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Incoming Wood County Schools superintendent Christie Willis looks forward to new year

Christie Willis in an aisle at Jefferson Elementary Center where she was a fifth-grade teacher and a principal. Willis will be the next superintendent of Wood County Schools on July 1 and will succeed Will Hosaflook, who is going to Jackson County where he will be superintendent of schools. (Photo by Art Smith)

PARKERSBURG — These are special times for the next superintendent of Wood County Schools.

Christie Willis on July 1 will succeed Will Hosaflook, who is resigning to become the superintendent of Jackson County Schools.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Willis said. “I’m excited about the community.”

Willis, who lives in Vienna, is assistant superintendent of teaching, learning and accountability for Wood County Schools.

She was chosen by the Board of Education in March from four candidates: Richard Duncan, superintendent of Roane County Schools; Michael Fling, assistant superintendent of support services for Wood County Schools; and Walter Saunders, assessment and federal programs director for Ohio County Schools.

If there’s any change at the central office, it will be in the structure of the meetings among the management, according to Willis.

She plans to expand the meetings to include many more people who will have different perspectives, ideas and information. The idea being someone may know something that would be important in a decision, Willis said.

Willis as an assistant superintendent talks with Hosaflook every day. That hasn’t changed as July 1 and the transition get closer, she said.

Willis also is meeting with the school system directors with whom, as head of curriculum, she normally wouldn’t be involved, such as the transportation and food directors.

“So that transition in July will be very smooth,” Willis said.

Programs and initiatives started under Hosaflook will continue, including two pandemic-related programs, the Distance Learning Academy and the West Virginia Virtual School, which is the through the state Department of Education, Willis said.

“They are pretty popular,” she said.

The S.T.E.A.M. Academy at the Caperton Center will continue to offer seventh and eighth graders opportunities related to science and technology. Technical education and programs at the Wood County Technical Center will be a focus, she said.

“It’s the best kept secret in Wood County Schools,” Willis said.

The school system is working on a partnership with West Virginia University at Parkersburg for a cosmetology program to be located in the former Lee’s Studios, she said. Students can earn enough hours to be certified cosmetologists, Willis said.

“We’re working on that partnership right now,” she said.

The dual-credit program will allow students to graduate from high school with a two-year degree from WVU-Parkersburg, she said.

Extracurriculars such as sports, band and the arts also are part of a student’s learning, she said.

“I’m in this for the kids,” Willis said. “I’m a teacher at heart and that’s what I bring to the table.”

While Hosaflook came from Jackson County, Willis is a known quantity here.

A 1994 graduate of Parkersburg South High School, she taught school in Ohio and West Virginia. Willis taught fifth grade at Jefferson Elementary School where she was a principal before getting into administration and the central office.

Willis has a bachelor’s in elementary education from West Virginia University at Parkersburg, a master’s in educational leadership from West Virginia University and certification in learning disabilities and mental impairments from Ohio Valley University. She has 24 years experience in education.

The community has been supportive since her selection, Willis said.

“The welcome has been overwhelming,” she said. “I just hope I can meet everybody’s expectations.”

Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com

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