RICHMOND — Virginia recently ranked last of all the states and Washington in math recovery and No. 41 in reading recovery, making education a topic of interest in the gubernatorial race.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger released a “Strengthening Virginia Schools Plan” that covers her proposals for K-12 and higher education, federal cuts, early childhood development, school safety and workplace preparation.
The plan explains how she would uphold academic rigor, address the teacher shortage, modernize schools, increase support for students with disabilities, increase access to child care, streamline financial aid access, improve college affordability and more.
Spanberger, whose children are enrolled in public school, believes Virginia needs a different approach to education.
“I think that if I were to look backwards at some of the challenges that the current administration has (faced), it’s that there was an antagonistic approach towards education,” Spanberger said in Portsmouth when she announced the education plan.
Spanberger’s press team did not respond to two email interview requests.
Virginia governor’s race: Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears versus former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger
Virginia’s education system also grapples with issues such as chronic absenteeism, decline in mental health, teacher vacancies and lowered teacher morale, according to a November 2022 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study on the impact of COVID-19.
Republican gubernatorial nominee and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has not released an education plan and did not respond to three attempts by phone and email to contact her.
Robert Pianta, the Batten Bicentennial professor of education at the University of Virginia, said Spanberger’s plan is strong and effective.
“Spanberger’s plan is comprehensive, it’s thoughtful,” Pianta said. “It touches, you know, big ticket items, you know, there are specific directions and policies that can move out and investments that can be made around strengthening the teacher workforce.”
The school system needs a curriculum in which there is evidence it improves kids’ learning, according to Pianta. Some teachers scroll through Pinterest to find lesson plans, when they should really have a curriculum that will act as a playbook to help support teachers in the classroom.
While change is needed in the education system, Pianta said there have been improvements in the past 15 years, specifically in pre-K education.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin continued to strengthen early education, according to Pianta. The Virginia Literacy Act could set in motion a lot of very strong things for early reading, he said. It was passed in 2022 and implementation began in 2024.
“Virginia, 15-20 years ago was very low in terms of its build out of an early education system,” Pianta said.
Chris Braunlich, the senior adviser and former president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, said Spanberger’s plan is aspirational and is “already being done by the Youngkin administration.”
Spanberger’s goals feel unrealistic because she does not go into details, or contradicts herself, according to Braunlich. She said she will innovate in public schools, but her party has opposed expansion of college lab schools, he said.
“So we’re basically saying we trust colleges to educate college students, but we don’t trust them to educate the kids that are going to be applying for college,” Braunlich said. “I think a lot of Democrats are part and parcel with special interests, which would be the unions and (unions) don’t want that.”
Braunlich served on the Virginia Board of Education with Winsome Earle-Sears in 2014 and has high praise for her.
“Winsome … is different than a lot of state board members,” Braunlich said. “When it comes to education, she was someone who would walk the walk.”
757 Votes: The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press 2025 election guide
Earle-Sears had zero tolerance for schools that underserved children, including the Norfolk public schools attended by her children, according to Braunlich. She strives for safety, transparency and academic performance in schools and takes the time to ask the right questions.
To better serve education needs, Virginia must have public charter schools, according to Braunlich. Virginia also should implement more lab schools where colleges will offer preparatory education for high school students. He would also like to see an expansion of tax credit opportunities so that low-income families have new alternatives.
The Virginia Education Association, which has over 130 local unions, declined to comment for this article.
Early voting is underway for the Nov. 4 election. The last day to vote early in person will be Nov. 1
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Communication. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.