Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Governor Ralph S. Northam
Secretariat of the Commonwealth
Board Appointments

Board of Education

• Stewart D. Robersonof Richmond, President, Moseley Architects and former Superintendent of Schools, Falls Church City Public Schools and Hanover County Public Schools
• Anthony Swannof Vinton, Teacher, Franklin County Public Schools and 2021 Virginia Teacher of the Year

Virginia African American Advisory Board

• Eldon Burton of Richmond, Director of Government Relations, Virginia State University

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Governor Ralph Northam and Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane announced today that the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Ed Strategies will collaborate to create a professional development program to increase teacher effectiveness and improve in-person, remote and hybrid instruction in science, mathematics and computer science.

The five-year effort is funded through a $10.8 million dollar Education Innovation and Research grant from the U.S. Department of Education awarded to Virginia Ed Strategies, a South Boston-based nonprofit that supports the efforts of Virginia schools, businesses and communities to prepare students for life and careers.

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Wise County Public Schools, in collaboration with the Wise County Board of Supervisors, has launched an innovative new project with SpaceX to expand internet access in Wise County. Wise County is the first school district in Virginia to utilize SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation to connect Wise County students with high-speed, low latency broadband.

By Marcus J. Newsome

According to Tory Frerichs, vice president of investment services at Country Financial, “There are many reasons Americans could be feeling good about their financial futures right now. Savings rates have gone up, we are hearing positive news about a Covid-19 vaccine and the stock market is at an all-time high.” As more Americans are staying home, personal savings rates have hit a record high fueling hopes for a strong economic recovery. Conversely, groups including people of color, lower earners, women and workers with less education, continue to struggle (Dickler, 2020).

Virginia Superintendent Leadership Academy (VSLA) Conferences were held on September 26 and October 17.  Superintendents were engaged in interactive sessions facilitated by some of the top thought leaders in the nation. AASA hosted the September conference that was facilitated by Amy Sichel and Stephen Murley.  Amy is the Lead Superintendent for the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program® and former superintendent.  Stephen is the Lead Teacher for the AASA National Superintendent Certification Program® and Superintendent of Green Bay Public Schools.  The focus for the day was on the Professional Standards for Education Leaders published by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015) and essential questions for Ethics, Professional Norms, and Equity of Future Ready Superintendents.

Learn about how dyslexia may affect your students and how screening—combined with best practices in reading instruction—can foster confidence and academic growth. Support students with dyslexia with this e-book from NWEA.

No issue is more urgent in public education than achieving and ensuring equity in student learning throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Equity is a multifaceted issue that reflects variability in both geographic location and student demographics across the Commonwealth as well as per pupil expenditures and students’ access to the full range of instructional content and programs essential to success after graduation, regardless of where a student lives. As leaders of public education, we must take a comprehensive approach to achieving and ensuring an equitable education for all students in Virginia so that race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, special education status, learning ability level, family circumstances, culture, and gender identity are no longer predictors of success. The Commonwealth can achieve these systemic improvements by ensuring that all students have what they need, exactly when they need it, to be successful in school.  In order to accomplish this, we must be deliberate in providing the appropriate supports, removing barriers, creating needed learning environments, closing current gaps in opportunity, and changing the current level of educational funding that will ensure equitable opportunities for all students.