Teamwork leads to Vina's academic excellence

By Staff
Kim West, Franklin County Times
VINA – Vina High School has a pristine campus with gleaming athletic facilities and a new multi-purpose facility to host its May 25 commencement. But as much as Vina principal James Pharr enjoys giving tours of the school grounds, he prefers to talk to about his school's academic success.
Since Pharr's arrival four years ago from Winfield, Vina has made the state honor roll and met its 13 annual yearly progress goals required by the No Child Left Behind Act thanks to enrollment growth, improved attendance and graduation rates, and higher reading and math scores.
"We have met our students' goals set by the state education department," Pharr said. "I think our faculty and staff try extremely hard to teach all of our students, and they do a great job."
There are 17 students in this year's senior class, and all of them are expected to graduate. Vina has enjoyed a 100 percent graduation rate, despite having a 70 percent poverty rate among its overall student population.
Pharr is quick to credit local school officials for contributing to Vina's success.
"I can't say enough about the support from our superintendent Bill Moss, assistant superintendent Gary Williams and school board member Randy Hester," Pharr said. "All four of our (county) schools are improving, and I'm really blessed to be here.
"The No. 1 thing is to surround yourself with quality people who care about all students."
Vina offers dual-enrollment classes, which allow students to earn college credit while still taking high school classes. Students can attend classes at Northwest-Shoals Community College, or they can take them at Vina's distance-learning center.
"By the time our students graduate, some of them already have 30 hours of college credit," Pharr said. "I appreciate Dr. (Humphrey) Lee's help at Northwest-Shoals,and he is also someone who really cares about seeing students succeed," Pharr said.