My January letter to WV First Lady Gayle Manchin

Dear Mrs. Manchin, 

I know that you are a mother and a teacher, along with being First Lady of West Virginia.  I heard a story a few weeks ago on WV Public Radio about you visiting an experimental school in China and was wondering if I could get your support for a small, model secondary school right here in Huntington, WV?

West Virginia has been praised for excellent educational policy, but “slammed” (as our newspaper said today http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x1254696217 ”Study praises W.Va. education policy, but slams outcomes”) for actual k-12 achievement.  I believe that the best way, short of my pulling my children from public school, which I am opposed to–I would rather improve the schools for ALL of the children– would be for them to attend a smaller school (for more on small schools, see http://www.bankstreet.edu/gems/publications/smallschools.pdf ) than those currently available for them to attend in Huntington.  The public middle school (from Cammack Middle and West Middle to Huntington Middle) was recently consolidated, up to about 500 students and the other two remaining middle schools in our small city are “scheduled” to be consolidated into an even larger middle school (it will be the second largest in the state) as soon as funding is secured by the Cabell County school district for a new building.  The high schools have nearly 2000 students each.  Children start getting on school busses at 6:05 am to get to their closest public school!

The trend here in Huntington (and, I think, all of West Virginia) is to increase school size, decrease opportunities for gifted & honors students (see another local article, http://www.herald-dispatch.com/homepage/x808406895), and to remove schools from the neighborhoods where the children live.  In West Virginia “Alternative School” means the place they send the kids who have been expelled.

My first thought is to start a charter school, but West Virginia does not have legislation in place for charter schools, nor magnet schools.  Marshall University has a special program in Wayne County at Kellogg Elementary for a 21st Century lab school, and I would love this same sort of program in our neighborhood.  I have contacted our school superintendent (William Smith, he is unwilling to agree to any sort of new school without university involvement, although what I’m asking for is a school that follows the WVDE’s 21st Century plan–it is not really “experimental”) and some members of the Board of Education.  One of the BOE members (along with many parents, teachers, at least one principal) thinks that this would be a great idea and has urged me to try to find grant support, but, of course, I am not sure how to proceed in the grant-finding process without the public school system “agreeing” to let me start such a school.  I have also contacted one of the university professors (Dr. Stan Maynard) involved in the “lab school” and he tells me that they are in preliminary discussions with the school district.

West Virginia State Department of Education policy already says that the way I’m hoping we can teach our children (learn how to think, not just learn facts;  learn how to be part of a community;  etc) is what the schools ought to be doing (http://wvde.state.wv.us/21stcenturydigitalresource/ ) but they aren’t doing it.  Not fast enough, anyhow, for my children to see the benefit!  

In today’s Herald-Dispatch, State Superintendent Steve Paine said that we need to be patient, while the changes in policy to become realized in the schools.  I do not have the luxury of patience in this matter.  I do not want to change policy (well, excepting that if there were charter school or magnet school legislation, I would have less of a problem getting my ideas put in place.  Theoretically, then, I could apply for funds myself and it could still be a public school).  The problem is that it is taking too long for the goals to be met in the schools themselves.  

My children are in 1st and 3rd grade.  The new consolidated elementary/middle school complex is scheduled for completion in a year or two and the school they are currently in (Miller School, now running as Southside Elementary) would be vacant, and, I think, a wonderful home for a new 6-12 school with a small student body (about 50 students per grade).  I would love for it to implement project- and inquiry-based learning.  Not only my children, but, well, 398 children per year could benefit from this type of school here in Huntington.    I believe their families and our community as a whole would also benefit from the sort of education that is more readily engaged in at a small school.  It could be a model for other successful small schools throughout the state and region. 

If I am able to get any sort of support or suggestions from you, I would love to pass them on to our Superintendent and school district, with the hopes of them being willing to go along with such a school and then I could apply for grants to help with startup costs.

Thank you so much for your time!  If you have any questions or would like any more information about any of this, I would be happy to be in contact with you again.

Sincerely,

Grace Gooding

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Huntington, WV 25701