Last week, an elementary school student violently attacked Kanawha County Principal Stephanie Haynes for 38 minutes.
“Myself, an assistant principal and another staff member are currently covered in bruises because of this child,” she told lawmakers at the Capitol on Monday. “I actually called the police, and if you don’t know that, the police can’t help me.”
Haynes recalled that the same boy had tried to stab her last year with a night lock system designed to protect schools from intruders.
The Republican-led Legislature is trying to figure out how to help teachers cope Deterioration in elementary school students’ behavior This is a debilitating teaching time.
Haynes and other educators asked lawmakers to help them remove these students so they and other students can feel unthreatening. They suggested alternative learning spaces and funding to hire additional staff to focus on supporting these children.
“I’m not really sure what the answer is,” said Tina Wallen, superintendent of Raleigh County Schools. “I don’t think sending these children home is the best solution because that’s where these things happen most of the time. “We’re doing everything we can to help them.”
West Virginia’s classrooms often contain children who have suffered trauma, a result of the state’s high rate of child abuse Child povertyThousands of children in nursing and children live with grandparents. There are not enough resources inside and outside of schools to help them.
Lawmakers considered it earlier this year legislationmade by a senator Who is a teacher?This would have given primary school teachers greater powers to expel students for disruptive, aggressive or violent behavior. It outlined steps for how schools should deal with students who had to be removed from their classrooms.
The measure died on the last night of the session in March as the Senate and House argued over other bills.
“We have a big problem,” said Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, who is principal of a private religious school. “We’re losing kids from public education… and you’re getting beaten up… We should be concerned about the other kids in the classroom with the trauma.”
Four educators told lawmakers stories of violent outbursts by children, ongoing disruptions and incidents in which they were physically attacked. Many of the students experienced trauma, they said, but there were others whose parents did not support discipline.
“There were times when they were so violent that we had to remove all the other kids from the classroom … because they were throwing things,” Wallen said.
Educators explained the obstacles they face in dealing with the behaviors, including the inability to eliminate recess as punishment because the state has imposed regulations on physical activity in schools. It is also challenging to expel elementary school students, and the outbreaks of violence are not always a reason to expel the child from school.
Morgan Elmore is a preschool teacher for Randolph County Schools. She is also a foster mother.
“It’s important to provide age-appropriate consequences, but not just because a student has a childhood trauma.” [Individuals Education Plan]etc. that they are completely absolved of responsibility for their actions,” she said. “This shouldn’t be a free excuse to be dangerous.”
Lawmakers want to tackle a complicated problem
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Amy Grady, a fourth-grade teacher, stressed that a school discipline bill must be a priority for lawmakers at the next regular session in February 2025.
“Until we get these behaviors under control, our test scores will not improve and our enrollment will decline,” she said. Enrollment across the state has declinedand students have access to one comprehensive education savings account program This gives families money that they can exploit at private schools.
“This needs to be a priority this session. We have to find something that will help our teachers, these kids and our staff,” Grady said.
This year’s school discipline bill drafted by Grady was criticized by Democrats and school staff who said it could result in children who need sedate mental health support being disproportionately removed from their classrooms. There was no funding for behavioral support programs; Grady had suggested that counties exploit opioid settlement funds for funding.
According to the West Virginia Department of Education, only 13 of the state’s 55 districts had an alternative elementary school program last school year. Wallen said an alternative learning program for elementary students in Wyoming County can only accommodate six students at a time.
Del. Dave Foggin, R-Wood, floated the idea of reintroducing corporal punishment in elementary schools. He is a teacher.
“Pain is a great motivator. “No one wants to cause pain to a child … but the only people who want to cause pain to a child are people who truly love them and want to correct their behavior,” he said. “Who took the paddles out of the schools? This is my quick and easy solution to this problem that’s no fun to talk about.”
Roberts said the issue should be addressed by state education leaders.
“We can pass laws and force them to do things, but I’m really disappointed that we’re talking about having to do something like this,” he said. “We should have people in positions of leadership in the state of West Virginia for our students and our children who will do whatever it takes so that you don’t all have to leave your classrooms and come to a place like this. “Tell us your stories.”
Del. Rep. Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, said the information shared was “deeply concerning.”
“I think it was a productive conversation today and I just wish the state Department of Education had been there to be part of the conversation,” Willis said. “We as lawmakers will continue to work diligently and do what those in attendance continue to tell us to do to improve education and outcomes for every student in West Virginia.”
