Nine Putnam County schools, including six elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools, were recently honored by the West Virginia Department of Education for achieving Exemplary Accreditation status.
Exemplary status means that a school has met a series of rigorous standards established and monitored by the Office of Education Performance Audits.
Those standards include being among the top ten percent of schools in the state that earn the top combined ranking on reading/language arts, math, science, and social studies sections of the WESTEST2.
These schools must also have an attendance rate at or above 94 percent. High schools have additional requirements, including graduation rates, intent to enroll in post-secondary education, and advanced placement or honors classes.
Putnam County schools that earned Exemplary Status are as follows: Confidence Elementary, Eastbrook Elementary, Hometown Elementary, Poca Elementary, Scott Teays Elementary, West Teays Elementary, Poca Middle, Hurricane High and Winfield High.
Superintendent Chuck Hatfield said he believes that all Putnam schools are making progress toward meeting the state's high academic standards.
"All of our schools continue to focus on closing the achievement gap and accelerating the learning of all students," he said.
Hatfield said he is especially pleased to have nine schools meet the state's new standards for Exemplary status.
"With the increased rigor of the curriculum and assessment (WESTEST2), it is gratifying to know that the hard work of the schools is paying off. The recognition is nice, but it is the promise of successful futures for kids that really makes me proud." he said.
A total of 65 schools across the state were honored.
"We have high expectations for all schools in West Virginia and these schools have achieved the state board's highest level of recognition," said West Virginia Board of Education President Priscilla Haden.
"This accomplishment speaks highly of the quality of education throughout West Virginia, with schools from every area of our state identified as exemplary. Educators, parents, students and communities serving our schools understand that quality is important and are working hard to ensure students succeed. We encourage them to keep up the good work."