NCPS Achieves Divisionwide Accreditation; High School Earns “Distinguished” Status by VDOE
MACHIPONGO, VA- Northampton County Public Schools (NCPS) proudly announces the release of its 2024-2025 accountability results, which officially designate the entire division as earning the highest recognition of Fully Accredited. Northampton High School’s achievement of the Distinguished status, the state's top honor, highlights our community's dedication to excellence and reflects the school's success in earning over 90 points, with 97.1 points, on the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) rigorous accountability framework. NCPS demonstrated strong regional momentum across its schools as well. This progress was led by Kiptopeke Elementary School, ranking #2 in Region 2 for growth in both reading and mathematics, showcasing our shared progress and dedication. Northampton Middle School also performed strongly, placing #3 in Region 2 for growth in reading, while Northampton High School secured the #2 ranking overall for 3E Readiness (Enrollment, Employment, Enlistment) in the region.
The new state accountability framework identifies areas that require focused, targeted intervention by evaluating the performance of student subgroups in reading, mathematics, and science. When any student subgroup performs below state benchmarks, the school may become federally identified for additional support and improvement actions. This federal identification automatically lowers the school’s state performance category by one level.
Northampton Middle School and Kiptopeke Elementary School both achieved framework performance scores that exceeded the state-required benchmark of 80 points or higher to be “On Track,” however, they received a final designation status of “Off Track.” This status is due to the federal identification of the Students with Disabilities student population performing below state-identified standards. This factor mobilizes resources from the Commonwealth for focused improvement. Despite Occohannock Elementary School’s strong overall performance of 78.6 out of 80 points, narrowly missing the “On Track” designation by fewer than three points, the school is identified as “Needs Intensive Support.” This status does not reflect schoolwide performance but instead demonstrates the performance of the Students with Disabilities subgroup, which, under state accountability rules, requires the highest level of comprehensive support from the Virginia Department of Education.
“These scores serve as evidence of our division-wide instructional focus and our commitment to using performance data to target student needs,” added Dr. Taneshia Rachal, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. “The Distinguished status and regional growth numbers show that our core curriculum is strong, and the federal accountability process now ensures we apply enhanced, evidence-based instructional strategies to ensure every student subgroup achieves mastery.”
“We are proud that all of our schools achieved Fully Accredited status, and especially that Northampton High School earned the top designation of ‘Distinguished,’” said Dr. Lisa L. Martin, Superintendent of Northampton County Public Schools. “These results, including our multiple regional growth rankings, demonstrate great progress.”
Dr. Martin further emphasized that the accountability statuses received by our other schools are not judgments of overall performance but rather indicators of where additional support is needed. Our commitment is to work hand in hand with our parents, teachers, and school leaders to strengthen our teaching practices and expand our services for our students, ensuring that every student continues to make continuous progress under the state’s framework. We invite the community to stay engaged and support these ongoing efforts to foster student success, reinforcing our shared dedication to growth and improvement.
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