Fixing 3d grade reading scores at W-JCC schools
Good morning! Today we'll look at the reading challenge facing local schools, the first of a two-part installment. The Grand Illumination highlights a busy weekend of holiday-themed events.
Third grade reading skills, considered critical to academic success, continue to challenge Williamsburg-James City County schools. But school officials are fighting back with a series of steps that proved successful in neighboring York County.
W-JCC third graders have yet to return to their 2018 pass rates in the Standards of Learning reading tests, and even that high point falls below the 85% pass rate set as a goal by the school board.
Third grade pass rates plateaued at 73 % in 2018, dropped to 66% in 2021 as schools reopened from Covid and climbed to 71% the following year. But they fell back to 67% in the tests conducted last school year.
Minority and low-income students are doing worse, and kids from Williamsburg under-perform their county peers by double digits, according to a progress report from the school administration in October.
York County school scores have consistently been higher by double digits.
W-JCC School board members “are…accountable,” Powhatan district school board member Kimberley M. Hundley said at a candidate forum held by Williamsburg Watch and WHRO in October. “Our reading curriculum was not very robust. We made changes. This is our second year into that.”
Lynda Harrill, a recent transplant who worked with problem students for years in Charlottesville, has been showing up at public meetings to demand a solution, citing studies showing children who are not reading at grade level by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.
Experts say third grade is the critical stage when students shift from learning to read, to reading in order to learn subjects such as science, social studies and math word problems.
The school system’s five-year strategic plan calls for all students to reach the 85% pass rate by 2028.
Harrill argued the schools are facing a “literacy emergency” that requires faster action.
The comprehensive reading program the schools kicked off last year is part of a series of action steps outlined in their strategic plan, called “Elevate ‘28”.
Key strategies include tracking student progress and intervening when a student goes off track; getting families involved in helping students read, and reducing the ratio of students to teachers in schools with larger populations of minority and lower-income students. More reading specialists and aides are being added to help teachers work with students with reading difficulties.
Robin Ford, the schools’ director of elementary curriculum and instruction, said the schools are using a combination of traditional approaches, such as phonics, with research-based instructions that takes into account how children’s brains develop.
“We are taking a very holistic approach in making sure that both of those processes....are being fully developed simultaneously,” Ford said.
York County schools have been successful because they have a consistent approach to teaching students, engaging their families, and developing teachers’ skills, said James Carroll, the interim superintendent and chief operating officer.
York schools have higher teacher to student ratios in schools that have the largest number of low-income or minority students, he said. Carroll said York schools devote almost all the federal money they receive under the so-called Title 1 program to those schools.
His chief academic officer, Candi Skinner, told us the central administration works closely with the schools to provide coaching to teachers, then monitor them for progress. The consistent, high-touch approach has been working.
Reading pass rates for third grade students at York County schools have stayed at 85% or above since the 2021-2022 school year.
Third graders from York’s low-income families also scored in the 80% range and above in all but one elementary school, according to a national review of data by The 74, a nonprofit news organization devoted to education. The one exception was Dare Elementary, at 79%. Seaford and Tabb elementary scored 93%.
Friday, we’ll dive into the disparity between students from Williamsburg and James City County, and what the schools plan to do to fix it.
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People in the news
Former Mayor Jeanne Zeidler receives 2025 Mace Bearer’s Award
Former Williamsburg Mayor Jeanne Zeidler will receive the 2025 Williamsburg Mace Bearer’s Award at the conclusion of the One Williamsburg Holiday Reception Dec. 11, at the Stryker Center.
The Williamsburg Mace Bearer’s Award is the City Council’s highest honor, presented to individuals or groups who have made a lasting impact on the community. Zeidler is the third recipient.
Zeidler, 78, has held leadership roles on numerous local, regional, and state boards and commissions since the 1980s. She began her public service with the Matthew Whaley Elementary School PTA and worked with the PTA Council as an advisory group member. Her advocacy for education led to an appointment on the Williamsburg-James City County School Board in 1990.
In 1994, she was elected to the Williamsburg City Council, becoming vice mayor in 1996 and, two years later, becoming the city’s first female mayor—a position she held until 2010.
In addition to her leadership in local government, Zeidler spent 21 years as director of the Hampton University Museum, then served three years as director of cultural affairs at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
Sara Ruch elected regional IAEM president
James City County Deputy Coordinator Sara Ruch was recently elected as the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Region 3 President and IAEM USA Council board member.
The International Association of Emergency Managers represents more than 6,000 members worldwide, whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters. IAEM Region 3 includes Virginia, West Virginia, D.C. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
Grand Illumination, The Nutcracker, Santa pictures, Christmas tree lightings and more!
This coming Saturday kicks off the season’s Grand Illumination fireworks at Colonial Williamsburg, one of the biggest shows of the holiday season.
Every Saturday night for the next three weeks, fireworks will be fired simultaneously from the Capitol and the Governor’s Palace. The fireworks go off at 7 p.m., but the holiday programs start two hours earlier throughout the historic area.
There are musical performances on multiple stages across the historic area, and unique decorations on display to celebrate the Christmas season.
The Grand Illumination has been an annual tradition for decades. But CW expanded the event over three successive weekends in 2021 to boost visits following the Covid pandemic.
CW says the best places to watch the Palace fireworks is on Palace Green, and the Capitol show is best viewed on Duke of Gloucester Street east of Botetourt St.
It’s tough to find parking during this event. You can park at the Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center and take a free bus to the historic area. You can also find a list of parking lots, including free lots, at this page.
For more information, check out the CW website.
Other weekend events:
Community Christmas Tree Lighting, 101 W. Duke of Gloucester St. 5 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
The Williamsburg Symphony: Holiday Brass. Dec. 4. 301 S. Nassau Street. $20 adult, $10 child.
Kimball Theater presents White Christmas. Dec. 4. $8.
Dewey Decibel Concert Series: High Ground Jazz Band. Dec. 5. Williamsburg Library. 7-9 p.m. Free.
One Street Over at Kimball Theater. Dec. 5. 7 p.m. $20 adult, $10 youths 12 and under.
Yorktown Christmas Tree Lighting. Dec. 5. Riverwalk Landing. 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Free.
Christmas Market on Main. Dec. 6-7. 301 Main St. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Free.
Free Photos with Santa. Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 21. 4915 Courthouse Street, New Town.
Williamsburg Symphony Holiday Pops. Dec. 6-7. Kimball Theater. 3 p.m. $40 adults, $20 children and students.
Virginia Regional Ballet Presents The Nutcracker. Dec. 6. Phi Beta Kappa Hall. 1 p.m. $32-$36.
Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade. Dec. 6 331 Water Street. 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Free.
Rockin’ Retro Christmas Parade. Dec. 7. Duke of Gloucester St. 5 p.m. Free.
Cookies With Santa. Dec. 7. 1 – 4 p.m. Gallery at York Hall, 301 Main St. Free.
Passings
Lorraine Reed Hawkins, 68. Nov. 18.
Mildred Ann Talley, 93, Nov. 26.