January 17, 2022 |
Wyoming sensibility — some of it straight from Carbon County — is headed to classrooms in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The announcement on Thursday that Wyoming School Superintendent Jillian Balow, a strong conservative, had resigned to take the job of executive officer of the Department of Education in liberal didn’t make sense until Saturday. Virginia is making a right turn in the culture war. Newly elected Governor Glenn Youngkin selected Balow to help steer that change.
Youngkin drew a line in the sand in his inaugural speech Saturday. Then he signed 11 executive orders, among them were bans on Critical Race Theory, Youngkin, in his inaugural said essential math, science and reading will replace the politically charged curriculum of cultural change.
Pictured above: Former Wyoming School Superintendent Jillian Balow. Courtesy photo.
The line brought a standing ovation from the crowd that attended the outside event despite the chilly Richmond temperatures. The Biden administration recently labeled parents who have challenged Virginia school boards over Critical Race Theory as domestic terrorists.
Balow appears to be a good fit with Youngkin’s administration as it moves away from the leftist policies of outgoing governor Ralph Northam. Like Youngkin, Balow opposes mask and vaccine mandates for students.
In a November interview with Bigfoot 99, Balow said CRT has no place in schools. The interview took place on November 11, shortly after Carbon County 2 became one of the first school districts in Wyoming to ban the neo-Marxist ideology that sees America history through a narrow filter of oppressed and oppressor based on race.
Balow, who spent 10 years as a teacher, stepped down from the elected post in Wyoming, where she is in her second term leading the state’s schools.
In his first Executive Order as governor, Youngkin promised to “restore excellence in education by ending the use of divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, in public education.” Critics of Youngkin, and his new state school superintendent, say Critical Race Theory in schools does not exist. Youngkin, speaking to Fox News Sunday from a Richmond elementary school classroom, took on those critics directly yesterday.
Youngkin is viewed by some as a Trump Republican. His victory last November is seen as a litmus test for a political tidal wave that is forming ahead of this year’s mid-term elections. Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points in the 2020 presidential election.
Balow begins her new job in Richmond today, where some school districts are already pushing back against her new boss’ decision to do away with mask mandates in classrooms.
Related: State School Superintendent Jillian Balow announces resignation
Related: Wyoming School Superintendent Balow weighs in on vaccine mandates for schools
Related: State school superintendent applauds CCSD2 for banning Critical Race Theory
Related: CCSD2 adopts resolution banning promotion of Critical Race Theory
