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Olcott appointment and other Wood County BOE updates

By Douglass Huxley 6 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Former board member Rick Olcott was sworn in Tuesday night during the regular meeting of the Wood County Board of Education.

Olcott will fill the vacancy left when Debbie Hendershot stepped down Jan. 30 to run for Wood County magistrate. He will sit on the board until a special election is held in November.

"I just want to thank the board, and Superintendent (Christie) Willis, for being so kind and welcoming to me," Olcott said during board comments. "I look forward to some good things we need to do in the coming months."

The board unveiled a new Wood County Schools logo created by students and teacher Scott Cleland, from Parkersburg High School. A full list of the students who were recognized for their work on the new logo can be found in the online version of this story.

"The students at PHS have really outdone themselves," Willis said. "This is beautiful."

The wood logo, which took the students two weeks to make, will be on display in the newly renovated Bailey Boardroom located at the central offices.

Students at Blennerhassett and Van Devender middle schools were recognized for their completion of i-Ready Math and/or Reading Lessons. A full list of those recognized can be found in the online version of this story.

"I just want to say congratulations to the students, it's been so much work," Jason Potts, director of curriculum and instruction said. "It is a cooperation between the students, the parents and teachers. So, congratulations on your hard work."

Chad Bloss, director of transportation, presented the board with new transportation uniforms.

Bloss said this included multiple options including polos, dress shirts, t-shirts, and jackets. Overalls and coats from Carhartt were also purchased for cold weather that have high visibility striping on the sleeves and legs for safety. The uniforms aim to keep drivers warm and visible as they prepare buses early in the morning.

"These guys are amazing. The things that they do on a daily basis to get the kids to school safe," Bloss said. "They are out in the fog, rain, the snow, the dark, and in the middle of nowhere, and they find a way to get it done every day and get our kids to school safe."

The board also received an update on attendance from Chris Rutherford, director of attendance.

"I was tasked to address chronic absenteeism in the county, and I have really good news," Rutherford said. "Chronic absenteeism in the county is down 19.511%."

Rutherford said the use of WVEIS 2.0 , a student management system that manages student records including demographics, attendance, scheduling and grading, has been a big part of the decline.

"This new data system, 2.0, is allowing us to be able to narrow our focus, and get into what we need to get into," Rutherford said.

He said the increase in attendance will help students' grades and that you can't teach an empty seat.

"Because once you miss school, you've lost that seat time," Rutherford said. "There's no getting that back. And so when kids come more often, they get more instruction, and of course, we think they're gonna do better."

Cathy Grewe, coordinator of assessment and student services, requested approval for a Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program with Marshall University.

The grant aims to increase the number of school-based mental health professionals in West Virginia schools by providing tuition benefits of up to $10,000 for students pursuing careers in school counseling, social work, or psychology if they commit to working additional years in a West Virginia school after graduating.

Grewe said the point of the MOU for the county schools is they will work with Marshall University to identify ways to recruit and retain graduate mental health students and increase providers in high-need areas. They will also provide day-to-day supervision of any graduate students in the county receiving the grant.

"The emotional and mental health needs of our students in this county have multiplied several times over compared to several years ago," Grewe said. "Even in the face of economic challenges, we need to keep meeting emotional and mental health needs, and keeping those needs in the forefront of our focus with serving our children."

The next Wood County Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online.

For online use:

Students who were recognized for their work on the new Wood County Schools logo:

*Parker Atkinson

*Connor George

*Addison Seawell

*Trent West

*Braden Williams

*Bryce Willis

*Aven Wilson

*Teacher: Scott Cleland, Parkersburg High School

Items approved during the consent agenda:

* Short-term bus lease agreement for KidzWorld Learning Center on Feb. 20

* WVUP Residency Mini Grant Awards – Reading and Math Materials

* Certificate of Substantial Completion for Blennerhassett Fan Replacement

* Certificate of Substantial Completion for Jefferson Auditorium Renovations

* Phoenix Associates Pay App 7 Refrigeration Warehouse Repairs in the amount of $90,889.39

* Murray Pay APP 3 Martin HVAC in the amount of $369,450

* Murray Pay App 7 Edison HVAC in the amount of $11,894

* Memorandum of Understanding between Wood County Schools and the Marshall University Research Corporation to provide services as stated

* Articles of Agreement between Wood County Schools and Glenville State University for pre-service teaching placements

* Agreement between Wood County Technical Center and Riverview Pediatrics – this agreement will provide a supervised learning experience for the students from the Wood County Technical Center

* Agreement between Wood County Technical Center and Williamstown Animal Hospital – this agreement will provide a supervised learning experience for the students from the Wood County Technical Center

* Agreement between Wood County Schools and Fairmont State University School of Nursing

* Articles of Agreement between Wood County Schools and University of Phoenix for pre-service teaching placements

Students recognized for completing i-Ready Math and/or Reading Lessons:

Blennerhassett Middle School:

* Amelia Auville

* Nathan Banta

* Emma Barker

* Owen Burris

* Shiloh Burrows

* Brandon Drake

* Jalyn Eddy

* Karissa Epperly

* Daisy Hill

* Allyson Jolley

* Paisley Maone

* Caprica Peck

* Aiden Philpott

* Luke Pursley

* Haley Raper

* Morgan Wicker

* Abigayle Wilson

VanDevender Middle School:

* Emma Deem

* Zachary Gaston

* Sarah Hughes

* Anabella Mathess

* Tayvon Roupe

* Aaron Russell

* Andrew Salizzoni

* Raegan Shahan

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