John,
I’ve taught government and history to high school students for 18 years now in Henrico County Public Schools. I just watched another class of promising seniors graduate, and as the school year comes to an end, I’m taking a moment to reflect on the recent progress we have made in education policy in Virginia, and look ahead to all the work we have yet to do.
This year we passed the expansion of the bipartisan Virginia Literacy Act to include not only students in kindergarten through third grade, but also fourth through eighth graders. We’ve needed to fix how we teach reading for a while, and this is the first step.
But now we’ve seen a rise in an extreme right-wing agenda, including vouchers programs, which defund public schools, or attacks on history curriculum or students because of who they are. The only reason Virginia hasn’t passed the divisive, anti-education legislation seen in states like Florida and Tennessee is that our Democratic majority in the Senate has blocked it.
Please consider a donation of $20 to support my run for State Senate - to maintain our majority and refocus the conversation on policies to help maximize student outcomes and make sure that Virginia’s students are getting a world-class education.
You can read more about my views on the end of the school year and education policy in my op-ed in The American Independent.
It may be summer vacation, but I’ll still be hard at work for Henrico.
–Schuyler VanValkenburg
