Bacon's Rebellion

  • In Loco Parentis, Part II

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    
by A.L. Schuhart

    My last essay here engendered a bunch of predictable comment, as I hoped it would. The fact is, however, that my argument is sound, and my purpose is to reacquaint the public with the principle of in loco parentis as it informs the grand discussion of Education in Virginia and America.

    Those readers who responded that parents do not get to decide curriculum are just wrong. If you look at the examples I gave of things that parents can and should object to, you would see that they are all in what educators term the “affective domain,” as opposed to the “cognitive domain.”

    What’s the difference in Education theory and practice?

    The cognitive domain describes concrete skills and cognitive development: math, reading, writing, history, etc. The affective domain is essentially the personal “world view” of the student: politics, religion, social attitude, emotions, etc.

    Schools have a mandate to teach the cognitive domain, and traditionally the affective domain is not the business of the teacher or school to intrude upon. It belongs to the parent. (more…)

  • Teach for America in Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    One commenter on my last article was highly critical of Teach for America (TFA). I cannot let that go without refutation.

    Look at the map of TFA places to work.  

    You will see that in Virginia only the inner suburbs of the D.C. area have access to those highly motivated young people. Alexandria is the first school division in Virginia to partner with Teach For America. It is actively recruiting TFA volunteers.

    Now look at North Carolina on the same map. Read the Charlotte-Piedmont Triad TFA web page.

    Now look at the Petersburg teacher charts again. (more…)

  • Did Assembly Trim Dominion Bills $7-$14? No.

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    The SCC’s breakdown of Dominion’s energy price for a home using 1,000 kwh.  Click for clear view.

    by Steve Haner

    When the Virginia General Assembly passed a complicated electricity regulation change a few months ago, the Richmond Times-Dispatch parroted as fact this Dominion Energy Virginia claim in a front-page paragraph:

    The compromise on electric bills — in legislation that passed nearly unanimously — would bring an immediate $6 to $7 cut in a benchmark 1,000 kilowatt-hour monthly bill, which now stands at $137.

    (more…)

  • Petersburg School Board Folds on Union Bargaining

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj


    by James C. Sherlock

    The Petersburg Education Association has a plan for collective bargaining.

    So, once, did the school board. Unanimously.

    We have been looking for signs of strength in the Petersburg School Board so we can believe it will take strong and innovative measures to improve the city’s dreadful schools.

    It is the wrong place to look. The union routed the board on collective bargaining without resistance.

    Petersburg School Board – Official Photo

    The state, during the Democratic interregnum in the General Assembly and governorship, made local government collective bargaining optional.

    On June 21st, the Petersburg board passed a resolution for teachers, guidance counselors and librarians who hold a teaching license to have a form of collective bargaining.

    As reported by The Progress-Index’s Joyce Chu,

    The resolution does not allow teachers the ability to negotiate their wages or benefits, limiting the scope of negotiations to hours and scheduling, health and safety, and work rules.

    Just a guess, but that board likely did not vote originally to allow negotiations on wages or benefits for a pretty good reason. (more…)

  • Jeanine’s Memes

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    from The Bull Elephant

  • Is K-12 Absenteeism Too Complex a Problem for an Administrative Fix?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Source: Virginia Department of Education. There is a strong correlation between days of school missed and educational under-achievement.

    by James A. Bacon

    In releasing the 2023 Standards of Learning (SOL) scores, which showed marginal overall improvement from the disastrous 2022 results, Team Youngkin added a bit of useful analysis — it drew a connection between poor educational performance and school absenteeism.

    The Virginia Department of Education press release noted that students in 3rd through 8th grades who missed more than 18 days of school scored 18% lower in reading exams than students with regular attendance. Students who missed more than 36 days scored 43% lower. Similar discrepancies occurred in the math exams.

    This should come as a surprise to no one. Students can’t learn if they’re not in school (or home school, which these children are not).

    To raise SOL scores, the Youngkin administration is targeting the school skippers. #AttendanceMattersVA, according to DOE, “works with Virginia schools and parents to increase attendance by communicating the importance of attendance to families, expanding breakfast after the bell programs, ensuring that every child has a trusted adult at school, monitoring and celebrating successes, and reducing barriers to attendance such as transportation and mental health challenges.”

    Clearly, something must be done. These ideas seem as reasonable as any other. But I fear that the problem may be so deeply rooted in social dysfunction that the initiative will prove ineffective. (more…)

  • The SOL Disaster

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by John Butcher

    The 2023 test results (generally called “SOLs” but including results of other tests) are up on the VDOE Web page. Those numbers are not pretty.

    First, some background.

    2020 was the first year without statewide SOL testing since 1997. Then came 2021, when participation in the testing was voluntary. The VDOE press release (link now broken) said, “In a typical school year, participation in federally required tests is usually around 99%. In tested grades in 2021, 75.5% of students took the reading assessment, 78.7% took math, and 80% took science.”

    So, the ‘22 data are the first post-pandemic numbers with a claim to measuring anything beyond individual performance. (more…)

  • An Inspiring Story about Public School Reformation, Beautifully Written

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    Sometimes it is fun to acknowledge great work.

    For a wonderful story about schools and kids transformed for the better by local action, see “The Rutters of Athens County” from New York Magazine reprinted in the Intelligencer.

    It is beautifully written by Dan Xin Huang, an investigative journalist who lived in Ohio for three years to create this story.

    His work was funded in part with a 2020 grant from NYU’s Matthew Power Literary Reporting Award. It was featured in One Great Story, New York Magazine’s reading recommendation newsletter.

    He and his work have proven worthy of all of that.

    The author unfolds the story of a school district reformation in a series of individual conversations over several years with those directly involved, many with contrasting viewpoints.

    School change to achieve excellence takes leadership at the local level first, especially in Virginia, given our constitution.

    For those who need inspiration to engage in that quest, this should do it.

  • How They Spent That Money

    Posted on

    by

    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    By Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Steve Haner and I unofficially tag-team on the state budget. Fittingly, he covers the revenues (taxes) and I cover the spending.

    Regarding the revenues available for spending, it is notable what was missing from the presentations by the Governor and Secretary of Finance in their appearances before the money committees last month. There was no mention of the $5.1 billion balance tirelessly touted by the Governor in his public calls for more tax reductions.

    In the presentations and charts presented, it was difficult to discern what that unencumbered balance actually was. Using the data in the staff presentation to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, one is able to tease out the $5.1 billion being touted by the Governor. First, there was $2.1 billion. This is hard to follow, but basically it was a balance designated in 2022 for “Additional Taxpayer Relief” and subsequently rolled into the unrestricted general fund balance. However, both the administration and the money committees were carrying it on their spreadsheets as an amount reserved for taxpayer relief and that is how the Comptroller identified it in her annual report to the Governor.  To that $2.1 billion the Governor added the additional $3.0 billion in general fund revenue projected over the official estimate.

    That was a valid projection of the general fund balance at the end of FY 2023. However, as both Steve and I have pointed out several times on this blog, that was a gross amount. After deducting for the required deposits to the Rainy Day Fund and the Water Quality Improvement Fund, the appropriation in the “skinny” budget bill enacted last spring, and the amount required to fund the Pass Through Equity Tax previously enacted, the net general fund balance available at the end of FY 2023 was approximately $2.4 billion. (more…)

  • Petersburg Public Schools Cheat Children of Their Futures

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    We like to think of ourselves as civilized people.

    Virginia and America are at an advanced stage of social and cultural development.

    Aren’t we?

    For the children of Petersburg, we are not. We continue to let them quite publicly and measurably be cheated of their futures by their public schools.

    Queue the excuses for bad schools. Whatever list you can come up with, it’s not good enough. We are not civilized if we, as a state, continue to let it happen to children with no other option.

    Virginia is unique in that our state constitution explicitly gives local school divisions control of their schools.

    Virginia passed a law in 2013 that created a body to take over schools failing to receive accreditation or what is now accreditation with conditions for three consecutive years. It was found unconstitutional.

    I don’t know why the constitution was written without some provision for dealing with failed schools and school divisions after long-term failure.

    But it was, and it was a mistake. We need to change the constitution to give the children of Petersburg and in other failing schools a chance in life.

    That goal is, and must be, worth the effort it will take to accomplish it. (more…)

  • Cheers to the Man in Plaid

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    .

    by Jon Baliles

    One of Richmond’s great characters and personalities has decided to step away from spotlight that he occupied and managed so well for years (and always with a smile) after enduring incredibly long days and nights, rainouts, major league talent, loyal fans, a street art festival, a crumbling office, broken political promises, and an ocean of awful plaid pants.

    Flying Squirrels CEO Todd “Parney” Parnell announced this week he will be stepping down from his day-to-day role after this season and remain as a senior advisor to the team for the next five years after 34 years in the baseball business. Parney arrived with the team in 2010 and hasn’t slept much since.

    He told John O’Connor at the Times-Dispatch, “I think the key difference is I’m not going to be here from 6:30 in the morning until 1 o’clock in the morning anymore. The toll of that has been taken. I’m downshifting significantly.”

    “I kind of feel like the athlete who’s stepping back a little bit when he still has a step or two left. I really wanted to — chill out’s the wrong term because I’m still going to be around — but I wanted to (leave) the day-to-day operations when I still felt like I was at the top of my game. And I do.”

    And he has been at the top of his game since he arrived. I knew they would be a different franchise when they enlisted the public to help name the team in late 2009. More than 6,000 entries were received and the finalists included Rock Hoppers, Hambones, Rhinos, Flatheads, and Hush Puppies. And I recall not getting the name “Flying Squirrels” after it was selected, but then the very next day, Parney said in the paper (and I am paraphrasing) “We wanted to be fun and we wanted to be a different” and they have been all that and a home run. (more…)

  • A Concept for Simpler and More Compliant Virginia Regulation of Medical Facilities and Services in Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    By James C. Sherlock

    UVa Children’s Hospital courtesy UVa

    I saw a comment somewhere that medical facilities are the second most regulated industry in America, just behind nuclear power.

    Yet we see that it has not been working in Virginia in the case of nursing homes.  And compliance is considerably harder in the other medical facilities and services in Virginia than it needs to be.

    A big part of the reason is that Virginia has laws and regulations that either:

    1. Do not implement federal laws or regulations that require the state to do so for facilities accepting Medicare or Medicaid/Children’s Health Improvement Program (CHIP); or
    2. Conflict with the Social Security Act and its executing regulations, which take precedence in the case of those federally-funded programs; or
    3. Both.

    In case of omission or conflict with the federal guidelines, state laws and regulations do not add value, just complexity and confusion.

    And to no avail.

    (more…)

  • Deja Taylor Had One Job: Stay Clean and Sober

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Kerry Dougherty

    Good grief, lady. You had ONE job.

    Just one.

    Your assignment was to stay clean and sober for four months, but apparently Deja Taylor – the mother of the 6-year-old Newport News first grader who shot his teacher with his mother’s gun – couldn’t do that.

    After pleading guilty in June to charges that she lied about being an illegal drug user on federal firearm forms and for unlawful use of a controlled substance while possessing a gun, Taylor tested positive for pot in July. Wait. There’s more. On August 26, according to WAVY-TV 10, she had cocaine and marijuana in her system. Both drug tests are awaiting confirmation.

    Taylor also failed to take part in substance abuse treatment that was mandated by the court and she didn’t show up for scheduled drug tests, according to court documents. (more…)

  • Revisiting the Intellectual Foundations of Conservatism — One Book at a Time

    Posted on

    by

    Bob Rayner

    by Suzanne Munson

    From time to time, members of every great movement such as American Conservatism need to stop, take a breath, and see where the movement is going. Great movements, founded by great individuals, can sometimes be hijacked by lesser minds.

    Many of the founders of modern conservatism were intellectuals. William F. Buckley was able to criticize liberalism articulately from the foundation of a fine education, intellectual curiosity, and deep reading.

    While there are knowledgeable thought-leaders in today’s conservative movement, there are others who call themselves conservatives who may be giving the movement an unfortunate image.

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines conservatism as “a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change.” Much more can be added to this definition, such as limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a belief in traditional, wholesome values.

    It is interesting to examine a recent incident in Florida to see where some who term themselves “conservatives” have created an embarrassing situation. Members of a book club, reported to consist of conservative members, rescinded an invitation to a respected author to speak to their group.

    The program was a book and author event at $100 a plate, so one would assume some level of education and sophistication. Rachel Beanland, a well-regarded Richmond, Virginia author and teacher, was invited to speak about her new novel, The House Is on Fire.

    She had spent hundreds of hours researching the tragic theater fire of 1811 in which some of Virginia’s most prominent citizens perished. The book features individuals, real and imagined, who resided in Richmond at that time–tradesmen, theater workers, politicians, slaves, doctors, widows.

    Yes, there are slaves in the book and yes, their lives were difficult, and yes, some white characters in the book treated them poorly. What else is new? There were white characters in the story who also had poor treatment at the hands of other whites. There is always plenty of trouble to go around in an interesting novel. (more…)

  • New Bad SOL Data Bring A New Youngkin Administration Plan for Mitigating Learning Losses in Virginia Public Schools

    Posted on

    by

    sherlockj

    by James C. Sherlock

    The Governor announced today that he and the General Assembly came together on a bipartisan basis to invest $418 million to tackle student learning loss.

    The Virginia Department of Education recommends school divisions allocate the $418 million “to proven programs that will achieve the greatest student impact—approximately 70% for high-dose tutoring, 20% for Virginia Literacy Act acceleration, and 10% for chronic absenteeism response.”

    Press releases today from both from the Governor’s Office and the Virginia Department of Education provide both a lot of data and a plan to assess.

    From VDOE’s “2022-2023 Test Results Show Virginia Students Continue to Struggle with COVID-Related Learning Loss in Reading and Math”

    Today the Virginia Department of Education released the 2022-23 Virginia Assessment Results, demonstrating significant and persistent learning loss in reading and math for Virginia students in grades 3-8. More than half of 3rd-8th graders either failed or are at risk of failing their reading SOL exam, and nearly two-thirds of 3rd-8th graders either failed, or are at risk of failing, their math SOL exam….

    In 2022-2023, the number of chronically absent students doubled from 2018-2019.

    VDOE has also posted the school quality profiles to present the 2022-23 data.  So you can look at your local school division or school. (more…)

Now Available

Book cover of 'Dust Mites: A Second American Revolution' by James A. Bacon, featuring astronauts planting a flag with a blue and white emblem on a lunar landscape, with Earth visible in the background.
For sale on Amazon.com

The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….

This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.

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Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.

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