SEDLEY
Nottoway Elementary School in Southampton County and Carrsville Elementary School in Isle of Wight County have each received this year’s Board of Education Distinguished Achievement Awards. They were among the 231 schools in Virginia that have met both federal and state benchmarks, and also showed progress toward the goals set by Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the Virginia Board of Education. This is according to Julie Grimes, communications manager for the Virginia Department of Education.

The local honors were announced on Tuesday morning as part of a larger recognition, the 2017 Virginia Index of Performance. Asked about details about the recognition, Grimes replied by email that the program “recognizes schools and school divisions for the achievement of excellence goals established by the governor and Board of Education and provides incentives for continuous improvement.

“Schools and school divisions earn one of the following three awards based on performance during the previous academic year:

• Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence

• Board of Education’s Excellence Award

• Board of Education’s Distinguished Achievement Award

“Only schools and school divisions that have met all state and federal accountability requirements for two consecutive years — and have not experienced significant irregularities in the administration of state assessments — are eligible to earn VIP awards.”

Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples stated in the release, “School success is based on student success and each of these awards highlights a school or school division where young Virginians are being well prepared for the challenges ahead.”

Southampton County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Gwendolyn Shannon said, “We are extremely proud of Nottoway Elementary School’s principal, Mrs. Susan Melby, the teachers, staff, parents and especially the students for being a recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award.

“The school’s focus on the whole child is the building  block of their success. The involvement of parents and community in the education of the students has enhanced the educational environment. We expect their achievement and growth to continue through the love and care the school community has for each student.”

Carrsville Elementary School Principal Clint Walters said by phone, “I was very excited to see that Carrsville Elementary was once again was recognized by the Department of Education. Carrollton was recognized last year, and we took some strides to make sure all of our students were achieving.

“It’s really nice to see that hard work from the teachers and students pay off,” he continued. “We’re still living the deeper learning vision for the county. In doing so, our students are still performing at outstanding levels of academic achievement.”

Walters added, “This recognition is relative to our students performance on the SOL, which was used as criteria.”

More information about the VIP incentive program for schools and school divisions is available on the VDOE website.