Last week, we talked about the Lynchburg Public School District and this week we’re going to do the same thing with the nearby Amherst County School District. Once again, this is important because great schools don’t just teach; they shape futures and impact communities. So, let’s analyze the Amherst County school system. Keep in mind that once again the rankings are on a scale of 10 with 10 being the best.

Some 2’s

Elon Elementary and Monelison Middle are both struggling with overall ratings of 2. Elon Elementary has test scores at 3, academic progress at 1, and equity at 4. And Monelison has test scores at 2, academic progress at 1, and equity at 3.

Some 3’s

Next, we have a couple overall scores of 3 with Madison Heights Elementary and Central Elementary. Madison Heights Elementary has test scores at 2, academic progress at 3, and equity at 3. And Central Elementary has test scores at 3, academic progress at 4, and equity at 3.

Some 4’s

Getting a little better, we have Amelon Elementary and Amherst County High coming in with an overall score of 4. Amelon Elementary has test scores at 3, academic progress at 4, and equity at 4. Amherst County High has test scores at 3, academic progress at 4, and equity at 2.

5+

Lastly, we have three schools with an overall rating of 5 and up, with Amherst Elementary, Temperance Elementary, and Amherst Middle. Starting with Amherst Middle with an overall score of 5, test scores at 5, academic progress at 4, and equity at 5. Next is Temperance Elementary with an overall score of 6, test scores at 6, academic progress at 5, and equity at 6. And the top school in this district is Amherst Elementary with an overall score of 7, test scores at 7, academic progress at 8, and equity at 4.

If you remember from last week, the Lynchburg City school district was pretty disappointing. So how does the Amherst County school district compare? Looking at the overall ratings, we have three that are a 5 or above as opposed to Lynchburg’s 2. This is significantly better than the Lynchburg City school district, given that there are significantly less schools in the district. Test scores are also looking a little better with our top three scores being 5, 6 and 7. Academic Progress isn’t much better than Lynchburg’s though. Our top two schools have a 5 and 8 and the rest are 4 or less. Equity is also a little better, with our number 3 and number 2 schools having equity ratings of 5 and 6, but unfortunately our top school and the rest have a rating of 4 or less. Between all this, it’s not surprising to find that the Amherst County school district ranks 98^th out of Virginia’s 131 School Districts, slightly better than the Lynchburg City school district at 105.

Don’t lose hope though, as we have two more nearby school district to cover with better performance. And once again, if you do have to live in an area with underperforming schools, I highly recommend you get involved in the local school board to help make positive improvements for your child and their classmates. If you are considering moving to Lynchburg, then I hope this post has been informative and helpful in your decision-making process. Thank you and I’ll see you next week!