Dear Editor,
Public education. Can we improve? Part two.
Part one outlined the low grades of our public school’s fourth and eighth-graders in math and reading. The SAT scores, were equally low in comparison to the nation’s students. Of local students registering at the New River campus in Lewisburg, 68% were required to take remedial courses to qualify for admission.
During week two of legislative session in Charleston, Fred Albert, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) West Virginia stated, “In less than a week, the 2021 legislative session has been nothing but a barrage of attacks against public education and those who work in it.”
Mr. Albert appears to be endorsing the quality of remote education being received by our students while Senator Baldwin states, “despite near-unanimous agreement from students, parents and teachers that virtual education has not worked during COVID…”
However, remote education must be working very well as 43% of Greenbrier County high schoolers made the honor roll. I believe Mr. Albert also recognizes charter schools will demonstrate Greenbrier County students have the capacity to demonstrate their ability and desire to learn far more than the current tests and SATs reveal.
Senator Baldwin further states, “pay attention, folks, the long-term ramifications of these bills are colossal. They will affect our families for years to come.”
Senator Baldwin’s statement can be interpreted two ways: less learning by our students or greater learning by our students. The history of charter schools is the latter, greater learning with greater acceptance into college, with concurrent improvement of public education.
Senator Baldwin also infers that charter schools will cost the public school system $200 million/$100 million, depending on the date of “The Back Pew.”
This is both true and false, as the millions will come from currently budgeted public education funds and be transferred to charter schools at approximately $4,600 per student, leaving approximately $8,000 per student with the public education system. The resulting reduction in students per class, which is a demand of the AFT and Mr. Albert, will also result from charter schools.
However, Senator Baldwin misquoted the delegate, “the $8,000 would remain in the public school district,” not “county” as stated by the senator in the March 3 Daily News. Further, the delegate stated that his information about the $8,000 was confirmed by the capitol legal department.
I have two granddaughters who were lucky enough to have their names drawn to attend charter schools in Delaware and South Carolina. My research into these schools revealed, that in Delaware, available seats were over scribed by multiples and there was no difference in learning skill by race or gender. In South Carolina, the desire to enroll children in charter schools was just as great.
The success of these charter schools did not take away from public schools, and the competition seems to improve public education. It must be remembered that elementary schools in Greenbrier County have been open five days a week with few exceptions. High schools have not. And according to Senator Baldwin, remote education has been a total failure, even though the two high schools reported an average 43% of students that made the honor roll.
Next week, I will ask for the support of students and parents on providing copies of tests and volunteers to assist in evaluating the degree of difficulty and success of students’ retention of subject taught. Names will not be released but copies will be available to the county board of education if or when requested. Mailing address will be a post office box.
Frank W. Tuckwiller
Lewisburg, WV
