With new studies, updated lesson plans and endless hours of homework, it was a busy year in Albemarle County and Charlottesville schools—and we’re not just talking about the students. Following their appointments in 2006, Albemarle County Public Schools (www.K12.albemarle.org) Superintendent Pamela Moran and Charlottesville City schools (www.ccs.K12.va.us) Superintendent Rosa Atkins say they’re energetic about starting 2007 the same way they think they ended 2006: by changing the face of student education.
 City schools Superintendent Rosa Atkins, who started last summer, says it’s been a "fast-moving six months" since her tenure began, but that the community seems to have embraced her vision. |
Moran, appointed last January after serving as the County’s assistant superintendent for instruction, says the year was everything she expected “and more.” Her accomplishments are forward-looking ones: The County school system is pressing ahead with its language curriculum (teaching Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Japanese). And in the next few months, Moran and her team will consider the application of a second charter school.
“We want to become a more competitive school division and get out of the one-size-fits-all school model,” Moran says.
Not that Moran didn’t face some challenges. While the Coun-ty schools boast an impressive 60 percent rate of students taking at least one college level course, they acknowledge that minority and economically dis-advantaged students are not faring as well. So last fall, three of the County schools launched a national program targeting underrepresented students in efforts to bridge those achievement gaps.
In City schools, bridging achievement gaps is the No. 1 priority for Atkins, and she says she’s made significant progress. When she started her appointment, the City School Board had already set her agenda with a strategic plan that included evaluating program efficiency, upping graduation rates and increasing the number of students taking Advanced Placement classes. Atkins says nearly 80 percent of that plan has been adopted. And this fall, teachers implemented updated curriculum guidelines and finalized student benchmark assessments.
But Aktins touts her greatest work as building relationships in the community. “It’s key in developing and reaching any of the goals we have,” Atkins says.
But there’s still work to do. Three City schools haven’t met No Child Left Behind standards: Johnson, Buford and Walker. And budgets for both the County and City schools must be finalized to meet the new ambitious plans. Adds Moran: “The work we are doing is never finished.”