“You perform well, you keep your job. You don’t perform well for an extended period of time, you don’t get a guarantee,” was Mr. McDonnell’s common-sense argument. The success of the initiative will depend upon the strength of a more rigorous evaluation system, the details of which have yet to be fleshed out, and expected opposition from the Virginia Education Association, representing the teachers.
Particularly noteworthy is the governor’s aim to empower parents by giving them more educational choices. He would give tax credits to businesses that provide scholarships for children from low-income families to attend private schools, would encourage virtual schools as a new approach to learning and would provide more support to charter schools. The Republican governor is to be commended for aligning himself with President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan in his support of charters, but we wish he had gone further in removing the barriers that have made Virginia so inhospitable to charters. The governor’s plan would establish a technical advisory committee to help charter-school applicants develop their plans and ensure they get a fair share of public resources, but it does not break the stranglehold that local school divisions have in authorizing start-up of charters.
For the rest of the article, go to The governor’s education plan for Virginia
