State education leaders bring listening tour to SWVA
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway, center, listened to input offered by Norton City Superintendent of Schools Gina Wohlford and Smyth County School Board member Sue Tilson.
Dr. Dean Sprinkle, Wytheville Community College president, center, shared his observations during the listening tour public session Wednesday evening.
Virginia’s Secretary of Education Dr. Jeffery O. Smith listens to educators Wednesday evening on the campus of Emory & Henry University's School of Health Sciences campus.
Virginia education’s top leaders were in Southwest Virginia Wednesday, and when they headed home, they took hours of insights, ideas, and harsh realities with them for more study.
Virginia’s Secretary of Education Dr. Jeffery O. Smith and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jenna Conway stopped in Marion Wednesday afternoon as part of their listening tour across the Commonwealth. That tour stemmed from Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s Executive Order 4 issued on her first day in office.
That order committed to academic excellence and providing every student with a high-quality education. In doing so, it noted challenges, including “Virginia is ranked last in the nation in supporting students’ math recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic. One-third of students of color and students from low-income backgrounds could not meet grade-level benchmarks in math, and more than half of English learners and students with disabilities struggled to meet benchmark expectations.”
The order called for the listening tour, saying, “The Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall host a statewide listening tour within the first 100 days of this order to hear directly from students, parents, educators, school leaders, superintendents, school board members, and community members about the challenges and successes facing their schools. The Secretary and the Superintendent are directed to summarize the findings of these listening sessions and report back to the Office of the Governor.”
During the day, the Secretary and Superintendent took part in a series of private sessions, hearing from students, community leaders, teachers, and other invited participants.
Wednesday evening brought a public session that united a range of educators from superintendents, school board members, principals, central office staff and others.
Conway told the gathering that “feedback is a gift,” and many seemed to take her to heart.
Smyth County Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Kimberly Williams pointed out to officials that academic assessments, such as Standards of Learning tests, assume that all students come into the school on equal footing.
She and others in her group agreed that’s not the case, saying the VDOE needs to know that some kids come into schools without basic needs like food and clothing met. They also said that the VDOE needs to know that many students don’t have internet access.
Educators also talked about the need for awareness about the impact of screentime of young brains and that teaching may need to be adapted to that reality.
In speaking about support for educators, many leaders acknowledged that burnout is a serious factor for teachers. Jenny Nichols, the Virginia School Board Association president and a Washington County School Board member, reflected that many strides have been made but burnout is a real factor.
She also noted that members of younger generations are much more prepared to switch careers than previous ones.
In her group’s discussion, educators noted the challenge of the poorest districts, where teaching difficulties may be compounded, having the lowest teacher pay. They also discussed implementing planning periods for all levels, not just high school.
The impact of student behavioral issues was also discussed with some educators noting that actions today are reaching new extremes.
Williams, who shared that she never wanted to be anything but an educator, said it breaks her heart that many students don’t want to go into education.
Educators did note that benefit of Communities in Schools, a nationwide nonprofit that puts coordinators in schools to bridge basic needs gap, work with individual students, and promote attendance. They urged the VDOE to explore funding to help schools bring CIS in.
The educators also promoted the addition of math specialists to schools like reading specialists.
At the gathering’s conclusion, Smith told the educators, “We all know that are no shortcuts to excellence.”
For individuals who would like to share their thoughts with the VDOE, an option to submit comments to the Listening Tour can be done so online through the VDOE website.
