This morning, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) released the 2025-2026 school performance reports and the school accreditation ratings for all Virginia school divisions. This is the second official year of the VDOE’s “School Performance and Support Framework” and new accreditation system. 

I am proud to share that we are moving forward in the right direction. This year’s results show that we are making clear, measurable progress across our school division. The following results demonstrate this progress: 

• 100% of schools increased their overall score on the school performance and support framework
• 4 out of 6 schools moved up a performance category: Cool Spring ES, Lakemont ES, Pleasants Lane ES, and Petersburg HS
• 100% of schools showed progress 
• 4 out of 6 schools achieved full accreditation: Cool Spring ES, Pleasants Lane ES, Walnut Hill ES, and Petersburg HS 

• Petersburg High School achieved full accreditation, scored in the meets expectations category, and is only 6 points away from being distinguished

This progress is significant for Petersburg City Public Schools. Over the last two years, we have been intentional about building the structures that support teaching, learning, and overall school improvement: 

• We continue to implement our division-wide instructional framework that outlines teaching and learning for every classroom. 
• We adopted and implemented new high-quality instructional materials aligned to the state’s Standards of Learning (SOLs) and provided focused professional learning for teachers and school leaders.
• We enhanced our Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum by adding additional levels of support for students. 
• We continue to implement our system of accountability and support to reduce chronic absenteeism.
• We increased our focus on recruiting and retaining fully licensed teachers while also supporting alternative license pathways for our other teachers. 

• We increased our focus on building our family and community engagement through targeted outreach and access to information and wraparound services. 

Moving Forward

Again, I am very proud of what we have accomplished so far together as a school division and community. While we still have much more work to do, these results tell us that we are moving in the right direction. 

As a reminder, under the VDOE’s School Performance and Support Framework, schools receive an overall score based on mastery, growth, and readiness for elementary and middle schools, and mastery, readiness, and graduation for high school. The scores are placed in four categories: Distinguished (90 points and above); Meets Expectations (80-89 points); Approaching Expectations (65-79 points); and Needs Intensive Support (below 65 points). Additionally, schools receive an accreditation rating based on the state’s new accreditation system and requirements. If you would like to learn more you can find more information on the VDOE website here..

In the coming weeks and months, your child’s school will share additional information with you regarding the school performance report. We ask that you continue to partner with us. We want to make sure that our students are in the classroom every single day learning and growing so that every student can graduate with a life filled with choices. 

Thank you for your continued support of Petersburg City Public Schools.