Going to school in Harrison County, West Virginia, can be a great experience full of hope and a bright outlook for the future. The only catch is that you need to make sure you live in the right area. You should also be okay with prayers in schools despite the law. Finally, you should probably be white.

The school system in Harrison County is riddled with inequality and cover-ups. Children are constantly facing racial tensions, unconstitutional religious activity, violations of the rights of children with disabilities, and unfair bias due to income. It has become such a problem that sites on social media have been popping up in order for parents to find support, including this Facebook group, COMPLAINTS ABOUT HARRISON COUNTY SCHOOLS.

The local news outlets do not report on issues plaguing schools in West Virginia. They report on fluff pieces and lots of local sports events. Meanwhile, children all over the county are in a daily struggle to receive a decent education.

Grossly Underfunded

Students in the town of Clarksburg are hard pressed to find such an education. They have the misfortune of being in a mediocre school district and they have the scores that reflect it.

The report card on West Virginia schools can be found here. An example of the inequality of opportunity based on income is glaring to those who know these school districts. The Bridgeport Middle School and Bridgeport High School are both A schools. They are in areas with higher incomes.

Image: Screenshot West Virginia Department Of Education

In contrast, Washington Irving Middle School and Robert C Byrd High School are C schools and are located in working class areas. Locals know that investments go to Bridgeport as do the advantages.

Image: Screenshot West Virginia Department Of Education

The resolution that was settled on was to eliminate the school grading system all together. They took an extra step in changing the way grades are reported on report cards in order to record grades at a higher level in the schools that are highly underfunded.

Bullying The Victims

The bullying issue comes as no surprise to anyone other than the school board. The Harrison County Board of Education (HCBOE) prides itself with a “zero tolerance” bullying policy. The only thing that they have zero tolerance for is for children to react after sustained bullying. Those students are immediately expelled.

Unfortunately, the children who tend to be the victims of bullying are minorities. These minorities could be racial minorities as well as children with disabilities.

The schools are highly untrained to deal with these issues, so they pass the buck. These children have gone to multiple school staff members. The staff can claim that they addressed the bullying without any proof. Parents are told that confidentiality issues prohibit the school from disclosing any actions taken to address the issue. Parents are left without advocacy. There are no news outlets reporting on this.

Church IS State In West Virginia Schools

There is also a shortage of news articles and reports on the amount of Christian-based religious propaganda forced on West Virginia school children. Parents are faced with hate and persecution if they speak out in opposition to this blatant violation of these children’s constitutional rights. A parent in Mercer County. West Virginia, recently found the courage to speak out and received death threats from all around the state.

Children in Clarksburg, West Virginia, were led in the Lord’s Prayer before every football game. The same school made the football team meet for a mandatory team meeting on a Sunday at a Methodist church and then was made to stay for the services.

These issues seem to only scrape the surface of the swamp of violations in the West Virginia school system. The HCBOE has no interest in fixing these issues. They are simply interested in the bottom line. They expect these children to come in and sit in unquestioning silence. They do not have the students’ best interests in mind.

Prepare yourselves. This is a perfect representation of what schools across the country are facing under the current administration. #Resist

For an approach to combat bullying, watch the following video:

Featured Image: Screenshot Via You Tube.