Student Support Professionals Appreciation Month

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

WHEREAS, more than 1.2 million children are enrolled in Virginia’s public schools, and the Commonwealth of Virginia is committed to maximizing the potential of all learners by providing opportunities for innovative learning; and

WHEREAS, thousands of students across Virginia need support to overcome barriers which impact their learning; and

WHEREAS, providing comprehensive student support requires collaborative public-private partnerships such as the 26 school districts and 164 schools represented by the Communities In Schools of Virginia network that reaches more than 113,000 students; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Community School Framework recognizes integrated student supports as critical to mitigating barriers, keeping vulnerable students in school, and helping them thrive; and

WHEREAS, placing student support professionals in schools to provide a community of support for families and relationship-driven integrated supports for students is a proven way to meet their fundamental needs, as demonstrated by Communities In Schools’ 2022 outcomes of advancing 96% of case managed students to the next grade and helping 89% of case managed seniors graduate high school in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, student support professionals deliver evidence-based interventions to positively impact attendance, course performance, social and emotional competence, behavior, and empower students to envision and plan for their futures;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Glenn Youngkin, do hereby recognize September 2023, as STUDENT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS APPRECIATION MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of our citizens.

Governor of Virginia

Proclamations