WELCH, W.Va. — Public education is the key to success of all children in the Mountain State, according to Christine Campbell, president of the American Federation of Teachers in West Virginia.
“We really need to promote our children’s well-being, support powerful learning and foster collaboration. That’s what pubic education should be about,” Campbell said.
AFT-WV held statewide events at schools Thursday to promote public education. Community members and parents joined with union activists and teachers to stand up for public education and local students. Other schools hosted similar events nationwide.
Governor Jim Justice was at one of those events in McDowell County to talk with students, parents and teachers about the importance of education in the state. In his Inaugural Address Monday, Justice said he had an education plan to cut bureaucracy and to tweak the A-F grading system for West Virginia schools.
“I have seen a very genuine, thoughtful and caring person who wants to make a difference in West Virginia and that public education is the key to that,” Campbell said of Justice.
Campbell was also at the same event at the Phoenix Center in Welch, an area hit hard by teacher cuts.
“We know we have a shortage,” she said. “We have a lot of substitutes filling positions that aren’t certified in the areas that they’re teaching and a lot of turn over because of the rural area and getting people to come there and stay has been really hard.”
Education officials and lawmakers have criticized President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, citing her lack of education experience. DeVos is also a longtime charter schools advocate. Campbell said that’s concerning.
“For someone to be considered to be the Secretary of Education for the country should be required to have some experience and qualifications in order to do that,” she said.
“Charter schools and voucher programs take the public out of public education and create a system of have’s and have nots, which doesn’t meet the needs of all of our children,” Campbell continued.
A lot of the schools in West Virginia are the hub of the community, she said.
“It brings parents together. It brings community members together. It brings the business folks into the area,” she said.
The event focused on community and family support in order to create student success in school. More than a dozen schools in West Virginia hosted education events Thursday.