Centreville High Principal Mike Campbell always knew how good his school is. And now, the rest of the state does, too.
That's because Centreville has been named by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) as one of 10, high-performing schools in the state.
"We found out Feb. 9 from the Department of Education," said Campbell. "The study was funded by Virginia's National Governor's Association Honor State Grant, and the results will be presented by Gov. Tim Kaine at a statewide policy forum later this year."
THE SELECTION was based on a large number of factors, including high performance on state assessments — Centreville has exceeded state-performance averages, success with state accreditation and meeting Adequate Yearly Progress targets over the last two years.
As one of the high-performing schools, Centreville will participate in a study called "Bringing High School Best Practices to Scale in Virginia," which will aid VDOE in identifying the particular school policies and instructional practices that are associated with student success.
VDOE will then use the results of the studies done in all 10 schools to make decisions pertaining to policies and practices in public high schools throughout the state.
"It's a real honor for the school because we were selected based on our performance over the last two years," said Campbell. "And I attribute it to the students, community and faculty."
In addition, he said, "Centreville was rated as one of the 'Top 100 Schools' in the nation last year by Newsweek magazine, and I think that helped, too." The school's outstanding SOL, AP and SAT test scores also figured into the mix, said Campbell, so "It's a combination of all these factors. This is looking at the whole package."
ICLE and VDOE representatives will visit the school, April 9-13, and Campbell said the notoriety and recognition will be terrific for Centreville. "They're looking at everything we do, across the board, that makes it a great school," he explained. "They'll sit in on classes and ask questions of students and teachers."
CENTREVILLE HAD to fax the ICLE all its data to review beforehand. Then, during the visit, representatives will ascertain how well the school is accomplishing having all students experience growth every year, move to and beyond proficiency and benefit from a rigorous and relevant curriculum.
The consultants will then prepare a comprehensive case study of Centreville High to serve as a resource for educators and policymakers statewide to use as a model and replicate in their own schools.
"We think we do things well, so we'll continue with our day-to-day operations," said Campbell. "My motto has always been 'Excellence in all endeavors.' If you're going to do something, you want to do it right, and this honor shows we're doing well in all areas, so I'm especially proud of it."