A federally funded program in Virginia to provide coaching and academic recovery to the commonwealth’s students is set to conclude this year, with state officials pointing toward Governor Glenn Youngkin’s “ALL in VA” plan as a possible way to bridge the gap in resources as pandemic-era federal funding runs dry.
The “Engage Virginia” program unveiled the the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) in February is set to conclude on December 31, reported the Richmond Times-Dispatch on Tuesday, explaining that Youngkin’s administration said “the one-time federal funding for the program has been exhausted, and the program is wrapping up.” However, the outlet noted the governor’s office suggested “school divisions could individually engage with the program by using their allocations from the governor’s ALL in VA plan.”
Engage Virginia was started in February, with former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Ballow stating the effort would “supplement” the commonwealth’s other efforts to help “students still struggling with academic, attendance, mental health issues.” Services offered included tutoring, coaching, test preparation, and homework assistance.
VDOE spokesman Todd Reid told the Times-Dispatch that funding for Engage Virginia “is from the ARPA Coronavirus State and Fiscal Recovery Funds,” and “[t]hat particular appropriation has been exhausted and the program is wrapping up.”
Citing the depletion of pandemic-era federal funding, Youngkin in September announced one-time $418 million in funding for his ALL In VA program to provide state funding for Virginia school divisions. Schools were required to submit detailed plans for how their funding would be used, with funding becoming available in 2024.
School divisions throughout the commonwealth were slow to submit plans for the new funding, with many missing the October date Youngkin challenged education professionals to meet. All Virginia school divisions had only submitted their plans by December 19, when Youngkin celebrated the forthcoming action to “help our students recover” from learning loss suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, the VDOE revealed the majority of students in the commonwealth continue to struggle academically, especially when compared to students prior to the pandemic. Current Virginia students score six points lower than their pre-pandemic peers in reading, and 15 points behind the same peers in math.
Additionally, the agency revealed that more than half of students between third-grade and eighth-grade are at risk or failing to meet Virginia’s standards for reading, and more than two-thirds of the same student population are similarly at risk or failing to meet standards for math.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tutor” by Adrignola CC2.5.
