The Observer asked Stephen Willingham to explore how the local public school system is managing through the current public health crisis. The author interviewed the Superintendent and also spoke with teachers about their experiences in the classroom and online. Read the Full Story >>
Education
Online, Distant, Together, Ready
Shepherd University is moving forward with virtual and in-person instruction starting August 24, with an accelerated semester that reclaims Labor Day and Fall Break as instructional days and ends just before Thanksgiving. Read the Full Story >>
I Think I May Be the Luckiest Man Alive
Dow Benedict, former faculty member and Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Shepherd University, looks back on 48 years of service as a mentor, artist, and leader. Read the Full Story >>
Are the Higher Education Policy Commission’s Days Numbered?
There have been four different systems of higher education in West Virginia since the 1960s. We seem to want to completely overhaul the structure every 20 years or so. Read the Full Story >>
JCPS Responds to Rise in Special Education Needs with New Student Support Center
In April, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) announced in a press release that, due to a significant increase in both the number of students and the level of student needs served in the past decade—particularly, the intensive needs of students requiring special education services—they were moving forward with the development of a regional student support center to meet those needs in a way that creates a more positive and productive experience for students, families, and staff. Read the Full Story >>
Barrat Leads Way in AI Research
Robbie Barrat’s revolutionary research relating to artificial intelligence (AI) has earned him numerous plaudits, an art exhibition in France, as well as a place in a new documentary about high school science fairs. Read the Full Story >>
We Went Back to School and Asked: What’s for Lunch?
Ask random adults what school lunches were like when they were kids, and the answers can range from great to awful, depending on when and where they went to school. Schools are required to provide healthy lunches, but children must want to eat them. The Observer decided to see and taste-test some of today’s lunches in Jefferson County schools. Read the Full Story >>
Shepherd, Marshall Sign Agreement to Provide Autism Services
Shepherd University and the West Virginia Autism Training Center (WV-ATC), located at Marshall University, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that establishes Shepherd as a WV-ATC campus-based satellite site that will provide services to Shepherd students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and training for faculty and staff through the College Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (CPSASD). Read the Full Story >>
Life Beyond the Classroom
West Virginia University President Gordon Gee spoke with juniors and seniors at Jefferson and Washington High Schools last month. While extolling the benefits of an education at WVU, the overall message he delivered is one that resonates with many working in education today: education beyond high school is more important than ever. Gee made it Read the Full Story >>
Morgan Academy Takes Promising New Steps into Future and Beyond
Founded in 2004 by teachers Bernardine Somers and her friend Patty Neely (who retired in 2008), Morgan Academy is an innovative K-10 private school (including preschool) offering small classes that allow for one-on-one teacher-student time. Read the Full Story >>
Area School Systems Eye New Year on the Horizon
With schools slated to re-open on August 20, both Jefferson and Berkeley County (WV) school systems are continuing to see an upward trend in enrollment, which they are juggling while rolling out new programs for both students and faculty. Read the Full Story >>
West Virginia’s Next Big Industry: Brain Power
The decline of the coal industry has left many in Richwood and other parts of West Virginia unemployed, contributing to the state’s economic troubles. Programs such as Richwood Scientific Inc, which offer free or cheap training in other industries, could help retrain and eventually employ those without jobs. Read the Full Story >>
Supporting Community Students When School is Out of Session
To truly improve the academic and social success of students, particularly those who have greater adversity from poverty or toxic stress, we must also support and develop after-school, weekend, and summer-time programming. Read the Full Story >>
Cultivating Gifted Minds Through Innovative Summer Program
Gifted students, especially in West Virginia, are frequently underserved by their school systems, and that even those with an IEP (Individualized Education Program) do not get the intellectual stimulation and social support they need. Read the Full Story >>
Valley College Has an Answer to the Growing Skilled Worker Shortage
In a January 2017 survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, 73 percent of skilled-trade businesses had a difficult time finding qualified workers and 55 percent identified worker shortages as a bigger concern than federal regulations (41 percent) and low infrastructure investment (18 percent). Experts mostly feel that the problem is only getting worse, and that if the reality doesn’t begin to change soon, the U.S. economy is in serious trouble. Read the Full Story >>
