Advisory council issues recommendations on equity

Recommendations include measurable plans to close achievement gaps that disproportionately impact Black students and other students of color. SOE's Dean Daire serves on the council.

Dean Daire headshot used in University Business magazine on August 31, 2020.
Dean Andrew Daire, Ph.D.

From Charles B. Pyle, director of media relations, Virginia Department of Education
Thursday, Mar. 18, 2021

An advisory committee representing African American school leaders, teachers, parents and advocates yesterday presented a series of recommendations to address systemic inequities in Virginia’s public schools to the state Board of Education’s Special Committee to Review the Standards of Accreditation.

Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane appointed the African American Superintendent’s Advisory Council in September 2020 to develop recommendations to advance the academic success and social and emotional well-being of African American students and promote racial equity in the commonwealth’s public schools.

"As a result of deliberate, data-informed and transparent discussions, members of the African American Superintendent’s Advisory Council developed recommendations aligned to four critical domains that Virginia must address to advance racial equity,” Newport News Public Schools Chief of Staff Rashard Wright — who serves as the chair of the advisory council — said. “These recommendations include developing measurable plans to close the persistence of achievement gaps, close opportunity gaps that disproportionately impact Black students and other students of color, diversify Virginia’s educator force, and support professional development for administrators and educators focused on culturally inclusive and responsive competencies and equity-centered practices that disrupt intentional and unintentional racism in education.”

During Wednesday’s board committee meeting, Wright, Nottoway County Superintendent Tameshia Grimes, former state Secretary of Education James Dyke, and Portsmouth School Board student representative Myles Hunt presented the council’s recommendations for revising Virginia’s Standards of Quality, Standards of Accreditation, Standards of Learning and related school statutes and regulations, including the following:

  • Inclusion of a teacher diversity index on the commonwealth’s School Quality Profiles expressing student-teacher racial ratios in the form of a single indicator or composite score related to teacher and student demographics;
  • Revision of the Standards of Accreditation to address opportunity gaps reflected in available course options, and to provide equal emphasis on workforce readiness in accrediting schools;
  • Inclusion of an indicator on disproportionality in disciplinary outcomes as a factor in school accreditation;
  • Inclusion of demographic data on enrollment gifted programs and specialty centers on School Quality Profile reports;
  • Establishment of Board of Education model guidance on equitable enrollment procedures for Governor's schools and accelerated programs;
  • Establishment a single indicator or composite score related to school climate that includes indicators related to antiracism and culturally responsive and inclusive learning environments;
  • Incorporation of racism, racial equity and social justice in the Standards of Learning;
  • Establishment by the Board of Education of model policies on equitable enrollment procedures for Governor’s Schools and other accelerated programs;
  • Requirement for school divisions to adopt an equity plan and establish an equity advisory committee;
  • Requirement for educator preparation programs to include programs of study and experiences that prepare teachers to be culturally responsive educators;
  • Requirement for the equitable distribution of experienced teachers among high- and low-poverty schools; and
  • Reconfiguration of school division boundaries and school attendance zones to promote integration and advance equitable opportunities for all students.

“I want to thank the members of the African American Superintendent’s Advisory Council for their leadership and vision in formulating these thoughtful and bold recommendations for creating a more equitable system of public education in the commonwealth,” Lane said. “These recommendations will provide a road map for the Board of Education as it seeks fulfill its promise to provide a high-quality education for every child by eliminating racial and socioeconomic inequities in Virginia’s public education system.”

The charter members of the African American Superintendent’s Advisory Council, which will provide ongoing advice to the state superintendent and the Virginia Department of Education, are as follows:

  • Rosa Atkins, Charlottesville Public Schools
  • Francine Boudlin, Henrico County Public Schools
  • Regina Brown, Petersburg Public Schools
  • Holly Coy, Virginia Department of Education
  • Andrew Daire, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • James Dyke, McGuire Woods Consulting
  • Crystal Edwards, Lynchburg Public Schools
  • James J. Fedderman, Virginia Education Association
  • Tyrone Foster, Bristol Public Schools
  • John B. Gordon III, Virginia Association of School Superintendents
  • Ingrid Grant, Henrico County Public Schools
  • Tameshia Grimes, Nottoway County Public Schools
  • Penny Hairston, Alexandria Public Schools
  • Genisus Holland, Girls for Change
  • Naila Holmes, Virginia Education Association
  • Myles Hunt, Portsmouth Public Schools
  • Rodney Jordan, Norfolk School Board
  • James Lane, Virginia Department of Education
  • Makya Little, Thomas Jefferson Alumni Action Group
  • Toney L. McNair Jr., Virginia Education Association
  • Paula Robinson, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
  • Rodney Robinson, Richmond Public Schools
  • Clara Scott, NAACP
  • Jeffrey Smith, Hampton Public Schools
  • Anthony Swan, Virginia Teacher of the Year and Virginia Board of Education
  • Dietra Trent, George Mason University
  • Janice Underwood, Office of the Governor
  • Leah Walker, Virginia Department of Education
  • Willis Walter, Virginia State University
  • Verletta White, Roanoke Public Schools
  • David White, King William County Public Schools
  • Van Wilson, Virginia Community College System
  • Jamelle Wilson, Virginia Board of Education
  • Rashard Wright, Newport News Public Schools

"On behalf of the entire board, the special committee was pleased to receive the recommendations and presentation by the chair and representatives of the African American Superintendent's Advisory Council today," said Keisha Pexton, chair of the Special Committee to Review the Standards of Accreditation. "The Board of Education will carefully review the full set of recommendations, and is committed to working with the AASAC and others to advance racial equity in our public education system."

Read the Virginia Department of Education News Release