By Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
The majority of the Tucker County Board of Education meeting consisted of a report from Davis Thomas Elementary Middle School Principal, Steelie Kisamore. Following Board President Tim Turner calling the meeting to order and The Pledge of Allegiance, Kisamore got right into his update for the board members.
“First of all, I’d like to thank you guys for the interventionist position,” Kisamore began as he handed out data and statistics the school has compiled that indicates why that position was crucial for the schools. As he directed their attention through the provided handouts, he said, “I think we’re in a good spot,” as he explained they are beginning to work on their next strategic plan to address areas deemed to need attention. Within the report, he provided data from the first two nine weeks pertaining to benchmark test scores, where he noted he believes timing the students is causing issues. Kisamore informed the time limit can be removed from the tests, stating, “So we can actually look at what they know compared to how fast they know it.” As they continued looking through the testing data relating to the seventh and eighth graders, it became evident that some of the top students are performing poorly on the tests. “Sometimes I think we test them to death,” said Kisamore.
Aside from testing, Kisamore touched on the schools scheduling conflicts, attempting fewer disruptions throughout the day, and meeting mental health needs of students. “Discipline’s not a problem,” he added, only experiencing minor mishaps from time to time. He expressed a dire need for a full time guidance counselor at their school, “Today that’s all I did.” He gave several examples, some from that very day, as to the need for this position. “I can be consistent when I’m there,” explained Kisamore while fulfilling his principal duties, “It’s hard when you don’t have a consistent person there to build trust.” Turner informed that legislature has begun to ask schools what the money has been spent on that was set aside to hire mental health professionals, which will be reported on by Finance Director Tracy Teets.
PTO meetings have been hard to schedule though attempts to regain consistency are being made. Skill groups are still being utilized at DTEMS though Kisamore noted in relation to edmentums in the middle school, “They’re not taking it serious.” He has spoken to each class independently to emphasize the need for these problem areas to be addressed. Board member Jessica Wamsley said, “I really think that individualized communication is key,” and all agreed. As Kisamore concluded his report, board member Chris Gross said, “Thank you Steelie, you always give us a really in depth report and we appreciate that,” with board member Cathy Hebb commending Kisamore on a job well done.
Acknowledgement of a notification of intent to home school was recognized bringing the meeting to finance and budget. Adjustment attachments were reviewed with a motion to accept by Wamsley with a second by Evans.
New business consisted of approval of the January 6 meeting minutes, out of state travel for Chinese Teacher Du Hongwei to attend the National Chinese Language Conference in Orlando, Fla., which Lambert stated the costs associated with will not fall on Tucker County Schools. A senior job shadow site request was submitted for Dr. Joseph Snow with West Virginia University, with full approval by the board.
Superintendent Lambert recommended the employment of the following: Mary Ellen Brown, Custodian II at TVEMS effective February 4, Rose Freeman, long term cook substitute effective February 4 until full time employee is released by physician, and William Michael Winans, substitute bus driver for the remainder of the school year pending background check and certification. Consideration for creating a new position of an Athletic Game Administrator was discussed potentially for next year. This position would allow for a well versed individual of the WVSSAC rules and regulations to attend school athletic events, predominantly basketball, in conjunction with that schools’ principal. All board members agreed they would like more information on the rules and duties of the position as well as input from the principal before moving forward.
The board went into executive session to discuss the Superintendents evaluation and contract renewal. Upon returning from executive session, the calendar of upcoming events was reviewed noting TCHS hosting the National Honor Society Induction scheduled for March 16, April 14 as SAT school day, April 22 a school wide showcase and CTE portfolio presentation, May 16 the FFA Banquet, May 28 Baccalaureate and Awards Night, with Friday, May 29 being graduation. TVEMS upcoming events include February 20 an LSIC meeting at 11:30 a.m. and February 21 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Parent Night at 5 p.m. with a makeup date of February 28.
The next gathering of the Tucker County Board of Education will commence on Monday, February 17 at 4:30 p.m. at the Tucker County Board of Education Administrative Office Building.
