We Have Hope

Welcome back to We Have Hope! Today, we are joined by Melvin Womble of Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy. Melvin is the head principal and is here to tell us a little about their school! Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy was the first brick and mortar charter school in West Virginia. They are in their first year, and already have 320 students enrolled and a wait list! Currently, they offer...

Did you know that Dyslexia affects one in five people? One of those people is Jaimee Szymanski’s sister. Over the years, Jaimee watched her mother help her sister learn, and  she developed a passion for helping others with dyslexia. She went on to become a speech language pathologist that specializes in dyslexia diagnosis and tutoring. Jaimee’s mission is to help parents and students obtain &...

Eyes and Brains STEM Center in Elkins, WV is focused on providing an independence driven, student led learning experience. Founder and Director Eric Eisenbrey had taught in the public school system for ten years, and ended each school year feeling like he was coming up short. He felt that students’ needs were not being met, and he was determined to create something to meet those needs.  In his res...

Welcome back to We Have Hope! Today, we are chatting with Marc LeBlond, Director of Policy for Ed Choice. Ed Choice is the intellectual legacy of Milton Friedman. Their mission is to advance educational freedom and choice for all children as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society. Marc grew up in Connecticut and comes from a school choice family with three other siblings. Growing up,...

It’s time to empower parents to have a voice in their children’s education. In today’s episode, we chat with Christine Dougherty of The National Coalition for Public School Options, a nonprofit parent volunteer led school choice advocacy association. The program started in 2008, and has grown to service 36 states in the US. The goal is to provide unlimited access to schools of choice for parents....

In today’s episode, we sat down with some of the teachers from West Virginia Virtual Academy to discuss virtual learning with a charter school. We discussed how each of them got into virtual teaching, some of the benefits of virtual learning, their experiences and more! Virtual learning provides flexibility that cannot be afforded in a traditional classroom. Some students thrive in this flexible e...

Did you know that you have options when it comes to virtual charter schools in WV? West Virginia Virtual Academy is a Virtual Charter School providing education with live instruction from Kindergarten to Tenth Grade in the entire state. The school is in its first year in existence, and currently has 377 students enrolled. Offering career based classes beginning in middle school, WVVA helps give st...

Have you heard the news?! The Hope Scholarship is back in business! To recap - The Hope Scholarship Program is an education savings account (ESA) program that will allow parents and families to utilize the state portion of their education funding to tailor an individualized learning experience that works best for them. (Taken from hopescholarshipwv.com) The Hope Scholarship was originally supposed...

Did you know there is a virtual charter school in West Virginia? Virtual Prep Academy of West Virginia is a tuition-free, virtual public school serving students all over West Virginia. Today on the show, we are joined by Rusty Gray, Head of School of VPA. Rusty has over 30 years of experience in education, and is excited to share information about this unique educational experience that is now ava...

What is a Charter School?  There are a lot of common misconceptions about charter schools. In today’s episode, Kim & Leah have a chat with James Paul - Executive director of WV Charter School Board, a board that was created one year ago to authorize new charter schools in West Virginia. A Charter School is a tuition free, independent public school that receives more autonomy and flexibility fr...

Welcome back to Part 2 of our discussion with Erika Wimmer! Part 1 was so insightful, and we know Part 2 is going to be just as great! Erika is very knowledgeable and so gracious to share with us.  In this episode, we dive deeper into what micro schools are. There are a lot of misconceptions about what they are and how they work. Erika does a great job of explaining what a micro school is and what...

Erika Wimmer has been an educator in the public school system for 14 years. She has taught every grade level in elementary education and has been an instructional coach and interventionist. Erika has two children - a 20-year-old and a 6-year-old. Both of her children have been in the public school setting, but her 6-year-old has not had a great experience.  Erika was growing unhappy with the publi...

What is the Hope Scholarship? How can the funding be used? Will the Hope Scholarship be able to move forward? In today’s episode, we talk with Andrew Bambrick, Education Outreach Coordinator at the Cardinal Institute about all the details of the Hope Scholarship Program.  There are some misconceptions about the program, and Andrew is eager to clear up the confusion and help people better understan...

In today’s episode, we dive in and learn about Kim Dully, Grassroots Coordinator with Love Your School. Kim is married and is a mother of 3 kids ages 9, 8, & 6. Kim’s children attend a Private Christian School at which she and her husband were part of the planning committee. The mother of 3 is also the oldest of 3 kids. Things were tough for her family growing up, which eventually led to her g...

Join us today as we sit down with Leah Peck, Grassroots Coordinator with Love Your School. Leah always knew she wanted to be a mother. It was her biggest goal for as long as she could remember.  At 28, she hadn’t had any children yet and decided to look into foster care. In 2019, she adopted her son at 18 months old. Six months later, she met her husband who already had three children. Since getti...

Welcome to the We Have Hope Podcast where we will discuss school choice options in West Virginia, the Hope Scholarship, and more! Today, we are talking with Founder & Executive Director of Love Your School, Jenny Clark, to learn more about how the program was started, and where it is going! Jenny Clark was homeschooling her two young boys, and felt that something was ‘off’.  A friend suggested...

Thank you for joining us on the We Have Hope West Virginia Podcast! Every Family Should Be Able To Answer The Question, “Do You Love Your School?” With A Resounding “YES!”When it comes to education in West Virginia, families have so many possibilities… We’re here to help families explore the many school options available and celebrate each one through creative storytelling, relevant and fun resour...