PETERSBURG, Va. – On this day 150 years ago, a group of teachers from around the state gathered in the basement of a Petersburg church to figure out how to get new textbooks through Civil War blockades.

They formed what is now known as the Virginia Education Association (VEA) – the state teachers' union.

Bill Johnson, a former communications director for the union, is writing a book about the organization's history, and says that group of teachers played a critical role in the development of Virginia's public school system.

"It was just an amazing accomplishment following the Civil War that the public schools were created in about a year," he says.

Johnson points out that at the time, there were very few people qualified to teach, so the VEA advocated for state teacher colleges and created a professional training journal that is still in publication today.

Johnson says throughout its history, the VEA has been a leading voice for public schools in the state. In some ways, he adds, not much has changed.

"The challenges today are the challenges we had 150 years ago,” he explains. “That was developing public support, understanding for the role of public schools and public support for it.

“Funding has always been a challenge in Virginia and it continues to be."

The Department of Education reports there are nearly 1.3 million students enrolled in schools in the state this year.





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As historically Black colleges and universities grapple with declining Black male enrollment, Howard University's "Kings of Campus" initiative is working to reverse the trend through mentorship, exposure and addressing systemic barriers.

Now in its third year, the program targets middle- and high-school students in partnership with school districts to build a pipeline for young Black men to see themselves in higher education. Nationally, Black male enrollment at HBCUs has dropped from 38% in the late 1970s to 26% today, with Howard's Black male population at 19%.

Calvin Hadley, assistant provost for student engagement and academic partnerships, said the issue needs to be addressed swiftly.

"We are really a clarion call for the world because there's a significant concentration here and we are able to feel this a little bit more, but it's really just illuminating what is a national issue, and so I think we've been able to dive deeper into that, we've known about this and have been working on this," Hadley explained.

Howard's model offers a blueprint for Mississippi, where HBCUs such as Jackson State and Alcorn State face similar challenges. With Black men under-represented in higher education nationwide, advocates stress that solutions must extend beyond individual institutions.

The initiative focuses on combating the "belief gap," or the disparity between what Black male students can achieve and what educators often expect of them. Through events such as barbershop talks and a "burning of fears" ceremony, Hadley said the program fosters self-efficacy and community.

"We're dedicated to addressing this issue that didn't originate with us and likely is not going to end with us, but we know that if we can create best practices, if we can better understand what is taking place around the country and create partnerships, collaborations, etcetera," he continued. "We do believe that we could make a significant impact in this."

The decline has broader implications. Research by economist Raj Chetty highlights how Black male educational outcomes disproportionately affect economic mobility and the racial wealth gap. Howard's efforts, including year-round mentorship and campus visits, aim to address these disparities early.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday asked a federal judge to pause the removal of books from Pentagon-run schools that pertain to diversity, gender identity and race as the issue makes its way through the courts.

The ACLU in April sued on behalf of 12 students, including two in Virginia, who attend schools run by the Defense Department.

The lawsuit argues that executive orders by President Donald Trump calling for the removal of government materials dealing with such topics as diversity, gender identity or race violate the students' First Amendment rights.

Matt Callahan, senior supervising attorney with the ACLU of Virginia, said the Constitution prohibits what is called "viewpoint discrimination," adding that means the government picks and promotes a belief or ideology, and silences opposing viewpoints.

"Students have a First Amendment right to receive information, and when the government reaches into schools it runs and removes books or curriculum from those schools, solely because of the viewpoint expressed in those materials, it violates the students rights," he explained. "And that's what the Department of Defense Education Activity has done here in response to Trump's executive orders."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is named in the lawsuit. He said in a memo that diversity and inclusion efforts are incompatible with Defense Department values.

A number of titles have been taken off shelves, including such classics as Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." Books are not the only focus of alleged Pentagon censorship in its schools. Portions of the Advanced Placement Psychology curriculum have also been removed.

Callahan said schools and libraries can remove materials or change curriculum for educational purposes. But he explains that's not the reason the government removed those titles.

"People all the time have to turn over the contents of libraries because books get outdated, new books are written. The violation here is because of the reason these books and curriculum are being removed," Callahan continued. "The government has made explicitly clear that the reason it's removing these books and this curriculum is that they don't like the ideology contained therein."

The Defense Department educates more than 60,000 students of service members in 161 schools worldwide, including in Virginia.


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As Ohio lawmakers debate the state budget, advocates for public schools are voicing concerns proposed cuts and policy changes could harm children's education.

Critics have charged the state appears to be prioritizing football stadiums over core services for students and families. The House budget does not fully fund the Fair School Funding Plan. The bipartisan plan, adopted in 2020, was designed to ensure all students receive adequate support.

John Stanford, president of the Children's Defense Fund of Ohio, said the plan was created to meet the actual cost of educating every student.

"They want to give $600 million to the Browns for a stadium and now, the Cincinnati Bengals are now saying, 'Well, what about us?'" Stanford pointed out. "It's this cycle of giving money away to people and organizations, to the detriment of children and families."

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled four times the state's school funding model is unconstitutional. The House budget provides a $50 per student increase in many districts, and cuts $2.75 billion from the final phase of the Fair School Funding Plan, according to the Ohio Education Association.

Scott DiMauro, president of the association, said the plan was built around realistic cost estimates for delivering quality education including class size, staffing, materials and support for special education and low-income students. He thinks failure to follow through with implementing the six-year plan would shift more burden onto local taxpayers and leave many students behind.

"Districts that were slated to receive increases had those increases halved," DiMauro noted. "They arbitrarily came up with a $50 per student increase-barely enough to buy a pair of shoes, let alone pay for the learning needs of our students."

DiMauro stressed the Ohio Senate now has a chance to, as he sees it, correct course and ensure the state meets its constitutional obligation. At risk, he added, is fair and adequate funding for the nearly 90% of Ohio students who attend public schools.