CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As one educational leader retires, a new president has stepped into the role with the same mission of serving the next generation of teachers and students.
The West Virginia Chapter of The American Federation of Teachers recently welcomed 30-year veteran of teaching Kristie Skidmore to the position as AFT President for the state, while also saying goodbye to longtime AFT President Fred Albert who retired earlier this month.
Both Skidmore and Albert joined Dave Allen on 580 Live Tuesday morning.
Before discussing her plans for the teachers union, Skidmore reflected back on how Albert helped shape the AFT in West Virginia, but said his retirement is well-deserved.
“First of all I would like to say congratulations to Fred and happy retirement and thank him for his service, for his many years of service towards the union down there in Kanawha County and statewide, thank you Fred,” Skidmore said addressing him.
Albert served as the local AFT President in Kanawha County for 15 years prior to serving as state AFT President for six years.
But prior to serving in his 21-year leadership position, Albert served as a classroom teacher.
Fred Albert
He said teaching was always his true calling and he enjoyed every minute spent during his years in the classroom. However, Albert said starting in 2018 following the teacher strikes, which rallied educators across the state together over low wages and high healthcare costs, he began to feel like he could serve the education field in an even deeper way.
“Not only hopefully effect what happens in the classrooms, but I could be helpful to our teachers and our service personnel and ultimately our students at a different angle, so that’s what led me into running for the state Fed presidency position,” said Albert.
Albert had taught in an elementary school for the first six years of his career before transitioning over to the middle school classroom where he taught math for over 20 years.
Despite the more recent calling as an educational leader, he said his passion for education ultimately always led back to teaching.
“Teaching, as I said was my calling and I enjoyed working with the students and I enjoyed working with my colleagues, and I don’t regret a moment of that,” he said.
Albert said he may substitute teach during his retirement, but for now he just intends to rest.
He said does still very much care about the state the schools are in today throughout all of the staffing shortages, and that may be the reason which will drive him back into the classroom.
“There’s not only a shortage of classroom teachers, of classroom aides, of bus drivers, of cooks, and custodians, there’s a shortage of substitutes, so I may be able to help out in that regard, but we’ll see what happens, it’s time to rest a little bit,” Albert said.
Skidmore said as the new AFT President, bringing in more educators to fill the vacancies is a long-term goal for her, but it’s also a very complex issue with a lot of parts that need to be considered.
She said they need to work on addressing the issues teachers face today in a proactive way, and in turn, she is hopeful this will help change the perception of teaching back to what it once was.
“I think a lot of the issues surrounding education these days is not appealing, but I think if we can change that perspective a little bit we may be able to attract young people, especially in the state of West Virginia,” Skidmore said. “It’s a difficult situation.”
Another concern coinciding with the teacher shortage that Skidmore says they are working with lawmakers to address is the extreme behaviors and discipline issues in the classroom.
Albert said this change in student behavior has been one of the most significant and severe he has seen over the years working in education.
However, he said he believes it comes back to a lack of support for educators.
“It used to be a very respected profession, community-wide, and that seems to have eroded, so I think we need to look at this and find a way to bring back respect for this profession, for our educators,” Albert said.
Skidmore said in her 30 years of teaching in Randolph County where she was also born and raised, she has witnessed these concerning changes in education firsthand as well.
She said teachers are dedicated, caring individuals and they deserve better.
“They’ll take a lot, but they shouldn’t have to,” she said. “And then we have to think about how that effects student learning overall when you have disruptive behavior, and we also need to think about where some of those behaviors come from.”
She said they are aware teachers are increasingly dealing with trauma and mental health issues in the classroom, and so they need that support to not only go to educators, but the students as well to help address and alleviate these issues.
Kristie Skidmore
Skidmore was elected as state AFT President in November during the General Election.
She said like Albert, teaching has always been her calling.
“I think I’ve had a very blessed career, I’ve enjoyed teaching, just like Fred I feel like that was my calling,” Skidmore said. “I was originally a biology major and was walking through the hall one day in college, visited the education department during an open house and thought, this is me, this is where I belong and never regretted any of it.”
She said she is now ready to bring that passion to the position of leadership on a statewide level.
Skidmore previously had served as the local AFT President in Randolph County. She will serve a three-year term as state president.