SOL scores drop
Four Albemarle County elementary schools—Greer, Mountain View, Red Hill, and Woodbrook—have been accredited with conditions for the 2022-23 school year, meaning their Standards of Learning exam pass rates in one or more student demographic groups did not meet state standards, according to a statement issued by the school district on September 22.
“I own these results,” said ACPS Superintendent Matt Haas in the statement. “They are unacceptable and do not in any way reflect the efforts or abilities of our students, families, and educators. They do reflect the inability of our current systems to produce the results we are seeking and clearly demonstrate the need for these systems to immediately change.”
In English, the SOL pass rate for the entire division was 75 percent, compared to a state average of 73 percent, but the pass rate was only 50 percent for Black students, and 51 percent for Hispanic students and economically disadvantaged students—all below the state averages for these demographics. In math, pass rates for these groups, as well as English learners, were also below state averages.
Eight other division schools had at least one demographic that did not meet the state standard, but received waivers because they previously met the standard for three consecutive years.
Within the next 30 days, ACPS will issue a request for proposals for an outside organization to audit the division’s staffing, reading program, classroom practices, and intervention and support models, and provide recommendations for improvements. Haas will also create a task force of teachers, specialists, community partners, and division staff to craft the RFP and, later, review the audit results.
Accreditation results for each school are available on schoolquality.virginia.gov.
(More) false alarms
On September 20, the Charlottesville Police Department received two 911 calls claiming there was an active shooter at Buford Middle School, but did not find any threat after placing students on a 40-minute lockdown.
On September 23, Charlottesville High School was also briefly placed on lockdown due to a misdialed 911 call by a staff member. Just four days earlier, police received a hoax call claiming an active shooter had shot 10 students at the school, according to the CPD.
“The impact on our staff, students, and families from this week’s events has been significant,” wrote CCS Superintendent Royal Gurley in a statement, encouraging students and families to take advantage of the school district’s free, confidential mental health resources. “Even one of these events would have been ‘too much.’”
The district’s Google directory—which supports its email system—was also downloaded and posted online on September 23.
“While much of the data posted is considered public ‘directory information,’ we take this violation seriously, especially since it did contain two more protected data fields (school-issued student emails and school ID numbers),” explained Gurley. “The data in the posted file gives no further access to programs containing sensitive private information … [But] we are actively working with Google, the Virginia Fusion Center, and the VDOE to investigate.”
In brief
Apartment shootings
On September 24, Albemarle County police responded to a shots fired report at Rio Hill Apartments at around 9:20pm, and discovered one person who had been shot in the parking lot. The person was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and later died of their injuries. The shooting appears to be domestic related and not connected to the September 23 shooting at Mallside Forest Apartments, where three victims were taken to the hospital for injuries, but were stable as of Friday morning. Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 977-4000 or crimestoppers@albemarle.org.
Early voting
Voters can now cast their ballots at the city’s election office, located inside the City Hall Annex, Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm until October 28. On Thursdays, votes can be cast until 7pm. The office will also be open on October 29 and November 5. A 24/7 drop box is available outside the office.
UVA hate crime
The University of Virginia Police Department is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who placed a noose around the neck of the Homer statue on central Grounds on September 7. If you have information, contact UPD at 924-7166.
Doctor sentenced for child porn
Former University of Virginia neurologist David Ari Lapides was sentenced to five years in jail and five years probation on September 20 for two counts of receiving or transmitting child pornography—however, all but one year and two months of his active sentence were suspended, and he was released from jail with time served, according to Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail Superintendent Martin Kumer.
Deceased pilot identified
State police have identified 30-year-old Kevin James Esh of New Holland, Pennsylvania, as the pilot who was killed in a plane crash in Albemarle County on September 14. The plane had a small amount of oil in its engine, and multiple fractured piston rods—a cause of engine seizure, reports The Daily Progress.