Category: Education (K-12)
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Public School Climate Lessons Terrorize Virginia’s Children
by James C. Sherlock A headline from the home page of Save the Children: “Climate Change Is a Grave Threat to Children’s Survival.” Climate change is thus not a “challenge.” Not a threat to children’s happiness. But rather a threat to their “survival.” That is what children are being taught in many Virginia public school…
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Meet Abrar Omeish, Exhibit A in the Woke Army
by Asra Q. Nomani Exclusive: In 2019, Abrar Omeish canvassed for support at a fundraiser for the anti-Semitic group American Muslims for Palestine and said she wanted to change the “narrative” on Palestinians. She was elected to office and launched a tirade against the state of Israel, which she smeared as an “apartheid” nation,…
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Virginia’s Best-Attended School Divisions 2021-22 – It’s Not About Money
by James C. Sherlock We often, because it is important, concentrate on what is not working in Virginia’s state and local governments. Occasionally it is equally important to congratulate the winners. In this report I will list Virginia’s best-attended school divisions in 2021-21, both by all students and by sub-groups. You will be surprised by some…
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Black Students Disappearing from Classrooms Disproportionately in Ten of our Largest School Divisions
by James C. Sherlock For those who support local control of schools no matter what, I will offer you a “what” to consider. For those who are nervous about even discussing why some jurisdictions in Virginia have failed to ensure “an educational program of high quality is established and continually maintained” for Black children, that works…
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“Anti-Racism” in Action: Fairfax Schools Edition
by James A. Bacon Do you have an 8th grader who wants to go to college? Does he or she fall into one of several marginalized groups, including Black or Hispanic racial/ethnic identity? If so, Fairfax County has a special College Partnership Program to help. Although the program apparently allows Whites and Asian students to…
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Virginia, School Choice and Charter Schools – The National Map
by James C. Sherlock One of the most curious aspects of discussions about Virginia, school choice, and charter schools is that Virginia progressives attack both as a conservative plot. And mostly get away with it. The claim is demonstrably preposterous, but effective so far because Republicans don’t offer an organized response. I offer a map…
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Virginia Republicans, in Need of a Public Education Strategy for the Fall Elections, Should look to Florida
by James C. Sherlock Virginia still supports in law the pillars of the progressive takeover of public K-12 and higher education. Our elected Democrats, having made those laws even crazier in 2020 and 2021, resist any efforts to change them even at the margins. Mystifyingly, Virginia Republicans seem not to have a public education strategy…
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School Superintendent Balow a Casualty of the Culture Wars?
by James A. Bacon Jillian Balow, Virginia’s top K-12 school official, has submitted her resignation effective March 9. She gave no reason but appears to depart on good terms with the Youngkin administration. In a press release, Balow thanked Governor Glenn Youngkin for the opportunity to serve, and pledged her support for the governor’s agenda…
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School Discipline: Inflexible Rule or Common Sense?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore During the height of the war on drugs, schools adopted “zero-tolerance” policies. No student was allowed to possess any drug of any kind, even an aspirin or a prescription medication for which he had a prescription. Any such products had to be deposited with the school nurse and taken in the presence…
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What Do We Owe To and Expect from a Special Ed Teacher?
by James C. Sherlock On February 16, USA Today published a story by Jeanine Santucci. That is the latest in an excellent series of reports on the shooting of Newport News first grade teacher Abigail Zwerner. Her article, “Virginia 6-year-old who shot his teacher exposes flaws in how schools treat students with disabilities.” raises questions that Virginians…
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Gov. Youngkin’s Latest Event Undermines Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Attack
by Tyler O’Neil Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, on Tuesday, joined fourth graders at Fort Monroe outside Newport News, Virginia, hosting an event teaching about the history of the fort, where Black slaves fled during the Civil War to become freemen at what became known as “Freedom’s Fortress.” The Youngkin event came two days after Nikole…
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Time to Bring Back the Blue Books?
by James A. Bacon It’s hard to know how much credence to give to trend data extrapolated from online search queries. But if we imbue the findings of software firm Tiny Wow with any significance, one recent search trend is worrisome indeed. Tiny Wow analyzed Google Trends for the search queries “essay writer,” “essay ai…
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Virginia Law Enables School Violence – School Board Policies Can Correct It
by James C. Sherlock In 2019, the National Education Association (NEA) published Threatened and Attacked By Students: When Work Hurts, urging lawmakers to address the crisis of unsafe behaviors in schools. Read about Chesterfield schools in that article. Unfazed, progressives in 2020 in full control of the General Assembly, led by now-Congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan, looked…
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Unconstitutional Viewpoint Discrimination in Virginia K-12 Teacher Evaluation Standards
by James C. Sherlock Progressives, in the fullness of their dogma, oppose the entire Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is specifically structured to limit the powers of government, which progressives find not only unsuitable, but unimaginable. In the Golden Age of Progressivism in Virginia, 2020 and 2021, they controlled the governor’s mansion, the…
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Stop Coddling Bad Kids
by Kerry Dougherty I have a new hero. I don’t know her real name but in her Southeast Washington D.C. neighborhood, they just call her “Grandma.” Last Friday Grandma was on her way to chemo when a 15-year-old punk walked up and ordered her to hand over her car keys. “I have a gun,” he…