Governor McDonnell says the first phase of his education plan rolled out last month placed a lot of emphasis on teaching and administrative reforms to increase accountability. In the second phase announced Thursday, his latest proposals would also hold school systems more accountable.
The Governor has dubbed the complete package the “All Students” plan. McDonnell says within the U.S., the quality of Virginia’s education ranks very high, but compared to other nations, U.S. education rankings are dismal. McDonnell says good quality teachers make the difference, but attracting them can be challenging—so he supports bringing the Teach for America Act to Virginia.
“And so what we hope to do with Teach for America is be able to recruit and train and retain top college graduates from across the country to accept full time teaching assignments in either under performing or hard to staff schools in Virginia.”
The Governor proposes allowing school divisions to request waivers from the state from some mandates. He also says parents tend to be more responsive when they know how a school performs, and he wants the current, complicated school ratings system to be updated to use the A through F grading scale. And McDonnell proposes more funds for programs that promote early literacy, algebra, and reading, kindergarten readiness, and a discipline system to reduce classroom disruptions.
–Tommie McNeil
Virginia Public Radio 