Earlier this week the Governor McDonnell unveiled Virginia’s “opportunity to learn” agenda. Knowing what the Schott Foundation’s Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Campaign encompasses, I would’ve expected Virginia’s legislation to include the following essential elements: access to highly effective teachers, early childhood education, college preparatory curricula, and equitable instructional resources.
But it doesn’t. Virginia’s “opportunity to learn” legislation establishes provisions for:
- the expansion of high-quality charter schools;
- Virtual schools; and
- College partnership lab schools.
Are these bad ideas? Not necessarily, but they don’t guarantee equitable opportunities for all children, which is what OTL is all about. It’s based on research that states when a child has the essential elements mentioned above, that their performance outcomes are both higher and more equitable.
If state governments are serious about ensuring ALL students have the opportunity to learn, they should focus investments in: improving teacher preparation, recruitment, and retention; funding quality early learning opportunities for children birth to five; ensuring students have access to a rigorous, well-rounded curricula, and ensuring that schools and teachers have the resources needed for all students to learn at high levels.
samchaltain
Laura Bornfreund
Patrick Ip
Jenna Fournel
Geoffrey Caine
laurathomasantioch
janatucc
stankarp
Monty Neill
stevepeha
Barbara Pazey
One Comment
I had a similar reaction to his proposal. Not bad in itself–it’s nice to see the college partnership lab schools there–but woefully incomplete. There’s a tendency to confuse market forces with opportunity. The market alone makes no promises.