Meet the youngest District 54 candidate.

Solution,” and the gay rights movement. While the previous proposal said there were several causes for the Civil War, the new one says that “slavery and its expansion was the primary cause of the [issues] that divided the nation and was the catalyst for secession of southern states.”

But some criticisms of the November proposal remain in the new one. Sixth graders are expected to study U.S. immigration policies and the challenges immigrants have faced, while 11th graders must analyze “the effects of changes in immigration” across the country. However, the standards do not explicitly mention the history of the Latino or Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the country. (In response to criticism about excluded content, Balow has said that some subjects will be included in the curriculum framework, which is expected to be publicly released this summer.)

Additionally, Isra-Ul questions who was involved in the drafting of the newly released standards. Critics lambasted the Youngkin administration for working with conservative outsiders on the November proposal, including the Fordham Institute, Hillsdale College, and Reagan education secretary William Bennett.

Following November’s public backlash, the VSSLC, Virginia Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the American Historical Association released their own alternative standards in December. Isra-Ul says the groups reached out to the VDOE, but were not included in the November proposal development process. While working on their alternative proposal—which was completed in a little over a month, to meet the state education board’s timeline—the groups aimed to follow the board’s instructions to Balow, since they “didn’t know what [Balow] was going to do.”

Isra-Ul describes the alternative proposal as a combination of the August and November drafts, with corrected errors and omissions. It specifically includes edits proposed by the state’s African American History Education Commission, which he says were “completely disregarded” in the November proposal. “We used the [August] draft as the center and we found what could be salvaged from the November draft,” he explains.

The three groups urge the state education board to approve their proposal instead of the new standards, pointing to the endorsements they have received from the National Council for Social Studies, Virginia Council for the Social Studies, and Virginia Commission on Civic Education. The Charlottesville School Board has also expressed support for the standards. Virginia Humanities has called on the board to approve the August proposal, but hopes the board will discuss the alternative standards proposed by the three educational groups, too. The groups have not received a response from the board or Balow.

According to the VDOE, public hearings will be scheduled on the newly proposed standards “following acceptance of the draft” by the education board. The board’s next meeting is February 1.

Who is Dashad Cooper?

Meet the 29-year-old social worker running for Virginia’s House of Delegates

By Eshaan Sarup

“S o, Dashad Cooper. … Who is Dashad Cooper?” Cooper asked, repeating the question back to C-VILLE. Cooper is new to politics and has not had the time to perfect his elevator pitch. But once he found his footing, he was able to explain his motivation for seeking office.

“Dashad Cooper is a native from Charlottesville,” he said proudly, explaining how we went through the local public school system and later chose to attend PVCC so he could stay home and care for his sick father. He has worked for the city for six years, starting as a recreational aide and becoming a social services assistant in 2021.

“Me and my teammates ... we’re the front end of everything,” Cooper said, claiming that earlier in the day he risked his life to prevent one of his clients from getting hit by a car.

“These other candidates are definitely doing great work,” Cooper said of his opponents, former mayor David Brown and vice-chair of the Albemarle County School Board Katrina Callsen. “But they’re not at the bottom, really dealing with the people that have issues.”

At 29, Cooper is the youngest candidate in the race for the newly drawn House District 54, and the only person of color.

“This city, this district needs a new face. So I’m here to break some barriers and really listen to the people and be transparent and authentic,” he told CVILLE.

“Democrats need to stick together,” he said, noting that he will not campaign negatively against his opponents. Cooper plans to run a grassroots campaign and “be out there in the field.”

“I want to make sure that I go to every area, every street, every house, in every part of this district,” he said. Cooper also plans to continue working full-time while on the campaign trail.

He hasn’t launched a website to outline his platform yet, but Cooper has mentioned some priorities on Twitter. He also discussed policing reforms during his interview with C-VILLE.

“I wouldn’t say defund the police,” Cooper said, “but I will say that they shouldn’t have certain artillery. … They should be more worried about de-escalating situations and providing a prevention program versus hyping it up and only responding when it’s a crisis situation.”

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Dashad Cooper is currently the youngest candidate to throw his hat in the race to represent the newly drawn House District 54.

When asked about juvenile justice reform, Cooper answered honestly. “I haven’t read too much about it, I will definitely read into that.”

“I feel like some of these kids do the bare minimum crimes and are hit with hard sentences versus somebody else, a different race, who did that same crime, and gets less time because they have money to hire a lawyer to fight their defense, versus somebody [of] low income having to get a public defender. So we definitely need to go back and revise that too. Just to take a look and see, you know, what are we doing wrong? What can we do right?”

Supporting teachers, who Cooper says are “like a third parent” for many children, is also key to his platform. “I think right now, the teacher shortage is due to the environment that they’re in, and all the scrutiny that they’re getting from the governor, plus their pay, like we have to pay these teachers.”

Cooper also discussed issues in higher education, referencing University of Virginia graduate students who were paid late this month. “It shouldn’t have got to a crisis. This should have been done a long time ago, because students need their money, they have to pay bills.” Cooper plans to host a meeting with UVA President Jim Ryan and the student workers union. “We have to come up with a plan. So if something like this happens, we have a plan in place in which these kids will get paid no matter what,” he said. Equal rights for women and the LGBTQ community is an essential part of Cooper’s agenda. “The government should not be diving into what if a man wants to become a woman, and vice versa. If they want to make a decision on their own, they should make that decision. And we should respect it.” Cooper pledged to protect abortion rights if elected, and also wants to pass a bill to ensure equal pay for women. “We’re gonna create a bill that goes across the board, that whatever title that a man or a woman has, they will get paid the exact same.” The election will be held this fall, on Tuesday, November 27. Residents of District 54 can find their polling location on elections. virginia.gov.

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