Chesterfield and Norfolk Schools Earn National Recognition
Chesterfield County’s Elizabeth Scott Elementary and Norfolk’s Mary Calcott Elementary Earn National ESEA Awards
RICHMOND — The Virginia Department of Education has nominated Elizabeth Scott Elementary in Chesterfield County and Mary Calcott Elementary in Norfolk as Virginia’s two National ESEA Distinguished Schools for 2023-2024.
Recognized for excellence in serving special populations of students, Chesterfield County’s Elizabeth Scott Elementary School saw significant increases in their students’ math and reading SOL scores. Elizabeth Scott’s English Learners realized exceptional gains in conjunction with the elementary school’s Dual Language Immersion program, increasing their reading SOL passing scores by 30 points (to 78%) and their math SOL passing scores by 17 points (to 70%) over the past two years.
“Ms. Julie Buntich and the staff at Elizabeth Scott Elementary have created a successful learning environment and welcomed the community to play an important role in students’ academic success,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons said. “From their tutoring partnerships with the YMCA and other community organizations before and after school, to setting the expectations of higher academic achievement, the focus and investment on Elizabeth Scott’s students by the school and community have paid real learning dividends.”
English Learners make up 32% of Elizabeth Scott’s student population.
Norfolk’s Mary Calcott Elementary was recognized for the remarkable gains made in closing the achievement gap between student groups amongst the school’s diverse student body. English learners’ reading SOL passage rate improved from 24% in 2021 to 59% in 2023, closing the gap with all students by 24 points during the same timeframe. Black students saw their science SOL passage rate grow phenomenally from 17% in 2021 to 83% in 2023, a 66 point increase over two years.
“Mrs. Danielle McIntyre and the educators and staff at Mary Calcott Elementary have grown a real culture of achievement in their school,” said Coons. “Working hard to meet the individual needs of all their students with targeted small group instruction, strong evidence-based instructional strategies for science, math and reading, and involving community partners to help include parents and families in this success, they have closed gaps and raised the performance levels of all their students.”
Both schools will be recognized during the 2023 National ESEA Conference, February 7-10, 2023, in Portland, Oregon.
ESEA is the abbreviation for the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the primary source of federal aid for elementary and secondary education requiring states to establish long-term and interim goals for increasing student achievement in reading and mathematics.
ESEA provides funds to all of Virginia’s school divisions for supplemental educational support to eligible schools. The focus of these programs is to raise the achievement level of students at risk of academic failure due to poverty and other factors.
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