Dear Members of the Board of Education:

I am a strong supporter of public schools.  I am a retired teacher, who taught first grade for 3 years, second grade for 8 years and reading for 15 years.  As a reading specialist, I truly believed that all of the students I worked with had a chance to eventually graduate from high school and be successful in their chosen career paths.

Unfortunately, between fifteen and twenty percent of children with reading disabilities drop out of school before earning their degrees.  This is concerning because high school dropouts earn significantly less over their lifetime than graduates.

I commend your effort to tie graduation and outcomes to the standards for accrediting Virginia's public high schools.   I am, however, concerned that the Board's current plan does not set the target rates at a high enough level. 

The accreditation system should reward schools for providing instructional programs to meet the needs of at-risk students to help them graduate on time.  Please increase the target to at least 90 points. 

Thank you, 

             Mary Wagner