Norfolk Public Schools presented a detailed "state of the schools" update in a board work session, outlining how recent changes to Virginia's accountability and accreditation systems affected local results and what the division plans to do in response.

Presenter Miss McGarity told the school board the division's results under the Virginia School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF) show 43.9% of Norfolk schools performing 'on track' when considering school performance only, with 56.1% off track. When federal identifications are applied, those shares shift to about 34.1% on track, 53.6% off track and 12.2% in the 'needs intensive support' category. McGarity said several schools were narrowly below a higher designation; Larchmont was about half a point from 'distinguished.'

McGarity said the division filed accreditation appeals with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) for schools cited under sections tied to leadership/staffing and federal program compliance; the Virginia Board of Education will review the appeals. She also called out staffing vacancies—particularly licensed support staff such as media specialists and counselors—as a recurring barrier to accreditation findings and to improving Tier 1 instruction.

On student performance, McGarity noted mixed results across subjects: many schools showed continuous improvement in reading, math and science for some student groups, while mastery remained a challenge. She highlighted Larchmont Elementary as one of the state's top five schools for EL progress and reported that some middle schools (Southside STEM Academy, Crossroads, and Academy for Discovery) attained a 100% pass rate for spring EOC math assessments.

Board members asked for clearer public communications about the bifurcated accountability system (performance vs. accreditation); Dr. Pohl and McGarity said the division will prepare a one‑pager and revise the web presentation to separate outputs (performance) from inputs (accreditation). They also provided subgroup breakdowns on request: McGarity said the 61% figure for students who did not show growth in a reading measure represented 696 students, and that socioeconomic status, Black students and students with disabilities constituted large shares of that group.

McGarity cautioned the board that some percentages varied when federal identifications are applied and that state-level rule changes cited by JLARC may prompt future recalibration. She closed by emphasizing that growth is occurring and that the division will use these results to guide supports to schools.