jarrett, School Board Chair M. E. Morris, Jr, and Board of Supervisor Chairwoman, Susan Seward.

In addition, Governor McAuliffe yesterday also made congratulatory phone calls to select schools and divisions who made significant progress in their accreditation status.