A Message from State Superintendent
Dr. Steven Staples
Dear VASSP Member:
 
State Superintendent Dr. Steven Staples sent the following message to all division superintendents and members of the General Assembly on Tuesday, September 26, 2017. It was the first step in communicating the details of two significant State Board of Education reforms moving to final approval soon: Profile of a Virginia Graduate and changes in School Accreditation. Dr. Staples, a member of the VASSP Board of Directors, discussed this information in detail with the VASSP Board at its regular meeting on Monday, September 25, 2017. The video resources presented provide key information to assist all in understanding the “why”, “what”, and “how” of the reforms.
In November, the state Board of Education will take final action on revisions to the Standards of Accreditation that achieve two important policy directives of the Board and the General Assembly: the implementation of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and the broadening of the Commonwealth’s school accreditation standards to include multiple measures of school quality.
 
These revised standards for students and schools are the result of more than three years of research, discussion, review and public engagement by the Board and the Virginia Department of Education.
 
At my request, department staff has prepared a series of videos to explain these significant reforms. These videos are available for use by school divisions in explaining these new standards for students and schools to internal and external audiences.
 
The four videos are arranged as a playlist on the VDOE YouTube channel and may also be viewed individually.

  • Introduction and Overview — Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples provides a broad overview of the revised Standards of Accreditation.
  • The Case for Reform — Diane Atkinson, Chairman of the Board of Education’s Committee on School and Division Accountability, discusses the policy background and development behind the Board’s revisions to the Standards of Accreditation.
  • Profile of a Virginia Graduate — Assistant Superintendent for Policy and Communications Cynthia Cave discusses the development of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and the new graduation requirements that become effective with students entering the ninth grade in fall 2018 (class of 2022).
  • Continuous Improvement for All Schools — Assistant Superintendent for Student Assessment and School Improvement Shelley Loving-Ryder discusses how the revised Standards of Accreditation encourage continuous improvement for all schools, highlight achievement gaps, and recognize student growth.
 
All of us at VDOE are committed to making sure that all K-12 stakeholders understand the “why,” “what” and “how” of these proposals. Please let me know of any questions you have about the revised Standards of Accreditation , and I will be happy to follow up.

Steven R. Staples, Ed.D.
State Superintendent
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals
4909 Cutshaw Avenue
Phone: 804.355.2777
Fax: 804.355.4262