#TakeAction4Kids Advocacy Updates

#TakeAction4Kids means helping parents be informed and actively sharing the needs of your school community. Below are events and updates to help you and your community #TakeAction4Kids.

You can directly cut and paste the updates below into your PTA newsletters

and/or share a link to this newsletter.

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Advocacy 101 - Webinar

Tuesday January 10, 2023 @7PM

Join Virginia PTA for an overview of the basics of education funding and Virginia PTA's legislative priorities for the 2023 legislative session. We'll talk through how the General Assembly works, how to participate in Capitol Day and how to #TakeAction4Kids within your local school division and at the state and federal level.

#VAPTAAdvocacy

#TakeAction4Kids

#PTAVirtualRally #AllofTheAbove

Virtual Rally for Education

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Get the word out, ask your members to participate!

#TakeAction4Kids by sharing a picture or video highlighting your top priority!

Tag 2 friends, a neighboring PTA and your legislator! Challenge them to #TakeAction4Kids.

Tag @VirginiaPTA and use hashtags so we can build excitement and momentum across the state.

Advocacy Social

Thursday Jan 26th

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Comfort Suites Lobby

Informal meet-up to prepare for Capitol Day and organize carpools

Schedule

~7am - 8am TBD

Watch House Ed Committee

8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m

Legislator Meetings

12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m

View General Assembly Session

1:00 p.m

Optional Lunch Meet-Up

2023 Capitol Day & Virtual Constituent Connections

Friday, January 27, 2023 7am- 1pm

Register for in-person meetings on January 27th AND virtual meetings occurring through-out session. All Virginia PTA members are welcome to join us. Meetings will be at the General Assembly Pocahontas Building

Registrants for Capitol Day will be grouped with 2-4 other members and an experienced advocate for a series of 15-20 minute meetings with each legislator in your region. You just need to bring your stories about education in your community.

I'll Be There!

Hotel Discount

Comfort Suites ??

RECENT NEWS

VPEC Statement to

Virginia Board of Education

Virginia PTA collaborates with other associations to amplify our mission and legislative priorities. This periodically results in a joint study or recommendation.

In September the Virginia Public Education Coalition, a coalition of 12 education associations that represent K-12 and high-ed provided a statement on Virginia's education needs to the Virginia Board of Education.

VIEW VIDEO FOR STATEMENT

VPEC Position on Public Education

JLARC Pandemic Impact on K-12

Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) recently released a study on the impact of the pandemic on K-12 students and staff, and strategies for mitigating these impacts.

This study was undertaken as a result of Senate Bill 308, which was passed in the 2021 General Assembly session and which Virginia PTA supported.

JLARC is a research and oversight agency that conducts objective, nonpartisan research for the General Assembly provided a report this morning about the

VIDEO PRESENTATION

View JLARC Pandemic Impact Report

Literacy Act Implementation

In 2022 Virginia PTA successfully advocated for transformative change to reading instruction in Virginia to ensure every student has access to scientifically-based reading research and uses evidence-based practices for instruction, intervention, and assessments

VIEW VIDEO FOR

IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE

NAEP Student Assessments

NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores, released earlier this month, show reading and math declines between 2019-2022 affecting 4th and 8th grade students - in every state and every region of the country.

This doesn't mean students failed to learn, but rather that learning between 2019-2022, progressed at slower rates than in prior years.

NAEP is a test administered by an arm of the U.S. Department of Education and taken by a sample of students across the country. In 2022 the test involved 446,700 students at 10,970 schools. It's scored on a scale of 0 to 500.

Virginia's 4th graders scored 236 (-11) in math and 214 (-10) in reading. Virginia's 8th graders scored 279 (-8) in math and 260 (-2) in reading.

The results underscore the critical need for strong family to school partnerships, investing in high-quality education, working to close the broadband gap, and connecting students with tutoring and other resources to address learning loss and academic recovery.

We encourage you to share information with your membership about student assessment and ways families can support student learning

READ NATIONAL PTA's STATEMENT

VIEW VIRGINIA'S NAEP RESULTS

LEARN MOREAssessment & Accreditation

Learning Heroes Resources

Virginia History & Social Science Standards of Learning

The Virginia Department of Education and the State Board of Education are required by law to review Standards of Learning (SOL) subject areas at least once every 7 years. The History SOLs were originally adopted in 1995, and were reviewed and revised in 2001, 2008 and 2015.

The 2022 revision process started in October of 2020 as the Virginia Department of Education began working with advisory committees of historians, professors, parents, students and museums as well as seeking public input.

In August, draft standards based on approximately 2 years of work were presented to the Board of Education. However, they were subsequently withdrawn by the Department of Education citing the need for additional input and the separation of the Standards from the Curriculum Framework .

Standards are learning goals that define what students should know. They are approved at the state level. Curriculum Framework is the content. It details specific knowledge and skills students should have to meet the standard/goal.

New draft standards were presented to the VA Board of Education yesterday (Nov 17, 2022). The presented November Standards do NOT include the curriculum framework or many of the proposals made by the 2020 Virginia Commission on African American History.

The Virginia Board of Education voted to have the Department of Education present a third version of the History and Social Science Standards in January, and asked for a document that compares the 2015 standards with the August 2022, November 2022, and January 2023 versions.

While our schools have become more racially, ethnically and economically diverse over the past decade, culturally and linguistically responsive curricula has lagged.

PTA is committed to the creation of innovative curricula and the necessary accompanying professional development that supports culturally and linguistically-responsive teaching and learning so that the history and experience of all students—including but not limited to African American, Latino(a), Native American, Asian, LGBTQ+, and historically targeted and marginalized groups—is accurately represented and taught.

Read Virginia PTA's Comments to the Board of Education

Read National PTA's full position on Inclusive Curricula.

ESTIMATED TIMELINE