Opinion: Virginia lawmakers must support schools in face of GOP divisiveness

By Virginia Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg 

June is often one of the most challenging months for educators and students. The end of the school year is often filled with a flurry of final exams, late nights grading, and last-minute lessons you hope your students will take with them over the summer. It is also filled with joy and celebration as we watch our students graduate and take the next steps in their academic or professional careers. After nearly 20 years in the classroom, for me, June has always served as a time for reflection as the school year ends. I think about what my students and I have learned, how to improve my lessons for next year, and, more recently, how we can continue supporting our kids, parents, and schools in an increasingly volatile climate. 

After a decade of seeing our state government make continuous cuts to state support of public education that slashed our support staff positions and caused our class sizes to balloon, I decided I had more to contribute to our democracy. When I first ran for delegate in 2017, I campaigned on a central promise of supporting our public education system and making sure that schools were somewhere our kids feel safe and encouraged to learn and ask questions. I knew that my jobs could reinforce one another and help me be a better advocate for Henrico and for public education in our state.

Over the last six years, I have worked with my Democratic colleagues to increase the number of counselors and psychologists in schools to support our kids who need it most, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. We increased teacher pay and pioneered new paths to teaching certification to combat the teacher workforce crisis. To close the gap between high school and the workforce, we made community colleges and the crucial help they provide free to most Virginians. When the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the education world in 2020, I wasn’t afraid to lead a bipartisan effort that brought kids back to school safely and at the right pace. And last year I passed bipartisan legislation to reform how we test our students. 

It will take sustained political will and bipartisan consensus to continue to strengthen our education system and create a commonwealth where all kids can thrive. But here in Virginia, far-right legislators continue to center flashy, divisive rhetoric instead of meaningful policy proposals. They have doubled down on their efforts to defund our public schools and divide us with scorched-earth culture wars, such as politicizing previously bipartisan history standards. We’ve even seen “The Diary of Anne Frank” censored because of right-wing legislation. Far from supporting our public schools, they’ve proposed bill after bill to divert taxpayer funds to unaccountable private academies and charter schools, which are free to teach anything they choose and even discriminate against students with special needs or same-sex parents. Rather than working to increase the number of qualified teachers and attract new ones, they want to create an unqualified volunteer substitute corps. 

As this school year ends, our lawmakers must think about what the next school year will look like. We need serious legislators who are focused on providing real, tangible solutions that empower students and our schools.

In President Barack Obama’s 2017 farewell address, he called our youngest generation “unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic … willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward.” I know this to be true because I see these young minds and future leaders as they pass through my classroom.

The futures of my students, their families, and my fellow teachers and school administrators are why I am running to continue my service to the commonwealth in the Virginia Senate. The stakes couldn’t be higher this November, and our children are watching.

Schuyler VanValkenburg is a father, teacher, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and candidate for the Virginia Senate. As a history and U.S. government teacher at Glen Allen High in Henrico County, Virginia, he teaches his students about the importance of understanding our nation’s history and using that knowledge to strengthen our communities.