West Virginia
West Virginia Permanently Bars Failed Microschool from Receiving State Funds
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West Virginia officials have permanently barred a failed microschool that one parent described as a “glorified babysitter” from participating in the state’s Hope Scholarship private school choice program.
In a decision last week, the Hope Scholarship Board also directed state Treasurer Riley Moore’s office, which runs the program, to turn their findings over to the state auditor for possible criminal charges.
The 74 first reported in March that Hive Learning Academy, an education startup operating out of a rented house, was part of a state investigation into scholarship violations. One parent said the school abruptly stopped serving his son’s age group after only three days, made no mention of a refund and didn’t answer questions. Another said there were no set meal times and students just grabbed their lunches from the refrigerator. Parents alerted officials to the problems, but Kaela Zimmerman, the homeschool parent who opened the program, said the state bears some responsibility.
“I feel like they are trying to make an example out of us to set a precedent even though the system truly failed us last year,” she told The 74. She added that she had no plans to reopen anyway. “It was a learning process for everyone. I wish they were willing to admit that and understand that we all did the best we could with the resources we had at the time.”
While the Martinsburg-based school ultimately served just eight students, the controversy raised larger questions nationwide about the expertise of those who start schools with public funds. Critics of such programs, known as education savings accounts, say there is a lack of sufficient oversight and that students suffer when programs abruptly close. But school choice supporters used the school’s failure to argue that market-based approaches like those inWest Virginia work.
“This is the flashpoint for the conversation about what is accountability with education savings accounts,” said Michael Horn, co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a nonprofit think tank. He led a session on the topic at a conference in April and said drawing attention to problems and solutions will make programs better.
Don Soifer, who leads the National Microschooling Center, an advocacy group, noted that West Virginia lawmakers voted last year to allow families to spend ESA funds at microschools, but didn’t follow up with clear guidance on how the unconventional programs could participate.
“West Virginia simply had not anticipated a microschooling movement, and government was slow to respond,” he said. While the requirements on school founders are minimal — they must subject staff to criminal background checks and notify districts when students enroll — Soifer said there’s increased awareness in the state about the small programs. “Things seem a whole lot better now. But the start was tricky.”
‘Everything was returned’
Launching the Hive was a greater risk than Zimmerman anticipated. She and a business partner opened the program last August and, lacking sufficient startup funds, dipped into their own money for furniture and supplies. Parents quickly spotted signs of trouble. The school’s schedule was inconsistent as operators worked other jobs to pay bills. Parents who visited the schools saw little evidence of academic work.
Ultimately, Zimmerman repaid the state over $15,000 and said she doesn’t understand why officials say she could face criminal charges.
“Everything was returned that needed to be returned,” she said. “No one from the Hope board has reached out to me a single time since they received our refunds.”
Jared Hunt, spokesman for the treasurer’s office, said the board sent Zimmerman notice of the official action and information on how to appeal. But he declined to answer additional questions due to the ongoing investigation.
To observers like Horn, the episode prompts additional questions for both parents and entrepreneurs seeking to open microschools.
“We’re in an environment where you’re seeing so many different microschools pop up with so many educators of different stripes starting them,” he said. “What’s the role of the state? What’s the role of parents? What’s the role of marketplaces in which students and families are making choices?”
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BEVERLY, W.Va (WDTV) – The West Virginia Celtic Festival took place Saturday at Camp Pioneer in Randolph County.
People from around the country came to celebrate their Scottish and Irish heritage at the fourth annual event.
The festival included Irish dancing, Highland games and live Celtic music. Participants set up tents around the park for the public. Artifacts from Celtic heritage and history were on display.
The event was expected to reach up to 5,000 attendants.
“Today we’re hosting the fourth annual West Virginia Wild and Wonderful Celtic Festival and Highland Games. It’s a celebration of Celtic culture and heritage and history,” said David Ferguson, a participant. “We have Highland Games, heavy athletics. We have the athletes throwing the cabers, throwing the heavy stones. A lot of fun athletics to watch. We have Highland dancers. We have musical entertainment. We have something for everybody. We have a lot of fun activities for the kids.”
A Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan service will take place Sunday at the Beverly Presbyterian Church.
Copyright 2026 WDTV. All rights reserved.
West Virginia
Notebook: MCWS as good as advertised; West Virginia no overnight success story – WV MetroNews
Ahead of a June 10th trip to Omaha, I’d only heard positive reviews of the Men’s College World Series and the city that hosts it.
After an eight-night stay in Nebraska’s biggest city, it’s easy to see why.
The event at Charles Schwab Field was well-run and organized starting with Thursday practice for each of the eight participants.
The ballpark, which opened in 2011, is a state of the art, clean venue with a wide variety of concession offerings and a spacious press box that easily accommodated media members while all eight teams played two games over the first four days.
Crowds were strong and made their presence felt, particularly over the first several days.
There are fan-friendly activities just outside the stadium and no shortage of restaurants and bars within walking distance to partake in pregame or postgame festivities.
Perhaps Troy coach Skylar Meade summed it up best after the Trojans were eliminated Tuesday with a 12-0 loss to West Virginia that marked their second setback to the Mountaineers over a 96-hour stretch.
“Every person who came here now knows what this place is,” Meade said. “It’s the most unique place in the world. It’s the best college sporting event bar none. No offense to the others. Rose Bowl is awesome. It ain’t this.”
— — — — —
This was the third straight year I was present for West Virginia’s last game of the season after being on hand for the 2024 Super Regional series at North Carolina and again last year at LSU on the same stage.
Taking in the atmosphere in 2025 at Alex Box Stadium, when the Mountaineers played in front of consecutive crowds of 12,000-plus, provided a look at college baseball I’d never experienced and a newfound appreciation of the sport.
The MCWS took it a step further and continued the ascension of a Mountaineer program that gained national notoriety while hosting the Morgantown Regional and a Super Regional series against Cal Poly.
Envisioning WVU playing on the premier stage in college baseball was unfathomable a decade ago and even highly unlikely as recently as five years back.
But let’s not forget this is a program with four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and one of only two (North Carolina the other) to reach the Super Regional round each of the last three years.
What transpired this season as the Mountaineers set a new single-season program mark with 47 victories is a culmination of a lot of hard work from a lot of people within the program and athletic department alike, but it cannot be considered an overnight success story.
While West Virginia was swept in best-of-three sets in Chapel Hill and Baton Rouge, it’s important to remember those were 36 and 44-win teams that won regionals outside of Morgantown — feats fans should appreciate even more after witnessing the postseason atmosphere at Kendrick Family Ballpark.
WVU hadn’t won in the Super Regional round prior to this season, but two years ago, it had a ninth-inning lead against the Tar Heels in Game 1 and lost Game 2 by one run. Last season, the Mountaineers were eliminated by the eventual national champion.
“There are financial realities of the sport, and people may have assumptions about specific programs or about West Virginia in general that may or may not be correct,” WVU coach Steve Sabins said. “We have a whole lot of people working really hard on a whole lot of different areas, whether that’s Gold & Blue Enterprises, whether that’s BioPrecision with us, whether that’s the School of Sports Science or Biomechanics and Performance Center, whether that’s third-party NIL, specific donors, West Virginia has all of that.
“And it’s competing at the highest levels in all these areas, and I think it would probably surprise a lot of folks of the amount of effort, work, attention to detail and financial resources that have been poured into our program.”
— — — — —
A tip of the cap to West Virginia senior outfielder Brock Wills.
The UNC Wilmington transfer was a mainstay in the Mountaineer lineup throughout the regular season and Big 12 Conference Tournament when he appeared in 50 of 53 games with 45 starts.
When the NCAA Tournament rolled around, Sabins opted to start fellow senior Ben Lumsden in place of Wills.
The decision proved difficult to debate as Lumsden came up with numerous hits in key spots and finished 12-for-37 with three home runs, two doubles, 13 RBI and 11 base-on-balls over 11 games.
Wills, meanwhile, came off the bench to play in three NCAA Tournament games, one of which was Wednesday’s 12-7 season-ending loss to North Carolina when he came on as a right fielder to start the fifth inning.
Wills had three plate appearances against the Tar Heels, the first of which was a well-struck, but tough-luck double play on a liner to second base with the bases loaded in the sixth. He followed it with a walk in the seventh and a single in the ninth.
“So awesome. That kid has been such an instrumental piece of this team,” Sabins said. “In high-level competition, things don’t always go your way. There’s only nine dudes that get to play, and so coaches have to make hard decisions, and that happens every single year. And some years it’s a bigger storyline and some years it’s not, and some guys play good and some guys don’t. And there’s always some mix of that.
“But when things don’t go your way, it’s very easy to cash out. And so when you see a kid that has been so team-oriented and then to get inserted into the biggest game of his career and perform, it just shows you everything that you need to know about character. Because if you cash out, you don’t roll into the highest competition in the world and have success.
“Whether he had success or not, I knew his character. I knew that he was still working, and I knew he was team-oriented, and I knew he was fighting like hell to be great for the Mountaineers, and that’s why he got his opportunity. That’s why it came back around to him.”
For the season, Wills hit .283 (47-for-166) with two home runs, six doubles, three triples and 23 RBI.
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