Petersburg schools set EL, licensure and retention targets after Title I needs assessment
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Summary
Dr. Tia Palmer presented a Title I comprehensive needs assessment that sets a 4% EL progress target and a multi-year plan to boost teacher licensure and retention, while board members pressed for clarity on baseline metrics and family-engagement targets.
Dr. Tia Palmer, the district's interim director of federal programs, told the school board that the Title I comprehensive needs assessment identified four priority areas and specific, actionable goals to align with the Petersburg Forward 2026—2031 strategic plan.
"Today, we are reviewing the targeted findings and action steps identified during the comprehensive needs assessment," Palmer said, outlining targets that include a 4% increase in English-learner mastery indicators and a pathway-to-licensure program to strengthen the teacher pipeline.
Palmer and staff tied the assessment to staff-support goals: a retention strategy that aims to raise teacher retention toward 85% over a multi-year period and a push to equip 90% of teachers with de-escalation training. The presenters also described alignment with state staffing expectations for English-learner services.
Board members sought clarification about the baseline figures and which counts are reported to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). Superintendent Brown and staff explained the divergence between VDOE's "highly qualified" metric (noted in the presentation as 52%) and an internal figure that counts provisionally licensed teachers (reported in discussion as 68%). "So currently, we have 52% of our teachers—are currently either licensed or provisionally licensed," staff noted when defining the VDOE measure.
Several trustees questioned survey and engagement targets. Dr. Dakota Jackson and other staff members said the division is aiming for far higher participation in needs-assessment outreach (an 80% participation target for some measures) to ensure results are representative. Vice Chair Tucker and other board members pressed staff about persistent pushback to forming PTAs at some schools and about the capacity of parent-liaison staffing: staff said one parent liaison currently covers two to three schools and expansion depends on budget and grants.
Dr. Palmer said the CNA baselines will be used to write aligned Title grant proposals and to set three-year milestones that the board can reassess. "These data were serving that purpose," she said, adding the division will re-evaluate progress and adjust targets every few years.
Next steps: staff will use the CNA findings to inform upcoming Title grant applications, continue work on licensure pathways and report back to the board on implementation timelines and any budget needs that require board action.
