Tag: Remediation

W.Va. Schools Tackle Summer Learning With Fun, Innovation To Get Kids Back On Track

In this installment of our summer education radio series, “Closing the COVID Gap,” we look at summer school remediation efforts in the state.

In the fall of 2020, one-third of K-12 children in West Virginia failed at least one core subject, according to the West Virginia Department of Education. Officials said this was due to the inconsistencies in learning models and stress from the pandemic.

In an effort to help students get back on track, the WVDE launched the Summer SOLE grant program. SOLE stands for Student Opportunities for Learning and Engagement. It was funded by the second round of federal CARES money to schools.

“Summer SOLE is designed to bring children back to school, and teachers as well, without the pressure of grades and assignments,” said Melanie Purkey, senior officer for the Office of Federal Programs and Support at the WVDE.

Purkey said counties had the flexibility to come up with programs that fit their county’s needs.

“Students are going to get to experience field trips. They’re going to get to do nature walks, some [schools] have outdoor classrooms,” Purkey said. “They’re going to give [students] a lot of academics but social-emotional support as well, and provide experiences for students who weren’t able to have this over this past year because of COVID.”

Every county in West Virginia, except for Boone, applied for the money. In a report from Coal Valley News, officials from Boone County Schools said they already had enough funds available for a robust summer program, so they chose not to apply for the SOLE grant.

The SOLE program offered more than $32 million to districts, divided up based on population. For example, Kanawha County Schools received about $3 million from SOLE, while Wayne County Schools received a little more than $800,000.

“It’s really important to make this a fun thing for the kids, because so many of them have been out of touch with their friends and classmates for the last year,” said Kanawha County Superintendent of Schools Tom Williams. “So, [this summer has] been a good opportunity for kids to come together and have some fun and learn.”

There were unique ways that some counties tackled summer remediation. Elementary-aged students in Wayne County visited a nearby farm to pick herbs, feed chickens and learn about mindfulness.

In southern West Virginia, students in Mercer County experienced a mobile program meant to bring education closer to students. “Classrooms on Wheels” brought themed school buses to neighborhoods, which included a technology bus and a STEM bus.

In the Eastern Panhandle, students in Jefferson County had themed weeks focused on things like space, planets and simple machines — all with the overarching goal of ensuring kids felt safe being inside school buildings again.

“Creating those warm, rich, loving experiences with children that then open them up to learning,” said Lee Ebersole, Jefferson County’s Director of Social and Emotional Support. “That’s what we’re trying to do here.”

State education officials agree, they wouldn’t be able to provide the level of high quality programs this summer without the help of Summer SOLE and other federal dollars.

On top of that, the state has years to work with some of the funds, such as the American Rescue Plan, to pinpoint the greatest needs in West Virginia.

“We have three years to develop strategies and work with children and monitor their progress and improve what they are doing to help them regain that ground,” said Purkey. “I’m hopeful that at the end of that three years, [students] will have regained and surpassed where they were before.”

This episode of “Closing the COVID Gap” originally aired in West Virginia Morning on July 21, 2021.

Student Rescue Act Aims To Help W.Va. Pupils Whose Grades Plummeted During Pandemic

A bill to help K-12 students in West Virginia catch up on schoolwork following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is moving through the West Virginia House of Delegates.

The House Education Committee advanced HB 3217, or the Student Rescue Act, Tuesday evening.

It would provide kindergarten through 12th graders with concentrated summer courses to make up for instruction time, class credits and grade level specific-skills lost due to the pandemic. The law would also apply to any future pandemic or natural disaster that lasts longer than 21 days.

State and federal funding would pay for the courses, teacher and administrative pay, building upkeep and transportation. However, if there is no interest among parents or students, county school boards would not be mandated to offer the summer courses under the Act.

“Every county right now is not offering some type of summer remediation program that our kids need and deserve, quite frankly,” House Education Minority Chair Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, said. “So, this not only sets forth, even in the current pandemic, but in the future, if there’s some type of natural disaster — I know a lot of times we have flooding throughout the state — that we can offer these to our children to make sure that they’re caught up in school, and that they can keep up with their scholastic efforts.”

Hornbuckle is the bill’s lead sponsor and first mentioned the idea of the Student Rescue Act during a legislative lookahead event in early February.

Del. Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, a school teacher who taught during the pandemic, reflected on the difficulties he saw among his own students as well as others around the state.

“What we’ve seen happen is students’ reading levels have fallen, their math abilities have fallen, and then our high school students, who needed the classes to graduate, many of those were not getting the resources or the encouragement and the supervision they needed,” Thompson said. “This would ensure that they can make up those credits so they can get back to grade-level reading and mathematics.”

The Student Rescue Act passed unanimously out of the House Education Committee and will now be considered in House Finance.

House Education Chair Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, said in committee there is not a fiscal note for the bill at this time, but he said one could be available when it’s considered in the House Finance Committee.

The West Virginia Department of Education reported that in fall 2020, one-third of K-12 students in West Virginia failed at least one core subject due to the inconsistencies in learning models as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Grant Spending Approved for Old West Virginia Mine Sites

West Virginia conservation officials say several remediation projects at or adjacent to old mine sites have received approvals to start spending federal grants.

According to the Department of Environmental Protection, Congress authorized the money to accelerate cleanups at sites in historic coal regions with potential to boost local economies, projects that were subsequently approved by the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

They include $12 million for the Sullivan Industrial Park Project in Beckley, $4 million for the I-79 Technology Park Mine Reclamation and Economic Expansion Project in Fairmont, $3.6 million for the Aquaponics on AML Project in Kermit and $4.1 million for the Highland Mountain Waterline Extension Project and Crickmer Road Waterline Extension project in Fayette County.

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