The name of the consolidated Henry Clay and John M. Gandy elementary schools in Ashland seemed like a settled matter. In 2018, a consensus was reached to retain the Gandy name on the new building, to open during the 2024-25 school year on the current Gandy campus. This was a nod to the historical significance of Gandy, which opened in 1950 to accommodate Black Hanover County students during a school segregation era that was long on “separate” but short on “equal.”
A fight over new history curriculum standards in Virginia is part of a nationwide campaign to undermine public schools and prevent educators from teaching the truth about America’s inequality.
A school division in Virginia issued an official apology on Wednesday after recently printing T-shirts with a logo that appeared to resemble a swastika to some people who saw it, adding that it was “created without any ill-intent.”
The voters have spoken. It's time to set a new direction. It's time to invest in our institutions, communities, citizens, our children, and our future.
Delegate faces challengers from both parties after moving into new district
My message to voters was that our public school teachers are not expendable, replaceable or disposable. To value our public schools is to value our teachers. To value our public schools is to value democracy.
We want fully funded public schools, fairly compensated teachers and staff, and modernized school buildings. Corporate charter schools would drain the resources needed to achieve these goals.
But the problems that Brown Grove faces are not theirs alone; they are shared. Our history, our rural land and our environment is not just threatened within one set of boundaries—Brown Grove must be preserved and protected because that’s what’s best for all of us in this area.
“I’ll tell you this doesn’t bode well, because these two are educators first and foremost with deep knowledge, relationships and qualifications, and they’re also two very moderate leaders,” said Rachel Levy of Hanover.
I was glad you voted two months ago to require staff to use names and genders consistent with students’ gender identities, but I was disappointed when the majority of you voted to disapprove the required-by-law policy to allow students to use the bathroom aligned with their gender identity, which opened our school district up to a lawsuit
