EDUCATION
Virginia’s barrier islands’ normal resilience to sea-level rise is hurt by climate change, VCU researchers find
A study from the Coastal Plant Ecology Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University found that a naturally occurring process that has made barrier islands resilient to sea-level rise has been affected by climate change and is making the islands more susceptible to the impact of rising water levels. Typically, Virginia’s barrier islands off the coast of […]
Virginia’s community colleges expect fewer 18-year-olds to enroll by 2026. What happens after that?
By 2026, Virginia Community College Chancellor Glenn DuBois thinks colleges will be competing so hard for students, it will feel like “The Hunger Games.” “Beginning in 2026, we will see a decline in the traditional college-aged student that is more dramatic than we’ve ever seen before,” DuBois said in a 2018 address to community college […]
Descendants of Dred Scott, Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney, talk reconciliation
Alexandra Zernik/ Capital News Service Descendants of those involved in the milestone Supreme Court decision preventing African Americans from becoming citizens will come together and share their story of reconciliation and repentance, 162 years after the decision. Lynne Jackson and Charles Taney will speak at the Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center at Virginia […]
‘That really wears on you:’ Pay, challenges of poor districts are pushing Virginia teachers out of the classroom
After five years, Cody Sigmon is leaving his job as a teacher to become a behind-the-scenes IT employee at Ohio University. Sigmon, 27, a middle school teacher in Chesterfield, helped organize thousands of educators across the state for several months, culminating in a January march on the Capitol to advocate for more money for public […]
Teachers rally for better pay, more funding after annual meeting
Hundreds of members of the Virginia Education Association — the state’s de facto teacher’s union — briefly marched around downtown Richmond Friday. The group was led by a red school bus bearing a banner that said “Fund Our Future,” and was calling attention to new national data that shows Virginia’s average teacher pay is thousands […]
Norfolk State University wants Northam to attend opening of new African-American think tank
Norfolk State University plans to establish the state’s first academic, nonpartisan think tank focused on African Americans and other residents of color, dubbed the Center for African American Public Policy. And once it’s launched, they’re hoping Gov. Ralph Northam will help them mark the occasion. Soji Akomolafe, chair of NSU’s political science department, said the university […]
Westboro Baptist Church hurls slurs ahead of Richmond visit
By Rosemarie O’Connor/Capital News Service Westboro Baptist Church is planning to visit Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia State Capitol on March 11, though it’s unclear how much access the group will have to university grounds. The Westboro Baptist Church is infamous for its posters that feature slurs against the LGBTQ community and its practice […]
Tuition raises would have to go to public comment under bills from both parties in both chambers
Governing boards of public colleges and universities may soon have to hold public comment sessions before raising tuition. A bill from Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, unanimously passed the Senate this week. Petersen has introduced the bill during the last two sessions, but it got stuck in the Senate Finance Committee. Over the summer, the Freedom […]
House budget proposal scraps some of Northam’s ideas, makes big investments in education
Republican leaders of the House Appropriations committee left most of Gov. Ralph Northam’s budget proposals out of their own budget that invests heavily in education. Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, committee chairman, made clear Northam would not get all of the $2.1 billion of budget amendments he rolled out in the days before the General Assembly […]
Senate panel endorses Bible classes for public schools
The Senate’s Education and Health Committee advanced legislation Thursday that would allow public high schools to offer an elective Bible study course. The legislation is part of a nationwide push in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia, according to USA Today. “It teaches a lot about all other religions. It teaches a lot about where people […]
Legislative proposals address rising costs of college
By Adrian Teran-Tapia/Capital News Service Since 2007, tuition at Virginia’s public colleges and universities has increased an average of 80 percent, with schools like Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William & Mary more than doubling their tuition. The rising cost of a college education prompted Del. David Reid, D-Loudoun, to file a bill […]
Panel OKs Rules for Using ‘Dangerous’ Room Dividers at Schools
By Saffeya Ahmed/ Capital News Service On an afternoon last spring, Wesley Lipicky, a third-grader at Franconia Elementary School in Fairfax County, was helping his teacher in the gymnasium when he became caught between a motorized room partition and a gym wall. The 9-year-old boy suffered traumatic head injuries and died that night. On Monday, […]