Compass Point
A Weekly Collection of Data, Articles and Insights from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
A project of the Center for Public Policy
CEPI in the News
 
State & Local Education News
Governor McAuliffe announces Affordable Pathways Grants to help students succeed
Spartan Echo
August 18, 2016

Governor McAuliffe announced a new grant program today that will provide Virginia students with a clearer path to a higher education.

The Affordable Pathways grants (up to $140,000 each) will be awarded to as many as four public two- and four-year institutions of higher education. Grant recipients must have a partnership with a Pre-K-12 program and demonstrate how they would use the funds to implement and expand programs that help students save money and earn degrees, certificates or workforce credentials more efficiently.

“These Affordable Pathways grants help ensure that our higher education system is accessible and affordable for all Virginia students and aid our goal to streamline student learning from K-12 to higher learning and workforce training,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “As we build a new Virginia economy, we will continue to improve degree completion rates and provide opportunities for workers to strengthen their skills so our Commonwealth maintains our competitive edge, both nationally and globally.”


Back to School! Tips for VA Parents to Get Students Excited
Public News Service
August 22, 2016


If your child is nervous about going back to school, Virginia teachers have some good ideas to help turn those nerves into excitement.

Jim Livingston, president of the Virginia Education Association and long-time middle school math teacher said it's important that parents set a positive tone about the new school year. In some families, the annual ritual of buying new school clothes and supplies can help get students excited. But however you do it, Livingston said, it's good for your children to see that you value education.

"Teachers know that in order for children to be successful, the teachers and parents have to be working together,” Livingston said. "And it's important to have those conversations early, and it's important to have those conversations often."

More back-to-the-classroom tips are posted on the Virginia Education Association website at veanea.org.

State education board asks for feedback on student standards


The Roanoke Times
August 22, 2016


The state's Board of Education is holding two public hearings in central and southwest Virginia this week for feedback on accreditation, graduation and new federal education requirements.
The public forums in Abingdon and Lynchburg this week are two of four being held statewide. They'll each feature a round-table discussion before the event is opened up to the public for comment.

If you plan to attend or speak, the board asks that you RSVP to Melissa Luchau and sign-up in advance (this isn't required, though).
Here's details on the two forums:

Abingdon: 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (round table discussion begins at 4:30 p.m.)

Lynchburg: 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 25 at Heritage High School (round table discussion begins at 4 p.m.)

National & Federal Education News

U.S. judge grants nationwide injunction to halt Obama transgender policy
Reuters
August 22, 2016


A U.S. judge blocked Obama administration guidance that transgender public school students must be allowed to use bathrooms of their choice, granting a nationwide injunction sought by a group of 13 states led by Texas.

Reed O'Connor, a judge for the Northern District of Texas, said in a decision late on Sunday that the Obama administration did not follow proper procedures for notice and comment in issuing the guidelines. He also said the federal guidelines had the effect of law and contradict existing legislative and regulatory texts.

The ruling by O'Connor, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, gives an initial victory to the states, which filed their lawsuit amid building national conservative backlash to the Obama administration's stance on transgender rights.

But the latest battle over U.S. civil rights is far from over. The Department of Justice said in a statement it was disappointed in the decision and was reviewing its options. Legal experts expect it will appeal.

Other courts have sided with the Obama administration, agreeing that transgender students can be protected by anti-discrimination laws.

"A ruling by a single judge in one circuit cannot and does not undo the years of clear legal precedent nationwide establishing that transgender students have the right to go to school without being singled out for discrimination," said a statement from five groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), that have filed "friend of the court" briefs on behalf of transgender students.

The injunction does not prevent parents of transgender students from suing school districts for discrimination, nor does it prevent districts from offering bathroom access policies that run according to the guidelines, those group said.

In a major win for teachers unions, state Supreme Court lets teacher tenure ruling stand
Los Angeles Times
August 23, 2016

Monday was the end of the line for a landmark California case challenging tenure and other traditional job protections for teachers — and the teachers won.

The outcome left some union opponents looking for a different battlefield in the ongoing wars over public education, while others said they should try the courts again.

The case, Vergara vs. California, was closely watched across the country as a test of whether courts would invalidate employment rights of teachers on the argument that they violate the rights of students.

 

Advocates Encouraged by Candidates' Early-Years Focus
Education Week
August 22, 2016

After both presidential candidates touched on early-childhood issues in high-profile speeches recently, advocates were united on one thing: They want to see that conversation continue.

Both Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, and Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, talked about child-care costs during addresses on economic policy. Trump floated the idea of a child-care tax deduction at an Aug. 8 appearance before the Detroit Economic Club. Three days later, Clinton reminded audiences of her proposal to make child-care costs no more than a relatively small proportion of a family's income at an appearance at a manufacturing plant in Warren, Mich.

"Overall, it's really exciting that early childhood appears to be getting on the map at this point," said Katharine B. Stevens, who leads the early-childhood program at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. "That reflects the growing understanding that the public has that the first five years of children's lives really lay the foundation for everything that follows."

Katie Hamm, the senior director for early-childhood policy at the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, said the fact that Trump was talking about child-care affordability is "emblematic of how much of a crisis this has become."

At the same time, however, supporters of public investment in early childhood said that the early-childhood workforce—usually made up of women who are often earning wages that put them on par with fast-food workers—needs to be a part of the discussion as well. 

Back-to-School Season

This month, as more than 1.2 million pupils prepare for their first day of a new K-12 school year and more than half a million college students enroll for the fall semester here in Virginia, we know many of you as educators will be working hard during this “back-to-school” season.  Last week and this week we are sharing from our recently released 2016 Back-to-School Facts and Insights publication which contains a range of data that are particularly relevent as students come back to school.

Here we highlight K-12 education (last week looked at higher education), including related CEPI polling data (mostly from our 2016 Commonwealth Education Poll) on the relevant topics of school safety, student stress with testing and schools' opening dates.  Links to graphics and charts that our team has compiled are provided.  We hope this information is helpful to you as educators in understanding public perception of education and in communicating your work back to the public.  

Please contact us if you have any questions and we hope you have a great week. 
 
Sincerely,
CEPI

K-12 Education Facts and Insights

Compiled here are answers to some baseline questions about K-12 public education in Virginia.

How many students go to public schools in Virginia?
In the 2015-16 school year, more than 1.2 million students attended public schools in Virginia (1,284,679 to be exact).
  • 661,067 students were reported as male (51.5%), while 622,979 (or 48.5%) were reported as female.
  • 499,473 (or 38.9%) of students in public schools were classified as economically disadvantaged.
  • 129,365 (or 10.1%) of students were classified as Limited English Proficient (LEP).
  • 160,069 (or 12.5%) of students had an identified disability.
The racial/ethnic breakdown of the student population is reported in the chart at the right.
  • Caucasian (non-Hispanic): 648,311 or 51%
  • African American: 294,218 or 23%
  • Hispanic: 184,780 or 14%
  • American Indian: 3,703 or 0.3%
  • Asian: 85,326 or 7%
  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1,983 or 0.2%
  • Two or more races: 65,726 or 5%

Fall Membership 2015-16 School Year – data accessed from VDOE website
CEPI Poll Snapshots - Insights on K-12 Education
Drawn from our 2015-16  Commonwealth Education Poll.
(The margin of error for the poll is ± 4.2 percentage points.)


Topic:  As parents drop off their children for the first day of school in Virginia, are they worried about their safety?

Poll Insights:  The 2015-16 Commonwealth Education Poll found that 84% of parents who had a child in public schools felt that schools in their community were safe or very safe. A slightly lower portion (79%) of all adults in Virginia felt the same. 


There were regional differences for those who felt their schools were safe or very safe. Respondents from Northern Virginia (30%) and the West region (31%) were more likely to say their schools were very safe. In contrast, respondents from Tidewater (28%) were more likely to say schools were not very safe or not at all safe.

Family income and age also played a role in the safety perceptions of respondents. Those with annual household income above $100,000 (37%) were more likely to say their schools are very safe, compared to 23% for those earning $50,000 to $100,000 and 20% for those earning less than $50,000. Likewise, those ages 35 to 44 (35%) were more likely to say their schools are very safe, compared to 18- to 34-year-olds (21%), 45- to 64-year-olds (25%) and 65 or older (26%).

Expertise on School Safety at VCU’s Wilder School

  • Trisha Rhodes,Ph.D., assistant professor of Criminal Justice; phone: (804) 828-9922; email: tnrhodes@vcu.edu. Rhodes’ work explores school resource officer experiences and SRO roles, identities and relationships with citizens in schools

Topic: Are students today under too much pressure to perform?

Poll Insights: Going back to school can be stressful for students, as schools increasingly depend on student performance on standardized tests as a metric for the quality of education. The 2015-16 Commonwealth Education Poll found that 70% of public school parents and 67% of the general public in Virginia either strongly or somewhat agreed that SOL tests are putting too much pressure on students. 


Topic: How do parents and the broader public feel about their children earning credits online?

Poll Insights: As students enter another year of school, technology makes it increasingly easy to take a class for credit online over the Internet. The 2015-16 Commonwealth Education Poll found that 56% of parents who had a child in public schools would be willing to have their child earn some of their high school credits online, while only 9% would be willing to have their child earn all credits online and 34% would prefer that none of their child’s classes be online. The breakdown of opinion on this was essentially the same for the broader public (57% some, 8% all, 33% none.)

White respondents (at 60%) were more likely to be willing to have their children earn some of their high school degree online when compared to nonwhite respondents (51%).

Expertise on Educational Policy at VCU’s Wilder School


Topic: Would the public like local schools to have the option to start before Labor Day?

Poll Insights: The 2014-15 Commonwealth Education Poll found that 61% of all adults in Virginia would favor giving localities the option of starting their school year before Labor Day. Favoring such an option was particularly strong among persons with a college degree or higher in education (73% favor) and persons from households earning $100,000 or more per year (74%). (The margin of error for the 2014-15 poll results is ± 4.1 percentage points.)


Topic: When have school systems across Virginia started their school year?


While state law still mandates that schools start after Labor Day, many school systems apply for and receive a waiver of the requirement based on such factors as number of days missed in previous years for snow or other inclement weather. A mapping analysis of start dates for the 2014-15 school year shows that starting after Labor Day is largely still practiced in localities along and east of I-95.


The data mapping at right is based on information from the Virginia Department of Education on when schools start as well as the length of their winter and spring breaks in 2014-15. The maps and underlying data can be accessed by visiting CEPI’s Tableau Public profile.

Expertise on Educational Policy at VCU’s Wilder School

(To read the full poll, visit our website.)