NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has vowed to overhaul the state’s education system. The plan aims to strengthen Virginia’s K-12 schools as the state faces a teacher shortage and low rankings on its post-COVID educational recovery.
In addition to addressing the teacher shortage through recruitment and support plans, Spanberger aims to ensure academic rigor while “modernizing crumbling schools.” Additionally, she’s looking to reject efforts to take funding from public schools and diverting it to voucher programs.
“Virginia’s kids deserve strong schools that prepare them for success – regardless of their ZIP code,” Spanberger is quoted as saying at the top of her plan.
Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger is vowing to overhaul the state’s K-12 education system while also bolstering higher education and child care. (iStock)
POTENTIAL YOUNGKIN SUCCESSOR FOCUSED ON MESSAGE IN TOUGH RACE TO KEEP SWING-STATE ‘RED’
The Education Recovery Scorecard found Virginia ranked 41st in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024, while it ranked 51st – behind all states and D.C. – in math recovery. Additionally, the state ranked 46th in math improvement over the same period.
“The federal pandemic relief dollars may be gone, but the pandemic’s impact lingers in many Virginia schools. Even without federal relief dollars, states could be targeting continuing federal Title I dollars and state dollars to implement interventions which have been shown effective, such as tutoring and summer learning,” the organization wrote in a press release announcing Virginia’s rankings.
Spanberger isn’t just aiming to bring more teachers into the classroom, she’s also advocating for higher salaries for Virginia educators, which she believes will help “keep our best and brightest in the classroom.”
Education was a hallmark issue of Virginia’s last gubernatorial race with now-Gov. Glenn…
