Thursday, February 19, 2015
Derby teams ready to roll, Page 16 50 Cents Volume 117 Issue 7
School board to consider redistricting
Winter Storm Octavia hits Cabell
By Amanda Smythers amanda@theputnamstandard.com Redistricting may be scheduled for Cabell County’s future as overcrowding at Milton Elementary and Village of Barboursville Elementary overshadow student shortages at Ona and Culloden Elementary schools. During the Local School Improvement Council meeting on Feb. 3, Debbie Smith, principal of Culloden Elementary, said her enrollment is the lowest it’s been since she became principal six years ago. “The new building is going to be wonderful,” she said, referring to the construction that is slated to be finished in August. “But what I need, I need students. I’m losing three teachers this year because of enrollment numbers. So I need some of Milton’s students.” Smith said her numbers have typically been around 210 students, but she is now down to 186. These lower numbers caused the county to notify Culloden that it will be losing three teachers, although Superintendent Bill Smith said this could change as future enrollment numbers come in. “When you have construction like that, sometimes parents will take other options,” he said. “Once that’s done, they will be back. But you’re right, we have been looking at the redistricting issue and the best time to do it will be when that building opens.” Bill Smith said that although Culloden is losing stu-
Winter storm Octavia hit Cabell County Monday morning. For the first time this year school was canceled for two days as the storm brought the Huntington and Barboursville areas to a standstill. Above, the approximately foot of snow that fell in a 12-hour period in Milton glistened Tuesday morning around the old covered bridge at the Pumpkin Park. Left, residents flooded the grocery stores early Monday morning in anticipation of the storm that dumped an inch an hour on the area.
See Redistricting, Page 9
The New Explorer Academy: What’s so unique about this new school? By Cabell Schools Superintendent William Smith There has been a great deal of buzz in the community about Cabell County Schools’ new Expeditionary Learning© (EL) school. Most who hear about it think first of hands-on or project-based learning as a core practice. While the expedition is an essential strategy of this new school, it is simply the end product of deeper, more enriched learning experiences. The Explorer Academy will utilize 38 core practices that help drive stu-
dents and teachers to accomplish more than they previously thought possible. Te a c h i n g a n d learning, combined with a collaborative school culture, are designed to produce Smith high-quality student work. While this school will be See Explorer, Page 9
Midland’s Gould and Wilcox are recognized as leaders Cabell Midland High School is proud to announce that Brennan “Chantz” Gould and Mark Wilcox have been chosen as recipients of the Ronald Reagan Student Leader Award. Gould and Wilcox were nominated for this award by Student Council Sponsor Leslie Riedel. Riedel described Chantz and Mark as two young men who both embody the characteristics described in this award.
“They have both worked diligently to advance themselves, make a positive difference in our school, to earn the respect of their peers and to show empathy to others in need in our community,” she said. Each year, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation works with schools from across the country to recognize and celebrate outstanding student leadership. The Ronald Reagan
Student Leader Awards are given to students who exhibit leadership, drive, integrity and citizenship. Partner schools award the Ronald Reagan Student Leader Awards to the students they feel best exemplify what it means to be an outstanding leader. Each recipient is invited to share his/her story on the website of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.
INSIDE THIS EDITION: n
Calendar of Events, page 2 n At the Capitol, page 10