[NFBWV-Talk] FW: Article from Hampshire Review News Section 2021 08 25

[Karen Swauger]

karen

Original Message: 
From: NFB-NEWSLINE Online <publications at nfbnewsline.net>
To: Karen Swauger <karen at pmpmail.com>
Subject: Article from Hampshire Review News Section 2021 08 25
Date: 
25 Aug 2021 11:19:36 -0500

Resignations precede 1st day of class. ROMNEY  State and local
administrators at the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
remain tight-lipped about changes occurring on the Romney campus, but some
information was reported at the State Board of Education meeting earlier
this month. 

Students were in class Monday to begin the 2021-22 school year. 

The State Board, which directly oversees WVSDB, approved 21 resignations
from school staff earlier this month. One new employee, a computer systems
repair instructor, was hired. 

On Tuesday, the schools were advertising for 11 full-time positions and 2
substitutes. 

The 21 resignations included 19 different people; 2 people each resigned
from a pair of substitute positions. 

Jamie Vittorio, who had been the schools chief academic officer until
this year, quit to take a teaching job with Hampshire County Schools. She
was 1 of 2 principals on staff and also was the schools special education
director and attendance director. 

Two of the 3 members of the finance department left, as did 2 nurses, 4
teachers, 2 residential care specialists and 2 regional outreach
coordinators. 

Anecdotal accounts say more staff has left since Aug. 11, but the state
Department of Education is not required to address further resignations
until the September State Board meeting when a list of employee moves will
be published. 

Tuesdays ad sought 6 teachers  sign language, art, science, math, p.e.
and multi-categorical. Two nurses, 2 residential care workers and an
accountant were also needed. 

On a positive note, State Superintendent Clayton Burch told the State
Board, faculty senate president Christy Mills has put together a 5-teacher
leadership team that will meet with Burch monthly. 

Burch was in Romney again at the end of last week, addressing the staff
and visiting Springfield-Green Spring Elementary School, part of the
Hampshire County system. 

Burch also told the State Board that a pair of stakeholder meetings had
gone well. Burch met with Department of Education representatives and a
handful of Hampshire County representatives to talk about what use parts of
the WVSDB campus might be put to. 

But at Julys meeting, Burch told attendees that because of their busy
schedules, in the future meetings will be more piecemeal, addressing
specific issues with specific people. 

A crew of 21 people from the Department of Educations Charleston office
were on the WVSDB campus earlier this month to help move offices. 

Burch told the State Board that he is looking at bringing a dean of
students to WVSDB, solely responsible for students education and the
residence halls. 

Burch told stakeholders in July that WVSDB is likely to not have a
superintendent in the future. 

Burch also confirmed to the State Board that: 

Residential students will be housed in Keller Hall this year. 

He expected 90 to 94 students on campus to begin the year. 

Mental health support is being completely overhauled, not only in the
schools, but also the residence hall. 

<br><br>This article is provided to you as a courtesy of NFB-NEWSLINE?
Online for your sole use. The content of this E-mail is protected under
copyright law, and is not to be distributed in any manner to others;
infringement of our non-dissemination agreement is strictly prohibited.

Allowing someone to have access to this material is in violation of the
Terms of Use agreement that you electronically signed when you signed up
for NFB-NEWSLINE? Online. Please do not forward this E-mail or its
attachments to any other person or disseminate it in any manner.

Thank you.

The NFB-NEWSLINE? Team.