Commonwealth Listening Tour: Speak Up for Virginia’s Future

Overview

On her first day in office, Governor Spanberger set a new course for the future of our students by issuing Executive Order Four (EO4), which mandated the strengthening of Virginia’s public education system. As part of the EO4 charge, the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction embarked on the Commonwealth Listening Tour, an initiative designed to hear directly from the heartbeat of our schools—students, educators, and families.

The tour spanned the diverse landscapes of Virginia, reaching all eight regions to ensure that every community had a voice in this process. The Commonwealth Listening Tour was launched by Governor Spanberger in Hampton. Secretary of Education Jeffrey Smith and State Superintendent Jenna Conway then continued the tour and engaged with state education leaders for over 53 hours across all sessions. In addition to the in-person session, 4 virtual sessions were held and an online survey captured feedback from more than 965 individual participants. In total, the Tour provided a platform for more than 2,282 stakeholders to share their local successes and advocate for the specific needs of their divisions.

Listening Tour: By the Numbers

Listening Tour Feedback & Reports

The 2,282 distinct Listening Tour participants from around the Commonwealth provided rich feedback on a wide range of topics. The following documents attempt to capture that feedback in a summary, comprehensive report and associated appendices. 

• Summary of all Executive Order 4 Accomplishments
• Listening Tour Executive Summary
• Listening Tour Comprehensive Report
• Listening Tour Comprehensive Report Appendices