Virginia’s third largest school division continues to adapt

Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia’s second largest school division, continued to find success in the 2007-2008 school year.

The school system boasted rising test scores and new accomplishments and recognitions by students, teachers and other staff members during the school year.

And the school system, as well as the county, continues to grow.

As of January 2008, the school division had a total enrollment of 72,654 students.

The school system is continuing to build new schools and additions to keep up with the enrollment growth.

In September 2007, Gainesville Middle School opened to serve students in the western end of the county.

In September 2008, two new elementary schools are slated to open: Samuel L. Gravely Elementary School in the Haymarket area, and Fitzgerald Elementary School in the Dale City area.

Superintendent Steven L. Walts and the Prince William County Public School Board will oversee a $762 million operating budget in the 2008-2009 school year.

The budget includes funding to complete the implementation of the full-day kindergarten at all of the county’s elementary schools. Bringing full-day kindergarten to all elementary schools has been the School Board’s top priority.

Prince William County Public Schools operates by site-based management, which places decision-making and accountability at the school level. Some initiatives implemented in the schools in recent years are an enhanced curriculum, teacher committees that guide the transition and implementation of the new curriculum, the multicultural program, technology infrastructure and pioneering use of Instructional Support Teams that work with schools and teachers at the classroom level.

The school division was selected to lead state efforts to develop the Standards of Learning tests for science and was the first in Virginia to restructure its curriculum. In addition, Prince William was the first to develop its own performance tests. As a result, the state followed Prince William-s model for the SOL testing program.