Heather Bell
RADFORD – Belle Heth School has earned a nod from the Virginia Board of Education.
Belle Heth was recently named as a recipient of a 2019 Board of Education Continuous Improvement Award.
To earn the Board of Education Continuous Achievement Award, “a school must earn a state accreditation rating of Accredited or Accredited with Conditions and meet at least one of the following benchmarks for improved performance on accreditation-related school quality indicators:
A cumulative 10-point increase over three years in the combined rates for reading and mathematics and in the pass rate for science, with improvement each year on each indicator:
A cumulative 10-point increase over three years in the combined rates for reading and mathematics for two or more student groups, with improvement each year for each group on both indicators; or
A cumulative 15-percent decrease in the chronic absenteeism rate over three years, with a decrease each year
Belle Heth Principal Tara Grant says she is proud of her students and staff for the recognition.
“I’m so happy that our school was recognized for continuous improvement,” said Grant. “We want to continue to always do better. We want to motivate, encourage, and challenge our students towards greatness.”
“Belle Heth has the best teachers and staff in the world who work tirelessly for kids throughout the year,” she continued. “Our students are succeeding because the adults in the building are invested in their well-being and happiness. We build relationships with our students before learning can happen. We love our kids and they know it.”
Belle Heth was one of 183 schools that earned the Board of Education Continuous Improvement Award.
“The exemplar performance awards criteria are designed to complement the commonwealth’s recently revised accreditation standards and help school divisions focus resources where they are most needed to ensure that all children are receiving a high-quality education,” Board of Education President Daniel A. Gecker said. “The awards recognize schools that are exceeding state accreditation standards and schools that are making continuous improvement in improving outcomes for students and in narrowing achievement gaps.”
“I congratulate the principals, teachers, support staff and students of all of these schools for the academic successes and hard work these awards represent,” Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane said. “I am especially pleased to see schools that went unrecognized under the previous awards program receive the recognition they deserve for consistent gains in academic achievement and successful efforts to reduce absenteeism and dropout rates.”
