Perceptions on Charter Schools in West Virginia

In 2018 and 2019, the public school teachers in West Virginia walked out of their classrooms to protest charter schools opening in the Mountain State. During a special legislative session in the summer of 2019, the state\u27s first charter school law was passed, paving the way to open West Virginia\u27s first charter school. This research provides data on whether the COVID-19 global pandemic changed how individuals in West Virginia view charter schools. A concurrent nested mixed-method approach was used for this research. A twenty-one-question survey, Perceptions on Charter Schools in West Virginia, was developed using both Likert scale and open-ended questions. Personal interviews were conducted using purposive sampling with three individuals possessing unique charter school experience. Five hundred forty-seven individuals responded to the survey. Data indicated a significant difference for eleven survey questions regarding charter schools depending on the respondents\u27 demographic groups. Groups included college student, multiple commitments, teacher, parent/grandparent, and other. Perceptions of West Virginians regarding charter schools vary depending on the demographic group of the survey respondents. Findings also revealed that over 90% of respondents preferred in-person charter schools over virtual charter schools. The open-ended question showed varying opinions for and against charter schools opening in West Virginia