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The Charleston Gazette
This state’s gulf between the privileged elite and average families is becoming more painful, according to the annual “State of Working West Virginia” report from the Center on Budget and Policy.
Between 1979 and 2011, it said, the top 1 percent of West Virginians gained 71 percent more income, while the other 99 percent lost 3 percent. The rich got much richer, but everyone else slipped downward a bit.
“Inequality continues to grow,” researcher...
By Mackenzie Mays
The Charleston Gazette
Federal financial guidelines require a college student to take 12 credit hours each semester in order to be a labeled full-time student, but more and more education officials say that’s not enough if students want to complete their degrees on time.
West Virginia is joining several states across the country in launching a “15 to Finish” campaign, which urges colleges to promote 15-credit semesters in an attempt to get more students...
By Jeff Jenkins
WV MetroNews
The state Board of Education will receive 16 recommendations next week from a new commission that could change the way education is delivered in the Mountain State.
The Commission on School District Governance and Administration will recommend 55 county school districts focus more on student achievement and allow a redesigned regional education system take care of the many administrative duties school systems have.
“You’re moving...
By Adam Beam and John Raby
The Associated Press
PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- When it opened in 1990 amid boom times deep in eastern Kentucky coal country, Shelby Valley High School had nearly 1,000 students, with enough demand that it built an addition the next year. Now the mines are closing, and the school big enough for 1,200 students sits at half capacity.
When the families leave, Principal Greg Napier asks them why. "Gotta have a job," they say.
Kentucky's public school...
By Dave Wilkinson
For The Charleston Gazette
I recently read in the Gazette about the school system’s plan to evaluate teachers based on their students’ test scores. My initial reaction was, “Why shouldn’t we do that?” After thinking about it, I decided this isn’t a fair evaluation. I’m very interested in the plight of our teachers because I think they often get a “bum rap.” I’m not a teacher, but my daughter has been a third-grade teacher in Texas for 12 years. I’ve personally...