West Virginia Blue
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Last year, one of the big education stories was teachers going on strike. The West Virginia Teacher Shortage Task Force has returned a series of recommendations. Teacher pay is sure to once again be a topic of consideration for this year's legislature.
With one out of every five teachers in the state's public schools eligible for retirement at the end of the present school year, a special task force has made several recommendations to fill the holes, including increasing teacher pay.
The Teacher Shortage Task Force recently released a list of six short-term and five long-term solutions that educators and lawmakers should pursue to address the looming shortage.
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Topping the list of short-term solutions was increasing teacher salaries, although the task force didn't say by how much. The recommendations were unveiled at the West Virginia Board of Education meeting Dec. 13 and came only a couple of days after a National Education Association report ranked the state 48th in the nation for average teacher pay.
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West Virginia public schools currently employ more than 24,000 teachers, state Superintendent of Education Steven Paine wrote in a recent report. It is projected that 5,404 teachers -- or 22 percent of the positions in the state -- will be eligible for retirement at the end of the present school year.
But just as big of a concern for Van Dempsey, task force member and dean of the school of education at Fairmont State University, is that many young teachers are dropping out of the profession long before they reach retirement age. Nationwide, about half of new teachers leave the profession within five years.
Increasing teacher pay is at the top of the list of recommendations.
Teachers' unions have long pushed for higher salaries for their members, arguing better pay would help in recruiting teachers. Average pay in the state for a starting teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience is just over $29,000, said David Haney, executive director of the West Virginia Education Association.
However, the average starting pay in 27 of the state's 55 counties is $28,587, he said.
The union wants to boost average starting pay up to $35,000, a plan that could cost the state $68 million a year for three years. That would put the state in the middle of the pack for average pay among states, Haney said.
"We're only asking to be average," he said.
The remaining recommendations require far less in the way of additional expenditures.
Other short-term recommendations included:
- expanding certification of elementary school teachers to allow them to teach content at the middle school level;
- expand subject area certification of all teachers by using Praxis II -- tests that teachers take for certification -- as a means of demonstrating competence in a subject area;
- allow retired teachers to return to the classroom when no fully certified teacher is available without losing retirement benefits;
- provide financial incentives to teachers -- student loan forgiveness, tax credits and signing bonuses -- in areas of critical shortage; and
- develop a centralized recruitment and retention center.
The task force developed five long-term recommendations, some of which overlap with the short-term solutions:
- develop a centralized recruitment and retention center;
- continue to improve the working conditions for all teachers;
- develop streamlined alternative routes to certification in collaboration with institutions of higher education;
- provide financial incentives to teachers in areas of critical shortage; and
- develop "content institutes" that prepare currently certified teachers in content areas such as math, science and world languages.
What do you think? Are you concerned about a teacher shortage in West Virginia? Do you think these suggestions will make a difference?
The Associated Press recently reported that West Virginia is lowest in the nation in the percentage of adults with college degrees. This is a serious, if not new, problem but fortunately we can do something about it.
Educational attainment is directly and positively linked to income. People with some college earn on average more than others with none. According to a 2002 Census Bureau report, a college degree is worth $1.3 million more in lifetime earnings than a high school diploma. Since West Virginians have low levels of educational attainment, it's no surprise we earn less.
MARTINSBURG - In the hallways of South Middle School, two short bells rang out, signaling the release of hundreds of students into the corridors and on to their next classes.
Weaving their way between the masses were dozens of legislators from the Joint Standing Committee on Education, which visited the facility Tuesday to get a firsthand look at the growth of Berkeley County Schools and the progress it has made in accommodations.
Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, said the visit was planned to coincide with students' time in the hallways, which offered legislators a true illustration of how nearly 900 students navigate the school, which was constructed in 1954.
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Sen. Jesse Guills, R-Greenbrier, commended the county and its officials for preserving old school buildings, rather than building new ones.
The ongoing construction, however, has been a necessity, as schools see between 4.2-percent and 5-percent growth in student numbers each year, said Superintendent Manny Arvon.
After leading lawmakers on tours of both Martinsburg High School and South Middle, Arvon agreed that the improved buildings were great but said the focus should remain on filling classrooms with highly qualified teachers.
* Phil Kabler summarizes the news that the price of attending college in W.Va. has doubled in the past decade. Receiving the blame: a "unique" state financing system where students bear the burden of capital expenses for building costs. An unstated contributing cause: national economic policy in the Bush-Capito era that de-emphasized national support for higher education funding.
* Sen. Jay Rockefeller has been actively involved with encouraging aircraft maker Sino Swearingen to move more jobs to Martinsburg, W.Va. Unfortunately, as the company struggles to ramp up production, George Hohmann says it has recently laid off more workers. The company reportedly laid off 42 workers in Martinsburg last Thursday. We wish them and their families all the best in landing on their feet.
* If you've been in Putnam County recently, you might wonder what those billboards with the numbers on them are all about. Brad McElhinny has the answer in Totoya tells its story of success by numbers. There's a lot of success for Toyota to crow about in 10 years in West Virginia:
The Buffalo plant has expanded five times since ground was broken in 1996. During the decade since the groundbreaking, Toyota's U.S. market share has almost doubled, from 7.7 to 14.2 percent.
For three straight years, Toyota's Buffalo plant earned "best engine plant productivity" honors for from The Harbour Report North America, which evaluates 29 engine-manufacturing operations.
"West Virginia gets a lot of bad raps on things," Myers said. "Sometimes that's not deserved because the workforce we have in West Virginia is very good. We've been able to show that with the productivity awards we've won here at the plant.
"That's just a direct reflection on the West Virginia worker that if given the opportunity they can do the job and do it well."
U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., helps Shepherd University dedicate a new building. Find out what the building will mean for the university and why the senator wanted to be there.
Looking forward to that story. Anyone attending send us details and photos.
A. Michael Perry, a member of the Marshall University Board of Governors, had a good reason for voting Monday to approve construction of the new Recreation Center at Marshall.
The university, he said, needs to broaden its appeal and attract more students from out of state. Marshall needs up-to-date residential halls and high-quality recreation offerings to do that, he said.
Construction on new residence halls will begin in June, and the recreation center should be under construction in August. The new freshman residence halls will have two-person suites with individual bedrooms and a shared bathroom for each suite, along with the latest technology, including wireless Internet. They will provide a total of 785 beds, a study room, a theater room and a video conference room.
A. Michael Perry, a member of the Marshall University Board of Governors, had a good reason for voting Monday to approve construction of the new Recreation Center at Marshall.
The university, he said, needs to broaden its appeal and attract more students from out of state. Marshall needs up-to-date residential halls and high-quality recreation offerings to do that, he said.
Construction on new residence halls will begin in June, and the recreation center should be under construction in August. The new freshman residence halls will have two-person suites with individual bedrooms and a shared bathroom for each suite, along with the latest technology, including wireless Internet. They will provide a total of 785 beds, a study room, a theater room and a video conference room.
This week saw the murder of 32 innocent people at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. The tragedy is unfathomable. America has too often suffered just such an event. Our collective sympathy is due the parents and friends of the dead and wounded. We must stand in their support as the healing begins.
President Bush expressed his sorrow and offered prayers for the victims. And yet in the midst of our suffering and mourning we cannot lose sight of the continued events in Iraq. The Iraqis suffer a loss equal to or greater than the loss at VPI every single day. How can we turn the American tragedy into a lesson for all the world to see? We suffer today in our country and we tend to overlook the suffering around the world. What can we do as a country to resolve this problem?
I'd like to contrast possum's view from the left with the reactions from leading voices of the right. The left looks at how to make the world a better place in the wake of such a tragedy. The right blames the victims.
Sen. Rockefeller made two education-related announcements this week.
Senator Rockefeller meets with West Virginia Teachers and Leaders of the National Writing Project. From left to right, JoAnn Dadisman of Independence, Karen L. Dillon of Logan, Nathalie Singh-Corcoran of Morgantown, Mary L. Hawkins of Logan, Karen McComas of Barboursville, Michael McComas of Barboursville, Jeanne Wray of Huntington, and Senator Rockefeller.
First, news on the National Writing Project. Below the break, news on America's Better Classroom (ABC) Act for funding of school construction and renovation.
Washington, D.C. -Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today met with West Virginia teachers and leaders of the National Writing Project to discuss efforts to promote strong writing skills in the classroom.
Rockefeller also announced that he has introduced legislation to reauthorize the National Writing Project, a grant program aimed at improving writing skills.
"Writing is one of the most essential elements of communication," said Rockefeller. "Words have the power to change the world. In today's day and age, teachers must have the resources and the training they need to help empower their students to develop finely-honed skills."
The National Writing Project Act of 2007 reauthorizes the use of grants from the Department of Education to provide training for teaching writing in all subject areas. Experienced teachers will continue to share and develop the latest and most successful instructional techniques and then lead similar local workshops and training sessions for their colleagues.
Last year, over 3000 West Virginia teachers participated in the National Writing Project. There are three Writing Projects Sites in West Virginia: the Central West Virginia Writing Project at the Marshall University Graduate College in South Charleston, the Marshall University Writing Project in Huntington, and the National Writing Project at West Virginia University in Morgantown.
A poll conducted by Belden Russonello & Stewart announced yesterday that Americans overwhelmingly want writing taught throughout school curriculum. Research shows that students taught by National Writing Project teachers demonstrate more improvement and higher overall writing performance than their peers.
I don't like to criticize you, but how in the world is this a good idea?
GOVERNOR CONTINUES COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
Manchin Appoints First Lady to State Board of Education
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - As a show of his commitment to our children, our teachers and the state education system on which they depend, Gov. Joe Manchin today appointed First Lady Gayle C. Manchin to the West Virginia Board of Education.
"I have spent many hours over the last several days and weeks with our state's teachers," said Gov. Manchin. "While we certainly have discussed compensation issues, we have also discussed their concerns about our education system as a whole.
"Therefore, after much thought and consideration, I have decided to appoint Gayle, a former educator herself, to the Board of Education to ensure we are keeping the lines of communication open between my administration and the Department of Education. I sincerely believe everyone involved wants what is best for our children.
"Therefore, it is important we continue to not only communicate but to coordinate our efforts. This appointment will provide the State Board and the Department of Education a direct conduit to my administration."
The First Lady will officially take her position on the board during its regularly scheduled meeting this Wednesday. Mrs. Manchin voluntarily will not receive any compensation for her board duties.
The First Lady said she has been committed to education for most of her life.
"I accept this appointment with a true appreciation and reverence for the important work that lies ahead," she said. "By joining the established members of the Board of Education, the quality staff of the Department of Education and especially Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Paine, we can work hand-in-hand with our state's teachers to better prepare our children to meet the challenges of 21st Century Learning.
"I am honored to serve as one member of this nine-member appointed board, with each member possessing valuable insight and knowledge that should be considered equally as we move together to improve our system of education."
No offense to the first lady of West Virginia, but if Gov. Manchin really wanted to show his commitment to education, he'd pay the teachers enough that the state could retain and attract teachers.
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