[NFBWV-Talk] FW: Article from Hampshire Review News Section 2021 09 01

[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 09 01
Date: 
1 Sep 2021 13:03:51 -0500

WVSDB combines most classes. A new era began last week in the
151-year-old West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. 

Just 82 students were on campus to begin classes, the lowest total in the
modern history of the schools. 

Beginning last Monday schools became, effectively, school. Students with
both vision and hearing loss were all being taught in the Pierre Sevigny
Building, which locals know better as the School for the Deaf. 

And most classes included students with vision and hearing impairments, a
break from the past. 

Plans were announced late last winter to combine deaf and blind students
by grade, with pre-k through 5th grade in the Sevigny Building and grades
6-12 in the School for the Blind. 

But those plans were upended by a review from the State Department of
Education in late April that led to an intervention plan to overhaul the
schools. 

State Superintendent Clayton Burch has led a team from Charleston in
repeated visits to the Romney campus to address issues from building use to
staffing to the criteria for accepting students. 

The unending changes since intervention began in earnest in June have
been marked by massive personnel changes. 

WVSDB had 138 employees under contract last week, the Department of
Education said in a series of short responses to emailed questions. In
December 2019, the schools reported 272 people on payroll. 

Departures had the schools looking for 6 classroom teachers a couple of
days after classes started Aug. 23. 

The resignation of Jamie Vittoria solved 1 staffing issue. She was 1 of 2
principals under the spring plan. 

Now, the state says, Dave Simansky remains as principal and athletic
director. 

Melanie Hesse has been moved from the outreach program to the new
position of dean of students. Burch told the State Board of Education 3
weeks ago that he was searching for someone to take on that role to oversee
the students education and residential needs. 

And Pat Homburg, the retired state director of special education who came
to campus a year ago as interim superintendent, now has the title of
interim coordinator of special education and student services, the state
said. 

The State Board of Education, which is responsible under state law for
direct oversight of WVSDB, meets again next Wednesday in Charleston. 

<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.