For Immediate Release: June 10, 2021

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) addressed two Special Circumstance Reviews as part of its June 9, 2021, meeting in Charleston.

The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Office of Support and Accountability initiated a review of Lincoln County Schools in March 2020. This resulted in several instructional findings and recommendations. In November 2020, the Board declared a State of Emergency in the county which it extended for an additional six months at the June meeting. The extension will allow the office to continue to deliver supports from appointed designees, to review issues of board-member effectiveness, and to continue monitoring compliance with priorates outlined in WVBE Policy 2322.

WVBE Policy 2322 establishes 11 efficiency indicators necessary to provide an effective school system. These indicators provide a framework for effective school system operations.

The Office of Support and Accountability also conducted a Special Circumstance Review of the Schools for the Deaf and the Blind last month.

Upon hearing a summary of the review, the Board:
– Directed the State Superintendent of Schools to prepare a public report of the findings of the review; and
– Directed the State Superintendent of Schools to appoint an intervention team to work at his direction to lead the school through a transformation to modernize its facilities; restructure personnel; refine employment and payroll practices; reallocate financial resources; develop an effective school leadership model; enhance residential life; reform instructional practices to meet the needs of deaf, hard of hearing, blind and low vision students throughout the state; and address any other areas he finds to be necessary.

The Lincoln County review will be posted at https://wveis.k12.wv.us/essa/dashboard.html on Thursday, June 10, 2021.

For media inquiries, contact Christy Day at the West Virginia Department of Education Office of Communications at 304-558-2699 or Christy.Day@k12.wv.us.

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