Should W.Va. look at closing its low-performing schools?

As our state’s population decreases, so does the number of students in our public schools.
Declining enrollment, in turn, is creating challenges for our school districts.
Some boards of education are facing the bitter reality that it is time to close cherished facilities.
But the Thomas B. Fordham Institute put together a study that may offer public education policymakers some needed guidance on that front.
According to a report by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the study suggests schools that have been identified by the state as low-performing should be considered first for closure.
“We know from research that if you close a school and the students end up in higher-performing schools as a result, they will do better academically,” Michael Petrilli, president of the Fordham Institute, told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “On the flip side, if you close schools and the kids end up in lower performing schools, they’ll do worse.”
Using West Virginia’s own metrics, the Fordham Institute identified the nine schools that are both losing enrollment and have been identified as low-performing: Arnoldsburg School in Calhoun County, East Bank Middle School in Kanawha County, Ranger Elementary in Lincoln County, Duval PK–8 School in Lincoln County, Kimball Elementary School in McDowell County, Cherry River Elementary School in Nicholas County, Lakeside Elementary in Putnam County, Wayne Middle School in Wayne County and Mullens Middle School in Wyoming County.
While school districts in the northern and eastern parts of the state may be tempted to look at that list and ignore the study’s message (and, yes, McDowell County has seen population loss of 17.54% since 2010, according to World Population Review), it is important to understand those are just nine of the most challenged schools — for now. There are others scattered throughout the state that need real help to allow students to become lifelong learners.
Only Berkeley, Monongalia, Jefferson, Hampshire, Morgan, Hardy and Monroe counties saw population growth in 2024. Sure, public officials are supposed to be working on ways to improve educational outcomes for our students and reverse the trend of population loss.
We can’t count on them to make a difference any time soon.
But those working at the local level — administrators, school boards and the communities they serve — can use the Fordham Institute study to help them think differently about how they can do better for our students, right now.