Recently I attended a meeting sponsored by Village Initiative for Equity in Education to hear the findings of its Sixth Annual Equity Report. I was in good company. As I settled in my seat, I noticed familiar faces from Williamsburg City Council, the Williamsburg-James City County School Board and the James City County Board of Supervisors. Teachers and principals were also on hand along with parents and concerned citizens. I was in the latter group.
The equity report grades Williamsburg-James City County schools on academic achievement, discipline, gifted education services and teacher support. Based upon public data from the Virginia Department of Education and WJCC Public Schools, it aims to help community members understand the importance of equity and diversity, and to ensure the success of all students.
When my children were students in WJCC schools from 2004 to 2021, I had several issues with the school system and found myself constantly advocating for my kids by documenting my concerns in an email and then meeting with school officials. I attended the April 22 meeting to see if these issues have been resolved.
One of my major concerns was that Black students were underrepresented in gifted education, known as the Visions program. I had to insist that my kids be tested, identified and receive gifted education services.
Today it’s still an issue with Black students making up 18.4% of the student population, but only 5.7% were identified and received gifted services, the report said. On the other hand, white students made up 55.6% of the student population and were identified and received 77.2% of gifted education services.
When my daughter started kindergarten in 2007, there were no Black classroom teachers, just a handful of teachers’ aides. I met with her principal to discuss my concerns about the underrepresentation of Black teachers. “Children need to see people in authority that look like them,” I said. He responded by assigning a Black student teacher to my daughter’s class. A couple of years later, a Black vice principal was hired.
The equity report revealed that there is a “crisis level shortage of teachers of color,” most notably at James River Elementary School where 77.2% of the student population are students of color, yet only 4.2% of the teachers are people of color.
As a volunteer at my children’s elementary and middle schools, I noticed disparities in how some students were treated and disciplined. Black and Hispanic students were sent to the principal’s office for minor infractions that white students were given a pass for. Today the racial disparities have continued with Black, Hispanic and mixed-raced students making up 43% of the student population and 76% of the long-term suspensions.
As for academic achievement, the report found widening gaps based on race and socioeconomic factors that have grown to the double-digits. “I wish the findings were different,” lamented Jacqueline Bridgeforth Williams, founder and executive director of the Village Initiative. “We have seen this for six years in a row.”
After the presentation, parents, teachers and community leaders shared their thoughts about how to repair the school system.
“We should not be afraid to call out racism as the root of the problems,” one concerned citizen said.
Concerns about racism in WJCC’s school system are nothing new. In 2020, a group of students from Jamestown High School started the Racial Equity Student Alliance. They shared with the WJCC School Board the hostile racial experiences that middle and high school students suffered. But as the students graduated, the group fell by the wayside.
As I listened to the feedback to the report, I pondered the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This calls for the entire community to “build bigger tables” to create an environment and experiences that allow all children to thrive.
When we come together to build a more equitable and just community for our children, we all win!
Laura D. Hill is the executive director of the Virginia Racial Healing Institute, which manages Coming to the Table-Historic Triangle. Learn more about her work at varacialhealinginstitute.org.
