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Data show there’s more work to do

School is starting in West Virginia, and if there’s one thing that needs to be on the agenda throughout the Mountain State, it’s this: We need to do better in preparing our students for the future. When you look at the latest assessment test scores released Wednesday, it’s clear, as a state, that we’re failing. According to the data, the only grade level statewide to score above 50% in mathematics proficiency is the third grade (53% proficiency). The lowest proficiency level in math came from last year’s 11th grade class, at 18%. Let’s narrow down to just the high ...

Be cautious on the roads

Area motorists, be alert. School children are heading back to Tri-State Area classrooms, and drivers need to heighten their awareness in the coming days. Drivers need to be extra vigilant in the early mornings and mid-afternoons when children are walking to and from schools or bus stops. And remember, it’s the start of a school year, so children will be excited to see friends they haven’t seen in a few months. They may be scurrying to greet classmates and could easily dart out into traffic. With that in mind, there are some basic safety measures all drivers should follow. ...

Remove the challenges for our young families

Data is a tricky thing. Sometimes it can present a complicated picture. That is the case with two WalletHub studies, one on “2024’s Best and Worst States to Have a Baby,” the other on “2024’s States with the Best and Worst Early Education Systems.” For the latter, West Virginia is sixth-best in the country. Wonderful. For the former, we are a wretched 45th. For the study on babies, WalletHub looked at 31 measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. West Virginia was 21st for cost, 38th for health care, 30th for baby-friendliness and 48th for family ...

Rallying to get back to school

It’s just a matter of days until area schools open for the academic year. That can be a stressful time, and that’s why area school districts, churches, nonprofits and businesses work to find ways to improve the overall experience for everyone involved. A big help is the back-to-school rally. They’ve now become a rite of late summer, with just about all districts in the region holding one. The formula is simple — each event is filed with activities for students and their families, ranging from food trucks and other vendors to face-painting and the chance to dunk a teacher or ...

Being better prepared for our children

Regardless of headline-grabbing tragedies, lawsuits and bureaucratic identity crises, no one would argue West Virginians don’t care about ALL our children and want the best for them. So, while there is a great deal of work to do, it is encouraging to hear from the state Department of Human Services that implementation of WV PATH has been completed. West Virginia People’s Access to Help is the first in the country to offer a comprehensive child welfare information system. In this case, child welfare refers to the various supports available for children and families through ...

Don’t leave money on the table

In the past few weeks, many West Virginia residents received two of their favorite annual reminders — a postcard-sized bill that shows the amount of tax owed on your home or any land you own, and also a separate bill showing what is owed on your personal property — cars, trucks, car trailers, etc. It is important to understand how and when to pay that personal property tax bill on your vehicles so that you qualify for a full credit on your 2025 state income taxes, as provided through tax relief approved by lawmakers in 2023. The tax relief provides a credit, starting in the 2024 ...