Craig County Public Schools Superintendent Jason Wheeler presented the School Board with an overview of state Standards of Learning results and instructional priorities during the board’s Sept. 8 meeting.
Wheeler said the data reflected the 2025-26 school year and that the state had released the official results the previous week.
He said the division’s pass rates generally remained close to the previous year, with some minor gains and decreases across categories.
However, Wheeler said Craig County was below the Comprehensive Instructional Program consortium in most categories and also slightly below the state average.
He noted that the consortium includes participating school divisions rather than every district in Virginia.
Wheeler also provided a historical perspective on the division’s statewide ranking. Craig County currently ranks 94th among Virginia’s approximately 131 or 132 school divisions.
The division’s 20-year low was 116th in 2006, while its 20-year high was 25th in 2015.
Wheeler said the historical data demonstrated that the division had made significant progress in the past and could do so again.
“I think it’s important to have that historical perspective to see that, you know, we have gotten significantly better at times,” Wheeler said. “I think that that’s, for us that is proof that we can do it again.”
Wheeler outlined several instructional priorities for the current school year, including curriculum, pacing, assessments and the use of student data.
He said the division had been piloting Hampton City Public Schools curriculum resources in kindergarten through eighth grade but had encountered pacing issues and broken links. Following discussions with elementary teachers, the curriculum will be treated as a resource rather than a strict requirement during the pilot year.
The same approach will be used for grades nine through 12, while teachers will continue to have access to CIP resources.
Wheeler said the division would focus on CIP pacing to allow Craig County to compare its benchmark testing results with other participating divisions.
The division also plans to use common unit assessments, common benchmark testing and IXL growth assessments.
He said school and division meetings would continue to emphasize student data and that kindergarten through eighth grade would maintain designated remediation periods. Those periods may be used for missing work, targeted skills, additional practice or homework, depending on student needs.
Wheeler also highlighted the use of Ignite and Lexia to support reading development.
“Reading is sort of the gatekeeper for a lot of our courses, especially the higher up you get,” he said.
In other superintendent updates, Wheeler said paperwork had been completed with Schneider regarding the removal of a tank, although the division was still waiting on additional paperwork and did not yet have a timeline for the work.
The propane tank pad had been completed, and generators had been installed, with startup expected the following week. Wheeler said work on the generators would require the McCleary playground to be closed for one day.
-The New Castle Record
