CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Members of one West Virginia county school board are taking a look at the idea of year-round schools, an issue that has some support from President Barack Obama and Gov. Joe Manchin. Last month, Piedmont Elementary Principal Steve Knighton traveled to Marshall County in the Northern Panhandle, to discuss the year-round schedule at Piedmont, a school in Charleston’s East End.
“I really believe that the school calendar has not been designed for kids,” said Marshall County board member Lori Kestner. “It has been designed for employees.”
Kestner is a strong supporter of year-round schools, and has spoken with Manchin about the idea. “He said, ‘I want a county somewhere to take this challenge on,”’ Kestner said. “I said, ‘We’re ready.”’
According to Kestner, Manchin looked her in the eye and said he would help a county that went to year-round schooling get the resources to be successful.
“I’ll never let him forget that,” she said.
Kestner admits that some of the other Marshall school board members are more skeptical, but she believes too many students are starving for lost knowledge during the summer months.
“We’ve got to get past thinking that 180 days is enough. I may need 220. You may need 140,” she said. “If we continue doing what we’re doing now, we won’t do any better than we’re doing now.”
Knighton shared the benefits and drawbacks of year-round schools in his meeting with the Marshall County board.
“The positives for us have been increasing student attendance and increasing staff attendance,” he said.
Parents no longer have to load up their child’s dentist and doctor appointments in the summer months. Missed snow days are easier to make up on a year-round schedule, he said.
“The teacher morale seems to be much higher,” he said. “The angst that’s associated with just watching kids has been reduced.”
One area of concern, however, is that parents with children in Piedmont and other schools have different school schedules. Some children enjoy opportunities and fun summer activities that “our kids don’t,” he said.
If Marshall or another county were to go to a year-round schedule, Knighton would advise them to expand it to include all the schools in a feeder area, at least. For instance, Stonewall Jackson Middle School and Capital High School are in Piedmont’s feeder area.
In that case, children would transition better between two schools, he said.
David Hall, another Marshall County school board member, believes county officials would consider all schools becoming year-round, as opposed to just a few. It would be difficult to isolate just one or two, he said.
Marshall school board members are only in the information-seeking stage of the process, and “are finding out the pluses and minuses about an opportunity for kids,” Hall said.
