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State Board of Education Recognizes YCSD

The Virginia Board of Education has announced the 2022-23 Exemplar Performance Awards recognizing schools or school divisions that exceed board-established requirements or show continuous improvement on academic and school quality indicators and (ii) schools, school divisions, and school boards that implement effective, innovative practices. The awards are based on performance and practice during the 2021-22 school year.

Innovative Practice Award

The York County School Division is one of just seven school divisions in the Commonwealth to receive an Innovative Practice Award from the Virginia Department of Education through the Exemplar Performance Awards program.

YCSD was recognized for providing STEM-focused curriculum in our elementary and middle schools, including our maker spaces, summer enrichment camps, career exploration, and STEM-related club activities.

Highest Achievement Award

Bethel Manor Elementary and Seaford Elementary schools met the criteria for the Highest Achievement Award. Only 48 schools in the state earned this recognition. To earn the award, a school must earn a state accreditation rating of Accredited and demonstrate high levels of success across all of school quality indicators, including success in narrowing achievement gaps.

Schools also had to meet the Level One accreditation benchmark for reading, mathematics, and science based on the student pass rate, not including growth or progress on assessments taken by English language learners. Schools must also have had no more than a 5% achievement gap, for schools with two student groups, or a 10% gap, for schools with three or more student groups, between the lowest-performing group and all other students in the school. In addition, schools must have achieved at Level One on all other applicable school quality indicators.

Continuous Improvement Award

Coventry Elementary and Bruton High received the Board of Education Continuous Improvement Award. To receive this recognition the school can be Accredited or Accredited with Conditions and must meet identified criteria.

Coventry was selected for demonstrating an increase in the combined rate for two or more student groups in reading and math for each of the past three accreditation years, with a total increase across the three years of ten points or more. Bruton was selected for demonstrating an increase in the Graduation and Completion Index and a decrease in the dropout rate for three accreditation years.

The Exemplar Performance School Awards replaced the Virginia Index of Performance program to recognize schools exceeding state accreditation standards and making continuous improvement in narrowing achievement gaps.