Dear Parent or Guardian:
We are pleased to provide you with the 14th Annual School Report Card containing information about your child's school. Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) began publishing the annual school report cards during the fall of 1998 with the intent of communicating with you about educational accountability, providing you with a resource to use for assessing many aspects of your child's school, and evaluating success over time. Over the years, the design of the annual report card has changed and now you may notice that the format has changed once again.
As in previous years, this report card contains information pertaining to student and staff characteristics, perceptions of educational quality, attendance, school performance, and progress toward meeting state and federal accountability requirements. This year we have placed an emphasis on aspects related to our strategic plan,Compass to 2015, which extend beyond the traditional Standards of Learning information that would not normally be found elsewhere. This information from assessments such as the EXPLORE Assessment and the College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) is aligned with our strategic plan which focuses on teaching and assessing the skills our students need to thrive as 21st century learners, workers, and citizens. The Standards of Learning information for your child's school can still be found on the Virginia Department of Education website.
One thing that has not changed is the fact that VBCPS continues to be one of the best school divisions in the country according to GreatSchools, which ranked VBCPS as the fifth best large school division in the entire nation. Additionally, 10 of our 11 high schools are ranked as being in the top six percent nationwide by The Washington Post newspaper, and 20 of our schools earned awards of excellence from the state. We have also outperformed the state on two key academic measures which include the On-Time Graduation Rate and the cohort-based Dropout Rate. These are huge accomplishments for our students, teachers, and staff, and I am able to say that I'm proud to be part of this extraordinary school division. I hope you are too!
Maintaining our school division's excellent record of continuous improvement depends on our students, teachers, staff, community, and family members like you. We hope that you will continue to help us succeed through your commitment to your child's education and by taking an active role at your child's school.
Sincerely,
James G. Merrill, Ed.D.
Superintendent
If you have any questions about the contents of a specific school report card, please contact the school's principal or the Department of Educational Leadership and Assessment at 757.263.1199.