On Monday, Tomblin announced his third executive order in as many months: the Early Childhood Education Task Force. Hallie Mason, Tomblin’s director of public policy, said it completes the governor’s three-pronged approach to reforming education.
The first executive order created the Governor’s Commission on Middle Grades, and appointments are still being made to that group. They’ll be charged with raising student achievement in grades five through eight.
“This will give a task force the opportunity to review common standards that are necessary for high school readiness, eliminating programs and policies that have failed to improve student achievement,” Mason said.
“We have found that students determine they are going to drop out of high school in middle school.”
The task force also will be charged with finding ways to improve teacher expertise in all subject areas, especially math and science.
The second executive order reinstituted the state Workforce Planning Council, whose goal is to prepare high school students to pick a college degree that can be turned into a job in West Virginia
Mason said the challenge for the council is to drive partnership between schools and businesses.
“We want to make sure that we’re communicating so that the schools are preparing the workers for businesses in West Virginia
This week’s executive order focused on children from birth to pre-K. The task force will prioritize the programs across the state that help parents with early education and identify the costs. The panel is scheduled to meet for the first time this week.
All three groups are charged with reporting to the governor and the lawmakers no later than the end of the year. That gives Tomblin and his administration time to evaluate recommendations and create any legislative action that needs to take place during the 2014 session.
