Pocahontas Teachers To Attend Learning Institute This Summer

Marlinton, WV – Terrence Beam, Director of Federal Programs for Pocahontas County schools says new CSO’s or Content Standards and Objectives are being instituted in the state and county teachers need to be ready. To that end, he told the Pocahontas County Board of Education about the Teacher Learning Institute or TLI, coming up this summer.

“This summer they’ll be training the first, fourth, fifth, ninth and then the K-12 social studies, arts and science teachers,” says Beam. “They have allocated 4 slots per grade per county regardless of size.”

Beam says he and school Superintendent CC Lester will be meeting with RESA representatives soon to discuss how the RESA’s might be able help counties train those teachers who can’t attend the TLI sessions.

“I can assure you that we are working on getting a team together to send to Morgantown this summer in each of these grade levels, along with a county representative,” says Beam. “Now the teachers that we send to TLI are going to be asked to present to the rest of the teachers whenever we come back in August for our first two days back.”

He says that training will be incorporated into the continuing education program for county teachers.

He also told the board about a possible problem with Title 1 funding for this year.

“I have a dilemma to deal with,” he says, “we have two Title 1 schools, Green Bank and Hillsboro, did not make AYP [Adequate Yearly Progress] last year. The law says that if they do not make AYP two years in a row, they go on school improvement’. If a school’s on school improvement, then you have to do a couple things; first of all you have to offer school choice. So you have to give the parents the opportunity to take their children to another school in our county and we’re required to do that and provide the transportation.”

“The other thing is that we have to take 20% of our Title 1 budget and allocate [that] towards professional development for those school or schools that does not make AYP. We’re very hopeful that both schools will make AYP but we have to plan our budget as if they may not.”

Beam says he feared that they might have to cut a part time Title 1 position at Green Bank, but after looking at the numbers he told Superintendent Lester he doesn’t feel they are at that point yet. Title 1 money is not the only funding that could be affected if the schools don’t make AYP for the second year in a row.

“Your Title 2 money and your Rural Low Income money are lesser amounts,” says Beam. “For instance, our Title 2 budget is about 95 -98 thousand dollars a year; our rural low income budget is about 30 thousand a year. But all of that money that you get if you have schools on improvement have to go towards those schools in making sure they’re getting all the professional development and things that they need.”

Beam says it also means there would be less money available for other school activities such as after school or summer school programs, parent involvement or staff development programs and technology supplies. With this in mind, Beam has asked school principals to prioritize their needs for this money if it’s available. Beam points out that Marlinton Middle school also did not make AYP last year, but since they are not a Title 1 school, they are be affected. He says they are offering as much staff development as possible to the schools to help them meet AYP this year and will continue to closely monitor the two schools.

In other business, Superintendent Lester read from a report by student representative Chloe Bland noting that 26 students at the high school were inducted into the National Honor Society at a ceremony on January 22nd.

NHS Induction Ceremony held on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

Thanks to Suzanne Stewart of the Pocahontas Times for this information.

Current members: Lyndsey Barlow, Chloe Bland, Summer Chestnut, Alex Griffith, Lindsey Kinder, Seth Morgan, Andy Myers, Erica Rebinski, Chasten Taylor, Chelsea Walker, Caleb Walkup, and Erin White

New Inductees: Steven Halterman, Gloria Jerome, Moniefia Maitland, Dawn Wickham, Tiffanie Alexander, Amy Bennett, Kristen Beverage, Ryan Cain, Shanna Carr, Steven Casto, Tyler Davis, Kyler Doss, Andrew Gibb, Derek Hamman, Kala Honaker, Clayton Irvine, Rebecca Jerome, Chantella Lewis, Andrew Mengele, Clair Mosesso, Alyssa Nottingham, Cassidy Rao, Heather Snead, Gabriel Walkup, Parker White, and Olivia Workman

The Board also took the following actions:

Appointed CC Lester as Superintendent for a 2 year contract beginning July 1st,2012 through June 30, 2014 at a salary of $94,400.00 with a $2000.00 increase for the 2013-2014 fiscal year

Approved David Michael Callison, Shannon Argogast and Tony Mintor as volunteer baseball coaches at the high school

Personnel Agenda:

Green Bank:
Change in employment – Anne Smith from athletic director to one-third time co-athletic director

Employment of Thomas Plumley and Karen Murphy as one-third time co-athletic directors

Employment of Allen Bell as substitute Principal retroactive to January 19th as needed

Employment of Sara McClintic as substitute Principal as needed for the remainder of the school year

County:
Reduction in force – Lesa Allen and Cammie Wade as itinerant special education classroom aide/bus aides effective at the end of the school year due to lack of need

Abolishment of the two positions of itinerant special education classroom aide/bus aide for county schools

Resignation of Samantha McClure as teacher of homebound/hospitalized students, retroactive to January 10th, 2012

Employment of Kristin Kinnision as executive secretary/accountant at the school board office

Employment of Michael Burns as mentor teacher for Joshua Ashby

Appointment of Alice Irvine as treasurer for county schools

Abolishment of the Coordinator of Food services/student services half-time position for the county

Employment – continuing contract – professional:

Janesa Henderson, Beth Peterson, Rebecca Spencer

Employment – probationary contract – professional:

Shannon Anderson, Joshua Ashby, Margaret Baker, Sammantha Bartley, Terrence Beam, Nebraska Beverage, Lisa Burns, Joanna Burt-Kinderman, Lauren Brooke-Dickenson, Scott Garber, JoAutumn Goldizen, Kelli Hickson, Wanda Hrabina, Jan Jonese, Jennifer McCarty, Samantha McClure, Jessica McLaughlin, Lesli Mensing, Teresa Mullen, Elaine Sheets, Leah Shinaberry, Wilbert Smith Jr.

Employment – continuing contract – service:

Frank Barrett, Gary Cutlip

Employment – probationary – service:

Caleb Barkley, Kristin Kinnison, Valerie Lambert, Bradley Landis, Carolyn Pennington, Jerald Ramos, Adam Taylor, Allen Taylor, Cindy Wade Price