The state’s two teacher unions, the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA) and the American Federation of Teachers West Virginia (AFT-WV) are holding a series of public focus groups around the state.
The organizations’ leaders—Dale Lee from WVEA and Fred Albert from AFT—acknowledge that the poor outcomes among West Virginia school students are unacceptable, and that improvement will not come by maintaining the status quo.
These are listening and brainstorming sessions where teachers, students, parents, and members of the community are invited to have candid discussions about the challenges facing public education. The teacher organizations plan to present the findings to the Governor, legislators, and the state Board of Education with suggestions for ways to improve.
I attended the first one in Morgantown earlier this week to listen and learn. Here is what I heard:
Teachers say respect for the profession, and for them as individuals, has plummeted. More students are disruptive without consequences. An increasing number of parents and some administrators will not back the teachers when there is conflict.
One teacher told the story of contacting a parent about their unruly child who was falling behind in their lessons. The parent said that was the teacher’s problem… it was the teacher’s job to discipline the child and make sure they learned.
Teachers nodded in agreement at the Tuesday night session in Morgantown when the subject of social promotion came up. All agreed that students automatically advance from first grade through middle school even if they have not achieved grade-level performance.
This creates a particular problem when a child does not read at grade level. The teachers agreed that if students are falling behind in reading by the third grade, it will impact their ability to learn all the way through high school.
One teacher suggested schools hire more aides or tutors who can provide more individualized instruction in the early grades to students who are struggling.
Teachers said their roles have expanded dramatically in recent years. They are responsible not only for making sure their students learn, but also with the children’s social well-being and mental health and making sure the children have enough to eat when they are not in school.
As a result, they are exhausted. Experienced teachers get burned out and look for other jobs. Young teachers are overwhelmed and make an early exit. Those factors, along with a decline in the number of individuals entering the profession, all contribute to growing staff shortages.
Teachers often complain that no one outside of education understands the challenges they face each day. Unfortunately, the first two focus groups were not well attended. These forums are a perfect opportunity to gather information about the myriad challenges in our public schools.
The remaining sessions are: December 5th at Mary C. Snow Elementary School in Charleston; December 8th at Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley; December 13th at the Martinsburg Holiday Inn; and an online session December 15th. Register here.
There is more information on the upcoming sessions here and here.