BECKLEY, W.Va. — Parents, educators, school board members and concerned citizens took part Thursday in the West Virginia Department of Education’s fourth forum regarding possible education initiatives ahead of the upcoming special legislative session.
Forums are taking place statewide to provide lawmakers a better understanding of education’s most pressing issues.
Sen. Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, has attended three of the four forums, including Thursday’s event at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley. He said the concern of many of the participants is mental health services for students, particularly those being impacted by the region’s drug epidemic.
“They say, ‘We need mental health professionals. We need people who are specifically trained, equipped, and tasked with providing mental health services to on a daily basis,'” Baldwin said. “What we see a lot is schools being blamed as the problem. I’ve heard — night after night — the problems come to school.”
Delegate Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, told MetroNews there has to be increased emphasis on addressing the impact of trauma on children affected by the drug crisis.
“If I’ve got a child that’s dealing with parents at home using narcotics, that’s not getting fed, that’s not getting properly taken care of, I can sit with the little boy all day long, I can help him take every test he’s taking,” he said. “He’s still not going to have a good educational experience because he can’t get the horror out of his mind of what happens the other 14, 16 hours of the day that he’s got to deal with at home, outside of the safety of the school.”
Throughout the series of statewide forums, attendees are invited to join discussion groups divided into four categories: funding opportunities, instructional quality, school choice and innovation, and social-emotional support.
The next education reform forum will be held at Blennerhassett Middle School in Parkersburg March 25, beginning at 6 pm.