School rankings, finances top next year's agenda for incoming WJCC schools chief
Good morning! This is the second part of our two-part interview with incoming WJCC Superintendent Daniel Keever. We'll also talk about county sidewalks and the new crisis center plans.
Explaining changes in how the state’s tougher school grading impacts Williamsburg-James City County schools will be one of the bigger challenges facing him in the coming year, says incoming Superintendent Daniel F. Keever.
“It's a new accreditation system,” Keever told us in an interview last week. “That will be a challenge for us…to help our community understand. What do these ratings mean and how are we continuing to work with our students to enhance achievement rates?”
The Virginia Board of Education’s new grading process holds schools to a stricter standard and places greater emphasis on absenteeism, how students improve in their Standards of Learning tests, and the percentage of students who graduate on time, among other factors.
Although the new grading doesn’t start until next school year, an online report that shows how they would have fared last year showed some room for improvement in local schools.
Under the new system, schools achieving 90 points or higher on a 100-point scale will be labeled Distinguished for exceeding the state’s expectations.
Those scoring between 80-89 will be considered On Track because they are meeting state expectations. Schools ranking between 65-79 points will be considered Off Track because they do not meet state expectations and will have access to additional state support.
Schools ranking below 65 points will be labeled as Needing Intensive Support and will be eligible for intensive support from the state.
None of the Williamsburg/James City County schools would have made the cut for the Distinguished Category last year, although Berkeley Middle School came really close -- within .2 of a point.
The majority of the system’s schools would have been graded as meeting state expectations. Three of the Williamsburg/James City County schools – Warhill High School, Toano Middle School and Stonehouse Elementary – would have ranked “Off Track” for not meeting expectations, ranking between 77.3 for Warhill High School to 79.8 for Stonehouse Elementary.
By comparison, half of York County’s public schools – Tabb High School, Tabb Middle School and Mount Vernon, Bethel Manor, Dare, Seaford, Tabb, Grafton and Magruder elementary schools --would have been graded in the top distinguished category. The other half of York’s schools would have been graded as meeting the state’s expectations for student achievement. The county’s charter school was not included in the report.
In his pitch for more funding for the schools, Keever said the WJCC schools are getting a growing share of students with special needs, while those for whom English is a second language has increased 50%, to nearly 9% of the student population.
“The students that are in our schools now are different than the students that we were serving five or 10 years ago.” Keever said.
Keever said kindergarten and first grade students were the ones with the greatest behavior problems at present. His original budget proposed adding additional staff to work with those students without distracting the classroom, but those positions were cut to balance the budget.
Williamsburg-James City County schools’ new budget will spend about $18,000 per student in the fiscal year starting July 1. York County’s 2026 budget will spend about $15,580 per pupil.
Financial support from the two localities that pay for much of the local schools will be another challenge for the new superintendent, as Williamsburg and James City County continue hashing out a formula for sharing school expenses.
Keever said he was confident he can work with the two localities to obtain the funding schools need to succeed.
But James City County Administrator Scott Stevens warned in a separate interview that it will be hard for the county to provide double-digit increases in coming years to fund teacher raises.
Stevens said part of the negotiations with the city revolves around the state’s local funding formula, which he said justifies larger expenses from the Williamsburg side.
“I'm just trying to make a fair payment that we can defend to our residents,” Stevens told us.
James City donates land for new crisis center
The James City County board of supervisors voted Tuesday to turn over 14 acres of surplus land on Eastern State Hospital grounds to Colonial Behavioral Health for a new crisis health center.
Colonial is the community services board for Williamsburg, Poquoson and James City and York Counties and provides help to people with mental illness, substance addiction, and developmental disabilities.
Virginia awarded the group a $12 million contract to build a crisis services center that will house emergency services, a mobile crisis group and other services.
At their work session Tuesday, the supervisors also approved transferring an $8 million state grant to the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation to fight rising water levels that threaten architectural digs on Jamestown Island.
Because the historic group is part of a privately funded organization, the state cannot directly fund it and must instead pass the money through a local government to disburse it.
Wanted: more sidewalks for James City County
James City County needs more sidewalks, and county supervisors will hold a public hearing June 12 on a number of proposed projects to build them.
The county wants to apply for state money to build projects that include a five-foot sidewalk along Ironbound Road from Route 5 to Saint Bede Catholic Church.
It is one of four projects the county is looking to fund from the Virginia Department of Transportation’s transportation alternatives program, which pays for 80% of the cost of projects that do not involve motor vehicles.
Several supervisors said they had received requests for sidewalks on Ironbound Road in the proposed project area because of the number of homes there.
Other projects being considered under the program are a sidewalk from Matoaka Elementary School to two existing sidewalks on Centerville Road, as well as the first segment of a program that would eventually provide a sidewalk along Richmond Road from Norge to Toano.
The supervisors were not as keen on a fourth proposal from county staff to reduce Pocahontas Trail from four lanes to two to provide bike trails.
Powhatan District Supervisor Michael J. Hipple said there would be additional traffic on the road from the multi-use development being planned at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center, and potentially from the new sports recreation center under construction in Williamsburg.
Traffic moves well on the road now, said County Chair Jim Icenhour, and he said he was reluctant to impede it. Vice Chair John McGlennon said he was worried about backups on the road from traffic waiting to enter Rt. 199 from Pocahontas.
Closings:
York County
The Tabb and Yorktown libraries will be closed tomorrow, May 30, for staff training. Patrons can still check out electronic materials.
James City County
The pool and hot tubs at the James City County Recreation Center will close for renovations Monday, June 16 for five months, the county announced. Renovations include resurfaced pool bottoms and tiling, enhanced lighting, poolside showers and a resurfaced pool deck. The anticipated reopening date is Nov. 24.
State Headlines
6 Democratic candidates for Lt. Gov. attempt to distinguish themselves from their peers in debate
Consumer confidence in Virginia nears record low as economic anxiety grows
Youngkin to set special election for Connolly’s seat amid primary season juggle
Fun & Games
Sounds of Summer Concert Series, the Bank of Oz. Riverwalk Landing, Yorktown. 6:30-9 p.m. Free.
Pippin, the Williamsburg Players. May 30-June 15. $22 adults, $12 children and students.
Fork the System – plant-based food and ideas on healthy living. May 31. Free. Norge Community Hall.
Good Shot Judy presents a benefit concert for Jamestown 4-H Educational Center. May 31. 5-9 p.m. $35 adults, $15 children.
Yorktown Market Days. Yorktown. May 31. 8 a.m. – noon.
Flute Frenzy Spring Sing-Along. King of Glory Lutheran Church. June 1. 2:30 p.m.
Yorktown Workboat Races. June 1. Free.
Passings
Christina Donye Travers, 40, May 6.
Willie J. Cuffie Jr., 72, May 18.
RADM Philip F. Duffy, USN Ret., 87, May 27.
Mary Katherine Cabell, 91, May 27.
Vernon Douglas “Doug” Ross, 64, May 27.
Charlotte Marie Lorentson, 74, May 27.
Claude Duke Perkins Jr., 89, May 26.
Ronald Leslie Buck, 89, May 25.
Michael Alan Comeaux, 44, May 23.
Robert Evan Williams, 84, May 23.
Dorothy Ann Worfolk, 87, May 24.