Governor McAuliffe announced today the inaugural members of the recently-created School Readiness Committee and the new membership of the Standards of Learning (SOL) Innovation Committee.
The School Readiness Committee was established by the 2016 General Assembly in order to better equip the next generation of early childhood educators with skills that will ensure student success. The new members of the SOL Innovation Committee will build on the work of the inaugural group by pursuing additional reforms.
“I would like to congratulate these new committee members and commend them for their willingness to serve the Commonwealth’s students,” Governor McAuliffe said. “The School Readiness Committee will help us to improve how we train early childhood educators to prepare every student to succeed, and the SOL Innovation Committee will continue to provide bold recommendations to bring more innovation into our classrooms. Both committees were created as part of a bipartisan effort to ensure that all of our public schools are preparing our students to succeed in the new Virginia economy.”
Membership on each committee was determined following an exhaustive review of stakeholder recommendations and applications. The citizen members of the SOL Innovation Committee were selected by Virginia Secretary of Education Anne Holton, while citizen members of the School Readiness Committee were chosen by Secretary Holton in consultation with Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Dr. Bill Hazel.
The SOL Innovation Committee will continue to provide recommendations in accordance with Governor McAuliffe’s call to “be bold” when rethinking SOL assessments and innovation in the K-12 system.
“I am proud that the inaugural members of the SOL Innovation Committee helped reshape Virginia’s approach to public education, and I am confident our new members will bring fresh perspectives to this vital work,” said Secretary of Education Anne Holton. “Additionally, I am excited about the new School Readiness Committee, and I look forward to working with our members to help strengthen the early childhood education workforce.”
The School Readiness Committee’s first goal is to make recommendations to the Board of Education and the General Assembly on ways to enhance and align early childhood education professional development and credentialing to support the needs of young students. It will periodically review its goals and may address other priorities within the early childhood care and education systems.
“The School Readiness Committee will do the important work of taking a broad-based look at the workforce that supports early childhood education, and help better prepare our educators to optimize early childhood learning,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel.
School Readiness Committee Members:
- Maritsa Alger of Newport News, Principal, Norfolk Public Schools
- Dr. Rosemary Burton of Woodbridge, Vice President of Accreditation and Industry Relations, Merit Academy
- Dr. Irene Carney of Richmond, Executive Director, Sabot at Stony Point
- Dr. Christopher Chin of Moseley, Director of Community Partnerships, Robins Foundation
- Dr. Walter Clemons of Gloucester, Superintendent, Gloucester County Public Schools
- Navine Fortune of Virginia Beach, Assistant Program Director and Instructor, Norfolk State University
- Kathy Glazer of Richmond, President, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation
- Mark Gordon of Richmond, CEO, Memorial Regional Medical Center, Richmond Community Hospital, and Rappahannock General Hospital, Bon Secours Health System
- Phillip Hawkins, Jr. of Norfolk, Teacher, Norfolk County Public Schools
- Lisa Howard of Norfolk, President and CEO, Elevate Early Education
- Gail Johnson of Richmond, President and CEO, Rainbow Station
- Andrew Ko of Loudoun, Managing Director, Global Education- Amazon Web Services
- Rob Krupicka of Alexandria, former Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates
- Henry Light of Norfolk, Member, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
- Shelley Lingamfelter of Woodbridge, retired teacher, Prince William County Public Schools
- Toni Marchese of Arlington, Preschool Director and Teacher, St. Ann Catholic School
- Dr. Sara Miller of Moseley, Assistant Professor, Longwood University
- Laurie Moran of Danville, President, Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce
- Dr. Craig Ramey of Roanoke, Professor of Human Development, Psychology and Pediatrics, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
- Dr. Christine Schull of Fairfax, Professor, Northern Virginia Community College
- Walter Stosch of Glen Allen, former Senator, Senate of Virginia
- Gary Thomson of Richmond, Regional Managing Partner, Mid-Atlantic, Dixon Hughes Goodman
- Janet Turner-Giles of Afton, Member, Nelson County School Board
- Anne-Marie Twohie of Reston, Director, Fairfax County Office for Children
- Barry Weinstein of Fairfax, retired teacher, Fairfax County Public Schools
Members of House of Delegates:
- Delegate John Bell
- Delegate Mark Dudenhefer
- Delegate Tag Greason
- Delegate Roxann Robinson
Members of Senate:
- Senator Siobhan Dunnavant
- Senator Adam Ebbin
- Senator David Sutterlein
Ex Officio Members:
- Dr. Steven Staples, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Margaret Schultze, Virginia Department of Social Services
- Dr. William Hazel, Secretary of Health and Human Resources
- Anne Holton, Secretary of Education
SOL Committee Members:
- Dr. Donna Alexander of Providence Forge, Vice President of Instruction and Student Development, Rappahannock Community College
- Dr. Robert Benson of King George, Superintendent, King George County Schools
- Dr. Valerie Bowman of Richmond, Pediatrician, Bon Secours Developmental & Special Needs Pediatrics
- Jamie Clancey of Culpeper, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Clancey Counseling, LLC
- Karen Cross of Bristol, Teacher, Bristol Public Schools
- Michael Davidson of Marion, Principal, Smyth County Public Schools
- Dr. Francisco Durán of Fairfax, Chief Academic Officer, Fairfax County Public Schools
- Danielle Fitz-Hugh of Petersburg, President and CEO, Petersburg Chamber of Commerce
- Deborah Frazier of Spotsylvania, Principal, Spotsylvania County Public Schools
- Jim Gallagher of Lynchburg, Supervisor of Student Services, Amherst County Public Schools
- Sarah Gross of Richmond, Parent, Richmond Public Schools
- Linda Grubba of Lynchburg, School Counselor, Campbell County Public Schools
- Dr. Rachel Holloway of Blacksburg, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Virginia Tech
- Linda Hyslop of Hopewell, Member, Hopewell City School Board
- Jim Livingston of Manassas, Teacher, Prince William County Public Schools
- Dr. Brian Matney of Virginia Beach, Office of Research and Evaluation, Virginia Beach Public Schools
- Dr. Oliver McBride of Hillsville, retired superintendent, Carroll County Public Schools
- Laurie McCullough of Charlottesville, Director, Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
- Dr. Pat Murphy of Arlington, Superintendent, Arlington Public Schools
- Ting-Yi Oei, of Fairfax, retired teacher and administrator, Fairfax and Loudoun County Public Schools
- Dr. Jennifer Parish of Poquoson, Superintendent, Poquoson City Public Schools
- Annette Patterson of Forest, Special Education Teacher, Bedford County Public Schools
- Todd Putney of Roanoke, Vice President of Human Resources, Medical Facilities of America
- Dr. Stewart Roberson of Richmond, Chairman, Moseley Architects
- Vivian Sanchez-Jones of Roanoke, School & Community Liaison, Commonwealth Catholic Charities
- Bobby Shockley of Glen Allen, Assistant Principal, Richmond Public Schools
- Karen Thomsen of Bridgewater, Principal, Rockingham County Public Schools
- Delegate Jeion Ward of Hampton, retired teacher, Hampton City Public Schools
- Dr. Jamelle Wilson of Richmond, Dean of the School of Professional and Continuing Studies, University of Richmond
Members of House of Delegates:
- Delegate David Bulova
- Delegate Tag Greason
- Delegate Jim LeMunyon
- Delegate Roxann Robinson
Members of Senate:
- Senator Ryan McDougle
- Senator Jeremy McPike
- Senator Stephen Newman
Ex Officio Members:
- Dr. Steven Staples, Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Dr. Billy Cannaday, President of the Board of Education
- Anne Holton, Secretary of Education
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