Virginia

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Virginia
Fourth-grader Sammiayah Thompson, left, and her brother third-grader Nehemiah Thompson work outside in their yard on laptops provided by their school system for distant learning, in Hartford, Conn., on June 5, 2020.
Fourth-grader Sammiayah Thompson, left, and her brother third-grader Nehemiah Thompson work outside in their yard on laptops provided by their school system for distance learning, in Hartford, Conn., on June 5, 2020. Some districts kept virtual programs as an option after schools reopened, but many of those are now considering cuts to them as budgets tighten.
Jessica Hill/AP
School & District Management Districts’ Virtual Programs Are on the Chopping Block as ESSER Ends
Although usually small in enrollment, virtual programs have been an important option for some students.
Caitlynn Peetz, June 25, 2024
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6 min read
Image of a folder and a signed agreement.
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Teaching Profession Teachers’ Unions Are Gaining Ground in a State That Once Forbade Them
With unions now representing educators in its largest district, Virginia is seeing a labor resurgence.
Olina Banerji, June 10, 2024
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7 min read
A statue of confederate general Stonewall Jackson is removed on July 1, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Shenandoah County, Virginia's school board voted 5-1 early Friday, May 10, 2024, to rename Mountain View High School as Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary as Ashby Lee Elementary four years after the names had been removed.
A statue of confederate general Stonewall Jackson is removed on July 1, 2020, in Richmond, Va. The Shenandoah County, Va. school board voted 5-1 on May 10, 2024, to restore the names of Confederate leaders and soldiers to two schools, four years after the names had been removed.
Steve Helber/AP
Equity & Diversity A School Board Reinstated Confederate School Names. Could It Happen Elsewhere?
Shenandoah County's school board voted in May to reinstate two Confederate names. Researchers wonder if others will, too.
Brooke Schultz, June 6, 2024
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7 min read
Students from Centreville Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., release brook trout they’ve grown from eggs in their classroom into Passage Creek at Elizabeth Furnace Recreational Area in the George Washington National Forest in Fort Valley, Va. on April 23.
Students from Centreville Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., release brook trout that they’ve grown from eggs in their classroom at a creek in Fort Valley, Va., on April 23.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Curriculum Outdoor Learning: The Ultimate Student Engagement Hack?
Outdoor learning offers a host of evidence-based benefits for students. One Virginia school serves as an example how.
Elizabeth Heubeck, May 7, 2024
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7 min read
Students raise their hands during an assembly at Yates Magnet Elementary School in Schenectady, N.Y., on March 28, 2024.
Students raise their hands during an assembly at Yates Magnet Elementary School in Schenectady, N.Y., on March 28, 2024.
Scott Rossi for Education Week
Teaching A Classroom Management Training Helps New Teachers Send Fewer Kids to the Office
Anti-bias training has mixed success in cutting racial discipline gaps. Helping teachers interpret student behavior may be more effective.
Sarah D. Sparks, April 14, 2024
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9 min read
Bethel High School films a production of Fear the Fog at Fort Monroe on June 21, 2023.
Students from Bethel High School in Hampton, Va., film "Fear the Fog"<i> </i>at Virginia's Fort Monroe on June 21, 2023. Students wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film through a partnership between their district, Hampton City Schools, and two television actors that's designed to give them applied, entertainment industry experience.
Courtesy of Hampton City Schools
College & Workforce Readiness This East Coast District Brought a Hollywood-Quality Experience to Its Students
A unique collaboration between a Virginia school district and two television actors allows students to gain real-life filmmaking experience.
Caitlynn Peetz, March 26, 2024
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6 min read
Conceptual illustration of tiny people is planning the personal budget, accounting, analysis.
Muhamad Chabibalwi/iStock/Getty
Education Funding How States Are Rethinking Where School Funding Should Go
There's constant debate over the best way to allocate state money to schools. Here are some ways states are reworking their school funding.
Mark Lieberman, February 23, 2024
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7 min read
Rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., Aug. 10, 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. A federal appeals court’s ruling in May 2023 about the admissions policy at the elite public high school in Virginia may provide a vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to flesh out the intended scope of its ruling Thursday, June 29, 2023, banning affirmative action in college admissions.
A group of rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., in August 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 declined to hear a challenge to an admissions plan for the selective high school that was facially race neutral but designed to boost the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines Case on Selective High School Aiming to Boost Racial Diversity
Some advocates saw the K-12 case as the logical next step after last year's decision against affirmative action in college admissions
Mark Walsh, February 20, 2024
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7 min read
Kate Maxlow, director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Hampton City Schools, who helped give students a voice in curriculum redesign, works in her office on January 12, 2024.
Kate Maxlow is the director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment in Virginia's Hampton City school district. She worked with students to give them a voice in shaping curriculum.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Curriculum Q&A Why One District Hired Its Students to Review Curricula
Virginia's Hampton City school district pays a cadre of student interns to give feedback on curriculum.
Caitlynn Peetz, February 5, 2024
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3 min read
Kate Maxlow works with Ava Gomez, 8, left and Khalid Baldwin, 8, right, on a “breakout room” activity in Jade Austin’s second grade classroom at Samuel P. Langley Elementary School in Hampton, Va., on January 12, 2024.
Kate Maxlow, director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Hampton City Schools, works with Ava Gomez, 8, left and Khalid Baldwin, 8, right, on a “breakout room” activity in a 2nd grade classroom at Samuel P. Langley Elementary School in Hampton, Va.
Sam Mallon/Education Week
Student Achievement Leader To Learn From An Unorthodox Plan to Pay Students to Write Curriculum Is Raising Achievement
For Kate Maxlow, the director of curriculum in Hampton City, Va., engaging students and improving academic achievement go hand in hand.
Caitlynn Peetz, February 5, 2024
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9 min read
Conceptual of file folders and a label that says myths.
SinArtCreative/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Principals Would Like You to Know They Don't Just Sit in Their Offices
Top misconceptions about a principal's job are about their visibility and connection to their schools.
Olina Banerji, December 18, 2023
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4 min read
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. After hearing a man tell the school board that transgender people posed a risk of violence in bathrooms, Leo expected another adult in the room to interrupt what felt like hate speech. No one did. So at the next board meeting, Leo spoke up. “Attacking students based on who they are or who they love is wrong,” he said. Leo has spoken regularly at meetings since.
High school student Leo Burchell speaks at the Central Bucks School Board meeting about LGBTQ student rights in Doylestown, Pa., on Nov. 15, 2022. A student-led effort to create a "safe space" for students at a Lynchburg, Va., school was recently rejected by the school board.
Ryan Collerd/AP
Student Well-Being A High School LGBTQ+ Student Group Won a Grant. Then the School Board Vetoed It
Advocates said the board's vote was a setback for "student voice" efforts—as well as for LGBQT+ students.
Elizabeth Heubeck, December 15, 2023
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6 min read
Clint Mitchell, superintendent for Colonial Beach Public Schools in Colonial Beach, Va., visits a class at Colonial Beach Elementary School on Nov. 6, 2023.
Clint Mitchell, superintendent for Colonial Beach Public Schools in Colonial Beach, Va., visits a class at Colonial Beach Elementary School on Nov. 6, 2023.
Brian Palmer for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention How to Find—and Keep—a Diverse Team of Teachers
Principals and district leaders believe diversifying the educator workforce is important—but recruitment and retention often prove tricky.
Mark Lieberman, December 4, 2023
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8 min read
Social worker talking to teenage girl in office
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Student Well-Being Principals Share 3 Tips for Centering Mental Health in Schools
Building supportive communities within and outside the school is key, say principals.
Olina Banerji, November 22, 2023
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4 min read
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