Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Norfolk Public Schools presents equity report showing modest gains; board presses for fidelity and staffing fixes
Summary
NPS presented its annual equity report showing modest gains in reading and math and rising representation among multilingual learners, while board members pushed for clearer measures of MTSS fidelity, teacher vacancy remedies and stronger alignment between equity priorities and upcoming consolidations (under 350 chars).
Norfolk Public Schools presented its annual equity report to the school board on a plan of action that staff said aims to close longstanding opportunity gaps while acknowledging persistent disparities.
Jerry Smith, the division—s director of innovation, community engagement and outreach, told the board that districtwide reading scores rose to 62% and math to 57% over three years, with notable gains among Black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. Attendance rose modestly to 93.3%, Smith said, and the new Virginia language and literacy screening (VALS) established baseline risk rates for kindergarten through grade 2.
"Our shifting enrollment shows growth in our opportunity groups, underscoring why accessibility and alignment are equity priorities," Smith said. He highlighted investments in professional development, expanded early-literacy screening, and Equity & Excellence Learning Centers (EELCs) intended to coordinate supports across feeder patterns.
Board members pressed staff for clearer evidence of implementation fidelity. "When we did the equity audit a few years ago, MTSS was flagged as not being implemented with fidelity," a board member said. "How is that being implemented now and how do we know?" Smith and other administrators described a multidisciplinary MTSS/VTSS coaching structure, weekly accountability meetings, and a revised comprehensive school support plan (CSSP) timeline meant to make goals active parts of school data cycles.
Staff acknowledged staffing and vacancy issues as a central constraint. Smith said some schools with high failure rates have "big vacancies in both of those buildings" and that the division has increased contract services and university partnerships to grow special-education capacity.
The report also presented budget context: operating funds have grown while grant funding has fallen from prior federal pandemic-era levels, a change administrators said they are accounting for in planning. "Operating funds have increased steadily," Smith said; the report included multi-year totals and flagged the reduction in grant-driven one-time funding.
Board members pressed for two concrete next steps: stronger, school-by-school fidelity measures that the board can review, and clearer links between equity priorities and the consolidation plan so staffing reallocations are done with explicit equity safeguards. Smith said the division will continue monthly monitoring and share more detailed CSSP and MTSS progress reports as the work proceeds.
The board did not take formal action on the equity report at the session; staff said further data and follow-up presentations will be provided in coming months.
