Tweaking accreditation won’t help students in need

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024|A9

OPINIONS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tweaking accreditation won’t help students in need

I recently read in the Richmond Times-Dispatch Del. Mike Cherry’s Oct. 10 op-ed, “Why is school accountability so political?” This piece is about the new accreditation standards for our public schools in Virginia.

Accreditation standards have always been political. Truth be told, accreditation standards will most likely remain political unless we are willing to end our destructive legislative division.

When changes like this are made, I want to know if teachers, testing administrators, parents and students were asked to offer input. After all, they wrestle with accreditation every school year.
But what I really want to know is who is looking at the data that captures what life is like for an unsuccessful student in a nonaccredited school?

How different might that student’s academic performance look if this student had access to quality mental and physical health, non-substandard housing, family stability, proper nutrition, a school environment conducive to learning, and teachers who were respected and supported within the school system and the community.

Sure, every four years in Virginia a new governor and our political parties can continue to burn energy and time to change the accreditation standards to their liking. Unfortunately, tweaking accreditation standards is not going to solve the vicious generational cycles of community neglect.

We are overdue to confront and break those cycles. Failure to analyze and understand the needs of our students and their families in these difficult community environments guarantees less academic achievement.

I believe our Virginia legislators should take a field trip to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. They should take in the exhibit about Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald. Their unyielding teamwork allowed for the development of 4,978 schools across America. Virginia’s students, parents and teachers need that type of teamwork, not our current political bickering.

Bill Pike. Henrico.

Note from author: I was honored to have this letter published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch today Thursday, November 14, 2024.