School Choice panel participant photo
School Choice panelists Tom Shields, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Javaid Siddiqi and Robert Stevens, GC'17.

Tom Shields leads School Choice panel for Ethics of Choice 2022 conference

February 18, 2022

SPCS Academic Update

Tom Shields, SPCS associate dean and graduate education program chair, led a panel that discussed school choice at the 2022 Ethics of Choice Conference hosted by the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.

The School Choice panel examined how our politics, particularly in the past election cycle in Virginia but also across the U.S., have changed dramatically with a sharp focus on parental choice and parents having voice in their child’s schooling and learning.

The ideas that this panel discussed on school choice are at the forefront of the Virginia General Assembly’s agenda and will be at the top of the list of issues debated in the 2022 mid-term elections.

Joining Shields were panelists Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Javaid Siddiqi and Robert Stevens.

  • Genevieve Siegel-Hawley is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has published numerous articles in journals like Teachers College Record, the Harvard Educational Review, Educational Researcher and the Urban Review. She is also the author of two books, When the Fences Come Down: 21st Century Lessons from Metropolitan School Desegregation and A Single Garment: Creating Intentionally Diverse Schools that Benefit All Children.
  • Javaid Siddiqi is the President and CEO of the Hunt Institute. The Hunt Institute brings together people and resources to inspire and inform elected officials and policymakers about key issues in education. Javaid was the Deputy Secretary and then Secretary of Education for Governor Bob McDonnell. He has also been a principal, assistant principal and teacher in Chesterfield County Public Schools. He was also elected to the Chesterfield County School Board.
  • Robert Stevens, GC’17, is an Associate Principal of CodeRVA. CodeRVA is a regional magnet school located in Richmond that prepares a diverse population of students for college and careers in computer science through personalized, integrated, and applied learning. Robert has also been an Assistant Principal and teacher in Henrico County Public Schools. Finally, Robert is a 2017 graduate of the SPCS Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program.

The Ethics of Choice Conference, a University-wide initiative, showcased the multi-disciplinary work of a large group of University of Richmond faculty. Local, national, and international participants explored how and why people make ethical choices and address the nature of ethical decision-making and its consequences.