Another packed room was present at the BOE meeting tonight! The sunshine welcomed in multiple guests and award winners!
At the beginning of the meeting Dr. Miller recognized a multitude of recent wins in our county. For the first time in 25 years, WPHS girls basketball team won the state title. The team was introduced by associate principal, Adrienne Richards, and then head coach, Ryan Young. They commended the team not only on their athletic accomplishments, but also their academic and volunteer related achievements. Young also recognized the hard work of his assistant coaches.
In addition to this state title, Speech and Debate earned its 44th win! The team was commended for the dynasty they’ve built. 5 students qualified for the national championship. Richards commended the team on the countless hours they put into perfecting their craft and thanked their coaches for their dedication.
WPHS Art teacher, Russ Schultz, introduced two recent winners at the West Virginia Art Education Association. Julie and Mo were recognized for their astounding, intricate work. Schultz stated, “You can tell which school system backs the arts.”
Miller also pointed out that Robotics recently earned multiple bids to Worlds and that the middle school competition will take place tomorrow. She also mentioned WPHS strings teacher Ben Podolski, as he recently received two awards.
During moments for mission, David Croft recognized the diversity of our school system and the scope of activities Ohio County Schools presents. Molly Aderholt recognized all students that were present at the meeting and Robotics and commended all on their accomplishments. Pete Chacalos echoed the aforementioned and encouraged all students to get involved when they attend the high school and wished the boys basketball team program “Good luck,” as they go for their state title this week. Andy Garber recognized all and also pointed out Ben Podolski’s recent awards and Madison Elementary’s Jenn Davis on her recent receiving of a LETRS grant.
Next came Parker, OCS’s newest employee! “He brings emotional support to our building, both for adults and students.” Parker showed off his “snuggle” skills!
Raquel McLeod then introduced the recent Young Writer’s champions. WV Young Writers is divided into multiple age categories and the submissions have full creative control. They are judged on ideas, organization, voice, word choice, and sentence fluency. All 1st place writers will be recognized at the state level later in the year. Thank you to the dedicated teachers who make this program possible!
OCS Winners are:
K-2nd grade: 3rd place Josie, 2nd place Willa, 1st place Greta
3rd-4th grade: 3rd place Liam, 2nd place Logan, 1st place Mckenna
5th-6th grade: 3rd place Hailey, 2nd place Abby, 1st place Miles
7th-8th grade: 3rd place Linkan, 2nd place Brayden, 1st place Alexa
9th-10th grade: 3rd place Odessa, 2nd place Kerrigan, 1st place Sydney
There were two delegations this evening. OCS Employee Jody Miller spoke on this Friday’s “Gifted” series. Miller spoke on the loss of their daughter, Heather, in 2008. She was 21 and was a few weeks away from graduating with a degree in nursing. After one week of life saving efforts, Heather was taken off life support. Miller found hope in her daughter’s organ donation status. Heather’s donations saved the lives of 4 people and impacted a multitude of others. Over 250 scholarships in Heather’s name have been given out. This Friday, “Gifted” will premiere at the PAC. This documents the journey of Heather’s organ donation impact. Miller also recognized that Friday, March 15th, has been officially deemed “Gifted” in our city in honor of Heather and countless organ donors.
Beth Collins then presented on a school-based health center. School-based health centers are currently present in 44 counties. Collins spoke on the data for opportunities and she also spoke on parental rights. Parental consent is required. Forms for consent would be sent home at the start of the year and additional information will always be shared with parents. If approved, the program would be housed at Madison. Collins touched on many students who are using the emergency room for primary care and students needing medicine dropped off directly. She also stated that there are no medical providers on Wheeling Island, and echoed how this opportunity would directly impact our students. It is designed to build health equity rather than question any parents' rights.
Executive session regarding contract renewal was tabled until the next meeting due to Eric Schramm’s absence.
Dr. Williams announced retirement with Middle Creek Elementary after 16 years of service. Multiple personnel also upgraded their degree status.
School-based health clinics were on the agenda. Dr. Miller discussed viewing the potential space, the MOU, and grant money if granted BOE approval. Leah Stout worked with Jacob Manning to make revisions on the MOU and is waiting on BOE approval to share with WVU Medicine. She discussed sample consent forms. Collins joined Stout to answer BOE questions. Croft asked about various grant funding sources and asked additional questions about parental consent. Stout and Collins discussed how many days of the week a provider would practice and other counties’ school-based health models. In the other 44 counties, the providers are based inside the school or based in a mobile unit. Aderholt wanted to know if funding would continue if the MOU had not been agreed upon. She was also curious about multiple providers as opposed to one. Collins explained her concerns with that design and mentioned that school-based health centers often retain employees very well. Collins mentioned that the catholic schools also run current school-based health systems. She explained that in our current school system, the school nurse can only make a general determination, but cannot diagnose, treat, or test. They are also often part time. With a school-based health system, with parental consent, there are a multitude of wellness and sick capabilities including referrals and behavioral health. To Collins’ knowledge, prescriptions are only handled through the parent. She encouraged the BOE to check out school-based health centers in neighboring counties. Croft offered thanks for the back and forth exchu and stated it’s how a decision will be made.
Start times were discussed next. Aderholt questioned a variety of minutes for the high school and asked if there were times in the day that could be played with or altered. Garber echoed that he does not want instructional time cut in any capacity. Croft wanted to know what the variables are so the full picture is visible and if there was any potential slack. Croft equated start times to the aforementioned student health. The start time committee will meet at 6:00 tomorrow. The matter is tabled until the next meeting.
On the consent agenda, Croft expressed concern with a new Americorp position. He will highlight areas of concern and then return it to the board.
Paid bills were discussed with Mrs. Bienek.
The next meeting is scheduled for 3/25 at 6:00 pm.