Education News Story Archives - Page 3 of 24 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va.’s Charter School Board Names First Executive Director

The West Virginia Professional Charter School Board on Tuesday named James Paul as its first, full-time executive director. Paul is expected to start his role on June 1 and said he plans to reside in the Eastern Panhandle.

The West Virginia Professional Charter School Board on Tuesday named James Paul as its first, full-time executive director.

Paul is expected to start his role on June 1 and said he plans to reside in the Eastern Panhandle.

“We are excited to have James lead our charter school network forward as it grows and matures here in West Virginia,” said Adam Kissel, chairman of the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board. “James brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to the role and has access to a vast national network of expertise to bring the top best practices to the Mountain State.”

A news release from the board did not specify where Paul will be moving from, but he’s expected to have completed a Ph.D. in education policy at the University of Arkansas before he begins his new role in West Virginia next month.

Paul has worked with various education reform and policy organizations, including the Education Freedom Institute, the Foundation for Excellence in Education and the Commonwealth Foundation.

“I am delighted to help West Virginia serve its students,” Paul said. “Each child is unique and deserves the education that best serves that child.”

West Virginia is expected to have five public charter schools in operation this fall. Three brick-and-mortar schools in Morgantown, Nitro, and Kearneysville, and two statewide virtual schools.

According to the board, more than 500 students have already enrolled in the state’s charter schools with an estimated total enrollment of 1,500 students.

West Virginia State University Appoints New Vice President

West Virginia State University (WVSU) has appointed Eric Jackson as its vice president and chief of staff. The announcement was made Thursday.

“Eric has been an integral part of my administration during my interim presidency, and his vision and leadership have been key to many of the successes we have already achieved,” said WVSU President Ericke Cage. “He will play a vital role as we continue the work of moving WVSU forward in the weeks and months ahead.”

Jackson has been with WVSU since 2007. He has served as director of Title III Programs and Budget Office, and since last fall, he has been the university’s interim chief of staff.

Jackson also chairs the university’s COVID-19 Task Force.

In his new role as vice president, Jackson will serve as liaison to the WVSU Board of Governors and to the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. He will be in charge of staff within WVSU’s president’s office and handle policy matters.

Jackson has a bachelor’s degree in English from WVSU and master’s degrees in public administration and business administration from Strayer University.

Jackson will begin his new role at West Virginia State starting on July 1.

Report: W.Va. Ranks 49th In Country For Teacher Salaries

The largest teacher union in the nation released its annual report Tuesday on educator pay. The data ranks West Virginia as 49th in the country.

The National Education Association’s 2022 review of teacher salaries in the United States shows that the average teacher salary in West Virginia is about $50,200 a year. Nationally, the average salary is about $65,200.

The report details that the “minimum living wage” for West Virginia educators is around $50,400 – about a $200 difference from the average annual salary.

Minimum living wage is defined by NEA as “income needed for a family of one adult and one child to have a modest but adequate standard of living in the most affordable metro area.” This data is based on 2020 dollars and was provided by the Economic Policy Institute.

For new teachers in West Virginia, the average starting salary is $37,900, which puts West Virginia 40th in the nation, according to the data.

In contrast, the NEA’s data ranks West Virginia 25th in the nation for student spending. West Virginia spends about $13,000 per year, per student.

From a higher education standpoint, NEA’s data show that West Virginia ranks 48th in the nation for faculty salaries, which averages about $75,500 a year in the state. Nationally, it’s closer to $91,900.

The report details the average salary for public school teachers nationally increased last year by nearly 2 percent.

However, when adjusted for inflation, salaries have declined by almost 4 percent over the past decade.

W.Va. Higher Ed Chancellor Asks Legislature To Back Millions In Maintenance Needs

West Virginia’s higher education institutions are in need of some major maintenance repairs, according to West Virginia Higher Education Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker. It’s been almost a decade since they received deferred maintenance funding.

Tucker gave a presentation last weekend about deferred maintenance to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability – known as LOCEA.

“We have significant deferred maintenance on all of our college campuses [and] community colleges. There are a lot of reasons that has happened, but that deferred maintenance has continued and has grown.”

Tucker explained to lawmakers that the state’s colleges and universities have a lack of capital funding to use, and much of the maintenance they do get is paid for through tuition and fees.

“Our institutions have been hesitant to increase tuition and fees,” Tucker said. “Because a lot of them feel like they’ve sort of maxed out where they are, and they don’t want to have this fall on the backs of students. Our facilities personnel have been really creative and have tried really hard to do the best with what they have, and to make the changes that they need to make – but the funds just aren’t always available.”

Every year, state agencies are required to give a budget presentation to the West Virginia Legislature. Within those presentations, state organizations may request more funding to meet specific needs, and sometimes those requests are required by law.

If the state is experiencing any sort of budget shortfall, the legislature may be unable to provide additional funding to state agencies. This year, however, West Virginia is experiencing a surplus.

“How we fund capital projects in higher ed [is through] dedicated legislative appropriations,” she said. “So every year, when I do my budget presentation, I’m required by state code to come to you and ask you to give us money for capital projects for deferred maintenance. The last time that was funded was in 2013.”

Tucker described for lawmakers how several HVAC systems need to be replaced, windows need repairs, and bathrooms and accessibility entrances are out of compliance.

She is asking the legislature for $22.5 million for community colleges and more than $350 million for the state’s baccalaureate institutions in deferred maintenance costs.

Higher education in West Virginia, unlike K-12, does not have a school building authority to help offset these types of costs.

All 5 W.Va. Public Charter Schools On Track To Open In Fall 2022

All five of West Virginia’s public charter schools are on track to open in fall 2022, despite a location issue for one of the brick-and-mortar schools. Nitro Preparatory Academy, one of the state’s three physical charter schools, hit a snag recently and is searching for a new building in Kanawha County.

All five of West Virginia’s public charter schools are on track to open in fall 2022, despite a location issue for one of the brick-and-mortar schools.

Nitro Preparatory Academy, one of the state’s three physical charter schools, hit a snag recently and is searching for a new building in Kanawha County.

“Our plans to locate Nitro Preparatory Academy at 302 21st Street [in Nitro] have changed due to a zoning challenge pertaining to the number of parking spaces available on-site,” Courtney Harritt, spokesperson for ACCEL Schools, said in an email. “At this time we are reviewing alternative locations in Nitro and throughout Kanawha County.”

Harritt said they hope to have a new building secured by mid-May.

ACCEL Schools is the education service provider for three of West Virginia’s five charter schools: Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy in Kearneysville, Nitro Prep and Virtual Preparatory Academy of West Virginia.

Harritt said interest has been strong at both Virtual Prep and Eastern Panhandle Prep with more than 100 applications at each school. Both schools will offer grades K-10.

Virtual Prep, along with another virtual school, West Virginia Virtual Academy, are the state’s two virtual charters.

West Virginia Virtual Academy will offer grades K-12, and its education service provider is a company called Stride.

Another brick-and-mortar charter school, West Virginia Academy, will be located in Morgantown and offer K-9. Its founder, John Treu, said in an email that the school will open in August.

“Our opening day is in early August because we have a modified term schedule with longer breaks between terms than traditional public schools,” Treu said. “We’ve hired most of our faculty and staff and over 400 students have applied and been admitted.”

Treu said the school has reached about 80 percent of total capacity with a couple grades nearly full. He said the majority of students are coming from Monongalia and Preston counties, with a few students enrolled from Marion County.

In related news, the West Virginia Professional Charter School Board met Friday. Prior to the meeting, Chairman Adam Kissel told West Virginia Public Broadcasting in an email that the board would have an “executive director discussion.”

However, this issue wasn’t brought up in the meeting. The board entered executive session for a “personnel matter” and then promptly adjourned.

The board has been searching for an executive director for some time. In October, the board had received at least six applications.

New Program To Retain More Teachers In W.Va. On Track To Launch This Fall

“Grow Your Own” is designed to provide innovative, low-cost pathways for high school students to enter the teaching profession. Students looking to become teachers can begin their teaching journey early by earning credits and eventually classroom teaching experience before they graduate high school.

A new program on track to launch in fall 2022 could mitigate the growing teacher shortage in West Virginia.

“We believe that this will make a difference,” said Carla Warren, director of Educator Development and Support Services in the West Virginia Department of Education’s office of Teaching and Learning. “We believe that this can move the needle on the teacher shortage.”

Warren reported to the board of education in the fall that the state has at least 1,000 teacher vacancies in K-12 education.

At the West Virginia Board of Education’s monthly meeting Wednesday, members received an update on the state’s new “Grow Your Own” teaching pathway initiative.

The program was first announced in February with the launch of a newly revised website called teachwv.com.

“Grow Your Own” is designed to provide innovative, low-cost pathways for high school students to enter the teaching profession.

Students looking to become teachers can begin their teaching journey early by earning credits and eventually classroom teaching experience before they graduate high school.

The program has grown to include 28 counties that will pilot the pathway this fall. Twelve higher education institutions have also signed on to provide credits.

“Starting this fall, we are piloting two core education courses: introduction to education and introduction to child development,” Warren said to board members. “This will be delivered in a dual credit format from the institution with the partnering county.”

Warren said in the second year of the pilot, two more core education courses will be rolled out: introduction to educational psychology and a course focused on social-emotional, mental wellbeing.

“The exciting thing about this model is that there are parameters that the board of education and the department of education have set, so all the counties are working within those parameters,” Warren said. “But then we’re also providing some flexibility and funding relief.”

Warren said seniors who need to take the Praxis Core test can have their fees paid for by the state, or they can receive an exemption if they score high enough on their SAT.

She also told the state board her dream is to see the program pay for a student’s college education if they would commit to staying in West Virginia as a teacher.