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Group Demands W.Va. Governor, Education Leaders Start School Virtually This Fall

A coalition of teachers and public school advocates are asking for West Virginia schools to start remotely for the first 14 days with in-person instruction beginning only after 14 consecutive days of no new coronavirus cases in the state.

The Our Students First Coalition also wants state officials to allow students to return to in-person learning – on a county-by-county basis – if cases drop to zero in certain areas.

The group held a demonstration and press conference outside the West Virginia Education building in Charleston Wednesday to advocate for remote learning at the start of the 2020 school year.

“We hear over and over, [students] are safest in the school, but I disagree,” said Jenny Anderson, co-head of the Our Students First Coalition, as their protest was broadcast over Facebook Live. “They’re not safest in the school now. They could be. But not now.”

About a dozen members of the group stood together on the Capitol lawn, six feet apart, wearing masks and holding poster boards that represented desks in a classroom – giving a visual example of what classrooms might look like if the school year begins in person, as planned.

“There are going to be teachers that get sick and other school staff,” Anderson said. “It’s not fair to put the burden on the people that are not making the decisions.”

The coalition has more than 5,000 followers made up of members from the WV United Caucus, the Families Leading Change West Virginia group and others, according to Anderson. The group is also partnered with several groups, including local chapters of the American Federation of Teachers and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

Jay O’Neal also leads the coalition alongside Anderson. He is an educator in Kanawha County and pointed to safety concerns including ventilation. He said many schools in West Virginia are too old and not ready to accommodate in-person schooling without first updating ventilation systems.

“I teach at Westside Middle School. I teach in a building that’s 80 years old, [and] a lot of the windows don’t open,” O’Neal said. “The air conditioning just recycles air from the classroom. It doesn’t pull in any outside air … so we’re concerned.”

Other speakers chimed in, pleading for the state’s leaders to take more time to not only better equip classrooms and school buildings but also perfect remote learning in a state where broadband is not always reliable.

O’Neal said the coalition submitted more than 1,700 letters about these issues to Gov. Jim Justice and state education leaders who so far advocate for a hybrid of in-person and remote learning this fall.

The governor and state leaders, however, have said that should school need to go totally virtual this fall, they are prepared to accept that scenario.

“We absolutely will do everything in our power to not put our kids and our teachers or our service personnel into any situation that we feel is unsafe,” said Justice on Monday. “We may very well back up and say we can’t go to school now, [and] we’ve got to go 100 percent virtual … I’m telling you, this situation changes, not weekly or monthly; this situation changes almost hourly.”

Other demands by the Our Students First Coalition include training for parents and educators in virtual schooling, waiving the 180-instructional-days requirement for the 2020/2021 school year, and providing regular, free and widespread coronavirus testing for staff and students.

West Virginia’s public schools are slated to begin in-person instruction, with virtual options, as ordered by the governor, on Sept. 8.

Salango Endorsed By WV-AFT, Calls On Justice To Outline Plans For Federal Dollars In Public Schools

West Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Ben Salango, a Democrat, joined members of the state’s American Federation of Teachers and AFL-CIO chapters Monday to call on Gov. Jim Justice to outline how he intends to use federal money to help public schools open safely this fall.

Justice has made it clear he wants West Virginia’s public schools to reopen on Sept. 8 for 180 instructional days, and if possible, to be open, in full, to in-person learning. The West Virginia Department of Education has provided each of West Virginia’s 55 counties with a toolkit on recommendations for reopening and health guidelines.

On Monday, gubernatorial candidate Salango urged Justice to clarify how federal dollars will be used for schools at a press conference hosted by the West Virginia chapter of the AFT.

“If we don’t take proper steps now and plan, our schools are going to be a breeding ground for COVID-19,” Salango said. “We’ve got to make sure that we are protecting our children.”

Salango said he’s supportive of in-person school in the fall. He pointed to ways federal dollars could be used to pay for things like temperature scanners, healthcare professionals, revamping schools’ ventilation systems and purchasing sanitation products.

Salango also said $80 million would provide each student in West Virginia with an iPad that has cellular connectivity.

At the press conference, he urged Justice to pull this money from the federal CARES Act.

According to the West Virginia Department of Education, West Virginia received more than $1 billion in CARES Act funds. From that, West Virginia’s elementary and secondary education received $86.6 million in a fund called the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSERF), earmarked to address the needs brought on by COVID-19.

Ninety percent of this appropriation is directly distributed to school districts in West Virginia to use at their discretion, while the other 10 percent is retained by the Department of Education to address emergency needs.

In Monday’s virtual press briefing with the governor, Justice announced that an additional $94 million in federal monies would be distributed to all of West Virginia’s public schools. But he said this money is separate from the CARES Act funds.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with our CARES Act at all,” Justice said. “[It] has nothing to do with that, but they got $94 million right now to be able to use … with COVID related issues for K-12.”

At the press conference with Salango, both the West Virginia AFT and the AFL-CIO officially endorsed Salango for governor of West Virginia.

Both unions have been critical of Justice’s handling of public education issues in the past.

How Will Public School Look In The Fall? Here’s Perspective From The Eastern Panhandle

Last week, Gov. Jim Justice ordered all public schools in West Virginia open for the 2020-2021 school year beginning Sept. 8. Schools must provide 180 instructional days and must have a five-day school week.

Of course, this could all change depending on how the coronavirus pandemic evolves. But county school boards are starting to prepare for that date and discuss how a return to school in a pandemic would look.

Earlier this week in the Eastern Panhandle, both Jefferson and Berkeley County Schools met for special board meetings to begin outlining fall 2020.

The main message from both was what we know now will likely change before the Sept. 8 start date, and no matter when school begins, it will not be business as usual.

“It is anything but that. It will not look like the school that you left,” said Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Bondy Shay Gibson speaking over Zoom to board members and the public.

“We will have reduced class sizes,” she said. “We will not be having lunches in the cafeteria. We will be holding class in the library. We will be holding class to a limited extent in the gymnasium. We will be utilizing spaces that currently are congregate spaces as classroom spaces in order to socially distance students.”

These are all situations that could occur if school returns to in-person learning, which the governor is hopeful will be achieved by all 55 counties.

Gibson said students age nine or older, and all faculty and staff, will be required to wear face masks throughout the school day. Frequent sanitization and hand washing will be a constant; random visitations to schools will not be allowed, and staff in Jefferson County schools will be provided with a variety of personal protective equipment.

“We will provide gloves, we will provide Tyvek suits, we will provide shoe booties, we will provide the equipment that ensure that our staff are safe, which means that students are safe,” Gibson explained.

Across the border in Berkeley County, much of the same message was sent to board members and the community, but not quite as many details as Jefferson. Berkeley County Superintendent of Schools Patrick Murphy noted in a live Zoom meeting that the county is preparing for the fall but they’re just starting to lay the groundwork.

“I know we want absolute decisions. I know we want answers. I wish I could give you all those answers,” Murphy said. “But I’m fearful that if I give you a specific answer today, tomorrow it will not carry any merit and the environment will have changed.”

Berkeley County Superintendent of Schools Patrick Murphy presents a PowerPoint to county board members and the public detailing the district’s reopening plans for the fall.

Murphy said the goal of Monday’s meeting in Berkeley County was to begin a dialogue with the public about reopening plans. He said he will be providing updates regularly.

“We need to plan. We need to think,” Murphy said. “We need to look at all of the different possibilities and progressions.”

One area discussed during Berkeley County’s meeting was fall sports and how that will look different. Don Dellinger, deputy superintendent of Berkeley County Schools, outlined some of those anticipated changes.

“There are still strict guidelines with sanitizing the equipment, social distancing … so, those are all in place,” Dellinger said. “Screenings and the daily check-ins are all still in place.”

He explained that athletes will be kept to small groups and fall practices have been slated for Aug. 17.

Murphy, the superintendent, noted that everything from sports to class instruction will have to adapt – and how schools respond to needs could change at a moment’s notice as the pandemic changes.

“I think we have to recognize it’s going to look different, and while we have a traditional model of education in our mind … what education will look like is going to be different,” he said. “And we’re going to have to adapt to that as we are adapting to many things in our life.”

Both Berkeley and Jefferson County schools also made it clear in online meetings that virtual school will be an option for any family who feels concerned about sending their child to school in person. And both counties are looking at internet access options for families in areas where broadband might not be as reliable.

“We’ve been working with the West Virginia Department of Education on a deal with Sprint that we are hopeful will come to fruition,” Gibson said. “[This] would allow a full-service unlimited data plan, in-full for the entire school year for any family that is within their coverage area, provided we can purchase the appropriate hotspots for them. That is a technical problem that we are working through, but we are actively pursuing every possible means for getting WiFi access inside the home to families.”

Both counties also noted that virtual school in the fall will look different from what happened in the spring. Virtual school in fall 2020 will, according to Gibson, have regular class meetings, accountabilities in place, testing and tutoring.

It was also acknowledged by both counties that between now and Sept. 8, or even after school begins, school for fall 2020 could end up being entirely virtual depending on the pandemic.

Also, to help limit the spread of the virus, in-person class sizes will be small, and students will likely remain in a pod, or cohort, where teachers can more easily control who those students are interacting with.

The subject of how students will be social-distanced on school buses, however, did not come up in either meeting.

All 55 of West Virginia’s counties will have the flexibility to decide how fall 2020 will look within CDC guidelines and requirements set by the governor, according to the state Board of Education.

The state BOE has provided a re-entry toolkit to each county. It offers guidance as counties complete local plans and provides a framework of requirements and recommendations.

May 14, 1982: Court Decision Brings Sweeping Changes to West Virginia's Public Education System

On May 14, 1982, Judge Arthur Recht handed down a legal ruling that reshaped the course of public education in West Virginia.

The case had started in 1975, when Janet Pauley filed a class-action suit against the Lincoln County school system. She claimed that her children were not receiving a ‘‘thorough and efficient’’ standard of education, as required by the West Virginia Constitution. The state Supreme Court ruled in her favor on appeal, saying that all children have a right to a quality public education regardless of where they live. The justices remanded the case to Circuit Court to determine whether West Virginia’s school system met the standard of a high-quality system. In 1982, Circuit Court Judge Recht ruled that the state’s funding system caused financial inequities from county to county.

The state Department of Education responded with a new master plan, which was never fully implemented. However, the Recht Decision did lead to sweeping changes in public education. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on new facilities and curriculum, and the school aid formula was modified to provide a more equitable distribution of funds to counties.

Lawmakers Outline Hopes for New Education Reform Legislation, Charter Schools Could Resurface

A special session to address education in West Virginia is just around the corner, and lawmakers from the Eastern Panhandle are making plans to reintroduce controversial legislation next month.

Lawmakers spoke with constituents at a Legislative Wrap Up Breakfast this week in Martinsburg. The annual event is hosted by the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce.

Lawmakers listed issues they were glad to see through the legislative process, but some also expressed disappointment in the failure to pass Senate Bill 451 – the controversial comprehensive education reform bill that died in the House of Delegates in February.

Sen. Patricia Rucker, a Republican from Jefferson County, is the Chair of Senate Education. She said education is the key to fixing the problems in West Virginia, like opioid addiction and retaining workforce.

She’s hopeful many of the components that were in Senate Bill 451 will make it into a new bill during the special session, and she expects to look at all aspects of education.

“The special session call was broad enough that we can discuss anything in education, from K-12 all the way to higher education,” she said. “And I believe that there will be some discussions involving everything.”

Rucker said she and legislative leaders aim to increase local control, give teachers a pay increase, provide more social and emotional supports in public schools, and to implement charter schools. She says charter schools will make West Virginia more competitive with surrounding states.

Lawmakers stated during the breakfast that the special session would likely take place sometime in May.

Education Forum Results Being Prepared for Special Session

Public roundtable forums on education in West Virginia are complete and now state officials will examine the information to offer for a special legislative session to address school issues.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that the state Board of Education heard briefs during its monthly meeting Wednesday from state Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine and Stacie Smith, a state-hired meditator with the Massachusetts-based Consensus Building Institute.

The department says more than 1,600 people attended the roundtables in eight counties. Department staff will go through the discussions and survey data to give lawmakers information for the special session, which Gov. Jim Justice called to address teacher pay raises and other topics.

Paine says the biggest agreement was the need for increased resources to help students’ social, emotional and mental health.