West Virginia Board of Educaiton Story Archives - Page 3 of 3

W.Va. Superintendent Wants Full Review of Common Core Standards

West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael Martirano announced Thursday the state Department of Education will take on a full review of the state’s Next Generation Content Standards for English and math.

The announcement of the review comes less than a month after the end of the legislative session during which lawmakers took up a bill to repeal the standards, later amending the bill to require a year long review. That legislation failed on the final night of the session.

In 2010, the West Virginia Board of Education adopted Common Core, entering into a consortium with dozens of other states across the country.

After their adoption, 100 West Virginia teachers took the national standards and modified them to become the West Virginia specific Next Generation Content Standards.

The English and math standards were fully implemented in schools across West Virginia at the start of the 2014-2015 school year for all grades.

This month, students will also take the Smarter Balance Assessment for the first time, the standardize test aligned with the standards.

“We recognize that we came through the legislative session with great discussion regarding the standards,” Martirano told members of the West Virginia Board of Education, who will also participate in the review process.

Martirano explained the review will come in two phases. First, the state Department of Education will place the standards online for full access by the public and will travel the state to conduct town hall style meetings, receiving feedback from parents, teachers and local board of education members on the standards themselves.

Second, West Virginia teachers will team with West Virginia University, Marshall University and members of the Southern Regional Education Board to take on an intensive review of the standards to ensure they are college and career ready.

This process is similar to what would have been required had the Senate amended version of the repeal passed this session.

Board President Gayle Manchin said Thursday the review process is not just about ensuring the rigor of the standards, but also to ensure parents understand the standards and the key role they play in the state’s education system.

Superintendent Martirano will report back to the state Board monthly on the progress of the review. Updates will also be provided to lawmakers during the process.

House Passes Bills on EPA, Highways, & Board of Education

Friday in the House, three bills were up for passage. First was House Bill 2004, which would require a procedure for the development of a state plan in regard to the Clean Air Act.

Currently the Environmental Protection Agency requires a 20% decrease in carbon-emissions by the year 2030 for the whole country.

Delegate John Shott, chairman of the House Judiciary committee, explained that in the EPA’s proposed rule, it requires a state to follow a set of four building blocks to reach this goal, however, he said the building blocks don’t add for much wiggle room for West Virginia.

“It requires limiting and reducing energy used by West Virginia residents and citizens. Let me say that again, it requires limiting and reducing energy used by West Virginia residents and citizens,” Shott noted, “This is greater than just a coal debate. This is a debate about the Federal EPA telling citizens how much energy they can use in their own homes.”

Shott says this bill would help aid in some pushback toward the EPA and give the state a little more control. It would require the Department of Environmental Protection to submit a report to the Legislature determining whether a state plan from the EPA is feasible. This in turn would allow for development of a proposed state plan to be reviewed and considered by the Legislature before submission to the EPA.

“In sum,” Shott said, “the proposed EPA rule is an improper intrusion upon the people of this state. We as the Legislature are the people’s eyes and ears and directly accountable them for the laws and policies of our state. In passing this bill we are properly exercising our role as a legislature and ensuring that the energy policies of this state are given appropriate review and consideration and not forced upon us by the EPA.”

House Bill 2004 passed overwhelmingly 93 to 3. Delegates Barbara Fleischauer, Mike Pushkin, and Stephen Skinner voted against.

Next was House Bill 2008, auditing the Division of Highways.

Delegate Eric Nelson, the Chair of House Finance, thinks this bill will help fix up West Virginia roads. The original bill took $500,000 dollars out of the State Road Fund to pay for the audit. That amount has been removed from the bill, and now the legislature will pay for the audit from its accounts.

“The biggest thing we did is we took this out of the Department of Highways,” said Nelson, “as far as the cost of this audit, we all know that we have issues with our, the maintenance of our roads and whatnot and did not feel like that needed to be a burden of the Department of Highways, and instead this will be an expense of the joint committee. A couple of other points, the last independent audit of the Department of Highways was completed in 2005, and before our committee, both Secretary Maddox and the Legislative Auditor both expressed support for the independent audit. I urge passage, Mr. Speaker.”

Delegate Amy Summers of Taylor County stood to support Nelson’s bill.

“We’ve put roads on the back burner for too long,” Summers said, “The audit of the Department of Highways is the initial step to evaluate our needs and develop a plan. Infrastructure can no longer be ignored. I urge support of House Bill 2008.”

Delegate Tim Miley, the Minority Leader, also stood to support the bill, but he inquired about the last independent audit done in 2005. He asked Delegate Nelson if anyone had followed up with the audit to determine whether the recommendations following it were implemented and if it is currently being followed. Nelson said many of the new plans over the last ten years came from that audit in 2005.

House Bill 2008 passed 96 to 0.

The last bill on third reading was House Bill 2151. This bill would make the West Virginia Teacher of the Year an ex officio, nonvoting member of the West Virginia Board of Education. The bill would also require two members of the Board of Education to be parents of children currently in the school system.

This bill also passed but with one rejection vote from Delegate Mike Azinger from Wood County.

Officials Discuss Flu Prevention in West Virginia Schools

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a flu epidemic last week, with West Virginia among the states with widespread activity. Officials met at a Charleston elementary school today to discuss flu prevention now that schools are back in session.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Cabinet Secretary, Karen Bowling and the State Superintendent of Schools, Michael Martirano announced a partnership in education efforts to fight the flu epidemic in West Virginia Schools. The press conference was held at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School.

Superintendent, Martirano says this partnership and the resources it offers are critical to the health of students statewide.

“Everybody needs to take a role in this. We want to make certain that our young people are healthy, happy, and safe. And so, we want to make sure our staff is in that same category, so if individuals are feeling ill, they need to make certain they’re getting the medical treatment necessary. Also, doing the preventative aspects of getting the immunization, but then also trying not to transmit those germs as well by virtue of a lot of hand washing; a lot of preventative aspects, so we want to educate our young people about that, so that we can keep them in school.”

The partnership also asks educators, students, and parents to pledge their support in preventing the spread of the flu. Martirano and Dr. Rahul Gupta the Bureau for Public Health Commissioner and State Health Officer say the pledge explains three vital things: to wash hands frequently, to cover your cough, and to sneeze into your sleeve if you don’t have a tissue on hand.

Gupta also explained by getting your flu vaccination, wiping down frequently touched surfaces with a disinfectant, and staying home when you’re sick, helps to further prevent the spread of the flu.

W.Va. Board OKs Plan for More Flexible School Days

Members of the state Board of Education have approved a pilot program that will give school districts more flexibility in planning their instructional…

Members of the state Board of Education have approved a pilot program that will give school districts more flexibility in planning their instructional days.

The Charleston Gazette reports that all 55 county school districts may apply for the program.

Education officials say those accepted into the pilot program will be able to extend or shorten the instructional period at one or more of their schools.

They’d also be able to also count out-of-class teaching like students receiving instruction online during a snow day toward their instructional minutes.

Schools in the pilot program will still be required to technically have 180 instructional days as required by state law. However, officials say there won’t be a requirement on how long those days are or whether some are held outside the classroom.