Sheffey awarded for academic performance

By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

Taking no shortcuts on the journey to excellence has brought Sheffey Elementary School recognition from the Virginia Department of Education.
The school was one of 118 around the state to be recognized at the end of April with a 2008 Title I Distinguished School Award.
The awards went to schools with a high percentage of students who receive free or reduced lunches that met certain No Child Left Behind requirements during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years.
Sheffey was the only Wythe County school to receive the honor this year. According to a press release from April 2007, Speedwell Elementary School got one of the 2007 awards.
“It says we’re doing a fantastic job,” said Sheffey Principal Joe Phillips, finishing up his first school year as the head administrator at the school. “I can go ahead and toot the horn because I wasn’t here.”
Tammy Watson, now the principal at Jackson Memorial Elementary School, served as the school’s leader during the time period the award recognizes.
Phillips said the school received a certificate for its accomplishment last week and celebrated the achievement at its most recent awards assembly held at the end of the six-week grading period.
The honor also will be acknowledged at the school’s end-of-the-year assembly in a few weeks, the principal added.
The requirements for the award are numerous and encompass many technical education standards, but significantly award-winning schools must not use the “safe harbor” provision when calculating adequate yearly progress requirements based on Standards of Learning tests.
Phillips said the safe harbor option allows schools to claim successful AYP by averaging test results from more than one year instead of looking at progress on an individual year-by-year basis.
Albert Armentrout, superintendent of Wythe County Public Schools, said all six of the county’s elementary schools qualify for Title I funds based on the number of students receiving free or reduced lunches.
Although the distinguished school awards go only to Title I-qualifying schools, Armentrout said the award recognizes the achievements of all students at the schools, not just the more economically disadvantaged sub-groups.
“We’re very pleased that the success of the school has been recognized,” he said.
Armentrout also said he would be sure to recognize Sheffey’s award at an upcoming School Board meeting.
With 2008 SOL testing now under way, Phillips said he hopes Sheffey will continue to bring in awards in the years to come.
“We’re extremely proud of the achievements our students and leaders are making,” he said.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .