Education

Virginia’s School Board Association and the Norfolk Board of Education are suing the state to stop implementation of a new law that would allow Richmond to take over local schools when they consistently fail Standards of Learning tests.

State lawmakers recently approved the establishment of a new organization – the Opportunity Educational Institution or OEI.  Its job – to take over the supervision and operation of any local school accredited by the state with a warning for three consecutive years.  Barbara Coyle heads the Virginia School Boards Association.

Arun Gandhi, grandson of the legendary spiritual leader, Mahatma Gandhi, will speak about his grandfather’s views on education and their relevance today, at Virginia Tech on Sunday evening. 

Arun Gandhi was born in 1934 in Durban, Apartheid era, South Africa.  The fifth grandson of India’s legendary leader, Mohatma Ghandi, he came to the U.S. in 1987 to research and study racism in America and founded the Institute for Nonviolence at the University of Rochester in 1991.

Standards of  Learning pass rates are now posted—and Virginia students posted gains in math SOL tests that were new two years ago.

But as officials predicted, scores on new, more rigorous English and science tests dropped, according to the data.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright says students are now being challenged by the standards to achieve new levels of mastery at each grade level.  She says the online-writing component is a very different approach than the traditional multiple-choice tests often associated with SOLs.

The President of Virginia’s Board of Education visits Southwest Virginia this week…with public meetings scheduled Thursday in Abingdon, and Friday in Wythe County.  

It’s David Foster’s latest stop, as he travels the state’s eight educational regions this year. 

You might expect students who must attend summer school to complain, but at Buckingham School, summer is an exciting time, with students cultivating a garden of fresh fruits and vegetables, while gaining new knowledge in math, language and science.  The garden is just one part of a new, 21st century complex based on the physical and psychological needs of kids.