The Virginia Department of Education is formally stepping in to monitor and supervise an independent investigation of the troubled Albemarle County Public Schools.
Jenna Conway, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, announced VDOE’s involvement in an October 27 e-mail obtained by C-VILLE. In recent weeks, Conway has met with board Chair Rebecca Berlin and acting superintendent Chandra Hayes. In a letter to Berlin and Hayes attached to her email, Conway said the Department of Education had legal authority to “provide such assistance … as shall be necessary for the proper and uniform enforcement of the provisions of the school laws.”
“Given the seriousness of the situation, the credible reports of harm done to children, and the latest charges that multiple leaders at the school and central office levels failed to fulfill their legal responsibilities to report suspected child abuse,” Conway wrote, “meaningful state action is now necessary.”
Conway’s letter gives ACPS 10 business days to “hire a high-quality independent consultant that can conduct a thorough and timely review of ACPS policies, practices, and
organizational culture related to mandatory reporting required by law.” VDOE will provide a list of suggested candidates; if the school district doesn’t pick one by the deadline, VDOE will.
Once that review begins, Conway’s letter says VDOE will watch it closely, meeting regularly with ACPS for progress reports and getting copied on any final findings from the investigation. Afterward, VDOE says it’ll help the school district implement any necessary changes.
The letter describes this oversight as “strictly administrative,” designed to stay out of the way of any criminal proceedings.
Conway addressed her email primarily to a group of parents who’d contacted her, but copied officials including state Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Amy Laufer, Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley, and Deputy Secretary for Education Dr. Abby Edwards.
“It’s a relief to have VDOE asserting its authority over ACPS,” says Heidi Gilman Bennett, one of the parents who wrote to Conway. “Families are grateful for their oversight and support of ACPS leaders who are clearly struggling with this crisis.” Gilman Bennett says the district needs an independent review into how it deals with reported abuse. “The ACPS policies and procedures and organizational culture that led to the recent arrests must change.”
An earlier email from parents also urged Hingeley to request that the county circuit court empanel a special grand jury to investigate “possible systemic failures” of administrators and the school board. When asked whether he would pursue that request, Hingeley declined to comment, noting the ongoing criminal investigations and stating that “grand jury proceedings are secret.”
“While the proceedings of a special grand jury are secret, public officials in other localities have made their existence known when there is widespread public mistrust of government,” Gilman Bennett says. “That’s where we are now in Albemarle, and I believe that Hingeley’s ongoing involvement would be well-received by our community.”
In a statement, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors chair Ned Galloway praised VDOE’s decision to examine the district’s culture alongside its procedures. “Written rules alone cannot protect children if the organizational environment does not support employees in fulfilling their responsibilities,” he wrote. Galloway reiterated supervisors’ desire for concrete whistleblower protections and scrutiny of ACPS’s Freedom of Information Act procedures, among other issues VDOE’s letter didn’t address.
“I appreciate the beginning steps that have been taken, but what has been done so far is insufficient,” says Jack Jouett Supervisor Sally Duncan. “We are in a crisis that requires an immediate, comprehensive response.”
