Weldon City Schools received some good news this week as the system is no longer classified as a low-performing district, board of education Vice Chair Tiffany Hale said in a statement released Thursday evening.
The state board of education met this week and approved student test performance results for the 2023-2024 school year, including results and school performance grades for Weldon City Schools. “There is much to celebrate, thanks to the hard work of our teachers, staff, students, and families.”
Weldon STEM High School Career Academies raised its school performance grade from a D to a C. Roanoke Valley Early College raised its grade from a C to a B. “Our four-year graduation rate increased, and Weldon City Schools is no longer a low-performing school district,” she said. “While we are on the right trajectory, there is much more work to be done. We are ready to roll up our sleeves, dig into the data, and do what it takes to improve educational achievement for all students at all schools districtwide.”
In response to a report from the state in August in which the state put the local board on notice for possible suspension of its duties as well as docking the system for its interim superintendent’s pay, Hale said the state has issued an invitation to the board to respond to the notices. “To be clear, the Weldon Board of Education wants to meet with the SBE. However, the board was not available to attend the SBE meeting on Thursday. This was communicated to the SBE before their meeting, along with an offer to schedule a joint meeting between SBE leadership and Weldon board leadership on a mutually agreeable date. The SBE declined this offer.”
The idea of a meeting remains open, she said.
As far as the school system’s response to the state notices, the local board intends to submit an additional written response while it continues to seek a joint meeting with the state board on a mutually agreeable date.
In its response to the state, the Weldon board gave an overview of the situation and also documented what it saw as inaccuracies in the notices by the state.
“There is much to celebrate and much to discuss, particularly now that Weldon City Schools is not a low-performing district,” Hale said. “A meeting between leadership provides an appropriate setting to have a full, productive conversation about how the Weldon Board and SBE can continue to work together in the best interest of the Weldon City Schools. We remain hopeful that the SBE will accept this invitation, and we look forward to continuing to work with them in all matters related to the Weldon City Schools.”
