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Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsLast month West Virginia Board of Education members learned the state has not received state-required assessments from many homeschooling families. Barely a third of the state’s homeschooled 11th graders submitted the paperwork last year. Assessments are required in 3rd, 5th, 8th and 11th grades.
At the board’s October meeting held Wednesday, board member Debra Sullivan called on the board and the state Department of Education (WVDE) to reevaluate the requirements in state policy regarding homeschool students.
Sullivan cited recent news stories involving the abuse of homeschooled children, as well as those low assessment numbers in her statement.
“These are our West Virginia children, so I would ask that we have a deep dive into what’s going on with them,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking when you hear news stories as recently as today about ways in which children are not being kept in safe environments.”
It is estimated there are around 24,000 students being homeschooled in West Virginia. Sullivan was joined in her call for a review by fellow board member Robert Dunlevy.
“That’s something we really should look into,” he said. “I know from a couple children in the area that are in homeschooling, and I’ve talked about this several times, they’re not being tested at all, and these children are out running around. They’re not being educated, and I think it’s our responsibility to see we can do something about that.”
The board also approved a statewide waiver of Policy 6204 which sets the requirements for county boards of education to close or consolidate schools. The waiver will allow counties to complete the required procedures for closing a school on or before Feb. 28 of the calendar year in which the closures or consolidations are to be effective. The deadline to complete the procedures was previously set at Dec. 31 of the year prior to the effective closure.
The application for the waiver from Greenbrier County Schools states the additional time is needed due to “decreases and uncertainties in student enrolment, personnel shortages, and limited school finances” but that counties are still otherwise required to complete the procedures laid out in the policy.
Sullivan called school closures “the most heartbreaking things” the board has to deal with. She cited analysis from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy that shows 53 of the state’s 55 counties experienced enrollment loss between the 2022-23 and the 2023-24 school years.
“Of course, that affects state funding,” Sullivan said. “And in eight of those counties, in eight of the 53, the number of students not already receiving Hope Scholarships exceeded the enrollment decline. Meaning that if we didn’t have this voucher program, the county would not be having a negative enrollment. I thought that was fascinating.“
She went on to cite the analysis’ finding that 52 percent of enrollment decline across the state was attributable to the Hope Scholarship, and concluded by asking what the WVDE and the board are doing to help “stop the bleed.”
The board also approved the 2024 District Approval Status and Accreditation Report. The report provides a review of each district’s operational efficiency (e.g., Finance, Facilities, Special Education), as well as its performance on the West Virginia Balanced Scorecard Indicators of Academic Performance and Student Success (e.g., English language arts [ELA] and Mathematics Achievement and Progress, Attendance, Behavior).
“Indicators that do not meet the standard for one year, are designated on watch,” explained Alexandra Criner, director of the WVDE Office of Accountability. “If any indicator does not meet the standard and does not improve for two consecutive years, it is reported as support. If an indicator does not meet standard and does not make improvement for three consecutive years, the county is designated intensive support for that indicator, additional intervention or possible non approval status is possible based on county willingness and capacity to implement improvements and to make changes to support students.”
For attendance, 91 percent of districts designated as “on watch” in 2023 showed a reduction in chronic absenteeism. Additionally, 100 percent of districts that were designated as “support” showed a reduction in chronic absenteeism.
For English language arts (ELA), 100 percent of counties designated as “on watch” for ELA Achievement last year made gains. No counties were designated in the more intensive categories for ELA Achievement or ELA Progress.
For math, 65 percent of districts designated as “on watch” for math achievement in 2023 made increases. Also, 33 percent of districts identified as “on watch” improved in Math Progress.
Gov. Jim Justice and First Lady Cathy Justice were also in attendance to provide the board with an update on the Communities In Schools (CIS) program in West Virginia.
“The program is thriving,” Cathy said. “It’s going well, and the people are so proud of it and want it to continue.”
CIS has expanded to all 55 counties, reaching 117,000 students through the work of 298 site coordinators in 285 schools. As a result, 99 percent of students served have stayed in school with a significant number of them showing improved behavior, academic performance and attendance.
“Really, when we get right down to the nitty gritty, is there a program that we have in education anywhere that works any better than this?” the governor said. “We should be really proud, really, really proud, because what you’re doing is not only are you impacting and changing a child’s life and you are, but often times that child is a deterrent to lots of other children in the school and and so all of a sudden, what you’ve done now is you really, really changed all kinds of lives.”
Vulnerable student populations often need assistance extending beyond what schools or any single organization can provide. The site coordinators bring together local resources to meet the unique needs of the child and reinforce support through consistent and sustained engagement. This allows the child and family to focus on school success.