Tag: James Sherlock
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UVa Religion Faculty Hate Speech against Evangelical Christians
by James C. Sherlock Thirty percent of Virginians identify as evangelical Christians. So, one can never say that the University of Virginia, in targeting them with school-sponsored hate speech, doesn’t swing for the fences. Members of UVa Department of Religious Studies faculty have unloaded on white evangelicals in as wide-ranging and comprehensive an example of…
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VDOE Does Define Educational Equity as Equal Outcomes
by James C. Sherlock An African American Superintendent’s Advisory Council (AASAC) was formed by the Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2020. It is charged “to develop policy recommendations to advance African American students’ academic success and social emotional well being to inform VDOE priorities and strategies”. It has proven extremely influential. I have yet…
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VDOE’s Radical Approach to SEL Far Exceeds Its Legislative Mandate
by James C. Sherlock Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane is running into fierce public resistance to draft SEL regulations. See the 409 comments so far. They overwhelmingly oppose what he has offered as a draft SEL instruction in his April 23 memo. The basic problem is apparent. The Board of Education/VDOE are citing laws for…
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VDOE to Take Over Child Care
by James C. Sherlock We have joined in a lot of discussions about the Board of Education and the Virginia Department of Education. I think it time that readers contemplate the vastly expanded role of both that happens on July 1 of this year. From that date, the Board of Education will be setting policy…
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Virginia Needs a Constitutional Amendment to Elect the Board of Education
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Board of Education (VBOE) is by far the most powerful and consequential public board in Virginia. It is the only one whose Powers and Duties are defined in the Virginia Constitution. It was a mistake not to make the members of the Board with such vast and unconstrained powers…
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VDOE Regulation Officially Nonsensical
by James C. Sherlock I am a reasonably experienced and educated man, but sometimes I need help. I just read the Virginia regulation 8VAC20-23-190. Professional studies requirements for PreK-12, special education, secondary grades 6-12, and adult education endorsements. I know, you don’t have to say it. But anyway, I read it. The full regulation directs…
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Virginia’s Updated “Regulations Governing Educational Services for Gifted Students” Has Temporarily Disappeared
by James C. Sherlock Sometimes you just need to go to the documents to see what the Virginia Department of Education is up to. This example will tell you everything you want to know. Each agency proposing a new or revised regulation is required by Virginia law to post a “Proposed Agency Background Document” on…
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Fall Elections Threaten Northam’s Radical Education Team
by James C. Sherlock Politics is a contact sport, and the two people in the Northam administration most likely to be blindsided are Secretary of Education Atif Qarni and Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane. I say blindsided — they won’t see it coming — because the hits will come from their own team. This…
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Chesapeake Regional Medical Center Sues Sentara – Again
by James C. Sherlock A tip of the hat to my friends at Checks and Balances Project for alerting us to a new civil suit filed April 27 against Sentara by Chesapeake Regional Medical Center (CRMC). I will comment on Sentara’s response to the suit when it is available. The complaint alleges various instances of…
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VDOE Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards to Use Schools to Create New Leftists
by James C. Sherlock The Virginia Department of Education has posted — sort of — for citizen comment its draft Social Emotional Learning (SEL) standards. (Please note: the link to the VDOE citizen comment page has been corrected.) These draft standards represent an overt attempt to turn school children into social justice warriors of the…
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Hospitals 1, Patients 0
by James C. Sherlock Since January 1 of this year, after a court battle won in late December 2020 by the Trump Justice Department, the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) has required hospitals to post median payer-specific negotiated rates. I figured the fix was in when most hospitals in Virginia still haven’t complied. The Virginia…
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Analysis Needed to Back Up VDOE Policy Changes
by James C. Sherlock Many dramatic changes in school policy are being made and contemplated by the Virginia Department of Education. The references justifying the changes are inevitably academic “studies.” I’m sorry, but academics can and do design studies to provide whatever results they are looking for. That is why so many are not replicable…
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Research the Huge Differences in SOL Math Scores Among Black Children
by James C. Sherlock The problem Virginia Department of Education Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative (VMPI) and associated equity changes are designed to solve is low math proficiency among black students. That math performance issue must be addressed beginning in kindergarten and before. At the end of the 3rd grade, even under Virginia’s new standards,…
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Coming: Public Schools as Family Services Agencies
by James C. Sherlock I have just reviewed the Return to School Planning Equity Audit published by the VDOE – Office of Equity & Community Engagement #EdEquityVA . I confess amazement. I simply had no idea how far the missions and functions of Virginia public schools have been stretched. The Equity Audit shows that…
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Norfolk Police Officer Fired for Helping Citizen Accused of a Crime
by James C. Sherlock I watched closely the Derrick Chauvin trial. It appeared that the judge conducted a fair trial, both the state and the defense were properly represented. Mr. Chauvin was found guilty by a jury of his peers. As far as I personally and, more importantly, the legal system of the United States…