Governor McDonnell hosted a very important K12 Education Reform Conference in Richmond on August 15th – 16th. He and his staff, primarily from the office of Secretary of Education, Mrs. Laura Fornash, did an outstanding job. They clearly identified several of the most critical issues facing K12 Education, they gathered experts that have relevant points to make about these issues, and they had representatives from both the Democrat and Republican Parties at the state level involved in the planning, presentations, and in the audience. Furthermore, and perhaps the most important statement of the conference, they had representatives from Virginia’s business and industry involved in the conversation. This set the tone for the bottom line message of the conference; K-12 Education has to make some critical adjustments so that Virginia’s students will be prepared compete in this global economy. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce was a critical partner and sponsor of the event.
There were four major areas of reform the Conference focused on: Teacher training and professionalism, school choice, educational technology, and K12 education as the foundation of workforce development. A panel of representatives that have valid background and concerns about the current state of education in these areas discussed each topic. Panel members sometimes disagreed on the most important facet of details but there was always common consensus that each of the four topics are critical issues and must be attended too with haste if K12 education is to remain relevant in modern society.
The conference was well attended by state leaders and important policy-makers and was, therefore, a good start. The next step will be to build public awareness, consensus, and support. This may not be easy. I happened to hear a public forum on the conference held by a local radio station in Hampton Roads the next day. The host had invited representatives from the Virginia PTSA and the Virginia Education Association to tell about the conference and give their impressions. They both did a good job and were positive about the focus of the conference. However, as is typical of conversations about K-12 education, many of the callers tended to focus on pet peeves they have about their local schools. Come on people, these issues go beyond local problems and financing. These are issues that will have direct impact on economic development for the local area, the Commonwealth, and even the nation. The discussion at the conference basically reveals that K12 education in the USA has maintained an assembly line, manufacturing era structure for schools with our students being widgets, while all the other components of modern life have moved into the information age.
Fortunately the Governor has been wise enough to plan more opportunities to take this message public. On September 10th there will be another conference in Richmond; “Implementing Virginia’s Landmark “Top Jobs” Legislation. This conference will focus on public-private strategies for more STEM (please see my last blog about this), health, and other high-demand degrees. Following that will be a great STEM Education Conference in October at VMI. I would also hope that each of the professional organizations that represent education groups in Virginia, like the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS), would have discussion about these topics and the Governor’s agenda. Finally, I encourage all of the members of the Virginia Chamber and the local affiliates to make time for discussion on these issues. One message of the conference was most clear. Virginia’s future economic development is in today’s k12 classroom. School reform must become a primary focus of both the public and private sector.
