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Education is where the future of the Virgin Islands is either built or lost.
Every parent wants to send their child to school knowing that their child will be safe, supported, challenged, and prepared for the future. Every teacher deserves to stand in front of a classroom with the pay, tools, and respect needed to do the job well. And every student in the Virgin Islands deserves more than promises. They deserve progress they can see and feel.
Stacey Plaskett has fought to secure historic federal resources for the Virgin Islands, including billions of dollars to rebuild our schools and strengthen our education system after the storms, as well as millions more for education programs beyond disaster recovery. Those resources are meant to do more than repair buildings. They are meant to help create modern, safe, and effective learning environments for our children.
But too many families are still waiting to feel the full impact of those hard-fought resources. Too many teachers are holding classrooms together while being asked to do more with less. Too many parents are wondering whether their children will graduate ready for the jobs and opportunities coming to our islands.
Stacey secured billions in resources. But rebuilding schools, aligning agencies, supporting teachers, measuring progress, and making sure families experience progress they can see and feel is the work of a Governor, with the full support of a Lieutenant Governor who is accountable and shows up for the hard parts, not just the ribbon-cuttings.
That is why we are not offering slogans. We are offering a governing plan grounded in action, accountability, and results.
That starts with stabilizing the classroom. Through the Virgin Islands Teacher Corps, we will recruit and keep teachers with tuition forgiveness, housing stipends, accelerated certification, and stronger UVI pipelines. We will collaborate with the AFT on retention-based salary and benefits because children cannot learn when teachers are forced to leave the classroom to earn more.
It also means making sure children can read early and get help early. From kindergarten through third grade, we will launch a Territory-wide literacy initiative with reading coaches, daily intervention, benchmarks, referrals, and support services. We cannot wait until children fall behind and then act surprised. We must identify the need, provide the support, and measure the progress.
And it means expanding after-school programming, so our children have safe, productive places to go when the school day ends, with academic support, visual arts, music, sports, and stronger community programming through Sports, Parks and Recreation.
This is the Power of Two: Stacey’s record of securing resources and Milton’s experience building support to pass laws and encouraging agencies to collaborate, BOTH WORKING TOGETHER TO GET THINGS DONE.
On August 1, look for Number 2. Vote for the Power of Two. Vote for the future our children deserve.
Stacey Plaskett and Milton Potter
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