It seems rather strange with all that’s going on, or perhaps providential, that this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. A number of events have been scheduled throughout Loudoun County, Virginia, to let schools and teachers know how much parents and students truly appreciate the hard work and efforts they do for the good of the community.
An NPR-Ipsos poll released last week follows up on a national poll first conducted during the pandemic. In the most recent poll, almost half of the parents agreed that “the pandemic has not disrupted my child’s education at all.” 88% feel their children’s teachers did their best to deal with the pandemic, and 4 out 5 felt their school handled the pandemic well. This flies in the face of claims from Republicans like Governor Youngkin in Virginia, who won his recent election in part by offering to empower parents' rights to address the ills of public education.
Additionally, the rankings of Best Public High Schools for 2022 were released by U.S. News and World Report. Five of the top 20 high schools in Virginia are in Loudoun County, the epicenter for parental rage acted out in its school board meetings, singled out by Gov. Youngkin in his inaugural Executive Orders (EO#4), and targeted by Trump operative Ian Prior’s well-financed Fight for Schools highly political board recalls. While the legislative body of Virginia moved in a bipartisan way to stagger school board elections during the general assembly, Youngkin in a series of vetoes attempted to oust the existing Loudoun board by cutting short their elected terms. The Republican-controlled House voted for the Governor’s amendment, but it was defeated at the last minute by the Democratic-led Senate.
This Tuesday on Route 7, a popular thoroughfare for commuters to and from Washington, D.C., to Loudoun County, an impromptu rally was organized by Loudoun4All and brought out a crowd of 35+ people—some elected officials, parents, and students. The message was simple: Honk to Thank School Teachers! It was also nuanced: Elections Not Recalls. And there were plenty of chants to “Support our teachers! Protect public education!”
During the Trump years, the location was first a staging area for Indivisible and allied groups focused on Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential election, Trump’s Muslim Ban, defending Obamacare, defending DACA, and protecting Mueller’s investigation. It also was just outside the headquarters for Republican Barbara Comstock, who was defeated in 2018 in the blue wave that elected Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton to represent Virginia’s District 10.
I spoke with a mother who brought one of her children with her to the rally. She had moved from Arizona during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown and explained how happy she was where they are living now and the elementary school that her child—and soon her younger sibling—will be attending. She had been active in diversity and equity issues while in Arizona, and had worked for a for-profit educational institution. This allowed her to see “exactly how not to do things.” So, she was on board and ready to be active on issues like Policy 8040, Rights of Transgender and Gender-Expansive Students.
I also was introduced to Jessica Berg, a teacher at Rock Ridge High School in Loudoun, who had testified at the House Hearing on Free Speech and Book Bans back in April. (The hearing is available on C-Span. Berg’s testimony is in the listing and begins at 51:00.) Ms. Berg teaches English and Women and Gender Studies to juniors and seniors. Her testimony was critical of the damage politicians and political groups have done to public education, challenged the false notions of “parents’ rights,” and championed the voices of her students who understood what can be lost by giving in to political pressure, banning, and censorship.
From her testimony:
The biggest thing that students take away from their time in English is the safe place created within the classroom walls and the books that play a pivotal role in their lives…These are the books you are banning. Books that offer a mirror to readers so they can see themselves reflected in some way, be it their gender, race, culture, identity, or experience and it makes them feel less alone not erased and they maintain their self-efficacy, the belief that their voice matters. And when you think about the books frequently being challenged, the only connection I see between them is that they are the books that give voice to the most marginalized in our society.
Finally, after some group photos and before farewells, Jeff Dunn, a member of the Loudoun Educational Association spoke to the crowd. He thanked everyone who turned out today and announced advancement for teacher unionization. He invited everyone to show their support by coming to school board meetings, but in particular to the one coming up on May 19th.