An Arlington high school is in danger of losing its state accreditation because not enough students are graduating or at least completing GEDs. Wakefield High School failed to receive “full accreditation” status — achieved by every other Arlington County public school — because only 77 percent of the class of 2011 graduated or otherwise completed high school.
Instead, Wakefield was “accredited within warning.” If the next two classes can’t make steep gains, Wakefield will no longer be in good standing with Virginia.
“There are deficiencies within that school that need to be addressed,” said Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education. “The full-accreditation rating tells the public, ‘This is a good school.’ If a school is denied it, or warned, the public knows what that means.”
This is the first year that Virginia has factored the “graduation and completion index” into these statuses. It’s considered a gentler measure than the graduation rate, which excludes students who receive their credentials in alternative ways, like the GED.
A school that is warned for three years in a row loses the state’s seal of approval. If next year’s class doesn’t hit 81 percent completion, and the class of 2013 doesn’t meet 82 percent, then Wakefield will no longer be accredited.
Although Virginia can’t force the school’s closure or limit its funding, Wakefield would have to undergo an intensive turnaround process.
Principal Chris Willmore said he is “absolutely” concerned, but cautioned that a number of dropouts attributed to Wakefield were actually in classes at alternative high schools. Others had recently entered Arlington County Public Schools.
“There are more … immigrant families in South Arlington, and that’s where we see a lot of challenges,” Willmore said. “These students come in with limited English and limited education, and we have to get them on and track and earning credits very quickly.”
Wakefield’s student body is 45 percent Hispanic, followed by blacks at 27 percent — significantly more diverse than the school system as a whole, which is 45 percent white.
To shore up the completion rate, Willmore said he is looking at special programs for next summer and already identifying students with attendance issues. On Oct. 10’s professional day, teachers will develop “action plans” for students with low grades on their midterm reports.
Theresa Schweser, president of the school’s PTA, and mother to a sophomore, said she has “full and complete confidence” that Wakefield will land on its feet.
“They’re very committed to identifying and analyzing who [dropouts] are, as opposed to, ‘Ah, they dropped out, not my problem,” Schweser said.
