Page County Middle School reports reading gains and a jump in attendance to about 89.5%

Jennifer Hitt, principal of Page County Middle School, told the Page County School Board on April 23 that targeted instructional changes and family‑engagement efforts produced measurable gains and raised attendance.

“We are currently sitting at 89.54%,” Hitt said, summarizing a multi‑tiered push to reduce chronic absenteeism that includes school‑based attendance teams, family meetings, incentives and quarterly recognition. Hitt described positive incentives such as homeroom competitions, a quarterly attendance store for students with low absence counts, and small rewards that have helped improve daily attendance.

Hitt highlighted academic work in English and math. She said the division’s use of reading interventions tied to the Virginia Literacy Act and a new high‑quality math curriculum called Mathspace have led to higher benchmark results and promising trajectories going into testing season. For science, Hitt acknowledged a recent dip and described targeted remediation: “We worked with JMU on a professor in residence program” to support department alignment and SOL retake preparation.

Board members asked whether the science gap compared with other middle schools reflected curriculum, instruction or cohort differences. One member suggested principals compare pacing and instructional practice; Hitt said staffing shifts and recent teacher returns likely affected year‑to‑year comparisons and that the school is pursuing departmental alignment and focused remediation.

Why it matters: Better attendance and focused interventions affect funding, test‑score trajectories and students’ access to instruction. Hitt said the school had met with 75 families to date on attendance and planned further outreach and supports.

Next step: Staff will continue to monitor SOL benchmark data, expand family partnership meetings and report additional analysis to the board at a future meeting.