August 19, 2009

I am excited to welcome students, parents, faculty, and staff to WAHS for the 2009-10 school year.  It has been a busy but productive summer in preparation for our students who arrive on August 25.  I always say that "every year is a new adventure," and this one will be no different.  I have every reason to think that this will be another highly successful year for our school - in academics, athletics, and all other areas of our school program.

We have added a total of thirteen new members to our faculty and staff (one administrator, eight teachers, three teaching assistants, and one data administrator). We will also have two persons join the guidance staff during the year as substitutes for counselors on maternity leave. I am very pleased that we had a relatively small turnover and that we were able to hire extremely well qualified personnel in every instance.

During pre-school week the faculty will re-examine the mission statement for Albemarle County Public Schools as it pertains to our school:  "to establish a community of learners and learning, through rigor, relevance, and relationships, one student at a time."  As we review the school's mission, vision, and goals, we will continue our work to meet the many and varied needs of our twenty-first century learners at WAHS.  We welcome input from parents, community members, graduates, and others as we continue our work to provide high quality and relevant learning experiences for our students. 

2009-10 will be a busy year for our school.  An accreditation team will visit WAHS on October 6 and 7 in order to make a recommendation for our continued accreditation as a member of SACS/CASI.  This group will validate our work to identify the school's compliance with the standards upon which accreditation is based.

We are pleased to have made AYP (adequate yearly progress) again, based on 2008-09 SOL results.  As always, there is ongoing work that must be done to meet the many needs of all students.  AP (advanced placement) scores were very good based on last spring's testing with a total of 588 tests taken and 65% of students scoring 4 or 5 on these tests.  I invite you to attend our "back to school night" on Wednesday, September 16, when we review student achievement and school programs in greater detail.

I hope that you will review our school website on a regular basis.  This is one very important way we can continue effective communications with you - our stakeholders. We will work to maintain a website with pertinent, accurate, and timely information about life at WAHS.  Please do not hesitate to contact me directly if I can ever be of assistance.  Your ongoing support of our school is greatly appreciated.

Dave Francis,

Principal