PARSONS – The Tucker County High School had reason to be proud recently when the West Virginia Department of Education paid a scheduled visit to the county school in late October. The WVDE came to the school to review the findings of the School Monitoring Report, a report required by all West Virginia schools.
Principal J. Hamric said work on the report began back in August with staff and L.S.I.C. (Local School Improvement Council) members taking the survey and ranking themselves. The report includes seven standards that all schools are required to meet and three or four functions within each of those requirements with 24 functions in total.
The seven standards are:
*Positive Climate and Cohesive Culture.
*School Leadership
*Standards- Focused Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessments.
*Student Support Services and Family/Community Connections
*Educator Growth and Development
*Efficient and Effective Management
*Continuous Improvement
The ratings that the participants were to use were (in descending order): distinguished, accomplished, emerging, and unsatisfactory. It was the general consensus amongst the staff and L.S.I.C. that our school ranked accomplished most areas and distinguished in three of the areas. While it is hard for anyone with any modesty to rank themselves the highest mark, it was felt deserved in differing function falling under three different standards. Then it was time to see if the state would agree.
A team of about seven persons made up of principals, teachers, and administrators from other areas represented the W.V.D.E. and came to the school the last week of October. The team spoke with many people during the day including principals, teachers, and students. They spent considerable time in the classrooms observing and even in the lunch room.
The team disagreed with two of the original findings but in a good way. They “bumped up” the ratings on two functions from accomplished to distinguished giving the school five different functions in all that were ranked distinguished and all the rest were accomplished. The information from this report will now be shared with the West Virginia Board of Education and will be considered during the schools evaluation by the board.
In spite of the wonderful report the team did find some things that needed improved upon.
It was noted that the school’s furniture and equipment are aged and/or broken. That there needs to be more resources to refurnish the classrooms and that as the school year has been extended that air-conditioning needs addressed/fixed to provide a pleasant learning environment. They said that air conditioning would rank as a priority.
Principal Hamric said of these findings: “Currently at this time our county doesn’t have funding (for air-conditioning and furniture), unfortunately, the levy failed which would have addressed these issues. Our school does not have the financial means to restock or purchase consumable student supplies that are frequently used and needed in the art and science departments.”
The ratings by the state are just another reason for anyone who lives in Tucker County to be proud of our school system and those who dedicate themselves to making it the best they can with the limited means available to them.
