Editorial: Midweek Briefing

Flexible schools: Discussion about educating our children sometimes focuses on specific methods of evaluation (e.g., standardized tests), or on types of classrooms or class setups (as in charter or virtual schools).

But Del. Steve Landes was right when he mentioned a broader concept one week ago: allowing individual school districts greater flexibility in general.

The Republican from Weyers Cave not only has represented the Valley for a long time, he’s also a member of the House Education and Appropriations committees. That means he has a bead on education regulations and on Virginia’s budget. He spoke as part of a panel discussion at AP Day at the Capitol, an annual event held in December for journalists as a preview of the following January’s General Assembly session.

Landes said that education policy shouldn’t necessarily be dictated in one-size-fits-all fashion. For example, he said, “What Fairfax County thinks is important might not be what Augusta County thinks is important.”

Indeed, standards should be there to ensure a minimum level of instruction. Then options should be available so that leaders can see what best fits their communities. As Landes said, virtual schools could be a boon for, say, some inner city schools. But they might not work in a rural community if there’s not a solid Internet connection available.

Shelter slowed: The Waynesboro Area Refuge Ministry planned for its cold-weather shelter program to start Monday. The idea was for the shelter to rotate among churches, offering the homeless a hot meal and a place to sleep.

But when city officials informed the group that churches needed conditional-use permits to operate homeless shelters, the process was slowed. Now, the shelter’s not likely to open until after the first of the year.

That’s unfortunate. The good news, though, is that it sounds like the City Council wants to work with WARM, an offshoot of the Waynesboro Area Ministerial Association. Councilman Tim Williams told WARM organizers Monday night that the municipality didn’t want to block the group’s work to “extend a helping hand.”

Councilors now aim to vote on the project Dec. 27. It should be approved. In writing and enacting regulations, city government can serve the public. But community organizations such as WARM are serving their neighbors in other ways, as well. The missions need not be mutually exclusive.