2007
2008
Annual
Report
West Virginia
Board of Education
West Virginia Board of Education
West Virginia Board of Education
Delores W. Cook
President
Priscilla M. Haden
Vice President
Robert W. Dunlevy
Member
Lowell E. Johnson
Member
Ronald B. Spencer
Secretary
Barbara N. Fish
Member
Burma Hatfield
Member
Gayle C. Manchin
Member
Jenny N. Phillips
Member
board members at work
The objective of education
is to prepare the young
to educate themselves
throughout their lives.
~Robert
16
Maynard Hutchins
mission, vision and goals
mission
vision
The West Virginia Board of
Education establishes policies
and rules to assure
implementation of education
goals and to ensure the general
supervision, oversight and
monitoring of a thorough and
efficient educational system.
All West Virginia students will
exceed national educational
standards and prepare for
higher learning and the world
of work through the programs,
services and offerings of West
Virginia’s thorough, efficient,
safe and nurturing education
system.
strategic goals
1.
All students shall master or
exceed grade level educational
standards that reflect 21st
century skills and learning.
2.
All students shall receive a
seamless pre-kindergarten
through 20 curriculum
designed and delivered with
broad stakeholder
involvement to promote
lifelong learning in a global
society.
3.
All students and school
personnel shall develop and
promote responsibility,
citizenship, strong character and
healthful living.
4.
All students shall be educated in
school systems that operate and
deliver services efficiently and
effectively.
5.
All students shall be educated
by highly qualified personnel.
1
financial report: wvde expenditures
FY 2007 - 2008
Federal
17.98%
28.83%
Delores W. Cook
President
Steven L. Paine
State Superintendent of Schools
Aid to Schools
Other Programs
Child Nutrition
25.95%
Vocational
22.92%
Special Education
Title I
engaging and challenging students
Members of the West Virginia Board of
Education believe that their key goal is to
prepare students to not only live and work in
the 21st century but to thrive. The 12-member
board develops and updates policies related
to academics, health and wellness, nutrition,
technology, teacher professional development,
facilities and much more.
We want to engage and challenge all children
so that they can compete and succeed in the
global economy. In this annual report, you will
find a summary of our efforts to do just that,
from extensive efforts to update our content
standards and objectives (CSOs) to thorough
professional development for teachers,
principals and superintendents.
While we may lay the foundation for learning,
we look to county boards of education and
local school systems, communities and
parents to implement our vision. Parental
2
involvement is fundamental to a healthy
public education system. We believe strong
partnerships between homes and schools
are so important that we directed
Superintendent Paine to create the Parent
Community Task Force to foster parental
involvement statewide. We also know that
solid relationships with Gov. Joe Manchin
and the West Virginia Legislature are
essential to our success and thank them for
their support in our mission to help our
children achieve in today’s global world.
As board members, we are humbled by the
dedication of West Virginia’s teachers,
principals and administrators. West
Virginia is leading the way in an education
revolution as we implement 21st century
learning and we look to educators and
parents to collaborate with us to assure
that we graduate students who are part of
the best prepared generation in history.
40.00%
36.92%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
Federal:
Other Programs
Child Nutrition
Vocational
Special Education
Title I
Expenditures
$ 57,467,357.09
82,931,489.00
13,801,027.16
73,228,199.12
92,113,918.39
Total
$
Percentage
17.98%
25.95%
4.32%
22.92%
28.83%
319,541,990.76
11.93%
11.76%
10.00%
6.30%
4.49%
4.00%
5.00%
3.11%
0.14%
0.00%
1
100.00%
2
3
4
5
6
7
State
1.34%
5.57%
Other Programs
Special Education and
Institutions
91.72%
Aid to Schools
Vocational
State:
Other Programs
Special Education and Institutions
Aid to Schools
Vocational
Total
15.00%
17.92%
$
Expenditures
102,101,578.40
25,113,781.89
1,680,312,284.00
24,475,977.69
$ 1,832,003,621.98
Percentage
5.57%
1.37%
91.72%
1.34%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
PEIA
Teachers' Retirement System
Other Current Expenditures
Professional Educators
Service Personnel
Fixed Charges
Transportation Charges
Administration
Improv. Of Instructions Prog. (Step 7)
School Building Authority
Others
Total
$
8
2.03% 1.39%
9
Expenditures
197,556,800.00
67,262,050.00
105,869,355.00
620,451,152.00
200,417,470.00
75,519,912.00
52,290,818.00
2,309,093.00
34,137,057.00
23,361,520.00
301,137,057.00
$ 1,680,312,284.00
10
11
Percentage
11.76%
4.00%
6.30%
36.92%
11.93%
4.49%
3.11%
0.14%
2.03%
1.39%
17.92%
100.00%
100.00%
15
In an effective classroom
students should not only
know what they are
doing, they should also
know why and how.
~Harry Wong
It must be remembered
that the purpose of
education is not to fill the
minds of students with
facts ... it is to teach them
to think.
~Robert Hutchins
14
3
21st century teaching and learning
The West Virginia Board of Education and
the West Virginia Department of Education
(WVDE) have embarked on a great 21st
century adventure to change not only what
we teach but how we teach from preschool
to high school. Yesterday’s three R’s —
reading, writing and arithmetic — now must
incorporate today’s three R’s — rigor,
relevance and results.
teach global awareness, civics, business,
finance, economics, problem-solving and
analytical skills.
As the world becomes more competitive and
complex, our nation’s future depends on the
education of our young people. To help with
the transition to 21st century schools, the
state has launched professional development
institutes for superintendents, principals and
teachers.
The state also has developed a new
assessment, the West Virginia Education
Standards Test 2 (WESTEST 2) to reflect the
coursework teachers are expected to teach
and students are to learn.
West Virginia is committed to closing the gap
between the knowledge and skills students
learn in school and the knowledge and skills
they need for the 21st century workplace. We
must place an emphasis on math, science,
English and languages. But we also must
4
The West Virginia Board of Education
revised the state’s CSOs to add such 21st
century skills and broaden the scope of the
curriculum, deemed by national and local
experts to meet world-class status.
Educators also are learning how to use
Project Based Learning to shift away from
traditional teacher-centered lessons and
instead emphasize learning activities that are
interdisciplinary, student-centered and
integrated with real world issues.
accomplishments
Policy 2436.10: Participation in
Extracurricular Activities. This revision clarifies
when the rule applies and which grades are to
be used in determining eligibility when
students have a break in their public school
educations.
Programs. This policy is the cornerstone
curriculm guidelines for 21st Century
Learning. The changes provide counties
and schools greater local flexibility in
implementing the 21st century curriculum
first adopted in 2006-2007.
Policy 2444.4: Issuance of the State of
West Virginia General Educational
Development (GED®) Diploma Based Upon
Passage of the GED Tests. This update
provides guidance for compliance with the
American Council on Education’s GED
Testing Service requirements and requires all
candidates testing in West Virginia to pass the
official GED practice tests. The test is free to
state residents as of July 1, 2008.
Policy 4321.1: Standards for
School Nutrition. This policy update
gives West Virginia one of the most
progressive school nutrition policies in
the nation. The policy established
nutrition standards for foods sold, served
and/or distributed to students in schools
during the school day. It relates both to
nutritional standards for school meals
and other foods and beverages sold,
served or distributed to students.
Policy 2510: Assuring Quality of
Education: Regulations for Education
13
accomplishments
The West Virginia Board of Education
reviewed and updated several school
policies during the 2007-2008 school year.
A few of the more significant policy
amendments include:
Policy 2200: Parent, Family and
Community Involvement in Education. This
policy, first adopted in 1989, updates
guidelines to provide for the development of
a parent involvement policy in each county.
process for identifying students with learning
disabilities and the criteria for identifying
students with articulation/phonological
disorders. The changes comply with the latest
updates to the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and state
law governing services for gifted students.
Policy 2423: Communicable Disease
Control. Revisions to this policy clarify that
adolescent immunizations are strongly
recommended for students entering grades
six and nine. This revision removed language
that implied that these immunizations were
required. It also clarifies the need to record
adolescent immunization status at grades six
and nine to protect students and staff in the
event of a communicable disease outbreak.
Policy 2320: A Process for Improving
Education: Performance Based Accreditation
System. This revision incorporates Senate
Bill 657 and includes audits of the eight
Regional Education Service Agencies
(RESAs). The policy establishes new
criteria for accreditation to prevent any one
measure from causing a school to achieve
less than full approval.The changes add 21st
century skills into the standards and a new
distinction accreditation status. It renames
seriously impaired status to low performing
accreditation status and adds an appeal
process for onsite review findings.
Policy 4110: Attendance. This policy
incorporates requirements of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,
which is the primary piece of federal
legislation dealing with the education of
children and youth experiencing
homelessness in U.S. public schools.
Policy 2419: Regulations for the
Education of Students with Exceptionalities.
Changes to this policy primarily involve
regulation of caseloads, implementation
dates for the response to intervention
Policy 2515: Uniform Grading. This
policy revision, which includes a grading
scale, requires the weighting of all Advanced
Placement and International Baccalaureate
courses.
12
professional development
West Virginia’s process for implementing its
21st Century Learning program includes
targeted stakeholders receiving focused
professional development. As part of the
program, the department has conducted
professional development for state staff,
county superintendents and district leaders,
as well as Regional Education Service
Agency (RESA) staff, principals, teachers
and higher education representatives. Some
of the offerings include:
The Superintendents’ Leadership
Institute: This program is designed to
continue building a knowledge base of the
influence district superintendents have on
student learning. In addition, the West
Virginia School System Leadership Team
Conference brings together a five- to 10member leadership team from each of the
state’s 55 school districts for two, three-day
conferences annually. There are
approximately 500 to 600 attendees at each
conference. This professional development
series has focused on several topics over
time, including curriculum, instruction,
assessment, and student/parent/family
support in the 21st century.
The West Virginia Institute for 21st
Century Leadership is another key
component of West Virginia’s systemic
approach to developing 21st century
schools. This institute provides in-depth,
yearlong professional development and
support for West Virginia’s practicing
principals. About 200 principals are
served each year.
The Teacher Leadership Institute is an
intensive, weeklong professional
development experience that is designed
to assist districts in building the capacity to
move forward with 21st century
instruction. The focus is on understanding
the digital learner so that teachers can
design effective classroom instruction.
5
professional development
The goal of the West Virginia Health and
Physical Education Leadership Academy is
to build the capacity of health and physical
education teachers to improve school health
and wellness programs. The academy
promotes individual growth in leadership,
advocacy, grant writing and technology, and
a professional support network.
The West Virginia Department of
Education also has prepared professional
development modules on 21st century
learning for educators across the state. The
modules provide an overview of 21st
century skills, the urgency for implementing
21st century learning, video segments of
classrooms and probing questions.
Materials, resources, Web links and other
videos are included. See http://
wvde.state.wv.us/professional-development/
modules/21st-Century.
The Teach 21 Web site, designed by
teachers, assists colleagues in planning and
delivering effective 21st century instruction
in West Virginia classrooms. It enables
educators to quickly access 21st century
content standards, learning skills and
technology tools, as well as other resources.
See http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21.
6
The goal of the County Mathematics
Leadership Team initiative is to provide
leadership in mathematics from
Kindergarten through Grade 12 to improve
instruction in mathematical computation,
application, reasoning, engagement and
understanding.
The Social Studies Summer Institute
provides teachers with resources and
instructional strategies that support their
efforts to provide students with a true
understanding of the past and an
appreciation of their heritage as West
Virginians. Institutes provided teachers with
resources and instructional strategies to
help students take up the challenges of
globalization; become economically
judicious; and engage in local, state,
national and world civic experiences.
Teachers also learned how to engage the
digital learner in social studies content,
particularly history, economics and civics.
The department also provided summer
institutes to career and technical leaders in
the six career cluster areas. More than 600
career and technical teachers learned to use
their new 21st century CSOs, gained new
knowledge about national industry
standards and shared 21st century
instructional techniques.
successes
Through the work of local school systems, the
West Virginia Department of Education and
other education stakeholders, the state board
realized many successes. Achievements in
2007 – 2008 include:
Virginia Department of Education and the
West Virginia Board of Education
continued year-long Principal Leadership
Institutes as well as Teacher Leadership
Institutes.
Five members of the West Virginia Board
of Education were appointed to roles with the
National Association of State Boards of
Education (NASBE) during 2008. NASBE is
the only national organization giving voice
and adding value to the nation’s state boards
of education, and ultimately, public schools.
The board established the West
Virginia Learning First Alliance, whose
purpose is to move a common public
education agenda forward in the state.
West Virginia was one of five states to
receive a $15,000 NASBE grant for the
development of comprehensive state literacy
initiatives. Six pilot schools have developed
an implementation plan based on the
framework of the Adolescent Instruction
Model (AIM) for Literacy.
West Virginia schools were ranked by
Education Week’s “Quality Counts
2008 Report” sixth in the nation based on
chance for success; K-12 achievement;
standards, assessments and
accountability; transitions and alignment;
the teaching profession; and school
finance. West Virginia’s overall grade was
a B-. The state received an A in standards,
assessment and accountability, and an A
in the equity of spending on students.
The board was successful in obtaining
additional school aid formula funding,
amounting to $65 million over five years.
The board also gained approval of Vision
2020, legislative support for 21st century
learning, as well as its Response to
Intervention (RTI) initiative.
To complement the professional
development of district leaders, the West
The board welcomed three student
representatives in 2007-2008.
West Virginia was ranked by Education
Week’s “Technology Counts 2008 Report”
at the top of the class. West Virginia received
an A for access to technology and usage
capacity and an A- for the use of technology.
11
It is the supreme art of the
teacher to awaken joy in
creative expression and
knowledge.
technology
Technology is at the core of 21st century
learning. As the West Virginia Board of
Education and the West Virginia Department
of Education prepare educators to teach in a
21st century classroom, technology will serve
as a powerful tool. While technology cannot
replace a good teacher, both the board and
the department recognize that teachers need
the new delivery tools technology offers to
reach today’s XBox generation.
Today’s classroom has to be engaging where
students are actively involved in their own
learning. Today’s students use multimedia to
10
~Albert Einstein
learn interactively and to work on class
projects. They use the Internet to do
research, engage in projects and to
communicate. The new technologies allow
students to have more control over their
own learning, to think analytically and
critically, and to work collaboratively.
For more information on this or any other
educational program offered in West
Virginia, visit our Web site at http://
wvde.state.wv.us.
7
parental involvement
Research shows that parental involvement
is critical to improving academic
achievement. The West Virginia Board of
Education knows that the more extensively
parents are involved in their children’s
education, the higher the achievement, the
better the behavior and the more successful
the students will be as adults. As a result,
the board has made increasing parental
involvement a top priority. The board, along
with the West Virginia Department of
Education, sponsored several initiatives and
events related to parental involvement:
Policy 2200: Parent, Family and
Community Involvement in Education was
revised to include family members and the
community as key stakeholder groups.
The policy also includes clearer definitions
for business involvement and for promoting
business participation in student education.
The policy requires county school systems
to have a local policy that provides for
parent, family and community involvement
to promote 21st century learning.
The West Virginia Board of Education
proclaimed November 2007 as Parental
Involvement in West Virginia Schools
8
Month. With this proclamation, members of
the state board acknowledged that parental
involvement, not income or social status, is
the most accurate predictor of student
achievement in school.
Through the guidance of the state board,
the WVDE’s Parental Involvement Task Force
lead several initiatives including two
programs called Computers in the Home and
Computers in the Community. One-hundred
computers were refurbished by the Parental
Involvement Task Force and distributed to
West Virginia students and families.
Parent training modules on 21st century
learning were developed and piloted
throughout 2008. In addition, a parent
contact and central office parent liaison was
identified in all 55 county school districts. A
dozen county contact liaisons have received
grants of $1,000 to implement researchbased parental involvement modules.
The inaugural Parental Involvement
Academy was launched in 2008. The state
board and the West Virginia Department of
Education collaborated with the West
Virginia Parent-Teacher Association and
Edvantia, a education think-tank, to offer
specific training to parent contacts.
The only person who is
educated is the one who has
learned how to learn ... and
change.
~ Carl Rogers
9