Get Schooled: With Less Resources, Good Education Still Possible

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, February 03, 2012

I graduated from a school division that had far more limited resources than either of the two I currently cover.

I attended Wise County Schools, in deep southwestern Virginia, for all of my school years. When I think back on my education, I remember a strong sense of community, feeling engaged and challenged and pride in my classmates, many of whom have gone on to accomplish great things. Like most people, I would say I turned out OK.

But what I don’t know is who I might have become if Wise County had more resources. We had no magnet programs, very limited Advanced Placement course offerings, a relatively small selection of extracurricular activities and hardly any arts programming. We paid for our own AP exams and did fundraisers to pay for bus drivers on field trips, which were few and far between.

I minored in art in college; I didn’t major because I didn’t think I was talented enough and definitely felt far behind my peers, who had taken classes in printmaking and graphic design in high school. We simply had Art I and Art II, where we learned the basics of drawing and painting; our teacher was shared between three schools.

We didn’t have different bus tiers for different grade levels. In Kindergarten, I boarded a bus with high school seniors in the back. It was scary, and truthfully, I was happy when I didn’t have to ride the bus anymore. But with little tax revenues to pad our county’s coffers, we learned to make do with less. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked for us. It was our norm.

I had many classmates go off to prestigious colleges – several to the University of Virginia, many to Virginia Tech, one to Brown and later Harvard – and many of them have sought advance degrees. One friend was a Fulbright scholar. Another friend went to Virginia Commonwealth University, returned to our hometown and is now working in special events and town planning. Several are pharmacists, lawyers and professors.

But I have many more friends who didn’t finish college, or finished but have never had the opportunities to use their degrees. Some were laid off from coal mining jobs last week. Could our lives have been different if we’d had more resources in school? Is it possible some of us never had the kind of class or extracurricular experience that changes lives? It’s hard to say.

I say all of this to acknowledge that it’s painful to imagine cutting so many of the programs, instructors and resources available in York and Williamsburg-James City County right now. Both school divisions (and their counterparts around the state) are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls, through a combination of potential state-mandated increases in retirement plan contributions and rises in health care costs. That means that, for the first time in a long time, everything is on the table for review and to paraphrase WJCC Superintendent Steve Constantino, “it’s not pretty.”

In the almost three years I’ve covered these schools, I’ve marveled over the amazing opportunities available to local students that weren’t available to me 10 years ago and definitely weren’t available to most parents. I’m right there with parents who don’t want to see some of the programs cut; I would love to send my future children to an arts magnet school or see them compete in middle school sports.

But many of the items currently under consideration for cuts are simply not required by the state or federal governments for education. They exist because York and WJCC went beyond what is mandated to provide a more enriching education.

As I see it, only a few options remain for parents and educators to save the programs and instructors they want to keep. They can:

• Lobby their state government representatives to increase funding to schools, eliminate state education mandates that aren’t funded by the state or reject Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to increase the retirement system contribution rates.

• Lobby their local government officials to increase school funding (knowing that means other county functions will be reduced as a result).

• Lobby local government to increase taxes to finance the school programs.

• Share ideas for ways the school systems can generate more revenue.

• Step in as volunteers/donors to support the programs in danger. This could mean volunteer art teachers or coaches, with parents or donors paying for supplies.

None of the options are ideal, and none of them would come without negative consequences. But I think we can all agree that education as we’ve known it for the past 15 to 20 years will not be sustainable with the current funding outlook.

It’s a scary time, but having grown up in the school system I did, I know that a community devoted to the future of its youth will rise above fiscal challenges to deliver a good education for every child.

Changes at Williamsburg Christian Academy

Williamsburg Christian Academy will introduce a new preschool program and director, as well as a morning school bus route to New Kent County, in 2012-13 school year.

WCA hired Michelle Flanagan to serve as its new Director of Preschool, replacing Jean Jurasek. The program will now add a three-year-old program to its current program for four-year-olds.

Flanagan holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Towson University and a master’s degree in education from Johns Hopkins University.

The 2012-13 “Eagle Preschool” will have part-time and full-time programs for three- and four-year-olds. Parents can choose from a three-, four- or five-day per week schedule, with full and half-day options.

WCA will also introduce a bus route to rural areas, including New Kent County. Currently, WCA’s buses are only used for athletic events and field trips, but next year, a morning bus will be available for students living in New Kent and other distant areas.

The bus will pick students up at a central location. The service will be available for a fee to cover the operation costs. “We don’t want the commute to be a deterring factor for families in neighboring rural areas who are seeking a private Christian education for their children” said Gwen Martin, head of the school, in a press release.

Open enrollment began Feb. 1. Call 220-1978 for more information.

This Century Art’s Student Show Closes Today

Today’s your last chance to check out impressive art submitted by students from six area schools to This Century Art Gallery’s Student Art Show.

The gallery is free and is open until 5 p.m. today. It is located at 219 North Boundary Street in Williamsburg.

York County Science Fair Winners Announced

The annual York County School Division Science Fair was held on Jan. 19 at the Grafton School Complex. Middle and high school students competed in the science fair, themed, “Imagine, Create, Engineer the Future.”

To see the full list of winners, click here.