The new school year has seen the addition of many new faces. Each of the county’s three schools welcome new teacher and staff members this year.
Davis Thomas Elementary and Middle School welcomed two new faces. Both D.J. Stout and Olivia Snider are West Virginia natives. Snider’s husband, Kurt is a native of Tucker County.
Stout teaches music, band, and chorus. He would like his students to learn how to express themselves through music, the basic fundamentals, and a good work ethic.
Snider teaches art and knows she has some big shoes to fill following the retirement of long-time art teacher Mrs. Goughnour. She wants her students to learn basic art content and how to work together, get along, and share ideas.’
Tucker Valley Elementary and Middle School saw the most new faces with ten new staff. Some were already part of our system and others are brand new to the area.
Tracy Chenoweth was previously a CTE teacher at the High School and is now the principal at TVEMS. She has a teaching degree from Davis and Elkins College and her Master’s is from Marshall University.
Teresa Brusak was also a transplant from the High School and is now the Assistant Principal. Both of Brusak’s parents were born and raised in Tucker County and she considers Tucker County as “going home”. She holds multiple degrees from several different universities.
Teresa Betler is TVEMS’s English Language Arts teacher and says the thing she likes best about teaching is the students. Betler is a Parsons native.
Pamela Hoskins comes to us by way of Kentucky. She is the art teacher for TVEMS and previously spent fifteen years in the Harlan County school system in Kentucky. She wants her students to learn how to be a responsible young person with a love of art. She likes to treat every child as if they were one of her own. Hoskins said she really loves this community and glad it has been the Lord’s will that it has become their home.
Kimberly Falls is not new to Tucker County schools having been with us for twenty-five years but is now a second grade teacher at TVEMS a fact that she’s extremely excited about. She teaches with innovative strategies and each one of her students are like her own.
Amy Moore, a native of Parsons, is TVEMS’s Technology Integration Specialist (TIS) and also teaches basic computer skills classes for the 7th and 8th grades. She says she loves to get the kids excited about technology even though most of her time now is spent with teachers assisting them in using technology in their classrooms.
Tracy Harlan, is originally from Elkins but began her career here back in 1990 and considers herself an honorary Tucker County Fan, “Go Mt. Lions!” She is the Title 1 teacher at TVEMS and says one of her favorite things is when her students light up when they realize they’ve gotten a new skill.
Heather Lantz, a Tucker County native, is a transplant from the High School and DTEMS. She now teaches Elementary Music, Middle School Chorus, and Middle School Theatre at TVEMS. Her favorite thing about teaching is seeing students succeed.
Michael Consla is originally from Pennsylvania but has ties to Tucker County, his mother taught math here in the 1970’s and he attended Tucker County Schools for several years. He now follows in his mother’s footsteps and is teaching 7th and 8th grade math at TVEMS. He likes helping kids overcome the negative public math stereotyping. He is a proud third generation teacher.
Brittany Taylor is a Tucker County native and teaches PE and Health half-time for TVEMS. She loves getting to know the students and teaching them new games.
Tucker County High School saw the addition of four new teaching staff.
D.J. Stout, who is also new at DTEMS, teaches music, band, and chorus on the high school level too. He’s excited to be in Tucker County and looks forward to helping his students grow academically and musically.
Sheryl Kines is TCHS’s new Spanish teacher and wants her students to know the importance of being fluent.
Lacey Dent teaches Freshman Experience and Business Ed at the high school. She is a West Virginia native and her degree is from Marshall University. She wants her students to not only learn to use the technology tools that she teaches them about, but also to learn valuable skills and responsibiltities that can help them be successful across all spectrums of life.
Jill Evick, a Parsons native, is the Special Education teacher for TCHS. She is currently working on a M.A. in Special Education and Gifted at WVU. She likes helping students find positive attitudes towards their education and helping them be successful.
When asked, most of the new staff seemed to agree on the reasons they liked Tucker County. D.J. Stout seemed to sum it up well: “Everyone is very close and there is a great support system because of that.”
Tucker County welcomes all new staff members.
