SURVEY: WEST VIRGINIANS OVERWHELMINGLY FAVOR MORE PUBLIC SCHOOL OPTIONS

VotersFavorPublicCharterSchool Attributes and Believe MorePublic School Options Will Improve Public School System

Charleston, WV – Nearly nine in 10 West Virginia voters (86 percent) favor providing students and parents with more public school options according to a public opinion survey released today by West Virginians for Education Reform (WVER). The survey also found that, by a more than five to one margin, West Virginia voters believe that providing more options would improve (55 percent) the public school system rather than harm (11 percent) it.

The public opinion survey lent further credibility to efforts by West Virginians to bring more public school choices, including public charter schools – independent, innovative public schools that are held accountable for improved student achievement – to West Virginia. 

Currently, West Virginia is one of only 11 states in the nation that does not allow public charter schools to be created. This leaves parents with only two options: traditional public schools and private schools for those families who can afford them.

The survey also found that West Virginians support many of the attributes of public charter schools that differentiate them from traditional public schools, including: providing a more structured learning environment, more student discipline, and requiring more parental involvement (94 percent); holding students, teachers, and parents accountable for improving student achievement (90 percent); and allowing schools to make quick, effective changes to improve student achievement (87 percent).

“A clear majority of West Virginia voters want to have more public school choices so that more families, particularly those that cannot afford private schools, can have a real choice in where their children go to school,” said Ben Adams, a student leader of West Virginians for Education Reform. “With thousands of families looking for more public school options and with the millions of dollars that could flow to our state through the federal Race to the Top Fund; the time has come for West Virginia to pass public charter school legislation.”

An effort to pass a public charter school law in West Virginia, Senate Bill (SB) 758, entitled “West Virginia Charter School Act of 2009,” and sponsored by State Senator Erik Wells (D – Kanawha), passed the Senate Education Committee earlier this year before dying in the Senate Finance Committee. WVER, fighting for West Virginian families, plans to put charter school legislation back on the table in the 2010 Regular Session.

“This survey clearly demonstrates that West Virginians want to see a thriving public school system and one way to do that is by providing the classroom teachers with control of their career and students a chance to improve their education opportunities that can be found in public charter schools,” Wells said.

The survey of 502 registered West Virginia voters was conducted in November by the Glover Park Group, a strategic communications firm based in Washington, DC on behalf of West Virginians for Education Reform and funded by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

A press conference detailing this information will be on December 7, 2009 at 10:00am in the Senate Reception Room (249)-West Wing.

About West Virginians for Education Reform

West Virginians for Education Reform’s (WVER) mission is to promote and encourage innovation, change and choice in the public education system in West Virginia. WVER was established in 2009 to encourage innovation, change and choice in the West Virginia public education system. The WVER is a group of students, teachers, parents, business people and community leaders that are dedicated to provide every West Virginia student with the best possible education. Visit WVER at www.wvedreform.com.

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