Category: Uncategorized
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Save the Jackson Arch
By Donald Smith This past summer, Washington and Lee University decided to keep Robert E. Lee’s name as part of the college’s name. Sentiment to keep Lee’s name was strong in and around Lexington. “Retain The Name” signs were commonplace. It’s not too late to trot those signs out again, to retain — or save,…
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The Emerging “Lost Generation” of Students
by James A. Bacon Virginia schools, like schools across the country, experienced an educational meltdown during the COVID-19 epidemic. The relatively comforting news is that, according to Virginia Department of Education, Virginia’s graduating seniors significantly out-performed their peers nationally. Fifty-six percent of Virginia test takers met all four of the college-readiness benchmarks — English, Reading,…
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No Need to Call in Feds, Says Virginia School Board Association
by James A. Bacon It became national news when the National School Board Association (NASB) asked the Biden administration to investigate threats and violence against school board members around the country. The Justice Department announced it would collaborate with the FBI and local law enforcement to prosecute criminal behavior. The views of the national association…
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Three Quarters of Virginia School Students Feel Treated Fairly
by James A. Bacon The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) is ramping up for the 2022 Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions early next year. (Hat tip: Jim Sherlock) The survey is an annual exercise to gauge perceptions of safety, discipline, and working conditions in public schools. I have no idea whether the…
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The Rise of the Political Class
by James A. Bacon Yesterday I noted polling of the race for governor in which Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin showed remarkable strength among minorities — 25% support from Blacks and 55% from Hispanics — along with a shrinking majority of Whites. That poll might have been an outlier, so I don’t want to make too…
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The Imperative for Reflection
by Bill O’Keefe Politicians are not known for engaging in reflection or looking back on legislation, but they should. The experience that Europe is having with its version of the Virginia Clean Economy Act is the reason why. Presently, Europe is experiencing energy shortages and surging prices. Some of this turmoil is due to global…
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How the Best Teachers Help At-Risk Students Succeed
This is third in a series of articles about Virginia’s Standards of Learning assessments. by Matt Hurt Teachers play a central role in the education of our students. Therefore, it is important to identify the characteristics of effective teachers, especially those who demonstrate success at educating at-risk students. Prior to the COVID epidemic, the Comprehensive…
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A Racially Divisive Disaster
by Marilyn Rainville As a retired teacher and mother of two raising a school-aged grandson, I am concerned about what is being taught in the Virginia’s public schools. Two weeks ago, I spoke at a Mathews County School Board meeting to voice my concerns about Critical Race Theory. The school Superintendent declared that our county…
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Poverty Not Destiny for Educational Performance
This is the second in a series examining Virginia’s Standards of Learning. by Matt Hurt In the 2013-2014 school year school superintendents in Virginia’s Region VII, a region encompassing Southwest Virginia, began to focus on declining student pass rates during their monthly regional meetings. The Virginia Board of Education had recently adopted more rigorous Standards…
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Virginia’s Self-Inflicted Nursing Home Crisis – Part 1
by James C. Sherlock None of us ever knows when we will need a nursing home for ourselves, our parents or our kids. Yes, kids. While long-term nursing care is mostly for older patients, skilled nursing facilities are needed for patients of all ages, including children, for shorter term post-op treatment and recovery. The patients…
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About that 93% Graduation Rate…
This just in… Despite the travails of the COVID-19 epidemic and distance learning last year, 93% of Virginia students who entered the 9th grade in 2017-18 earned their diplomas and graduated within four years, the Virginia Department of Education announced today. Actions by the State Board of Education and “the emergency waivers I issued last…
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In Fairfax, Illegal-Alien Rights Trump Citizen Rights
by James A. Bacon Apparently, protecting illegal aliens from U.S. immigration authorities is more important to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors than safeguarding the transparency of police blotters, which have been a mainstay of local media crime reporting and public information about crime in the community. The Fairfax County Police Department has stopped publishing…
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Hey, CDC, Admit It: Those Are Pregnant WOMEN!
by Kerry Dougherty Oh look. The CDC – you know, the public health agency run by bureaucrats that just ignored FDA advice regarding booster shots – is now pushing vaccines on pregnant women. Boosters, too! Oooops. No it’s not. What the very woke CDC did was issue a health alert pushing Covid vaccines on pregnant…