A policy is a course or guideline of activity embraced or proposed by a government, political party, or by the people of a country. Policies are made in order to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to receive help, and everyone is governed under the same rules in order to receive that help. In many cases, a policy is created after a disaster. In the case of the US Virgin Islands, several policies need to be created after the passing of hurricanes Irma and Maria. The storms left lasting negative effects on many government agencies and the educational system. Therefore, a new policy should be created in order to make sure the people of the US Virgin Islands are getting the education they need to succeed.
Education in the Virgin Islands
Our local public schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands are overseen by the USVI Department of Education and are accessible on St. Croix (K-12), St. Thomas (K-12) and St. John (K-8). Private and home schools additionally exist. There are no schools on Water Island. There are children on St. John and Water Island that travel to St. Thomas for school, as well as a few parents who choose to homeschool their children. The University of the Virgin Islands has a college campus on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
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Education in the Virgin Islands has always been a challenge, even before hurricanes Irma and Maria. In the public school system, the quality of education is not the best due to the lack of infrastructure and funding from the Virgin Islands Government. Along with this, the supply of teachers does not meet the demand of them in the territory. Due to these issues, private school might seem like a better option; however, the cost of education is too high for any middle-class family.
Post-secondary education
Established in 1962, the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is the main institute of higher learning in the US Virgin Islands. It is an open, co-ed, land-awarded Historically Black College/University (HBCU); it offers degree programs in 47 undergraduate and graduate specialties and around 2,400 selected understudies. UVI’s two main campuses are located on St. Thomas and St. Croix, and there is an expansion ground located on St. Martin/St. Maarten. In 2017, the college got accreditation endorsement to offer online degrees, and beginning in 2018, UVI started to offer their online courses.
Furthermore, UVI offers full grant scholarships covering tuition, room, and board to USVI valedictorians and salutatorians notwithstanding an assortment of different grants and awards for which a few understudies might be qualified. Similarly, as with most open schools and colleges in the US, the educational cost is higher for international students than local students.
Law the dept. of Education needs to follow
The department of education has several different policies that have been implemented throughout the years and different government administrations in the United States. Most of the policies are made within the United States that the department of education in the USVI has to follow and make sure that every single public and private school is following the laws as well. The following policies are examples of laws that the department of education in both the St. Croix and St. Thomas/St. John districts are required to follow:
Under the 2002 law, the “No Child Left Behind” Act requires states to test school children in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in secondary school. All students should’ve been able to fulfill or surpass state guidelines in reading and math by 2014. The significant focal point of the “No Child Left Behind” act is to closely study both accomplishments and learning gaps by furnishing all youngsters with a reasonable, equivalent, and critical chance to receive great instruction. During the Obama administration, the policy was changed and it is now more accessible for the department of education in the USVI to receive federal funding.
The “Education for All Handicapped Children” Act of 1975, presently known as the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA), expanded on area 504, and now comprises of six core principles that guarantee equal opportunity, quality teaching, and protection to children with disabilities.
Effect of Irma and Maria
The effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria impacted all sections of the Virgin Islands’ educational system. The storms either harmed or demolished school and college structures and took out fundamental administrations, like power and media communications. They additionally influenced the lives of students and teachers.
Furthermore, after the effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria, the VIDOE (Virgin Islands Department of Education) and UVI had a challenging time reopening many educational facilities. Many teachers and UVI faculty in the territory decided to leave the islands for a better life in the continental United States after the storms, and as a result, there was an extreme deficit of educators in the territory. In addition, more than 50 percent of the traditional schools and higher education buildings were terribly damaged on all three islands, especially on the island of St. Thomas.
The University of the Virgin Islands was greatly affected by the hurricanes. A majority of the campus, especially on St. Thomas, was affected; and as a result, classes that were originally in-class were switched to online. In addition, the semester had to be extended to December 22, and the school lost 8.4 % in enrollment due to students that chose not to return or could not return. According to President Hall, Ph.D., the damage created from the hurricanes was estimated to cost more than 1 million dollars to fix the University of the Virgin Islands between both campuses.
After Hurricane Irma and Maria.
A couple of months after the passing of hurricanes Irma and Maria, the VIDOE was able to open their doors to the students of the Virgin Islands. Most of the schools were able to open back up normally, but other schools weren’t able to open because of the damage. As a result, the Department of Education in the Virgin Islands combined or shared some school facilities in order to continue with education in the territory.
On the island of St. Thomas, the CAHS and the ACJHS were sharing the same school facility. The ACJHS had their school session in the mornings from 8-11.30 a.m, and CAHS had their school session in the afternoons from 12-4 p.m. Other schools around the school district were able to resume their regular schedules.
The VIDOE was able to incorporate school modules into every school in the territory so as to accommodate all students and resume regular school sessions. In addition to this, the VIDOE needed to follow regular guidelines that required 180 days of school in order to be federally funded by the US government. Therefore, school sessions in the public school system were extended to 4 p.m in order to make up for educational hours lost from the hurricanes.
The University of the Virgin Islands was able to open their doors a month later after the hurricanes; however, their semester was also extended in order to follow federal guidelines. Since most of the classroom was destroyed, UVI switched many classes to an online style, making it easier for the students to access their academics and work from home.
Planning for the future.
Since the major effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria, the Department of Education of the Virgin Islands took several different approaches in creating policies to make sure the student and the educational system remained the same if another hurricane were to hit. The following is a list of initiatives the VIDOE made:
- Develop a standard operating plan and procedures (SOP) for disasters
- Identify best practices for resilience and disaster training for all stakeholders and develop a formal system of training
- Partner with federal-level Department of Education emergency grant programs
- Foster independence of power resources through diversification
- Upgrade schools to emergency shelter standards
- Deploy UVI Restoration and Reconstruction Plan to rebuild and harden damaged university infrastructure
Conclusion.
Overall, the US Virgin Islands was affected by two category 5 hurricanes back in 2017. It was quite a challenge for the Virgin Islands Department of Education and the University of the Virgin Islands to reopen their learning facilities, especially on St. Thomas, where half of the public schools were affected by the storms. The VIDOE and UVI have worked tremendously well on working in creating new policies that ensure students and teachers are always able to have a functioning learning institution. Furthermore, the VIDOE and UVI are working to create new initiatives that will make sure students and teachers will not be greatly affected after another passing next hurricane.
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