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Member's Press Release

Release Date: 09/01/2022
Contact: Jacque Bland at (304) 357-7999


Craig Blair


Senate President Craig Blair Names Senator Amy Grady Chairman of Education Committee

CHARLESTON – Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, today announced that Senator Amy Nichole Grady, R-Mason, has been named Chairman of the Education Committee.

“We have made monumental strides in providing educational options and expanding school choices for our families,” Senate President Blair said. “It’s now time to usher in a new era with a focus on supporting our state’s public schools and increasing student achievement. I believe there is nobody better to lead that focus than Senator Grady. We want our public school educators to know that we are committed to giving them the resources and tools they need to be the best in the world. I am confident with Senator Grady’s leadership, those lines of direct communication will open right up. Education is economic development, period. We have seen unprecedented success with our economic development efforts in the last few years, and it is time for us to bring that same level of success to our public schools.”

“Senator Rucker has done a tremendous job in promoting and advancing school choice options in the state of West Virginia. And to ensure those options are successful and receive the appropriate attention needed, I have engaged in conversations with the State Board of Education and State Department of Education to establish an office and position that supports non-traditional education programs,” Senate President Blair continued. “We can’t simply check the box and move on since simply because the legislation has passed. We need to ensure the appropriate support is provided to parents and entities taking advantage of education options so that they flourish and are successful.”

“This is a new day for public education in West Virginia. In just a few months, we’ve seen a complete change in our State Board of Education. We have a new state Board of Education president, a new State Superintendent of Schools, and two board members have resigned. These changes give us a Board of Education eager and willing to work with the Legislature, not against it.”

“Our state’s top export is our youth. We have started to reverse that trend, and we are in the position of creating even more economic opportunities with even more jobs that will bring more people to this state to live, work, and raise a family. Our goal is to stop declining school enrollment, stop school consolidations, and build more schools. There is no member of the Senate better equipped for this mission than Senator Amy Grady.”

“As the Senate President, it’s my duty to put members into place where they can do the most good and serve the people of West Virginia the best. You can’t send a welder in to do an electrician’s job. I am grateful to Senator Rucker for all she has done to advance public charter schools, microschools, home school education, and educational savings accounts. With our renewed focus, it was time for new leadership.”

Senator Grady has been a public school classroom teacher since 2007. She has been a 4th Grade teacher for the last 12 years. She was elected to the Senate in 2020. She is Vice Chairman of the Health and Human Resources Committee and serves as a member of the Agriculture and Rural Development, Judiciary, Military and Natural Resources committees. She is a career public school educator and is currently a 4th Grade teacher at Leon Elementary School in Mason County. She is the first full-time public school educator to serve as Chairman of the Senate Education Committee since 1970.




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