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By ANN ALI CHARLESTON - West Virginians perceive business as playing a big part in public education but do not believe young people are invited to participate in civic discussions or even taught how, according to a March 2005 West Virginia Civic Index Report. The Education Alliance presented the findings of the poll by Lake Research Associates and the Public Education Network on Oct. 4. West Virginia was the only statewide recipient of the MetLife National Civic Index Award for the study and was the first to release the results. The Civic Index polled 600 West Virginians at random about civic behaviors identified as critical to creating and sustaining quality public schools. Joshua Ulibarri, vice president of Lake Research Associates, presented the results and said West Virginia's business partnerships stand out above the national average and the other test sites. "For the past 15 years, The Education Alliance has been working to partner a business with each school in the state," Ulibarri said, writing in the report, "The Education Alliance has clearly been successful thus far in building a bridge between local businesses and public schools, and community residents are aware of this." West Virginia also set the standard for community responsibility in public education, with respondents' answers rating much higher than the national average. However, the poll showed low ratings for youth involvement and even training young people to be able to participate in democracy. Arnold Fege, director of public advocacy for the Public Education Network, said the index was not an end product but rather a means for communication. He said it is not meant to compare states but to measure public perception and increase the public's understanding of how to increase civic responsibility to improve public schools. Hazel Palmer, president and CEO of The Education Alliance, said the group would begin working with partners in several ways to engage youth in communities. "We are absolutely committed to following up to make sure there is an impact," Palmer said. "Our board will be looking at these results in depth." The low ratings also grabbed the attention of First Lady Gayle Manchin, a former educator and executive board member of The Education Alliance. She said children are often the subject of discussions but rarely are invited to take part in those discussions. "The survey was so on target," Manchin said. "I did a teacher-student speak-up day last year. It was amazing how different the perceptions from young people and the faculty were. We need both perspectives." Ulibarri also was surprised that West Virginians ranked family and friends higher than the national average as sources of information about candidates for public office. As sources of information, family and friends were behind the print and broadcast media. Candidates themselves ranked fourth, above radio, community organizations and the Internet. The index found West Virginia's older population values health care and the economy more than education, as fewer households have children. Individuals closer to the education system - recent graduates or parents of children in schools - seemed to be more critical of the school system. Ulibarri said a new trend he has seen this year has been parents of high school-aged children taking a more active interest in the educational process. After discussing the index, Fege said there would be many opportunities in the future to share what seems to work best and the index is still developmental. "The priority is to do conference calls and have meetings with all the data online," Fege said. "This is a blunt instrument, not a surgical instrument, that requires more research, not less, to un-bundle what the community is telling us." |
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