T.C. Williams No Longer Lowest Performer in State

Alexandria’s T.C. Williams High School is no longer considered a low-performing priority school but Jefferson-Houston School is and could fall under the authority of the controversial Opportunity Educational Institution, the state Board of Education said Tuesday.

T.C. Williams was able to shed its priority school status because it is no longer among the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I and Title I-eligible schools, which receive special federal funds to aid school improvement.

In reference to the group of schools that exited priority status, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright said: “All of these schools have made gains in collaboration with lead turnaround partners that were assigned as a result of corrective action plans approved by the state Board of Education or as a condition for receiving federal school-improvement grants administered by VDOE.”

However, Jefferson-Houston in Old Town Alexandria still performs well below state accreditation standards, according to Wright. Jefferson-Houston serves pre-K through 8th grade.

John Adams and Patrick Henry elementaries in Alexandria are considered “focus” schools for school year 2013-14. Most schools in that category saw increased student achievement over the last school year. Focus schools must employ state-approved, school-improvement coaches.