Luciano said it best: “If you want to save the world, you have to save the children.”
With the help of technology, I analyzed the list of bills introduced by the Legislature. Unsurprisingly, very few focused on education policy or meaningful reform. Yet we keep asking why we are not seeing better outcomes as a territory. A better Virgin Islands starts with our children. What we invest in them is what we get back.
Look at Mississippi. For years, it ranked near the bottom in education. Today, it is being recognized nationally for major improvements in reading scores. Those gains did not happen by accident. Mississippi implemented early literacy laws, mandatory reading screenings, reading intervention programs, teacher training rooted in the science of reading, literacy coaching, and stronger accountability standards. They made literacy a priority and backed it with policy.
The Virgin Islands should be seriously discussing:
- mandatory early literacy screenings for K-3 students
- intensive reading intervention before students fall permanently behind
- stronger truancy and absenteeism enforcement
- expanded after-school and summer literacy programs
- teacher training in evidence-based reading instruction
- public school accountability dashboards parents can understand
- stronger collaboration between schools and parents when students struggle academically
- mentorship and career exposure programs starting in middle school
This is not about blaming teachers or parents. It is about finally aligning government, schools, families, churches, nonprofits, and businesses around one shared mission: preparing children to succeed.
We cannot continue talking about crime, poverty, workforce shortages, and economic stagnation while treating education reform like a side issue. Education is the foundation. If we want to break the cycle of frustration in the Virgin Islands, we have to start where every successful society starts: with the children.
