Education Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Of Emergency Implemented For Berkeley County School, Harrison County Schools Consolidated

The West Virginia Board of Education (WVDE) issued a State of Emergency for Martinsburg North Middle School (MNMS) in Berkeley County at its monthly meeting Wednesday, citing issues with safety and academic rigor.

Jeffrey Kelley, assistant superintendent of district & school accountability, reported the results of a Targeted School Environment Assessment that discovered dozens of Title IX violations, hundreds of fights and what one teacher quoted in the report called “an air of chaos” at the school.

“The West Virginia Learning Environment Survey taken in October ‘23 revealed 53 percent of students at Martinsburg North reported feeling safe at school,” he said. “This was compared to a statewide result of 80 percent of students who reported feeling safe at school.”

Martinsburg North is one of 21 schools in West Virginia identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement in the 2022-2023 school year. Identified schools represent the state’s lowest-performing schools and receive intensive support and technical assistance from the WVDE to address critical areas of need.

Based on 2023 West Virginia General Summative Assessment data, 24.12 percent of the school’s students were proficient in English language arts and 5.69 percent of students demonstrated proficiency in mathematics. Both these numbers represent a decrease from 2022 achievement levels and are below the statewide proficiency average for middle schools of 54.1 percent in English language arts and 47.4 percent in mathematics.

Several board members, including Victor Gabriel, expressed shock and dismay at the report.

“This doesn’t happen in West Virginia,” he said. “Evidently, we have a flaw and we’re going to make sure that flaw gets taken care of.”

https://wvpublic.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/0508-Jeffrey-Kelley-Board-Report-_01.mp3

Jeffrey Kelley, assistant superintendent of district & school accountability, presents the findings of an April site visit to Martinsburg North Middle School to the West Virginia Board of Education May 8, 2024.

The Martinsburg North report was in stark contrast to the meeting’s opening, when the board recognized three exemplary practice schools.

One school from each programmatic area was honored for illustrating outstanding school practice in one or more areas of the West Virginia Standards for Effective Schools. Sherman Elementary School in Boone County, Mountaineer Middle School in Monongalia County and United Technical Center in Harrison County were this year’s honorees.

School Consolidation

The board also approved several mergers and closures of schools in Harrison County.

Liberty High School will be merged into the existing Robert C. Byrd High School, and Mountaineer Middle School and Washington Irving Middle School will be consolidated into a new Liberty Middle School to be housed in the vacant Liberty High School building.

Board president Paul Hardesty told community members that came to speak to the board against the mergers that they are simply the latest in a growing trend of school consolidation across the state.

“Our space utilization statewide is 51 percent,” he said. “Miss Sullivan asked about the funding formula. That’s where we rise and fall in public education and lately, because of hemorrhaging enrollment, we are falling.”

Board member Debra Sullivan previously questioned the wisdom of punishing communities for an outdated school aid formula that no longer reflects the state’s population. Public school enrollment has fallen more than 10 percent in West Virginia since 2016.

On Wednesday, she expressed concern over the size of the proposed consolidated schools.

“You’ll have about 1,100 students in that school, I think it would make it the largest high school in the county,” Sullivan said in reference to the consolidated Robert C. Byrd High School.

“Are we going to revisit class sizes and classrooms and utilization at some point to reflect today’s needs?” she said. “We have students who need more support. That takes having, I think, more staff as the superintendent said, but also it means having fewer children in a classroom. Twenty-five fifth graders is hard to manage anymore.”

Phones In Schools

During board member reports near the end of the meeting, board member Christopher A. Stansbury discussed the potential of banning cell phones across all West Virginia schools.

“May being Mental Health month, one of the things that I had a request for information on is dealing with cell phone use in public schools and some of the mental health consequences that we’re dealing with,” he said.

Stansbury cited data coming out of Norway, where cell phones have been banned in most middle schools (grades 8-10) over the past 10 years.

“They found that there were fewer psychiatric consultations, they had less issues with bullying, they had higher GPAs and test scores,” he said. “Results were strongest, best for girls and then also in schools that had the strictest bans. I think that’s something that we as a board need to take a look at.”

The idea of a statewide phone ban was met with supportive comments from board members Nancy White and F. Scott Rotruck, who said he had been engaged in some independent research on the matter already.

US Department Of Education Announces Funding To Help Students Complete Federal Student Loan Forms

The Department of Education is launching a multimillion-dollar program to help boost the completion of FAFSA for high school students nationwide.

Last week Gov. Jim Justice declared a state emergency following a botched roll out of the new Free Application For Student Aid, or FASFA.

According to the governor’s office there has been a 40 percent decrease in FAFSA applications in the state. Justice said a difficult and complicated process is partially to blame.

Monday, the US Department of Education launched a program to expand availability of advisers, counselors, and coaches to help students and caregivers through the FAFSA process. It also aims to increase the hours that FAFSA support staff are available on weekends and evenings.

The department’s goal is to increase the number of high school students who complete their FAFSA.

Fifty million dollars will be available in grants to organizations that can expand college access and enrollment.

State Poetry Champion To Compete For National Title

St. Mary’s High School senior Willow Peyton will compete for the title of 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award

A West Virginia high school student has been named a finalist in the national Poetry Out Loud competition and will compete in Washington, D.C., for the grand prize.

St. Mary’s High School senior Willow Peyton will compete for the title of 2024 Poetry Out Loud National Champion and a $20,000 award at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium Thursday night.

Peyton is one of nine finalists out of a field of 55 state and jurisdictional champions from across the country to compete reciting classic and contemporary poetry.

In an interview published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Peyton likened the poetry recitations to a theatrical performance.

“I love seeing the different interpretations of the poems themselves. There’s so many things you have to learn about her poems and how to recite them correctly and memorizing them that’s different yet so alike to acting in theater.”

A program of the NEA and the Poetry Foundation along with the state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud has reached more than 4.4 million students since it began in 2005.

This year’s state and jurisdictional champions advanced from more than 160,000 students nationwide.

“I think I’ll look back on it as an insanely positive experience, no matter the outcome,” Peyton said.

The competition finals will be live streamed on the NEA website, as well as on their YouTube.

State Politicians Voice Support For Harrison County Student Athletes Protesting Inclusion Of Transgender Student

Multiple West Virginia politicians have voiced their support of student athletes protesting a transgender student’s inclusion in a track and field event.

Five students forfeited a shot-put competition on April 18 at the 2024 Harrison County Middle School Championships track and field meet in protest of a Fourth Circuit decision that House Bill 3293 violated Title IX protections for gender equality in school sports.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said last week that he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider BPJ vs. West Virginia State Board of Education.

Parents for four of the students have since filed suit against the Harrison County Board of Education in Harrison County Circuit Court after the students were not permitted to compete in a scheduled track and field meet on April 27.

The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission (WVSSAC) rule book states in its section on sportsmanship that teams, coaches and attendants are required “to remain in or a part of a contest until its normal end as provided by the National Federation Rules of that particular sport.” Failure to do so, it goes on, “will not only involve ejection during that particular contest but shall also involve that student, coach or team attendant not being a part of that school’s team for the next regularly scheduled contest(s) or post season progression in a playoff tournament, as regulated in §127-4-3.7.3.”

Tuesday evening, Morrisey released a statement in support of the students, highlighting a brief he filed in favor of their suit.

“The only thing this decision does is teach these children to keep their mouths shut and not disagree with what they saw as unfairness,” he said. “That is outrageous and it tramples these students’ rights to freedom of speech and expression.”

Morrisey’s amicus brief argues that “the Code of State Rules’ provisions for handling a protest action do not justify the Defendants’ actions here, and the Free Speech implications of the school’s actions are deeply concerning.”

Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, also released a statement condemning Harrison County Schools’ actions on behalf of the Senate Majority Caucus.

“Despite that procedure being clearly defined in the Code of State Rules, Harrison County Schools unilaterally decided to punish these female students by prohibiting them from competing in their next track meet,” the statement reads. “By refusing to adhere to these standards, Harrison County Schools is showing a galling lack of concern for the free-speech considerations of those students, as well as the safety of those students, because of unfair competition with males.”

Congressman Alex Mooney also released a statement regarding the “attack on women’s sports in Harrison County.”

“It is completely outrageous for a school board and coaches to punish girls for standing up for women’s sports. Young women should not be forced to compete against young men. It is asinine and unbelievable that a school in West Virginia, not California, would adopt this woke nonsense,” Mooney said.

Justice Declares State Of Emergency Over FAFSA Forms

During his regular press briefing Tuesday, Justice said the declaration allows the state to bypass FAFSA requirements for state programs such as the PROMISE scholarship.

Gov. Jim Justice has declared a state of emergency for the state’s higher educational system.

During his regular press briefing Tuesday, Justice said the declaration allows the state to bypass FAFSA requirements for state programs such as the PROMISE scholarship.

“We have to find a way to bypass this FAFSA requirement that will provide eligibility to our high school kids in regards to their scholarships, especially PROMISE and on and on and on,” he said. “We have at this time a 40 percent decline in applications and the reason for that is, our kids don’t know what to do.”

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unlocks both federal and state financial aid for students. The federal government released a shortened FAFSA at the end of last year that was intended to simplify the financial aid process for students, but the rollout of the new form has been plagued with delays and technical issues.

Justice was joined by Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Sarah Tucker, who assured West Virginia students they will get the support they deserve.

“To the students and families, I want you to know that we have your back,” she said. “We want you to know that if you qualify for PROMISE and or the higher education grant, you will get that money for this fall regardless of your FAFSA status.”

Tucker warned members of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability at an interim meeting earlier this month that the confusion over the new form was causing delays for the state’s educational programs and would require a creative solution.

“With Governor Justice’s proclamation, students who qualify and apply for the Promise scholarship by September 1 will receive an award of up to $5,500 for the 2024-2025 academic year,” Tucker said. “If a student completed last year’s FAFSA and qualifies for our need based higher education grant, they will receive the award of up to $3,400 for the fall semester.”

Tucker and Justice both implored students and parents to call the commission’s hotline at 1-877-987-7664 and to keep working on completing their FAFSAs.

According to Tucker, students who do not have a FAFSA on file can also qualify for Higher Education grants by presenting their eligibility letter for Department of Human Services programs such as SNAP, Medicaid or WIC to their higher education institution’s financial aid office.

Justice indicated West Virginia is leading the country by declaring a state of emergency to try and resolve FAFSA-related issues.

“We’ve got to still get you through this FAFSA requirement for you to get fed dollars,” he said. “But to get you state dollars, this state of emergency absolutely, we ought to be able to move forward.”

WVU Students, Community Members March In Support Of Palestine

Student protests in support of Palestine have emerged on college campuses across the country in the past few weeks Students at West Virginia University joined their voices to the movement.

Student protests in support of Palestine have emerged on college campuses across the country in the past few weeks Students at West Virginia University added their voices to the movement.

Protesters congregated in front of the Mountainlair, WVU’s student union Sunday evening. The group of about 75 people was made up of students as well as community members, many of whom had their young children in tow.

Gabe Jones is a senior at the university, and he hoped the demonstration shows WVU their determination.

“I would hope that just us being here helps to show WVU how many people here support a free Palestine, and how many people would support us divesting from supporting Israel,” he said.

Divestment from Israeli interests has been a consistent demand at protests on college campuses since encampments were established at Columbia University April 17.

Jones and others at Sunday’s action mentioned the sale of Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Sabra hummus as potential targets of divestment for the university.

“There are active ties here between WVU and both universities and companies that do support the current occupation,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of ways that the university is actively supporting and funding, in part this genocide and everyone here supports the idea that that should actively stop.”

South Africa accused Israel of committing a genocide in the United Nations International Court of Justice, claims which are currently being adjudicated.

Nada Mikky is the secretary of the Muslim Student Association at WVU and helped the group organize the protest. She said the demonstrators hope to show solidarity with Palestinians, as well as with students on other campuses. Locally, Mikky says the action hopes to push three goals on campus.

“First is for WVU to divest from any sending money to Israel, or anything that is supporting genocide,” she said. “Second is for the university to hopefully call for a ceasefire. And third is for them to at least be aware of what’s happening and hear our voices.”

Mikky said the turnout was a surprise given the short notice, as well as WVU entering its finals week. She also noted broad-based support from other religious groups.

“We did not expect this turnout, and gladly people, not even only from the MSA but also the Christian community, the Jewish community,” she said. “People that are from other communities, I think from the Jewish, they brought snacks and water for the protesters.”

Omar Ibraheem, president of the Muslim Student Association at WVU, said it is frustrating to know Israeli citizens can go to college for free.

“A lot of universities are actually investing in a foreign country, in a foreign military, and that money could be used to aid students,” he said. “Most students are in debt and all people in Israel get access to free education and free health care, whereas Americans don’t even have that.”

Ibraheem also expressed concern about First Amendment violations stemming from protests on other campuses.

“We’re watching students across campuses getting their First Amendment rights, something that is so embedded in America, we’re watching that getting stripped away,” he said. “Students are being arrested, suspended for their access of free speech on designated areas for free speech and protests.”

The group marched down to the Monongalia County Courthouse in downtown Morgantown and back to campus peacefully. A presence from the Morgantown Police Department served primarily to block intersections and ensure safe crossings for the march.

Students vow to take more action in the coming days.