RICHMOND
The Virginia Board of Education on Thursday granted partial accreditation to 31 schools across the Commonwealth that otherwise would have been denied state certification because of persistently low student achievement. Locally, Franklin’s S.P. Morton Elementary School and Joseph P. King Jr. Middle School and Southampton’s Riverdale Elementary are now each considered a Partially Accredited Reconstituted School.

The board of education’s accreditation regulations define reconstruction as a process to improve instruction and raise student achievement by restructuring a school’s governance, faculty, instructional program and/or student population. This rating may be granted for up to three years if a school is making progress toward full accreditation.

Neither Southampton Superintended Dr. Alvera J. Parrish or Franklin Superintendent Dr. Willie J. Bell were available for comment.

“All of these schools are on a trajectory toward achieving full accreditation within three years,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said, “and they have made significant internal changes that represent a clear commitment to improved performance and substantive reform of practice.”

When a school is denied state accreditation, just as these three schools were when Standards of Learning test scores were revealed in October, the local school board must submit a corrective action plan to the board of education, detailing steps to be taken to raise student achievement to state standards.

“While there have been changes in the state accountability program this year to recognize schools that are making progress, the benchmarks the schools must meet to earn full accreditation have not been lowered,” Board of Education President Billy K. Cannady Jr. said.

If S.P. Morton, J.P. King Jr. or Riverdale fail to earn full accreditation within three years, or if its annual application for partial accreditation is not renewed, the reconstituted school reverts to being denied accreditation.