Following up on the recent knowledge that all three Suffolk high schools reached full SOL accreditation for the 2004-05 school year, the July School Board meeting was full of good news, and more optimistic reports as well.

Updates on the Creekside Elementary

School construction and renovations at three of the four middle schools all reported progress to be either slightly ahead or right on schedule.

Middle school renovations between now and the new school year encompass bathroom overhauls, gym and auditorium improvements and fire alarm system replacements.

John Cotton, chairman of the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council, gave a fully upbeat report on that program’s achievements over the past year.

&uot;This should have been on the agenda under the ‘Good News Report’,&uot; said Cotton.

Among the highlights were that more than 7,000 students in grades six through 12 participated in some 70 courses in 23 different program areas in 2004-05.

Certified Internet Webmaster will be a new course offered this coming year at The Pruden Center for Industry and Technology.

Twenty graduates will be in the Path-to-Industry program, which is part of Governor Warner’s Education for a Lifetime Initiative. Thirteen students graduated from Obici Hospital’s LPN School of Nursing in February, with seven now being employed by Obici.

Cotton reported the Advisory Council’s awards for the past school year.

Anne Hudson was named CTE Teacher of the Year.

Hudson is the instructor for the Veterinary Assistant program at The Pruden Center.

Leigh Ann Parks of King’s Fork High School was selected as Rookie Teacher of the Year for the CTE program.

Parks is a Business and Information Technology teacher.

Brittany Waller was the 2005 CTE Student of the Year.

Waller, King’s Fork High’s first valedictorian, was chosen out of a field that Cotton said, &uot;about all the students we interviewed, if I had had jobs, I would’ve hired every one of them. That’s how impressive they were.&uot;

Specific goals for the 2005-06 were approved by the board. At the head of that list is, &uot;to assure that 100 percent of schools will meet or exceed the Virginia Standards of Accreditation by 2006.&uot;

andrew.giermak@suffolknewsherald.com