RICHMOND, Va. — A newly formed Virginia commission is taking on a challenge lawmakers say has gone largely unaddressed: why boys and men in the Commonwealth are falling behind girls and women in several key areas, including education, college enrollment and workforce participation.
The Virginia Boys and Men Advisory Commission held its first meeting at the State Capitol on July 20, bringing together lawmakers, researchers and education leaders to examine data and begin developing policy recommendations.
"Why not now? Why not address this since we've never seen it before, and it's time to have new answers to these issues," said Delegate Josh Thomas (D-Prince William), who serves as the commission's inaugural chair.
Thomas said the issue is also personal.
"I have a 2-year-old son. I am a boy dad and I want his school experience to be better than what's going on right now in the Commonwealth and in the nation," he said.
Education gaps begin before kindergarten
The commission's first meeting focused primarily on education, with researchers pointing to disparities that begin before children even enter the classroom.
Studies presented to the commission found that more than half of boys are not considered ready for kindergarten, compared with 44% of girls.
Researchers also highlighted results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), showing the reading gap between fourth-grade boys and girls has widened over nearly the past decade and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. While a gap remains in eighth grade, researchers said it is smaller than in earlier grades.
"That suggests there's a real elementary school problem right now and, perhaps, if you nip it in the bud earlier, you might prevent a lot of this downstream," said Alanna Williams, vice president of the American Institute for Boys and Men.
Beyond reading scores, researchers told the commission that boys are less engaged in school, have dropout rates about 1.5 times higher than girls and are less likely to enroll in college.
Recruiting more male teachers
One proposal receiving significant attention was increasing the number of male educators in Virginia classrooms.
Curtis Valentine, founder of the Male Educators Network and a former middle school teacher, said Virginia trails the national average in the percentage of male teachers, a figure that has steadily declined since the 1980s.
"It's concerning because of the impact that male educators have on students," Valentine said.
He said male teachers can serve as important role models, especially in elementary school.
"Men model behavior, and so for a young boy to see a male educator speaking passionately about reading, about education, about going to college, it matters really, really early on," Valentine said.
Among his recommendations were creating grant programs to help school divisions recruit male teachers, expanding dual-enrollment pathways through community colleges and encouraging military veterans to enter the teaching profession.
"You all can be a national model if there was a lot of support to gather more data, but also to invest in what's working," Valentine told commissioners.
What's next
The Virginia Boys and Men Advisory Commission is expected to meet again in August, when members will discuss either mental health or workforce development.
The commission is required to submit its first report and recommendations to Virginia lawmakers in October.
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