By Gary Lee Stuber
Several students from Clay County schools were recognized in a public award ceremony for placing in the Regional Science Fair at the Clay County Board of Education meeting at Clay County High School on Feb. 13.
Three students from Clay Elementary worked on the same project: Kash Kincaid, Vance Hamrick and Austin Taylor. Their project “Do Energizer Batteries Keep On Going” won first place in their regional category.
Another student from Clay Elementary, Sam Hubbard, entered the project “Chemistry is the Bomb” and won first place in his regional category.
Briar Dorsey and Alexander Holcomb of Clay Middle School submitted their project “Water Testing” and won first place in their regional category.
Stephanie Rollyson, also of Clay Middle School submitted, her project “Do White Candles Burn Faster than Colored Candles” and won first place in her category. When asked by board member Susan Bodkins if white candles burn faster Stephanie was quick to answer, “No.” She got a warm laugh from many in the audience.
Three students from H.E. White Elementary School were not in attendance, likely because there was an ongoing power outage in the area and may not have been contacted in time. They will be publicly awarded for their project “Do Different Surfaces Affect the Motion of a Wind-up Toy” at a future board meeting. They are Levi Witt, Silas Townsend, and Easton Leftwich.
Our hearty congratulations to all who worked hard on these projects, made an impressive presentation and brings pride and awareness of the quality of science education in Clay County Schools.
Board members attending this meeting were David Pierson, Susan Bodkins, Superintendent Philip Dobbins, President Phoebe Nichols, and Vice President Brooke Jones. Not shown but in attendance by electronic means was Board Member Lolita Nutter.
Elizabeth House did a short but important presentation on Jobs for West Virginia Graduates and her efforts to see that Clay County was continuing to graduate students prepared for work.
President of BridgeValley Community and Technical College Casey K. Sacks gave a compelling presentation about the associate’s degree program she is working to expand into Clay County High School. Apparently, there are already classes in business being offered by the high school. Soon, a Clay County teacher who already teaches welding will be certified by the college to expand his class to accreditation by BridgeValley in a Welding Certificate. She said many classes that did not require labs could be done in the high school during school hours.
Here is one of the perks: students not only get high school credit toward their graduation, but also credit toward their associate degree. She suggested some such as diesel mechanic, phlebotomy, and LPN Nursing, all of which require hands-on experience in a lab. And there is more good news: it’s free to students. The education and associate’s degree program will fully be covered by grants internally at BridgeValley and the only cost to Clay County Schools would be transportation (providing busses), and maybe the cost of a specialized teacher (one from BridgeValley) if required to teach that course at Clay High School.
Tina Burdette gave a very positive look at mid-year benchmark testing results that showed students across the board that growing in educational goals established in the beginning of the year and retested at the mid-year. A generalization would note students reaching their expected level gained at least 30% overall.
In other business, the board approved three new policies: Polity 4120, Comprehensive School Counseling Program; Policy 4130, Public Complaints About Instructional Curriculum Material; and Policy 4140, Instructional Resource Adoption. Anyone interested in reading the new policies can look them up online at claycountyschools.org.
The board also gave consent for two overnight trips. In-State Overnight Trip for the Clay County High School and Clay County Middle School Technology Student Association (TSA) State Leadership Conference, March 20-23 at Cedar Lakes, Ripley, West Virginia. The second is In-State Overnight Trip for the Skills USA Competition March 21-24 in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Sponsors will be taking personal vehicles due to competitions in four different locations.
The board recognized only one resignation. That was Carlet Blake, an art teacher at Clay County Middle School, and effective only after the hiring of her replacement.
New employees include Jadia Mitchum, Samantha Conrad, and Hollie Withrow all as substitute secretaries. Angela Lane and John Topa were hired as substitute bus drivers. Amber Murphy was approved as a volunteer Soft Ball Coach at Clay Middle School. The Board approved the Extracurricular Contract for Gevevie DeBoard as driver for the Extra-Mile Grant Food Box Delivery Program using her personal vehicle. And the board approved the employment of Michelle Ramsey as Itinerant Autism Mentor Aide – Personal Care Kindergarten at Clay Elementary School.
The Board of Education further allowed and authorized payment of bills and financial reports including the reading of the monthly income and expenditures. The board wrapped up the public meeting and entered a closed hearing to discuss and determine the disciplinary status of a student at Clay County High School, which was closed to the public because of the protected status of a juvenile.
The next regular board meeting, according to their own calendar of meeting on the second Tuesday of each month will be on Mar. 12.
