Charlottesville's schools are at a critical turning point.

We have just selected a new Superintendent to lead our schools into the future, and I join the School Board and the comunity in welcoming Ms. Rosa Atkins to Charlottesville.  I look forward to her many positive contributions as our new Superintendent. 

We also now have an elected School Board, and will be voting for three new School Board members in May.  Now that the School Board will be popularly elected and not appointed by City Council, some might assume that this relieves City Council of the responsibility of hands-on engagement with the school system. 

I disagree.  The schools will still be the largest single line item in the City Council budget.  Plus, as the parent of two Charlottesville public schoolchildren myself and as someone who's very concerned about the future of our community (as embodied in the youth of our community), I intend to play an active role on Council in supporting our schools and emphasizing the importance of a good education.

To that end, I am offering a series of proposals to enhance educational opportunities for local children and adults:

1.  Promote Innovation in Education and reward creative approaches to teaching through the support of public charter schools, creative after-school programs, language immersion initiatives, an expanded Talent Development Program, a Newcomers Center for ESL students, etc.  We should be wary about the recent movement toward  standardization in education (including an over-emphasis on standardized testing) and instead use the tremendous resources available locally (especially at UVa) to help our schools, and our schoolchildren, find new and innovative ways of realizing their highest potential.

2.  Make a Community-Wide Commitment to Youth Development through the expansion of mentoring, tutoring, apprenticeship and summer employment programs for youth.  The community needs to be a stronger partner with the schools in ensuring that our kids are coming to school ready to learn and inspired to achieve.  The schools cannot be expected to solve all social problems on their own.    

3.  Improve Teacher Recruitment, Development and Retention efforts and ensure that we’re providing the salaries and professional development opportunities necessary to attract and retain the highest quality teachers and teaching assistants for our classrooms.  We should make every effort to engage with initiatives like the African-American Teaching Fellows and Teachers for a New Era that advance creative approaches to teacher recruitment and development.      

4.  Work to build more Inclusive Learning Environments for children with special needs.  Too often, parents of children in the special education program worry that their children are being “tracked” from an early age and are not getting the individual support and mainstream learning experiences that they need to succeed.  

5.  Expand opportunities for Adult Education and Literacy Development.  There are 5,000 adults in our City who do not have a high school diploma, and many of them are functionally illiterate.  For them to move ahead in the workplace and be good role models (and homework helpers) for their children, we need to invest in our adult education system and engage with employers to promote adult education to their employees.