West Virginia School Board Policy 2510 defines how schools and school systems are to provide the education program for students in West Virginia public schools. The policy is designed to strengthen education for students enrolled in West Virginia’s public schools while increasing the likelihood of a student’s achievement in post-secondary education and the workplace.
“On a policy decision as significant as this, we thought it was important to provide the public more time to comment,” State Superintendent Dr. David Stewart said. “When we act on this policy in the coming months, we want to make a decision that takes everyone’s comments into consideration.”
Included in the proposed policy is the provision that would eliminate “banked” time. Banked time is time added beyond the required instructional day which may be accumulated and used in larger blocks of time during the school year for either instructional or non-instructional activities. The proposal would no longer allow schools to save instructional time so students may attend extra-curricular activities that take place during instructional time. Co-curricular activities such as drama productions and band concerts would be permitted during instructional time.
Also during February’s meeting, the State Board unanimously approved a series of standards that must be met by the McDowell County School System before local control will be returned. Included in the list of standards is hiring a principal for every school and a certified teacher in every classroom.