Ten Virginia high schools have been selected by the Virginia Department of Education and the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) to participate in the Bringing High School Best Practices to Scale research study. The goal of the study is to identify and promote policies and instructional practices that are associated with student success.

The selected schools all have ninth-grade retention rates of less than 12 percent. The schools also have earned full accreditation under the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning program and have met all No Child Left Behind objectives for the last two years. Schools also were selected on the basis of economic, ethnic and regional diversity. The schools include:

*    James River High School, Chesterfield County
*    Douglas S. Freeman High School, Henrico County
*    Smithfield High School, Isle of Wight County
*    Princess Anne High School, Virginia Beach
*    West Point High School, West Point
*    Centreville High School, Fairfax County
*    Turner Ashby High School, Rockingham County
*    Chatham High School, Pittsylvania County
*    George Wythe High School, Wythe County
*    Randolph-Henry High School, Charlotte County

“The study will capture the practices and policies that have helped students in these schools successfully transition from middle to high school and experience success as they move toward graduation,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Billy K. Cannaday Jr.

“The results of the study can then be used by school divisions across the state to align their practices and policies as they work to reduce ninth-grade retention and increase graduation rates,” said ICLE President Bill Daggett.

The Bringing Best High School Practices to Scale study is funded through Virginia’s National Governors Association Honor States Grant. The study’s results will be presented later this year at a policy forum hosted by Governor Timothy M. Kaine’s P-16 Education Council.

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