Warren County Public Schools set to tackle pandemic-related learning loss

The Warren County School Board on Wednesday unanimously approved plans by Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) to help reverse the learning loss students experienced during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

School Board Vice Chairwoman Catherine Bower and board members Kristen Pence, James Wells, and Ralph Rinaldi voted 4-0 during the board’s regular meeting on July 7 to approve WCPS plans to implement a Learning Loss Program that includes 34 additional staff who will provide educational supports through June 2023.

The program “will help our students and help our teachers to overcome any deficiencies we have seen throughout this pandemic,” WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger told the School Board.

The program “will help our students and help our teachers to overcome any deficiencies we have seen throughout this pandemic,” WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger told the School Board.

Funds are already available for the Learning Loss Program from the Virginia LEARNS Education Recovery grants announced in May by Gov. Ralph Northam to help school divisions expand and implement targeted initiatives that address learning loss among students as they continue to recover from the educational impacts of the pandemic.

LEARNS grant funding comes from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II Fund under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, as well as state funds designated specifically to support grants for extended-year and year-round school programs.

In total, WCPS has roughly $9.4 million in grant monies to work with. The school division will use $2,467,500 in grant money to provide 17 Student Support Coaches. This also includes an annual supplement of $12,500 for a Student Support coordinator/trainer through June 2023.

“The supplement is temporary and therefore is separate from the employee’s VRS credible compensation,” Ballenger said. “The supplement is assigned to run concurrent with the employee’s contract and therefore any additional time, outside the contractual period, will be compensated through an hourly rate based upon the employee’s contractual salary.”

WCPS will use another $1,385,934 in federal grants to hire 17 instructional assistants who will provide remediation through programs purchased with the funding, including Leveled Literacy Intervention LLI, Reflex Math, Education Galaxy, and 3rd Quest Reading.

WCPS will use the remaining $5,543,736 in funds for HVAC replacement at both Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary School and the Blue Ridge Technical Center, Ballenger said.

The Learning Loss Program will be implemented over the next two years in WCPS, according to Ballenger, who added that at least 50 students in grades one through 12 who have been referred by school administrators will be targeted for support.

Student referral to the program will be based on reading and math assessments, 2021 Spring SOL tests, diagnostic assessments, attendance, and other factors, Ballenger said, and the program will address remediation, relationship building, and resiliency skills.

A Virginia licensed Qualified Mental Health Professional will provide clinical supervision for the program and the new staff will be divided between the division’s five elementary, two middle, and two high schools, as well as at Diversified Minds and Brighter Futures.

Ballenger told the School Board that it will take roughly a year and a half to help students make up for a year’s loss of learning. And when board vice-chair Bower asked about finding qualified staff to fill the new positions, Ballenger admitted that staffing is an issue across the United States, and while the new hires must be certified teachers, WCPS can consider candidates who have applied for or are eligible for a provisional license.

More votes
In other action, the School Board unanimously approved plans to honor two long-time educators who retired this year after providing a combined total of more than 90 years of service to WCPS.
The courtyard at Warren County High School (WCHS) will be named in honor of former principal Ernestine Jordan, who retired in June after 45 years in education. Jordan served as WCHS principal from 2007 through 2021.

“During her tenure, she moved WCHS from the brink of losing accreditation to the US and World News Report Best High Schools in the Nation recognition,” new WCHS Principal Ken Knesh told board members. “She always maintained a focus on rigor, relevance, and relationships. She will be missed, but her legacy is felt throughout Warren County High School.”

The board also unanimously approved plans to name a new, annual scholarship after Mary Francis Bukva, known as “Ms. B” to many students and staff at WCHS. Ms. B worked 47 years for WCPS as a physical education teacher and then as the dean of students. In her honor, WCHS will award an annual scholarship to a student involved in the school and community.

Additionally, the School Board voted to recognize National Media Services — which publishes the Royal Examiner — as well as C&C Frozen Treats, United Bank, and Farm Bureau Insurance as official business partners of the Warren County High School DECA Club, and to approve an administrative assistant to serve technology and the assistant superintendent of administration.

The board also approved several purchases: The Fountas & Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention system and accompanying professional development costing $183,049; the Education Galaxy online assessment, practice, and instruction program for all elementary schools for two years at a cost of $37,762; the Explore Reflex Math Program for all elementary schools for two years at a cost of $26,689; the Schoology Learning Management System for all elementary schools for one year costing $16,783; and WCPS Technology Department software contracts totaling $150,923.

To view the School Board’s July 7 meeting in its entirety, go online here.