Richmond, Va. — The Virginia Department of Education has selected Greendale Elementary School in Washington County and Belmont Elementary School in Prince William County as Virginia’s two 2024 National ESEA Distinguished Schools.
Recognized for exceptional student performance for two consecutive years, Washington County’s Greendale Elementary School made noteworthy gains in reading and science SOL scores, improving by nine and fourteen points respectively in the last year. The school implemented key literacy initiatives, such as targeted reading interventions, an open library, and ongoing professional development for school staff. The school also focused on data driven instruction such as formative and summative assessments to guide differentiation; explicit teaching with clear demonstrations and guided practice; tailored instruction for personalized interventions; and small group instruction and remediation.
“I am so proud of Mr. Michael Colston and all of the educators at Greendale Elementary for their perseverance and the incredible gains their students have made as a result,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons. “Their intentional focus on improving literacy outcomes, targeted tutoring in reading and math before and after school, and community engagement and collaboration initiatives have all contributed to creating the culture of success and excellence that embodies the school. Congratulations on this well-deserved and impressive achievement.”
Students receiving free lunch make up 88% of Greendale Elementary’s student population.
Prince William County’s Belmont Elementary was recognized for closing its achievement gap between student groups. The school saw significant improvement in its unadjusted math SOL pass rate from 2023 to 2024, increasing 23% for English Language Learners, 11% for Students with Disabilities, 20% for Hispanic students, 17% for Black students, 13% for Economically Disadvantaged students, and 7% for Asian students. Additionally, the school’s student groups scored higher than the state average on the reading and math SOLs by the following percentage points, respectively:
- Students with Disabilities: 20%, 27%
- English Language Learners students: 19%, 22%
- Economically Disadvantaged students: 12%, 16%
- Hispanic students: 11%, 19%
- Black students: 11%, 15%
Belmont Elementary is a Title I school with students born in 21 different countries speaking 22 different languages.
“The efforts of Ms. Joy Greene and her dedicated team of educators and staff at Belmont Elementary School have helped provide targeted and focused instruction to meet the needs of their students,” said Coons. “As a result of their hard work, such as the numerous community and family partnerships, data-driven instruction and review, co-planning and co-teaching efforts, and robust tutoring opportunities, the school has closed achievement gaps and raised performance across student groups. Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment.”
Both schools will be recognized during the 2024 National ESEA Conference on February 19-21, 2025, in Austin, Texas.
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.
The Distinguished Schools Program, a project of the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators, recognizes federally funded schools from each state for their outstanding achievements in education. Each year, only two schools per state are chosen as National ESEA Distinguished Schools, underscoring the prestigious nature of this honor.
