Dr. Robert Lowerre, Director of the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, attended the Virginia School Boards Association’s Capital Conference on January 22 in Richmond. The event brought together school board members, superintendents, state delegates and senators, and others to consider the major educational issues facing the 2018 General Assembly.
Attendees heard from a variety of presenters and speakers, including:
• The Honorable Ralph Northam, Governor of Virginia
• The Honorable Atif Qarni, Virginia Secretary of Education
• Megan Healy, Chief Workforce Development Advisor
• Dr. Bob Holsworth, President, Virginia Tomorrow, LLC
• James Regimbal, Principal, Fiscal Analytics, Ltd
• Deborah Rigsby, Director of Federal Legislation, National School Boards Association
Those in attendance also received information from subject-area experts on a variety of topics, including the ever-changing political scene in Virginia, state budget issues, and legislation being considered that will have an impact on public education and school board operations. Participating school board members were encouraged to visit with their respective legislators and attend the General Assembly session on day two of the conference.
Dr. Lowerre stated “it was wonderful to hear the Governor’s vision as well as the Secretary of Education on public education in Virginia. I left the conference very optimistic about Maggie Walker’s future.”
Additional to his conference attendance, Dr. Bob received a big surprise today in honor of Principal’s Appreciation Week in Virginia when Dr. Qarni himself delivered to MW a token of appreciation [donuts…is that a food group?] Too often we overlook the hard work of our administrators so Dr. Qarni’s reminder was very appreciated.
According to Gina Patterson, VSBA executive director, “The VSBA Capital Conference is grassroots lobbying at its best. It gives Virginia school board members the opportunity to share important information with legislators about the future of education in Virginia.”
