A bill to help students pay for community and technical college and another that would allow private and homeschool students to participate in extracurriculars at public schools are on the move in the West Virginia Senate.
The Senate Education Committee on Thursday afternoon considered SB 28, which would create the Tim Tebow Act — so named for the former professional American athlete Tim Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Florida, who was homeschooled.
Senators amended the title, however, after some discussion, to the Open and Equal Opportunities in Student Activities Act.
Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, expressed concern that naming a law after someone who is still alive could result in stigma, should anything negative ever befall the person. Unger used former professional American cyclist Lance Armstrong as an example.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan, agreed.
“It’s much more important, what this bill does or will do, than whom it’s named after,” Trump said. “This is not about any particular person but about the hundreds and thousands of children who will get to benefit by sports participation, band participation in years to follow us.”
The bill would permit students who are homeschooled, attending private school or Hope Scholarship recipients to participate in sports, band, theater and other activities at public schools.
SB 28 passed unanimously in committee and now heads to the full chamber.
Senators also passed SB 335, which allows students seeking a vocational certificate or degree at an accredited community and technical college in the state to be eligible for the PROMISE Scholarship.
Students who qualify for PROMISE at a community and technical college would receive an annual award of up to $4,750 for tuition and fees.
SB 335 passed unanimously out of committee and now heads to the Senate Finance Committee for further consideration.
Generation West Virginia’s local Eastern Panhandle chapter hosted a panel discussion at Shepherd University Thursday night with four young locals who decided to stay in West Virginia to build their careers.
Those four local business owners shared why they made the decision to remain in West Virginia. The biggest driver for all of them was the sense of community. But also, because they found opportunity here in their chosen career path.
One of the speakers, Aneesh Sompalli, graduated from Martinsburg High School in 2006 and went on to study at both West Virginia University and Shepherd. He now manages an urgent care in Jefferson County.
“You have to have some kind of training or apprenticeship, whether that’s the traditional route of school or a vocational school, but there are jobs out there for people,” he said.
Sompali argues the state needs to put more focus on education to further diversify the economy and to keep young people here.
In the statehouse, a bill to make community and technical colleges free or more affordable after meeting certain qualifications has been moving rapidly through the legislative process.
According to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, three in-demand career paths in West Virginia that may only require a degree from a CTC are in healthcare, IT, and manufacturing fields.
In his State of the State Address, Governor Jim Justice made clear his intention to make West Virginia’s community and technical colleges free for in-state students. A bill to accomplish that was introduced shortly after this year’s state Legislative session began.
The main goal of the bill is to cultivate a strong workforce in West Virginia by making education at community and technical colleges more accessible. West Virginia Public Broadcasting took a closer look at CTCs and their focus on workforce training.
We first heard rumblings about a bill to make community and technical colleges free to everyone in West Virginia in December, when Senate President Mitch Carmichael announced he was drafting a proposal with that focus in mind for the 2018 state Legislative session.
And in Governor Jim Justice’s State of State Address, we heard more to that effect.
It was only five days after the governor’s address that a bill to make CTCs free or more affordable was introduced in the state Legislature — Senate Bill 284.
In its current form, Senate Bill 284 would create a grant program of $7 million for tuition and fees at a community and technical college for students to use after all other forms of financial aid have been exhausted. A prospective student would need to be at least 18-years-old with a high school diploma, or equivalent, and agree to remain in the state as a taxpayer for at least two years and fulfill some community service.
Credit John Hale / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Blue Ridge Community and Technical College located in Martinsburg, Berkeley County.
Located here in the Eastern Panhandle – in Martinsburg, Berkeley County – Blue Ridge Community and Technical College is one of nine public CTCs in West Virginia that could feel the effects of Senate Bill 284.
West Virginia’s 9 CTCs Include:
Blue Ridge Community & Technical College
BridgeValley Community & Technical College
Eastern WV Community & Technical College
Mountwest Community & Technical College
New River Community & Technical College
Pierpont Community & Technical College
Southern WV Community & Technical College
West Virginia Northern Community College
West Virginia University at Parkersburg
Leslie See is Vice President of Enrollment Management. She says community and technical colleges fill a role in producing an educated workforce with the skills needed for today’sjobs.
Credit John Hale / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Leslie See, Vice President of Enrollment Management at Blue Ridge CTC.
“The cycle of education, when you look at it historically, is that there was a divide between what skills were needed for labor positions and the baccalaureate degree, so community college really fill that gap now,” See noted, “because the workforce now has automation, it has robotics, it has a new level of technology, even if you don’t stay current with even using a computer, you could get behind very quickly. So, the education a community college provides is giving those technical, tangible skills.”
West Virginia’s CTCs work closely with local employers to help fill demand in each geographic region. In the Eastern Panhandle, Blue Ridge provides training for careers in cyber security, software development, manufacturing and health care.
“Really, we have a little bit of everything, whether it’s short term, whether it’s an associates degree, certification, really, we have over 70 degrees and certificates to choose from,” See said.
According to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, jobs in manufacturing, IT, and health care are all in demand in the state – and to be qualified for those jobs, several only need a degree or certification from a CTC.
Musselman High School senior Alexandria Cox wants to be a nurse. She’s looking to get her associate’s degree from Blue Ridge.
“I’m a big heart, like, I’m a giver, I’m a people-pleaser. I just like seeing people smile and get better,” Cox said.
Cox just turned 18 and would like to eventually take her nursing degree into the military.
Credit John Hale / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Alexandria Cox, Musselman High School Senior. She plans to pursue an Associate’s Degree in Nursing at Blue Ridge CTC.
There are several industry partnerships at Blue Ridge, and the oldest is its nursing program. Cox will get “real-world” training while she studies at Blue Ridge in the form of clinical rotations at Berkeley Medical Center – which is part of WVU Medicine.
Cox says she’s excited about the idea of training at Berkeley Medical Center and notes she has a friend who’s already in the program.
“She goes here, and she does do her clinical trials, and she says she loves it, so it makes me even more excited, because that’s someone who goes here and she does her clinical trials, and she says it’s great, you meet new people, you get insight on what your occupation’s gonna be, what her career’s gonna look forward too,” Cox explained.
At Berkeley and Jefferson Medical Centers, Samantha Richards is the Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Patient Care Services. She oversees the nursing staff and is also in charge of the nurse trainees who come in from Blue Ridge.
Credit John Hale / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Samantha Richards (standing), Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for Patient Care Services, Berkeley and Jefferson Medical Centers chatting with two nurses.
“Being able to have a partnership with Blue Ridge allows us to expand our services and to have nurses who can come into our workforce,” Richards noted, “so when we do new services, for example, opening a NICU or a CATH lab, and so forth, we need additional personnel to do that, and without having Blue Ridge as a technical school to be able to graduate nurses in a two-year program, that allows us to meet the needs of the continued growth and development, which is great for our community.”
Richards says Berkeley and Jefferson Medical Centers don’t differentiate between a bachelor’s degree and an associate’s degree in nursing.
“Starting out as a brand-new nurse, usually starting out, you can make about $37,000 to $42,000 a year, as a nurse,” Richards said, “so for somebody who went to a two-year program, it’s really a nice starting point for a salary.”
Community and technical colleges can provide an affordable first step for many prospective students, and Leslie See at Blue Ridge hopes Senate Bill 284 will help more people see the potential CTCs bring to the table.
“Let community colleges not be a second choice, or a second chance, which they can be a second chance, but also let it be a first consideration,” See said, “because there are so many opportunities at your community college that really, people need to explore.”
Senate Bill 284 passed out of the Senate chamber and is now being considered in the House.
