The West Virginia Department of Education has added to the team brought to Harrison County Schools to address ongoing issues. Last month, State Superintendent Michelle Blatt hired Hardy County Schools Superintendent Sheena Van Meter.
Last week, it was announced that former Pendleton County Schools Superintendent Charles F. Hedrick would be offered a contract to take a consultant’s role. Hedrick signed a contract to pay $575 per day for 100 days of service. WDTV news reports that his role will include developing action plans to correct issues and concerns cited by the West Virginia Department of Education as reasons for partial intervention.
Hedrick brings four decades of public education experience to the role. He first worked in school administration at the age of 30.
He served as principal at Circleville High School, later headed up transportation, then attendance in the Pendleton County Schools central office. Hedrick served nine years as Pendleton County Schools Superintendent until his retirement in 2025. Since then, Hedrick has remained active as a mentor for school administrators and as a resource of information for other superintendents, members of the West Virginia State Legislature, and others.
“He’s always had a forward focus. He’s always thinking through things,” shared Nicole Hevener, current Pendleton County Schools Superintendent. Under Hedrick, she served as Pendleton County Middle/High School principal and assistant superintendent.
She added, “he’s calmly methodical, logical. He will be an asset to Sheena (Van Meter).”
Van Meter and Hedrick both navigated the COVID pandemic years as superintendents. Hevener remembered “it put us in such a unique situation where we didn’t know what we were doing.”
She stated that Hedrick’s strength then, and now, lies in his careful cultivation of a network of contacts and officials throughout the state. Hevener stated that he had no reluctance to reach out for information and advice while “sharing information openly” with his colleagues.
Both superintendents followed sound accounting principles during COVID when it came to American Rescue Plan Act funds from the federal government. Both Pendleton and Hardy counties avoided using ARPA funds to hire personnel because “one time only” funding should never go to pay for ongoing expenses.
While other counties, some with far more financial resources than Pendleton and Hardy, ran into trouble, both of those county systems remained fiscally in good condition.
Mowery, also an accounting professor at James Madison University, added that “it’s hard to find a better person who understands from the bottom up the issues facing public schools.” He added that Hedrick always “stays one step ahead of any potential issues that may arise.”
In 2023, Pendleton County Schools showed some aftereffects from COVID in both attendance and academic performance. Hedrick reached out to Barbara Whitecotton, who had served as Superintendent of Hardy County Schools until her retirement. She was hired as School Improvement Coordinator and has helped in a very hands-on fashion in the successful effort to bring up academic metrics.
Both Hevener and Mowery talked of Hedrick’s calm demeanor. Hevener explained that he makes any problem, no matter how complex, appear solvable. Mowery stated “he rarely gets flustered, which is an amazing trait for someone in his position” and “does not rush through things,” but also is not “afraid to act when it is time to act.”
Working with both officials closely has given Hevener perspective on how they can help Harrison County. She said that Van Meter has grown into her role well in Hardy County and, like Hedrick, has crafted a large network statewide. Both of them are active with the leadership of the West Virginia Association of School Administrators. “Making strong relationships is one thing that is wonderful about that organization,” added Hevener.
Hevener stated that Van Meter and Hedrick will work well together because “they are like-minded” in that their focus is student-centered, community-centered, and public schools centered. Their mission is to give students every opportunity possible for growth.
