A cure for failing schools
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal threatens to expand in scope but he has yet to offer adequate funding.
Virginia needs to find a cure for the handful of chronically failing schools that dot the commonwealth. But a proposal by Gov. Bob McDonnell has grown more intrusive even as he refuses to foot the bill.
February 19, 2013 - 12:24 AM
Governor McDonnell’s proposals look good: Put students first, hire high quality teachers, and staff schools with more specialists are among his several options. Division, however, is not the answer. Neither is a bureaucratic coup of failing schools. Governor McDonnell correctly acknowledges schools need high quality teachers, yet he “shell-games” the solution. He shifts his correction onto management by bureaucracy instead of keeping teaching and learning (students) his focus.
And please, do not follow Tennessee in any move toward bureaucratic control in education. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam recently signed bills HB 3532/ SB 3310 – “Gateway Sexual Activity” – banning students from holding hands in school halls while state delegates promote a curriculum of sexual abstinence. Meanwhile, Virginia public schools rank high with an 82.6 percent grade in six areas of performance and Tennessee ranks just above the U.S. average grade (76.5) with a 77.7 grade. That’s political intrusion at its extreme.
Virginia needs not turn to more politics in schools.