WV Gets Bad Report Card

Well I can't say I am surprised. What is equally disheartening is the fact that we rank near the top in the amount of money spent per pupil. We get very little, it seems, for that kind of investment.

There are so many symptoms of a failed education system that time and space limit such a discussion. I can cite to one issue though since it is simple yet symptomatic of the problems in WV. The fact that residents of Pocahontas County are not marching on Charleston to demand more flexibility in the school calendar is shameful. From my own unscientific review, your county students lose, on average, over 20 days of instruction per year due to weather. During a student's high school years, that amounts to almost a half year of instruction lost. You can't teach if the schools are not open. If you talk to parents in your area who send their children to universities upon graduation, more often than not you will hear about students woefully unprepared for the rigors of a college education.

Joe, not disagreeing with you. Where did you get your stats about money spent per student with WV being near the top?

The public primary and secondary education system in this state is operated for the benefit of the employees thereof. As a result of this, we do spend a lot of money, but don’t get value for the dollar. No one manages the education system, or even has the power to do so. It simply drifts along. The laws and regulations governing personnel matters are ridiculously extensive and difficult. It is so immensely difficult to get rid of a teacher who does not teach or a custodian who does not clean that no one even tries. These rules and regulations are passed by a legislature that quakes with the fear that it may do something to anger the teachers unions or the school service personnel association. The teachers unions and the school service personnel control the legislature in matters of education. For instance, here’s the statute that governs how local boards set the school calendar:

§ 18-5-45. School calendar

(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Instructional day” means a day within the instructional term which meets the following criteria:

(A) Instruction is offered to students for at least the minimum amounts of time provided by state board rule;

(B) Instructional time is used for instruction, cocurricular activities and approved extracurricular activities and, pursuant to the provisions of subdivision twelve, subsection (b), section five, article five-a of this chapter, faculty senates; and

(C) Such other criteria as the state board determines appropriate.

(2) “Accrued instructional time” means instructional time accruing during the instructional term from time added to the instructional day beyond the time required by state board rule for an instructional day. Accrued instructional time may be accumulated and used in larger blocks of time during the school year for instructional or noninstructional activities as further defined by the state board.

(3) “Extracurricular activities” are activities under the supervision of the school such as athletics, noninstructional assemblies, social programs, entertainment and other similar activities as further defined by the state board.

(4) “Cocurricular activities” are activities that are closely related to identifiable academic programs or areas of study that serve to complement academic curricula as further defined by the state board.

(b) Findings. --

(1) The primary purpose of the school system is to provide instruction for students.

(2) The school calendar, as defined in this section, is designed to define the school term both for employees and for instruction.

(3) The school calendar traditionally has provided for one hundred eighty actual days of instruction but numerous circumstances have combined to cause the actual number of instructional days to be less than one hundred eighty.

(4) The quality and amount of instruction offered during the instructional term is affected by the extracurricular and cocurricular activities allowed to occur during scheduled instructional time.

(5) Within reasonable guidelines, the school calendar should be designed at least to guarantee that one hundred eighty actual days of instruction are possible.

(c) The county board shall provide a school term for its schools that contains the following:

(1) An employment term for teachers of no less than two hundred days, exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays; and

(2) Within the employment term, an instructional term for students of no less than one hundred eighty separate instructional days, which shall include an icy conditions and emergencies plan designed to guarantee an instructional term for students of no less than one hundred eighty separate instructional days.

(d) The instructional term for students shall include one instructional day in each of the months of October, December, February, April and June which is an instructional support and enhancement day scheduled by the board to include both instructional activities for students and professional activities for teachers to improve student instruction. Instructional support and enhancement days are subject to the following provisions:

(1) Two hours of the instructional support and enhancement day shall be used for instructional activities for students. The instructional activities for students are subject to the following provisions:

(A) The instructional activities for students require the direct supervision or involvement by teachers;

(B) The instructional activities for students shall be limited to two hours;

(C) The instructional activities for students shall be determined and scheduled at the local school level;

(D) The instructional activities for students may include, but are not limited to, both in-school and outside of school activities such as student mentoring, tutoring, counseling, student research and other projects or activities of an instructional nature, community service, career exploration, parent and teacher conferences, visits to the homes of students, college and financial aid workshops and college visits;

(E) To ensure that the students who attend are properly supervised, the instructional activities for students shall be arranged by appointment with the individual school through the principal, a teacher or other professional personnel at the school; and

(F) Each school shall establish a policy relating to the use of the two-hour block scheduled for instructional activities for students;

(2) The instructional support and enhancement day shall include a two-hour block of time for professional activities for teachers during which the faculty senate shall have the opportunity to meet;

(3) All time remaining in the school day after meeting the requirements of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, not including the duty-free lunch period, shall be used for other professional activities for teachers to improve student instruction which may include, but are not limited to, professional staff development, curriculum team meetings, individualized education plan meetings and other meetings between teachers, principals, aides and paraprofessionals to improve student instruction as determined and scheduled at the local school level;

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or policy to the contrary, the presence of any specific number of students in attendance at the school for any specific period of time shall not be required on instructional support and enhancement days and the transportation of students to the school shall not be required;

(5) Instructional support and enhancement days are also a scheduled work day for all service personnel and shall be used for training or other tasks related to their job classification if their normal duties are not required; and

(6) Nothing in this section may be construed to require that the instructional activities for students, faculty senate meetings and other professional activities for teachers be scheduled in any certain order.

(e) The instructional term shall commence on a date selected by the county board and terminate on a date selected by the county board.

(f) Noninstructional days shall total twenty and shall be comprised of the following:

(1) Seven holidays as specified in section two, article five, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(2) Election day as specified in section two, article five, chapter eighteen-a of this code;

(3) Six days to be designated by the county board to be used by the employees outside the school environment; and

(4) Six days to be designated by the county board for any of the following purposes:

(A) Curriculum development;

(B) Preparation for opening and closing school;

(C) Professional development;

(D) Teacher-pupil-parent conferences;

(E) Professional meetings; and

(F) Making up days when instruction was scheduled but not conducted.

(g) Three of the days described in subdivision (4), subsection (f) of this section shall be scheduled prior to the commencement of the instructional term for the purposes of preparing for the opening of school and staff development.

(h) At least one of the days described in subdivision (4), subsection (f) of this section shall be scheduled after the termination of the instructional term for the purpose of preparing for the closing of school.

(i) At least four of the days described in subdivision (3), subsection (f) of this section shall be scheduled after March 1.

(j) At least two of the days described in subdivision (4), subsection (f) of this section will be scheduled for professional development. The professional development conducted on these days will be consistent with the goals established by the state board pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-three-a, article two of this chapter.

(k) Subject to the provisions of subsection (h) of this section, all noninstructional days will be scheduled prior to the termination of the instructional term.

(l) The state board may not schedule the primary statewide assessment program prior to May 15 of the instructional year unless the state board determines that the nature of the test mandates an earlier testing date.

(m) If, on or after March 1, the county board determines that it is not possible to complete one hundred eighty separate days of instruction, the county board shall schedule instruction on any available noninstructional day, regardless of the purpose for which the day originally was scheduled, and the day will be used for instruction, subject to the following:

(1) The noninstructional days scheduled for professional development shall be the last available noninstructional days to be rescheduled as instructional days;

(2) On or after March 1, the county board also may require additional minutes of instruction in the school day to make up for lost instructional days in excess of the days available through rescheduling and, if in its judgment it is reasonable and necessary to improve student performance, to avoid scheduling instruction on noninstructional days previously scheduled for professional development; and

(3) The provisions of this subsection do not apply to:

(1) Holidays; and

(2) Election day.

(n) The following applies to accrued instructional time:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (m) of this section, accrued instructional time may not be used to avoid one hundred eighty separate days of instruction;

(2) Accrued instructional time may not be used to lengthen the time provided in law for faculty senates;

(3) The use of accrued instructional time for extracurricular activities will be limited by the state board;

(4) Accrued instructional time may be used by schools and counties to provide additional time for professional staff development and continuing education as may be needed to improve student performance and meet the requirements of the federal mandates affecting elementary and secondary education. The amount of accrued instructional time used for this purpose may not exceed three instructional days; and

(5) Other requirements or restrictions the state board may provide in the rule required to be promulgated by this section.

(o) The following applies to cocurricular activities:

(1) The state board shall determine what activities may be considered cocurricular;

(2) The state board shall determine the amount of instructional time that may be consumed by cocurricular activities; and

(3) Other requirements or restrictions the state board may provide in the rule required to be promulgated by this section.

(p) The following applies to extracurricular activities:

(1) Except as provided by subdivision (3) of this subsection, extracurricular activities may not be scheduled during instructional time;

(2) The use of accrued instructional time for extracurricular activities will be limited by the state board; and

(3) The state board shall provide for the attendance by students of certain activities sanctioned by the Secondary School Activities Commission when those activities are related to statewide tournaments or playoffs or are programs required for Secondary School Activities Commission approval.

(q) Noninstructional interruptions to the instructional day shall be minimized to allow the classroom teacher to teach.

(r) Nothing in this section prohibits establishing year-round schools in accordance with rules to be established by the state board.

(s) Prior to implementing the school calendar, the county board shall secure approval of its proposed calendar from the state board or, if so designated by the state board, from the state superintendent.

(t) The county board may contract with all or part of the personnel for a longer term.

(u) The minimum instructional term may be decreased by order of the state superintendent in any county declared a federal disaster area and where the event causing the declaration is substantially related to a reduction of instructional days.

(v) Where the employment term overlaps a teacher's or service personnel's participation in a summer institute or institution of higher education for the purpose of advancement or professional growth, the teacher or service personnel may substitute, with the approval of the county superintendent, the participation for up to five of the noninstructional days of the employment term.

(w) The state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this section.

What appears above is the law that county boards have to follow to set up the school year. It is obviously written for school employees so their work time will be kept to the minimum that is possible. This is just one example. There are many, many more.

Local boards of education have almost no real power. All substantive education matters involving are controlled by the legislature or the state department. The state department is staffed by people who no longer want to deal with students. The state board is nominally in control. They are a group of political appointees, appointed on a staggered basis. No doubt the unions get a seat at the table when possible appointees to the state board are considered. Even if a governor wanted to have meaningful reform it would be very difficult to accomplish it through the state board.

We’ve got a real systemic problem in West Virginia and no one really wants to talk about the kind of things that are necessary to bring about change.

For current data in 2012 comparative study, see:

http://www.alec.org/docs/17thReportCard/WestVirginia.pdf

With the ascendancy of the old boys’ network here, removing protections for teachers might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater--that means that the teacher who demands performance regardless of the standing of the parents in the community would have no protection. Balance is required--administrators who do their job of documenting can get a poor teacher to improve or leave. We also have to understand that a teacher might be good for one kind of student and not for another; that a teacher who demands may not be popular and that some students, on the other hand, don't learn well in a demanding environment. It is a mixed bag. Judging ‘good’is not as easy as it seems.
Let us also remember working daily in an environment where a teacher’s professional contributions are denigrated, ridiculed and not valued can quickly eat away at all those high goals with which the young professional might have entered the field. One also has to remember the pay is not high; the best go where the money is because they, too, have a family to support
As to time-on-task of which a good part is number of instructional days, I am stunned at the lackadaisical way school attendance is considered. School calendars elsewhere have some built in snow days that if not taken, are added to regular planned long weekends, etc. But there are always 180 instructional days, even if school has to be open during, egad, hunting season or spring break or extended into June or opened earlier in the year. Learning takes time—you are right.

The above computation by Higher Ground should make us all re think voting for school levies: add to his splendid information the cost of transportation of students and the a high salaries paid to superintendents. Thus in a county as poor as Pocahontas, we wonder how much tax money is left for anything else . I have always opposed privatization of schools but perhaps it is a partial answer to waste,poor scores and poorer state image which we have now.So maybe we should let the Koch Brothers and Alec take over but not allow them to smother the students with their non progressive political nostrums. The use of computer online instruction which they advocate is a step in the right direction if the cost can be contained. I believe also that WV students can do as well s those from other states if given the same amount of instruction. The higher scores of Europeans are a result of more hours and days spent in school .To close, does anyone know which legislators in WV are part of ALEC?

First of all, I have high respect for Egad’s opinions. He writes well and is always measured and lucid. I’m confident he was a wonderful teacher. I likewise have the highest respect for the job that our many dedicated teachers perform. My mother was a teacher, as were two of my uncles. My wife was a teacher. I know about the long hours that many teachers put in. I have an appreciation for the difficulty of the job. It’s very hard to perform the job well. It has to be draining.

But I also know that every teacher doesn’t put in the same effort. There are many teachers who just put in their time. There are many who coast through delivering the minimum that is required. And, as I’ve set out above, the minimum isn’t really much. The trouble in the system is the inability to make the slackers perform or else be rid of them. Another problem is that the good teachers get paid the same as the slackers, which has to be disheartening for the good teachers.

One thing seems absolutely clear. We need to establish a school year that puts kids in the classroom with their teachers for more than thirteen days a month.