Education 
Education and the Power of Choice(0)
It is not news that affluent families extend their advantage of wealth and connections to the next generation in ways more tangible than trust funds: their kids invariably compile better grades and test scores, accomplish more in extracurricular and leadership activities, and win admission to better ranked colleges with the best rates of placing their [...]
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UVA Quandary Continues
Nearly ten months after the president of the state’s flagship university was fired due to a vaguely explained conflict of visions with its board and a somewhat clearer conflict of management styles, the standoff remains unresolved. Rector Helen Dragas and president Teresa Sullivan, who was reinstated by the nervous trustees after a sustained campuswide outcry, [...]
To Lower the Barriers, Unite!
In 2010, Virginia joined 25 other states in authorizing the establishment of full-time Virtual School programs – educational institutions allowing students to “attend” school full-time, but online, from anywhere in the state. Three years later, there are still only two school divisions operating full-time programs, with a total of about 500 students. One important reason [...]
Enough!
Something unusual happened in the Virginia General Assembly the other week: A bipartisan vote on a controversial issue. Governor Bob McDonnell’s Opportunity Educational Institution legislation crafts a system for taking over consistently failing public schools. McDonnell’s legislation essentially creates a new school division, transferring unaccredited schools from their local school system to a new Institution with the power to [...]