Innovation in Education
Charter Schools in West Virginia
KRISTEN UPPERCUE
In 2019 , the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill allowing for the creation of charter schools for the first time in the state ’ s history with three schools to open by 2023 . Charter schools are schools that receive government funding but operate independently from the state and have the flexibility to design their own criteria outside of the state ’ s education department .
Despite the necessary legislation passing , a charter school has yet to open in West Virginia . In response , the state has passed a bill to increase the number — allowing up to 10 charter schools to open every three years — and established a new professional charter school board to serve as a statewide authorizer of new public charter schools in West Virginia .
According to Adam Kissel , senior fellow at the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy and chairman of the board , its mission is to authorize high-quality public charter schools throughout the state that provide more options for students to attain a thorough and efficient education , particularly through schools designed to expand the opportunities for at-risk students .
“ The core idea of charter schools is that they can achieve better outcomes for students by avoiding the unnecessary bureaucracy that has grown to stifle innovation in traditional schools ,” says Kissel , who prior to his current position , had served as the director of the civics and higher education programs at The Philanthropy Roundtable , deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs in the Trump administration under Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education , a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that focuses on free speech and other individual rights in higher education .
“ The authorizer likewise is expected to encourage innovation that improves student success without punishing schools that take reasonable risks ,” Kissel says .
Seven applicants have applied to open a charter school in the state — three virtual schools that seek to operate statewide and four place-based schools in the Eastern Panhandle , Morgantown and Charleston areas . The board has until November 2021 to vote to authorize each applicant with approved applicants beginning to operate in fall 2022 .
“ Applicants are already showing a great deal of thought and excitement about new ways of helping all students succeed ,” Kissel says . “ I would like to see their innovations demonstrate so much success that the traditional public schools adopt what they have learned . Competition can become collaboration . I would also like to see more applicants focus on special needs or subject matters that can better serve those minorities of students who are not served as well at traditional schools , without sacrificing the schools ’ role of being open to all students in a community .”
Kissel would also like to see the unbundling and re-bundling of school services so West Virginia ’ s public schools no longer have to serve various roles in a community but rather depend on community partners to fill those gaps .
“ Today ’ s schools are not really so different from schools of 100 years ago , but schools of 20 years from now could be amazingly effective by rethinking education and community partnerships ,” he says .
One of the seven applicants includes the West Virginia Academy , a nonprofit seeking to open a charter school in the Greater Morgantown Area . The organization ’ s governing board includes individuals with experience in education leadership at all levels , as well as deep expertise in finance , business , logistics and nonprofit organization leadership and structure .
“ Perhaps most importantly , all of the members of our governing board are parents with current or past experience with their kids being educated in the public system in our
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE