The Wood County Board of Education this week honored teachers from each grade level for having the top growth in the Math i-Ready Diagnostics. The teachers honored Tuesday were, from left: Dana Bartlett, 1st grade, Worthington Elementary School; Samantha VanDyke, 2nd grade, Blennerhassett Elementary School; Jennifer Byers, 3rd grade, Fairplains Elementary School; Missy Maidens, 4th grade, Waverly Elementary School; and Amanda Alexander, 5th grade, Criss Elementary School. Also honored Tuesday but not in attendance were Kara Smith and Gayle Hoschar, kindergarten, Emerson Elementary School. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Board of Education and Wood County Schools administrators this week recognized the first of several groups of educators for their effort and classroom achievement.

The board Tuesday honored teachers from each grade level for having the top growth in Math i-Ready Diagnostics. The numbers were calculated from the fall of 2018 to spring of 2019.

The teachers honored Tuesday were: Dana Bartlett, 1st grade, Worthington Elementary School; Samantha VanDyke, 2nd grade, Blennerhassett Elementary School; Jennifer Byers, 3rd grade, Fairplains Elementary School; Missy Maidens, 4th grade, Waverly Elementary School; and Amanda Alexander, 5th grade, Criss Elementary School. Also honored Tuesday but not in attendance were Kara Smith and Gayle Hoschar, kindergarten, Emerson Elementary School.

The i-Ready program is a set of online tools teachers can use to test student knowledge and track learning. Christie Willis, director of Wood County Schools Curriculum and Instruction, said these tools have helped educators refocus their efforts and help students improve.

“One of the biggest shifts has been from the mindset of proficiency to growth,” she said. “We want to meet students where they are and move forward.”

Willis said i-Ready does not supplant the teacher, but rather supplements their efforts.

“Teachers are essential for the i-Ready program to be successful,” Willis said, requiring monitoring of student progress, interventions when help is needed, and a solid knowledge base on which to build.

“A teacher’s impact is reflected in the growth of their student learning,” she said. The teachers recognized Tuesday “had their classes achieve the most progress toward typical growth from fall to spring on the i-Ready benchmarks.”

Wood County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook said he plans to bring teachers, administrators and students before the board each meeting to honor them for their hard work and achievements.

“One thing I want to do is really start promoting academic excellence at Wood County Schools,” he said.

State test scores are not expected to be released until the end of September, but raw numbers showed growth for nearly every grade level in every subject for Wood County schools.

Michael Erb can be reached at merb@newsandsentinel.com.