EDUCATION
As mental health problems in schools soar, provider pulls out of southwestern districts
Several southwestern school districts in Virginia have less than a month before losing a key mental health services provider, which is citing changes in how the state handles the provision of such services as a reason for pulling out. Family Preservation Services announced in a Oct. 27 letter that it would cease providing therapeutic day […]
Board of Ed delays first review of new history, social science standards amid public outcry
The Virginia Board of Education delayed its review of new history and social science standards proposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration to January after a nearly eight-hour-long meeting Thursday. The board directed Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow to revise the newest standards, which were finalized Nov. 10, to include content from an earlier draft […]
Missing context, political bias: Some of critics’ objections to Virginia’s new history standards
A number of groups are questioning new history and social science standards proposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration ahead of a Board of Education meeting to begin reviewing them Thursday. Critics from diverse communities and lawmakers, most recently in a Nov. 15 letter to the governor and school officials, argue the new standards are missing […]
FBI confirms a single juvenile suspect behind most bomb threats to dozens of HBCUs
WASHINGTON — The FBI has officially announced that a single minor youth is the main suspect in most racially motivated bomb threats to dozens of historically Black colleges and universities earlier this year that terrorized students. The FBI in a statement on Monday did not release any further details — only that the individual is […]
Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina […]
A warning siren on Virginia students’ mental health
By Keith Perrigan Recently, a tremendous amount of attention has been paid to the decline in student achievement in Virginia since 2019. Simply enter any combination of “Virginia,” “NAEP,” “SOL,” “cut scores,” “higher expectations” and so on, and a plethora of news articles, op-eds and reports will fill your screen. Rightly so. Ensuring our current […]
Orwellian snitch line shuts down. Will guv end assault on teachers?
It was so punitive. So unnecessary. And so past time for Gov. Glenn Youngkin to shut down his teacher snitch line. His spokeswoman, Macaulay Porter, confirmed to me the euphemistically named “help education email” was deactivated in September, eight months after Youngkin announced its start. The acknowledgment finally came after Axios reported last week that […]
Virginia report shows more teachers leaving the workforce than entering it
Virginia has more teachers leaving the workforce than newly licensed teachers entering it, according to a report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Data show that 10,900 teachers left the workforce ahead of the current school year, while only 7,208 teachers with first-time licenses were hired. The finding was part of a broader […]
De-emphasizing SATs would be a godsend for students and parents
1080. That’s what I tallied on the SATs more than 40 years ago while attending my college prep high school in Washington, D.C. Surprisingly, I did better on the math portion, getting 600, but I earned just 480 on the English section. My coursework had revealed the exact opposite: I struggled in algebra and calculus, […]
Feds tell states special ed service requirements must be met for students
Federal agencies warned officials across the country, including in Virginia, that some states aren’t providing special education services in a complete or timely fashion, according to an Oct. 5 letter from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. The agencies also notified state officials that many educational placement decisions for children with […]
More Virginia colleges make SAT, ACT exams optional
The University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Norfolk State University are among the dozens of schools in the commonwealth that have changed their policies to relax admissions exams requirements. The test-optional trend is growing as more than 1,800 accredited, four-year colleges and universities nationally have committed to offering ACT/SAT optional or test-free testing policies […]
National assessment shows significant drops in Virginia reading and math scores
With the results of a national educational assessment showing significant declines in both reading and math, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is directing the Virginia Board of Education to raise Virginia’s testing standards. On Monday, the National Center for Education Statistics released the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a nationwide look at […]