Category: Education (K-12)
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For Your Consideration: An Intellectual Freedom Protection Act
by James C. Sherlock I offer for your consideration the text of a draft Intellectual Freedom Protection Act proposed this morning by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). FIRE is the leading American voice supporting academic freedom, free speech and due process. In doing so they defend democracy itself. They are what the ACLU…
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Richmond’s Crime-Infested Neighborhoods, Terrible Public Schools and Equity
by James C. Sherlock It’s Black History Month. Even in Richmond. As a contribution, I am going to review the facts on the ground in Richmond — in its most crime-ridden neighborhoods and its worst public schools. Which are overwhelmingly Black. And co-located. In a city with a Black mayor and a Black school board.…
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New York Previews the Virginia Politics of Charter Schools
by James C. Sherlock I am no stranger to writing about charter schools in Virginia. The half-dozen or so we have in the state have no effect, and expansion is blocked by the fact that charters in Virginia have to be approved by division school boards. Which are elected by teachers, not students. The result,…
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“Social Justice” Comes for Henrico’s Gifted Program
by James A. Bacon Here we go again. The Richmond Times-Dispatch is using “statistical disparities” as evidence of racial bias in Henrico County schools. Under pressure from federal authorities to address racial disparities, Henrico County is endeavoring to enroll more students from minorities in the county’s “gifted” programs. States the article: “The Richmond Times-Dispatch reviewed…
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362 is more than 273
by Joe Fitzgerald Take our word but not our numbers, Bluestone Town Center (BTC) backers seem to say The moral of this story is: what the City Council doesn’t know won’t hurt the HRHA. When I first heard about the scope of the BTC, I did some quick arithmetic and came up with an astronomical…
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Virginia’s PreK-12 Educational Goals?
by Matt Hurt For any organization to be successful, there must be clearly defined goals based on the desired outcome. The goals must be measurable, and the measure(s) of progress must also be defined. The greater the focus is maintained on those goals, the more likely the organization will attain them. Virginia’s educators are at…
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Peak Insanity: Why Schools Shouldn’t Teach the Dangers of Communism
.@DelJAvoli presented HB 1816, requiring that students learn about the dangers and victims of communism. What did @VEA4kids have to say? Just listen. We can't do it justice. You can't make this stuff up. https://t.co/5Akexs58yD pic.twitter.com/MUabRPOnMe — Virginia House GOP (@vahousegop) February 15, 2023 by James A. Bacon HB 1816 would require the governor to…
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Virginia Math SOLs: Science vs. Common Core
By Rick Nelson Parents depend on schools to prepare their children with the skills needed in the global economy. In Virginia public schools, K-12 instruction is governed by the Standards of Learning (SOLs). Between 1995 and 2015, our math SOLs were based on “best practices” identified by scientists who study how the brain learns mathematics. …
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Government Actors Try to Deflect, Deny and “Move On” from Failures During COVID
by James C. Sherlock The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is in full self-defense mode. CDC and the left backed, indeed insisted, upon social isolation during the pandemic. Now they deflect and deny agency in the consequences. They continue to try to insulate themselves from the catastrophic educational and mental health effects on…
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Woke Army Puts American Hindu Mom in Its Crosshairs
by Asra Nomani A Woke Army of far-left activists and leaders from the mosque that once hired radical imam Anwar Al-Awlaki put a mother in their crosshairs: Suparna Dutta, a brave immigrant who has advocated for the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, democracy, and meritocracy. In a reprehensible display of bigotry and xenophobia, Virginia…
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Bias and Risk in Behavioral Polls and Studies – A Cautionary Tale for Public Policy
by James C. Sherlock Here at BR, both the authors and commenters spend a great deal of time discussing the outcomes of behavioral polls and studies. Taxes, mandates, and bans are behaviorally informed. As are most public policies. But behavioral science adds levels of risk and bias much more prevalent than in the hard sciences.…
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No Better Time to Instill Financial Literacy in Black and Brown Virginian Youth
by Sherifah Munis Racial systemic inequalities have recently been brought to the forefront of our national conscience, shedding light on the centuries of policies that have disadvantaged Black and Brown Americans’ ability to build, maintain, and pass on wealth. A striking 2019 statistic shows that the median family wealth (the difference between gross assets and…
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Virginia Public Schools – The Epidemic of Risky Behaviors and Experiences in Adolescents
by James C. Sherlock The 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011–2021 , was released by the CDC on Monday, provides the most recent surveillance data, as well as 10-year trends, on health behaviors and experiences related to adolescent health and well-being among high school students in the United States. The survey was completed…
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Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Virginia Public Schools – Dangerous Children’s Services Act Changes Proposed
by James C. Sherlock One of the key elements of state and local efforts to support children with behavioral health, educational disabilities, and other challenges is the Children’s Services Act (CSA) (the Act). In education, its primary role has been paying for placement of children and youth with educational disabilities into private special education schools (PSES).…
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They’re Political; We’re Not
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Governor is pretty upset about a toolkit sent to its members by the Virginia Education Association. The toolkit includes sample lesson plans that include teachings on racial identity and the Black Lives Matter movement. “The Administration will not support a teachers union’s attempts to prop up a politically driven curriculum toolkit…