Top education leaders from across West Virginia have come together to champion public education from early childhood to post-secondary levels at a time when it faces significant challenges but remains critically important to the nation’s future.

“Pubic education benefits all citizens of West Virginia, no matter where they live or what schools they rely on,” Suzanne Shipley, who convened the group as president of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown. Shipley has since been named president at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

“For education to be effective it needs to cover the life span of all citizens,” Shipley said. “That requires schools, community colleges and universities to collaborate. This group is dedicated to collaboration to enhance public education in West Virginia.”

The Public Education Working Group will hold its third meeting on April 6 at West Virginia University.

The group is co-chaired by Donna Hoylman Peduto, director of operations for the West Virginia State Board of Education, and Gypsy Denzine, dean of the WVU College of Education and Human Services.

Other members of the Public Education Working Group include:

• Sharon Harsh, director, Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center, ICF International.
• Robert Mahaffey, president, Organizations Concerned about Rural Education and vice chairman, Coalition for Community Schools.
• Gayle Manchin, president, West Virginia Board of Education.
• Stan Maynard, executive director, June Harless Center for Rural Educational Research and Development.
• Joyce McConnell, provost and vice president for academic affairs, WVU.
• David Mohr, consultant to education, West Virginia House of Delegates.
• Chip Slaven, counsel to the president and senior advocacy advisor, Alliance for Excellent Education.
• Greg Strimel, director of K-12 initiatives, WVU Academic Innovation.

WVU President Gordon Gee maintains an active interest in the group and is represented by Provost McConnell.

West Virginia First Lady Joanne Tomblin, who has announced her retirement as president of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, called the group “very worthy and important to our state.”

Together, the group is “representative of all the sectors involved in public education, has identified the most pressing current needs and is removing barriers to meeting those needs,” Shipley said. “With higher education collaborating with the Department of Education, teachers, principals, students and parents will benefit.”

Manchin agreed, describing the Public Education Working Group as “a very exciting group and a very exciting opportunity – I think this is happening at a very good time!”

Previous meetings were held in November and January.

Later this spring, Manchin, McConnell, Peduto, and Shipley will travel to the Hunt Institute, an affiliate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to meet with founder and former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt and learn more about the Institute’s strategic initiatives in public education, especially those that could be relevant and effective in West Virginia. They will also meet with members of the North Carolina Public Schools Forum, a self-described “think-and-do-tank” that generates research on public education and offers programming for educators.

McConnell looks forward to this trip, and to future meetings of the Public Education Working Group, which she says is moving quickly.

“West Virginia University is absolutely committed to not just improving but transforming public education in our state,” McConnell said. “I am proud to be involved in this incredibly energetic and engaged group and I am looking forward to seeing some of the dynamic solutions and new ideas we are developing implemented in West Virginia public schools.”

-WVU-

ac/03/25/15

CONTACT: Ann Claycomb; Office of the WVU Provost
304.293.5701; Ann.Claycomb@mail.wvu.edu

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