Why do we advocate for parents, children, and educational stakeholders in the Commonwealth? Typically, most citizens inherently trust their educational institutions with blind allegiance until their is a conflict, concern, or dispute. Generally, we think that our most precious assets, our children, will be nurtured and protected in the delivery of their instruction with fairness and equity.
Unfortunately, there are individuals in these institutions that have chosen to choose winners and losers among our children in the pursuit of access to a high quality education. Consequently, we fight for equity against bad actors whether they are individuals of influence or school divisions that have a culture of “institutional thinking” and a spirit of educational omniscience that recoils at accountability from advocates and the non-pedagogical community. Simply put. Advocacy is our superpower.
Across the Commonwealth, there are school divisions with large underserved populations in urban, suburban, and rural communities that have been historically and institutionally marginalized by factors, such as local custom, classism, racism, cynicism about student learners, and limited municipal resources have created multiple generations of oppressed and underserved learners. Recently, Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated these conditions. Students from these communities deserve access to a high quality education according to the Virginia Constitution. We contend that the educational system should afford the opportunity for equity for all. The transformation of the existing educational system to one that delivers pedagogical equity will benefit all the student learners.
There are over 1.2 million students in the Commonwealth of Virginia public school system. Every citizen is the beneficiary of an excellent public education system which is why we advocate.