Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The Pocahontas County Board of Education got an informative update from IT coordinator Kristi Hamons at its July 23 meeting. Hamons explained the duties of the technology department and provided information on recent and upcoming projects.
Hamons said the technology department staff – which also includes IT coordinator James Chaney and technology director Julie Shiflet –manages 1,575 computers, 893 of which are student devices. In total, the department handles 3,000 devices, including telephones and internet switches.
IT also monitors all the user accounts on the school system network.
Recent projects during the 2023-2024 school year include the addition of three new computer labs at Hillsboro Elementary, Marlinton Elementary and Marlinton Middle schools.
“We upgraded the entire wireless system throughout the county,” Hamons said. “We switched [to a new system]. It gave us a lot better control of our network. A lot better capabilities. Our network was about twenty years old, and we used eRate funds to upgrade that.”
They also replaced 17 network switches with eRate funds.
There were several software improvements, including a helpful program for teachers who are now faced with classrooms full of devices. Hamons explained that, while devices are now integral to the curriculum, they can also be a distraction.
Students were playing games during class and it was impossible for the teachers to monitor all the devices at once, but now they can monitor them with the Light Speed Classroom Monitor program.
“A teacher can load a dashboard from their computer that shows every single students’ screen on her screen all at once,” Hamons explained. “She can see if the student is on the device. She can send them a message that says, ‘you’re on a game, close it down,’ if she doesn’t want to make a big deal in class. She can close the tab herself; she can lock the screen. If she wanted to give instruction, the teacher could lock everybody’s screen and say ‘eyes up here.’”
Hamons said the teachers have responded well to the new program and are enthusiastic about utilizing it in class.
There are several upcoming projects that Hamons highlighted including device distribution, device insurance open enrollment and replacing devices that have aged out of use.
The IT department has also planned a technology bootcamp for all teachers and aides which will include information about the positive uses for AI [Artificial Intelligence].
“AI can be transformative to give your teachers more time in their classrooms,” Hamons said. “It can come up with some really creative lesson plans, so if you have some new teachers that need coaching, AI is a really good product to put power in their hands to sort of differentiate instruction.”
There is also a push to digitally engage the community more with inceased posts on social media pages as well as the BOE’s official website.
“If we learned anything this past year, it’s that the community wants to be more involved, more informed about our school system,” Hamons said. “They want to hear from us. So the question becomes, how do we do that on a large scale? We think the answer is to utilize our current tools to better meet the parents where they’re at.”
The board office has already started with the digital outreach, posting a video of superintendent Lynne Bostic welcoming the public to visit the board office’s booth at Pioneer Days.
Hamons said there is also a plan to equip Green Bank Elementary-Middle School’s support dog Kasha with a digital camera so the public can get a dog’s eye view of the first day of school as Kasha welcomes students back.
The board thanked Hamons for the update and all the great programs the IT department has implemented.
In updates:
• Adventure Pocahontas Director Tracey Valach gave an update on the program, which will begin its fourth year during the 2024-2025 school year. The program has grown from being just for second through fifth grade to now being all-inclusive for preschool through 12th grade.
Valach said she is excited and can’t believe how well the program has grown through the years.
“It has really been the most rewarding project of my entire life – working with your students – working in this county,” she said. “It’s proof that it doesn’t take a lot to do a ton. I just am so grateful to all of you for your support for rallying around the students, for making this program happen.
“Nothing speaks more volumes than the smiles on these kiddos’ faces,” she added.
This year will mark the “graduation” of the first class to experience all four years of the Adventure portion of the program. Students in this year’s fifth grade class were in second grade when the program began, so they have gone through learning to ski, kayak and hike and bike the trails of Pocahontas County.
Valach gave an overview of the upcoming season and explained that high school students who help with the younger students will earn Snowshoe season passes for helping. The middle school classes will all have over-night stays again this year with the sixth and seventh grade going to Camp Thornwood for hunter safety classes and the eighth grade will tent camp at Snowshoe.
“This year we spent $66,434, of which none was charged to your account,” Valach said to the board. “A big bulk of this came from Snowshoe; Dramas, Fairs and Festivals; private donations, fundraisers and things like that.”
A large chunk of that money went into doing a photo wrap on the program’s RV which is used to haul bicycles and other equipment used throughout the year.
Valach said the funding will continue this year with nearly a quarter of a million dollars in equipment and money coming from Snowshoe Mountain Resort, which also pays Valach as a full-time employee. She added that the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau has committed $30,000 to the program this year.
The board thanked Valach for her work in growing the Adventure Pocahontas program and her continued efforts in educating the students about all the resources Pocahontas County has to offer.
In financial management, the board approved the payment of vendor listing, payment of Local Government Purchasing Card, employee payroll, grant awards and budget adjustments.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved:
• Contract between Pocahontas County Board of Education and Leslie Goodall, occupational therapist, effective August 14 through June 30, 2025, per the terms of the contract.
• Contract between Pocahontas County Schools and Diana Smith, certified school psychologist, effective for the 2024-2025 school year, per the terms of the contract.
• Memorandum of Understanding between Pocahontas County Schools and Glenville State University for a continuing agreement between both parties regarding field placements, internships/student teaching and residency, effective for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Agreement between New River Community and Technical College and Pocahontas County High School for dual credit courses for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Pocahontas County Schools to use the restricted substitute waiver for additional substitute teachers for the 2024-2025 school year, as needed.
• Memorandum of Understanding between Pocahontas County Schools and North Central West Virginia Community Action Association, Inc. – Head Start Program, retroactive to July 1 through June 30, 2025.
• District Memorandum of Understanding between Pocahontas County Schools and Community Care of West Virginia to provide medical services in Pocahontas County Schools for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Memorandum of Understanding between Pocahontas County Schools and West Virginia’s Family Nutrition Program to provide nutrition and physical activity programs for low-income families and/or children for the 2024-2025 school year.
• WVDE National School Lunch Program Snack Agreement Addendum with Pocahontas County Schools for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Roll-over bid from United Dairy, for purchasing dairy products for the schools, per the terms of the 2023-2024 contract, for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Roll-over bid from Tri-County Wholesale Produce, for purchasing produce for the schools, per the terms of the 2023-2025 contract, for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Roll-over bid from Flowers Bakery Co. of James-town, LLC, for purchasing bakery products for the schools, per the terms of the 2023-2024 contract, for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Bid from The Mountain Steer Meat Company, LLC, to provide beef for Pocahontas County Schools for the 2024-2025 school year.
• To remain in conjunction with the Country Roads Cooperative in a successful bid with Gordon Food Services/HPS.
• Increase of staff and guest meal prices from $2.50 to $3 per breakfast and from $4.25 to $5 per lunch, effective for the 2024-2025 school year.
• 2024-2025 sports gender classifications, per West Virginia Department of Education: boys – baseball, bas- ketball, soccer, track and field; girls – softball, basketball, soccer, track and field; and co-ed – band, cheerleading, football and golf.
In personnel management, the board approved:
• Employment of Andrews Landers as guidance counselor at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Employment of Sarah Brown as Title I teacher at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Employment of Mike Scandalis as summer custodian at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, at state basic pay for up to seven days, effective during the time schools are closed for summer break.
• Employment of Becky Peteete as special education/classroom/bus aid for Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Unpaid medical leave of L. Brooke Nottingham at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective August 12 – or upon exhaustion of personal leave – for a period of up to 12 weeks, as needed.
• Resignation of Julie Markley as special education/classroom/bus aide at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective August 1.
• Employment of Karen Lockhart as teacher of preschool/special needs at Hillsboro Elementary School, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Employment of Peggy Owens as teacher of fifth grade at Marlinton Elementary School, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Unpaid medical leave of Melissa Walker at Marlinton Elementary School, effective August 18 – or upon exhaustion of personal leave – for a period of up to 12 weeks, as needed.
• Employment of Sherri Howe as summer custodian for Marlinton Middle School, at state basic pay for up to seven days, effective during the time schools are closed for summer break.
• Employment of Nicole Rose-Taylor as principal at Pocahontas County High School, effective August 1, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 240 days.
• Employment of Owen Vogelsong as teacher of physical ed/health for Pocahontas County High School, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Requested transfer of Jennifer Stewart from teacher of special education, multi-categorical/autism at Hillsboro Elementary School, to teacher of special education, multi-categorical/autism at Pocahontas County High School, for the 2024-2025 school year at state basic pay for 200 days.
• Employment of Doug Burns as head football coach at Pocahontas County High School, for the 2024-2025 athletic season at a supplement of $3,000.
• Employment of Matthew A. Buzzard as assistant varsity football coach at Pocahontas County High School, for the 2024-2025 athletic season at a supplement of $750.
• Employment of John Snyder as assistant girls basketball coach at Pocahontas County High School at a supplement of $750.
• Resignation of Abe Rittenhouse as teacher of physical ed/health at Pocahontas County High School, effective August 12.
• Resignation of Greg Rich as substitute custodian and substitute maintenance for Pocahontas County Schools, effective July 16.
The next board meeting will be Tuesday, August 3, at 6 p.m. at the board of education office in Buckeye.
