State of Our Communities

With Partisan Shifts Grabbing the Attention, a Quieter Trend Emerges in New WV Legislature

11.14.16

Photo by West Virginia Legislature/Facebook

As Jake Lynch noted in our first election post last week, not all West Virginians are represented equally within the West Virginia Statehouse. Which is why it is imperative that we work to make the political process more accessible to all people.

In response to the November 8 General, we decided to take a look at the demographics of the newly elected 2017 West Virginia Legislature. Let’s dive in.

The percentage of the legislature compromised of West Virginians aged 18 – 34 has now more than doubled.

The 2017 legislature will include 16 members under the age of 34, almost 12 percent of the legislature. However, one other underrepresented group saw their situation worsen.

This age group accounts for approximately 20 percent of West Virginia’s population, but prior to the November 8 election held less than 5 percent of seats in legislature.

That imbalance has been addressed somewhat. The 2017 legislature will include 16 members under the age of 34, almost 12 percent of the legislature.

However, one other underrepresented group saw their situation worsen.

Women comprise 51 percent of West Virginia’s total population, yet they account for a mere 12.6 percent of the 2017 Legislature.

Fourteen female delegates were elected to the House of Delegates in this latest election, which equates to 14 percent of the 100 member lower-legislative body, a drop from the 2014 election.

Women comprise 51 percent of West Virginia’s total population, yet they account for a mere 12.6 percent of the 2017 Legislature.

In the West Virginia Senate, 3 female representatives were elected, equating to 8.8 percent of the 34 person upper-legislative chamber.

(While female representation in the Senate remains low, it’s the highest it’s been since 2004. Female representation was highest in the West Virginia Senate in 1988, when 6 women were elected to the chamber.)

Senator Elect Patricia Rucker, a Republican from District 16, is one of the three women to join the upper chamber and is also a first generation American. Senator Elect Rucker immigrated to the United States in 1981 from Caracas, Venezuela.

“The Rumbling Nationwide is Evident”: Conference To Explore Civic Engagement in America

08.19.16

Photo by Annabelle Shemer/FlickrCC

Are you concerned about civic life in America? Are you frustrated by fractured communities and divisive politics? Do you feel we can do better?

Join others who are working to design and support engaged and resilient communities by participating in the annual convening of the National Conference on Citizenship, October 13-14, 2016 in Washington, DC.

For decades evidence has shown troubling disengagement from many spheres of civic life. Yet, civic engagement is bubbling to the surface on the front pages and in our communities across the nation.

The rumbling nationwide is evident: now is the time to think deeply, act meaningfully, and talk openly about our shared future and health.

Whether in the form of powerful protests, increased public dialogue about pressing social issues, a pointed dissatisfaction with the political process from all sides, battles over the privilege and definition of citizenship, or increases in new forms of online engagement, the rumbling nationwide is evident: now is the time to think deeply, act meaningfully, and talk openly about our shared future and health.

This is a time for civic renewal—a renewal that’s not just about politics, but about the heart and soul of our communities.

How can we meet this moment in ways that inspire deep, diverse, sustainable civic participation in all its forms and from all segments of society? How do we ensure that civic engagement efforts meet the needs of an increasingly diverse nation?

How do we ensure that civic engagement efforts meet the needs of an increasingly diverse nation?

With a focus on equity, diversity and inclusion, we will examine a wide range of perspectives and issues facing communities. Your voice is essential as we seek to develop strategies that address our most pressing challenges.

We will explore these questions and begin to develop a shared path forward at the 70th Annual National Conference on Citizenship. Co-hosted by Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life, this working convening will examine civic engagement strategies that can aid in community problem-solving and spark a civic renewal movement across the country.

Please join us for this important convening and invite other colleagues whose voices need to be heard.

If you are interested in becoming a Civic Renewal Partner and/or a Conference Sponsor, please contact John Magnuson at 202.864.5511 or by email at JMagnuson@ncoc.net.

Sally Prouty is the Interim CEO of the National Conference on Citizenship, and a member of its Civic Renewal Team. Learn more about the National Conference on Citizenship at ncoc.net

State of Our Communities: Engaging and Inspiring Young Voters in West Virginia

08.15.16

The following story is an excerpt from The Hub’s State of Our Communities project, taking a close look at the progress of West Virginia’s community development sector and key indicators relating to civic engagement, physical activity and health, innovation and education, food and farm economy, young professionals, tourism and recreation, arts and crafts economy, and environment and infrastructure.

Stay tuned for the launch of StateofOurCommunities.org in September 2016.

Inspire West Virginia Leadership Academy, Charleston, August 2016. Photo by Inspire West Virginia.

In the 2012 general election, West Virginians aged 18-to-24 voted at a rate of 23 percent, the worst voting record of that age group in the country.

In the 2014 midterm elections, West Virginia failed to turnout even half of its registered voters. Across the United States in 2014, youth voter registration and turnout rates were the lowest ever recorded in a federal election.

And it wasn’t just young voters who shirked their civic duty. A mere 33.9 percent of registered voters made their voice heard in 2014. Turnout hadn’t been that low since 1942.

In it’s first 10 months, West Virginia’s online voter registration system registered 20,990 new voters. Eighteen-year-olds were the highest percentage of any age group to register online.

(There are early signs that voter turnout will be higher for the 2016 general election. Almost 70,000 West Virginians between the ages of 17 and 29 voted in the West Virginia Democratic and Republican primaries this year, a notable increase on previous years.)

In September 2015, West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant rolled out an online voter registration system, which in other states has been successful in increasing voter registration and turnout.

As of June 2016, 31 states plus the District of Columbia had instituted online voter registration systems. Seven other states have passed legislation allowing online voter registration but were still working on implementation.

In it’s first 10 months, West Virginia’s online voter registration system registered 20,990 new voters.

Nearly 60 percent of those new voters were under 40. Eighteen-year-olds alone accounted for 1,154 of the online registrations, the highest percentage (5.5 percent) of any age group to register online. The online voter registration system meets young people where they are on a regular basis – the internet.

Registering young voters in school, online

Inspire West Virginia is a nonpartisan organization with a mission of encouraging young people to vote and be engaged in their community.

Inspire West Virginia is the most successful of the six state Inspire chapters across America. The three Charleston-based Inspire West Virginia staff members, with the help of 67 Inspire student leaders from 25 schools across the state, registered 2,600 new voters in the 2015-2016 school year, the most of any Inspire chapter in the nation.

Inspire West Virginia registered 2,600 new voters in the 2015-2016 school year, the most of any Inspire chapter in the nation.

Secretary Tennant has been working closely with Inspire West Virginia in recent years to help 17 and 18 year olds register to vote.

The new online voter registration system will be instrumental in registering students to vote in the 2016-2017 school year.

It was actually in a school – Nitro High School – that Secretary Tennant unveiled the online system in September 2015. Nitro was one of 11 schools to receive the Randolph Jennings Award, given by the Secretary’s office to schools that register 100 percent of their graduating senior class to vote. The award is aptly named for the U.S. Senator from West Virginia, Randolph Jennings, who in the early 1970s was a lead advocate for the 26th amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18.

In 2016 student leaders will begin utilizing the new online registration system to register fellow students via voter drives at their schools, carrying around tablets, phones and laptops to register students rather than the paper mailing cards they had used up until now.

Ahead of the November 8 election, people are reminded that West Virginia law requires voters to register 21 days before the election takes place, so you must be registered by October 18, 2016 in order to cast your vote. Early voting will begin October 26 and run through November 5.

Tech Savvy: Guided By Industry, Simulated Workplace Classes a Pipeline to Local Careers

07.19.16

Spring Valley High School simulated workplace students design a sketch of a product in development. Photo by James Coble/ Spring Valley High School

Inside the Next Generation Engineering and Design Firm in Oak Hill, Rachel Peal, Jared Richards and Christopher Lanham are problem-solving how to design a toolkit that would allow artists to easily transport their materials.

As they zeroed in on specific challenges in the engineering design process, the team consulted with local engineers, part of an ongoing process of product development that included collaboration with industry experts and public presentations about their product.

This could be a product design team working in any industrial company anywhere in the world. But there’s something particularly interesting about this particular team.

The Simulated Workplace program transforms the typical classroom into an authentic workplace.

They are high school students. And their “firm” is actually a classroom.

Rachel, Jared and Christopher are all students of the Fayette Institute of Technology’s (FIT) Simulated Workplace program, designed by the West Virginia Department of Education’s Division of Career Technical Education with the support of state business leaders.

The Simulated Workplace program transforms the typical classroom into an authentic workplace, where students are held to professional standards. Students clock in and out, hold leadership positions, submit to random drug tests and aim to complete a full day of quality work.

The Simulated Workplace program has turned the typical classroom on its head in an effort to increase student engagement and accountability, and respond to industry’s request of the public education sector to graduate more career ready students with portable skills.

Simulated Workplace students report higher attendance rates, lower discipline rates and lower rates of positive drug testing than the high school average in West Virginia.

Industry and Business Advisory Committees made up of local business and industry leaders oversee each classroom. The committees inspect the workplaces, provide speakers and often invite students to tour their own facilities.

The payoff for the businesses that get involved is a pipeline directly to a source of local employees that they know have the right technical skills, are motivated and reliable.

Many Simulated Workplace students have been offered internships and even full time jobs, as a result.

Spring Valley High School simulated workplace students tour Paris Sign’s manufacturing facility. Photo by James Coble/ Spring Valley High School

Currently, 13,000 students across 502 classrooms in West Virginia participate in Simulated Workplace, almost double the 7,200 students that participated last year.

Simulated Workplace students report higher attendance rates, lower discipline rates and lower rates of positive drug testing than the high school average in West Virginia.

With strict requirements for remaining in a Simulated Workplace classroom, 98.4 percent of Simulated Workplace participants are drug free.

With local engineering firms looking on intently, it may also have opened the door for them to a fulfilling career here in West Virginia.

At the West Virginia Department of Education’s Simulated Workplace Conference held in Charleston this June, students and teachers alike raved about the initiative. Teachers agree that students tend to take more ownership of their studies in nontraditional classrooms, as they feel more in control, and more responsible for what takes place.

And students of the program clamored about the sense of pride they feel at the helm of an industry inspired workplace.

Back in Oak Hill, Rachel, Jared and Christopher are celebrating, after winning the Engineering Technology and Design component of the SkillsUSA West Virginia competition, which recognizes excellent career and technical education students. Their win took them to Kentucky, to compete in the national SkillsUSA championship.

More importantly, with local engineering firms looking on intently, it may also have opened the door for them to a fulfilling career here in West Virginia.

Marissa-Russell

Registering young voters in school, online

Other resources and handy links