Newly elected Wood County Board of Education member Randy Modesitt was sworn in at Tuesday’s board meeting by Judge Jason Wharton. Modesitt will serve the remaining 20 months of a term left vacant after Debbie Hendershot stepped down in February to run for magistrate. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Board of Education welcomed two members Tuesday night with newly elected Randy Modesitt and appointed member Debbie Hendershot taking the oath of office.

“I want to welcome Randy (Modesitt) to the board. And also glad to have Debbie (Hendershot) back. We’ve missed you,” board member Ron Tice said later in the meeting during board comments.

After Hendershot was sworn in, Sean Keefe stood up in protest of the board selection and compared them to the Soviet Union, as he did at the Nov. 14 meeting. Keefe and others at that meeting had said the board should appoint Chad Conley, who finished second to Modesitt in the Nov. 5 special election.

On Tuesday, Board President Justin Raber asked Keefe to leave the meeting. After a few more outbursts, Keefe was escorted out and the meeting continued.

Modesitt won the election which was triggered by Hendershot’s resignation earlier this year to run for Wood County magistrate. Hendershot lost that election and was appointed to fill a vacancy created this month when board member Sarah Townsend stepped down after the election.

Students from Blennerhassett Middle School were recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for their completion of i-Ready lessons. Pictured from left are Haley Raper, Jesselyn Price, Gavin Branham, Kelsey Cox and Madison Kendall. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Ashlee Beatty gave the board results from the West Virginia Department of Education’s balanced scorecard. She said the scorecard is an accountability system that provides a snapshot of school performance and growth by measuring academic and student success indicators. Academic indicators include achievement, progress, English language learner progress and graduation rate, she said, while student success indicators include attendance, behavior, on-track to graduation and post-secondary achievement. For Wood County Schools, the data shows:

* Attendance did not meet standards, with 22.18% of students chronically absent, which was lower than the 2022-23 rate of 23.13% and 2021-22 at 24.7%.

* Behavior met or exceeded standards for elementary and middle schools.

* High schools partially met standards for on-track graduation.

* Academic achievement and progress met or exceeded standards in reading and math for elementary and middle schools.

Students from Edison Middle School were recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for their completion of i-Ready lessons. Pictured from left are Aubree Schoenlein, Olivia Pickrell, Ethan Howell, Jackson Holpp, Sydney Groo, Ayden Smith, Owen Davis, Maverick King, Ainslie Koreski and Lillian Phillips. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

* High schools partially met standards for academic achievement in English language arts, but did not meet standards for math.

Twenty-two schools in the district were recognized for their achievements on the scorecard. A full list of those schools and achievements can be found in the online version of this story.

“It is easy to read the names of these schools and hand them a certificate,” Beatty said. “The work that it took to get to this spot, is (thanks to) all of the teachers and administrators.”

Assistant Superintendent of Academics and Leadership Justin Hartshorn talked to the board about changes in special education and highlighted several areas of focus and improvement. He said:

* Wood County Schools previously received a “needs assistance” rating in special education and finance. The district has placed a concentrated effort on four key areas: eligibility, transitions, discipline and graduation for special education students.

Students from Hamilton Middle School were recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for their completion of i-Ready lessons. Pictured from left are Ayla Khan, Teagan Hescht, Noah Corliss, Jocelynn Beckheart and Jonathan Beha. (Photo Provided)

* In the past year, the district has made significant strides in addressing compliance issues, particularly around the 80-day timeline for initial evaluations. After being only 45% compliant in November 2023, the district worked quickly to complete the backlog of 228 overdue evaluations by February.

* The district has implemented new strategies to improve transitions for both early childhood (birth to 3) and secondary students. This includes processing registration and eligibility at the central office to streamline the process.

* Training and support have been provided to administrators and teachers on topics like functional behavior assessments and behavior intervention plans to better serve students with disciplinary needs.

* The district has also secured a $39,100 grant to launch a new mentorship program, bringing in retired veteran educators to work with struggling students, both seniors and underclassmen, to help them get back on track for graduation.

“The dedication that that department has now, with the leadership from the top down, is absolutely amazing,” Raber said.

Students from Jackson Middle School were recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for their completion of i-Ready lessons. Pictured from left are Judah Moore, Brady Miller, Luke McCullough, James D’Eramo, Isabelle Collins and Savannah Smith. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Jonathan Farley, director of information technology, presented a case to the board for evolving and restructuring the Management Information Systems department to better support the growing technology needs across the district.

He said the department has faced significant changes in recent years, including position cuts and an expansion of responsibilities. He said the MIS team now oversees a wide range of technology-related tasks, from HVAC scheduling and cell phone management to camera maintenance, printing, and virtual school support.

“Technology touches everything,” Farley said.

He said despite these increased demands, the MIS department has achieved impressive accomplishments, including upgrading teacher devices, leveraging E-Rate funding for infrastructure improvements and generating revenue through device recycling programs.

Farley said to address the department’s needs, he is proposing to reclassify a vacant 235-day assistant network systems administrator/TSS position into a 261-day systems administrator/server administrator role. He said this change is intended to provide more stability and expertise in managing key systems, such as Microsoft Defender, Azure Backup and content filtering. The new position would be responsible for tasks like maintaining the mobile device management system, printing ID badges, and programming access cards – duties that are currently falling on the shoulders of the existing team, he said.

Van Devender Middle School students Hayley Wood and Mason Hemingway were recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for their completion of i-Ready lessons. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Raber suggested considering an assistant director role to further strengthen the department’s structure and address its holistic needs. Farley acknowledged the potential value of this idea and agreed to explore a more comprehensive review of the department’s organization.

The next regular meeting of the Wood County Board of Education is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the board offices at Plum and 13th streets in Parkersburg. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

***

Information for the West Virginia Schools Balanced Scorecard can be found at www.mywvschool.org.

West Virginia Schools Balanced Scorecard Recognitions

* Blennerhassett Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Criss Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Exceeds Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Exceeds Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Emerson Elementary

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

* Fairplains Elementary

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Franklin Elementary

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Gihon Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Exceeds Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Greenmont Elementary

Exceeds Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Exceeds Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Exceeds Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Exceeds Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Jefferson Elementary

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

* Kanawha Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Exceeds Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Lubeck Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Madison Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

* Martin Elementary

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

* Mineral Wells Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Neale Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Vienna Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

* Williamstown Elementary

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Meets Standards: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/English Language Arts

* Edison Middle School

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* Hamilton Middle School

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

* Jackson Middle School

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/Mathematics

Meets Standards: Academic Progress/Mathematics

* VanDevender Middle School

Annual Target Met: Academic Achievement/English Language Arts

* Parkersburg South High School

Annual Target Met: Graduation Rate, 4 Year Cohort

Meets Standards: Graduation Rate, 4 Year Cohort

Exceeds Standards: Graduation Rate, 5 year Cohort

* Williamstown High School

Annual Target Met: Graduation Rate, 4 Year Cohort

Meets Standards: Graduation Rate, 4 Year Cohort

Exceeds Standards: Graduation Rate, 5 year Cohort

***

Items approved during the consent agenda:

* Hamilton Middle School Secure Entrance Pay App 1 in the amount of $22,427.10.

* Accept the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, financial reports as presented for filing with the West Virginia Department of Education.

* To increase the purchase order $19,400 for Davis Athletics, relocation of the pole vault at Williamstown High School.

* Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement 09 Rt 68 left turn lane in the amount of $41,000.

* Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement 10 WHS Football Field in the amount of $12,842.50.

* Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement 12 Erickson paving in the amount of $8,305.

* Amendment to the Professional Services Agreement 11 PSHS Turf Project in the amount of $11,935.

* Change Order 1 Hamilton Secure Entry Project in the amount of $0.00.

* Jeff’s Fence Company Emerson Elementary School Fence, $11,449.

* JAMF software and services in the amount of $109,194. This is a Mobile Device Management (MDM) System.

* Policies on comment for more than 14 days.

Williamstown Middle/High School student Cameron Coffman was recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for his completion of i-Ready reading. Coffman also completed the math lesson. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Blennerhassett Middle School student Jayden Mathew was recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for his completion of i-Ready reading. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Representatives from elementary schools in Wood County were recognized Tuesday night by the Board of Education for their achievements on the West Virginia Balanced Scorecard. Information for the Scorecard can be found at www.mywvschool.org. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Representatives from middle and high schools in Wood County were recognized Tuesday night by the Wood County Board of Education for their achievements on the West Virginia Balanced Scorecard. Information for the Scorecard can be found at www.mywvschool.org. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)