As a proud product of Virginia Public Schools, I know first hand that Virginia has some of the best schools in the nation.

This plan seems to artificially lower school ratings, meaning that the state would control a larger percentage of our schools without the understanding of the communities affected. 

No one knows what a local school needs better than the community that school serves. In the best interest of all public school students, the state should leave localities in charge of all schools, regardless of the state's measure of performance. The state resources required to create a nuanced approach to a performance improvement plan for each of the schools identified is a waste, as the local community already has identified the problem and asked for the solution: MORE resources to combat their unique challenges.

All of this doesn't even mention the massive cuts to the Multilingual Learners programs, which actually needs an increase in resources so that all Virginians receive a quality education. Spend the massive bloat of money you intended to spend on this plan to deliver valuable resources to those programs and schools most in need.

This whole plan didn't make sense to me until I realized that the goal is to undermine our public education system in an effort to privatize education, not improve Virginia schools. Please look at the details in this plan and speak with your friends, neighbors, and family who work with students every day. They will tell you what they need, and I promise it's not this plan.