Dr. Robbie Mason Wins Regional Superintendent of the Year Award!
By Brian Carlton with the Charlotte Gazette
The numbers look good for Charlotte County Public Schools. In fact, it’s fair to say that Charlotte stands in multiple areas as a Top 25 district in the state. With everything added together, from pass rates to graduation rates and absenteeism, the district ranks 21 out of the 131 school districts in Virginia. As a result, Charlotte’s Robbie Mason was chosen as this year’s Region 8 Superintendent of the Year. “I have a very good team in my office and our students, teachers, administrators, and staff are second to none,” Mason said, deflecting the applause. “They have a lot more to do with our division’s success than I do. “ The award, which is voted on by the superintendents in the region, is meant as a spotlight on all the different things Mason has done and the district’s success overall, said Chip Jones. He serves as both superintendent of Cumberland County Public Schools and Region 8 Chairperson. “Congratulations to Dr. Mason for being selected as the Region 8 Superintendent of the Year!” Jones said. “As we know, Charlotte County continues to excel in student achievement on state assessments and in retaining dedicated staff. This recognition is a testament to Dr. Mason’s outstanding leadership and commitment to education in Southside Virginia. Well deserved!”
Breaking down the data
And there’s a lot to celebrate. When it comes to pass rates on the state Standard of Learning (SOL) tests, Charlotte County overall improved this year from 78% of students to 84.4% passing. That puts the county first in Region 8 and 31st statewide.
Charlotte has a record to maintain at this point. The district has been fully accredited without conditions since 2019, excelling in the classroom and beating multiple state standards. Even the graduation rates, it’s worth pointing out, are rising. In 2023, 82.7% of students graduated on time. This time, that number climbed to 89.9%.
There are also achievements at individual schools to spotlight. Bacon District Elementary is one of the Top 100 schools in Virginia. The school was one of just 92 across the state to earn the Virginia Board of Education’s Highest Achievement Award this year. In order to make this list, a school has to perform higher than the state standard in reading, math, and science in the Standards of Learning tests. That goes for all student groups across the school. Also, the school in question has to be rated better than the state average in the graduation and dropout rate, as well as chronic absenteeism. Based on scores, pass rates, and data from this past school year, Bacon District certainly qualifies.
To put this achievement into perspective, there are roughly 1,900 schools in the Commonwealth. That means only 5% of Virginia schools earned this award, including the one here in Charlotte County. Bacon was also the only elementary school in this region to get the award.
Applauding the achievement for Robbie Mason
Robbie Mason has served as Charlotte County Public Schools Superintendent for six years. During his leadership, Charlotte students have achieved assessment results among the highest in the state; major facility upgrades have been completed in Charlotte schools; significant salary increases have been implemented for CCPS staff; an increase in security measures including all CCPS schools having either an SRO or an SSO, as well as security vestibules, have occurred; all students became eligible for free school meals through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP); and the additional sales tax for school construction and renovation became a reality in Charlotte County.
“On behalf of the Charlotte County School Board I want to congratulate Dr. Mason on being selected as Region 8 Superintendent of the Year,” said Russell Hamlett. He serves as Charlotte County School Board Chairman. “Dr. Masonis dedicated to putting students and employees first in all of his decisions. He always strives to find innovative ways to improve education in our school system.”
What happens next?
Mason will now compete with seven other Virginia Superintendents for the Virginia Superintendent of the Year recognition. The Virginia Superintendent of the Year will be announced at the Annual VASS Spring Conference on April 28th at The Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke.
