month.
By Stephen Smoot
Lincoln Middle School’s championship cheer squad receiving recognition for its Mid Mountain 10 Conference title was the highlight of a brief meeting of the Harrison County Board of Education last week.
Frank Devono Jr, Harrison County Board of Education President, announced the award and joked that the cheerleaders in attendance should go ahead and perform a cheer. All came up and received a certificate of achievement, then took a photo.
Team members include Kinley Poling, Chloe Waybright, Cady Hannah, Mazi Stonebreaker, Gracelyn Wood, Kirra Robey, Bella Lafon, Daphne Prangler, Halie Toryak, Elijah Carver, Kinsley Ramsay, Lainey Sinno, Raegan Leep, Alyssa Hamrick, Payton Leary, Mahala Pumphrey, Ryanna Stout, Leti McDonald.
Carver performed a backflip to the delight of the Board and Superintendent.
Later in the meeting, Board member William “Tom” Tucker gave kudos to Lincoln High School for honoring the history of Shinnston, Lumperport, and Wallis High Schools. The 100th anniversary of Wallis’ state basketball championship was also remembered.
“They did a nice job at Lincoln doing all that,” Tucker stated.
Next, the Board heard from Violet Karen, a parent of a Harrison County elementary school student. She started off by admitting her presentation “won’t be nearly as much fun as (the cheer squad), I can assure you.”
Her primary concern lay in the quality of time used when the school system calls for a virtual day during periods of inclement weather. When she started, Karen asked a question of the Board. Devono explained to her that during public comment periods, she can speak, but no one can interact with her during or after her talk.
This allows the public to comment at meetings of elected officials without worry of interruption or blowback. Devono assured her that she could speak to them informally after the meeting.
Karen assured Board members and the Superintendent that “we know you don’t control the weather” and also shared that she grew up “with a principal in the house.”
Her concern lay in the fact that on virtual schooling days, there is a “small fraction of quality time in comparison to a normal instruction day.” Also, when students receive worksheets to do on such days “parents are not the best substitutes, try as we might” for the ability of teachers to explain difficult concepts in effective ways to different ages of children.
She also explained that “children always want to engage with their teachers and classmates.”
Karen suggested that the Board or others put together the “best plan . . . (to) anticipate and get as much quality as we can” from the virtual days or eliminate the idea of virtual days altogether and simply add those days to the end of the calendar as before.
As Devono moved forward with the agenda, Board member William “Tom” Tucker noted that he had accidentally passed up the Superintendent’s Update portion.
Dora Stutler, Harrison County Schools Superintendent, joked “I don’t know if that was on purpose or not!”
She then addressed praise to all involved with the All County Band, composed of both middle and high school students. “Thank you to . . . our music educators across the county . . . I can’t say enough about it. We had all of our music educators there. They spent two days with the kids. They put on a phenomenal concert.”
Stutler said that she loved “to see the camaraderie in the music educators and the students.”
She then shared her appreciation for a “nice activity to recognize graduates of Liberty” High School. “A lot of effort was put in” an alumni game to mark the end of the final season of varsity basketball there.
The facilities report included updates on secured entrance construction at Mountaineer Middle School and Robert C. Byrd High School. Additionally, a rash of illnesses among some of the 93 Harrison County school bus drivers in the weeks prior to the Board meeting had resulted in the situation “getting a bit thin.”
Though no routes were compromised, the official delivering the report stated that “we’re trying to stay ahead of the game.”
Nominations are also being welcomed for service personnel of the year and also teacher of the year. “We’ll be excited to see who the recipients are,” noted Stutler.
