Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
It was a night of good news and celebration at the February 20 Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting.
First, superintendent Lynne Bostic congratulated Pocahontas County High School teacher Jennifer Nail-Cook for becoming a National Board Certified Teacher.
“Research has shown that National Board Certified Teachers produce greater student achievement, especially for lower achieving students,” Bostic said. “We are all aware of Mrs. Nail-Cook’s dedication and role in education. Just this year, she came to the aid of our band students and rescheduled her time and worked with those band students to give them the first semester of a true band experience.”
Bostic added that Nail-Cook is also the faculty senate chair at PCHS, a member of the school calendar committee and is a coach for the PCHS Robotics Team.
“She speaks on behalf of her students, but also as an employee, and is an excellent teacher,” she said. “I think any of the students that have had her would agree. It is just an honor to recognize you today.”
Next, PCHS math and ACT/SAT prep teacher Laurel Dilley, joined by students Taylor Arnold and Miranda Gum, gave a presentation on the progress made by the new ACT/SAT prep class.
Dilley explained that she chose to focus on ACT prep for the first semester and SAT prep for the second, as that aligns better with the state testing schedule.
During the first semester, students focused on the ACT, which has four portions for core subjects of English, Math, Reading and Science.
“Some of the things we’ve been doing is college prep –so we’re thinking about what we want to do in college and where we want to go for college,” Arnold explained. “We did our résumés. We did a little bit of community service. We have scholarship awareness; trying out the digital software, which is very different from paper.
“Then we have yoga,” she added. “Yoga and mindful testing. You get to sit there and think, ‘I am smart, I know what I’m doing, I believe in myself’ and just talk about how you’re feeling. I think that’s really important, too.”
Dilley said it is important to the class to not only prepare the students for the ACT and SAT tests, but to get them prepared for college and help them become well-rounded members of their communities.
“That’s kind of what I want this class to be,” she said. “You’re smart, and you have a good test score, but that is not the whole package. You have to be doing community service. You have to be involved.”
In the first semester, the students took the ACT test twice – once in October and again in December. Although there were only two months between the two, Dilley said there was a noticeable increase in the scores.
“The average October score – and this is the whole class – was about a 19.3,” she said. “Our English was definitely what we needed to work on the most. It was pretty evident in the beginning. By December, the average score had jumped up to 22.88, so almost a 23. You can see about a two-to-three-point increase in every score.”
Not every student in the class took both tests, but Dilley said of the ones who did had an increase in the second test. She added that, next year, she wants to have a practice test in August to be the baseline for the semester.
The ACT scores are important when it comes time to apply for scholarships and Dilley said 50 percent of the class have qualified for the Promise Scholarship, which requires a composite of 21 and at least a 19 in each category.
An ACT score of 26 and above leads to very good scholarships and a score of 30 and above can lead to a full ride to college.
“We already have a student who has made over a 30 and improved her score five or six points this semester,” Dilley said. “She already has the highest possible scholarship you can receive at West Liberty. I added it up today. She gets housing, tuition, all fees, meal plan and that would be $83,000.”
Now in the second semester, the students are focusing on the SAT and preparing for the school SAT test which is set for April 16. Dilley said there will be a second SAT offered sometime in May at PCHS, as well.
In updates:
• The school calendar committee presented the board with the three options for the 2024-2025 calendar and explained the arduous process they went through to create the calendar.
After receiving results from the calendar survey which asked staff and parents what they preferred in regard to start and end dates, and holiday breaks, the committee worked within the calendar policy parameters to make options for the board to review.
This was the first of two calendar hearings held prior to board meetings. After the second, the calendars will be voted on and the board will approve the winning calendar at the following board meeting.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved:
• for the robotics team to travel overnight February 23-24 to Riverside High School, to compete in VEX Robotics Competition. All funding from the PCHS STEM Club.
• overnight trip to the State SkillsUSA Competition. Justin Kerr and Jonathan Taylor will transport students to Fairmont, March 21-23. Transportation will be by personal vehicle and registration will be paid by the PCHS Skills Club.
In personnel management, the board approved:
• requested transfer of Cammy Kesteron from teacher of business education at Pocahontas County High School to teacher of Art/CTE at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective for the 2024-2025 school year.
• requested transfer of Marsha Beverage from teacher of second grade at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School to Communities in Schools site coordinator at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective March 10, for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year.
• requested transfer of Cynthia J. Landis from ECCAT supervisory classroom/bus aid first grade to ECCAT supervisory/classroom/bus aid kindergarten, retroactive to February 9.
• requested transfer of Katie Broce from special education classroom/bus aide at Pocahontas County High School to first grade ECCAT supervisory classroom/bus aide at Marlinton Elementary School, retroactive to February 16.
• employment of Courtney Curran as mentor for special education teachers, effective for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year.
• resignation of Stephen Simmons as assistant track and field coach for Pocahontas County High School, effective February 15.
• employment of Lisa J. Johnson as substitute special education classroom/bus aide for the Pocahontas County Schools, at state minimum service personnel salary for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school.
• employment of Tara Bauserman as substitute teacher for Pocahontas County Schools, at state basic professional salary, based on degree and experience, for the 2023-2024 school year, as needed.