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A Quarterly Newsletter for Employees of Mercer County Schools
OCTOBER 2014
VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1
EDITOR: TERESA RUSSELL
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: CARLA NEELY
Ms. A. Gail Shrewsbur y Named the 2014 West
Virginia Board of Education Ser vice Personnel
Employee of the Year
Mercer County Schools’ is
elated to announce that
Ms. A. Gail Shrewsbury,
Instructional Aide at Spanishburg Elementary
School, was recently
named the 2014 Service
Personnel Employee of the
Year. She will be recognized at the September
meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education.
She is now entering her
15th year at Spanishburg
Elementary, and she has
been an employee of Mercer County Schools for 33
years. In 2002, she earned
her Paraprofessional Certification.
Shrewsbury’s principal,
Ms. Melissa Boothe, says,
“Gail is skillful, and she is
dedicated to her job. She
has never been able to beat
her to school. She does not
stop. Throughout the day
Gail is a multi-tasker who,
at any time, can be seen
helping with unpacking
backpacks, unlocking
lockers, tugging stuck coat
zippers, supervising bathrooms, monitoring hallways, organizing fundraisers, and making the school
more attractive, healthier
and safer.”
This past year, Gail’s
compassion and vision for
children led her to start a
Buddy Table during lunch.
Students who follow the
rules of the cafeteria are
invited to sit at a specially
decorated table with the
buddy of their choice. The
table has fresh flowers and
special treats – snacks or
small toys which Gail purchases from her earnings.
The principal observes
that children want to sit at
the Buddy Table. As a
result, cafeteria behavior
has improved dramatical-
Special School Levy
Election will be held on
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
ly.
In her community, Gail is
an associate member of
the Vietnam Veterans of
America, Chapter 628, of
Princeton. She volunteers
many hours fundraising,
cooking for and ministering to veterans and their
families. She also helps
feed the hungry and advocates for community members who lose their homes
due to fire.
Gail has been married to
Gilmer Shrewsbury for
forty years. She has three
children: Sandra Fox of
Flat Top, West Virginia;
David Shrewsbury of
Glenwood, West Virginia;
and Tina Markland of Rupert, West Virginia. Gail
and her husband reside in
Flat Top, West Virginia.
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What the Levy pays:
Employment and retention of qualified teachers
School support of service personnel employment not provided within State funding formula
Employee salary supplements including medical reimbursements
and dental and optical coverage
Print and electronic textbooks; electronic devices to utilize textbooks
Computers and technical support to maintain, repair, and upgrade
computers, software, and other technology
Continued support of public libraries and health services for students
Support of extracurricular activities
Fire Marshall requirements, equipment lease, tools, equipment,
and vehicles; provide maintenance and delivery services
Secure Environment
Constructing new facilities, remodeling
Utility/operational cost, custodial supplies
Transporting students to and from school
A Teacher Ref lection
Mercer County Board of Education Member
Takes Official Oath
At the regular Mercer
County Board of Education meeting on Monday,
July 7, 2014, new member
J. B. Hurt was sworn in by
Mercer County Judge
Omar Aboulhosn. Members of the Mercer County
School Board are elected
for a four year term. Elections are held in May every two years. Following
Monday night’s meeting,
Hurt says, “I am looking
forward to serving the
people of Mercer County
and making a difference
for the children of Mercer
County communities.”
Hurt is the executive pastor at the Princeton
Church of God. He and
his wife, Dana, have three
children, Bradford who is
nine, Carley who is seven,
and Rebecca who is three.
Judge Aboulhosn also
swore in current board
members Gene Bailey,
who is beginning his seventh term and Greg
Prudich, who is beginning
his fifth term. Prudich
was re-elected as board
president while Bailey was
re-elected as vice president. In other board action, Mary Alice Kaufman
was elected to serve on the
RESA I Advisory Board.
Following the regularly
scheduled meeting, Dr.
Akers said, “We are excited about Mr. Hurt’s election to the board, and we
look forward to working
with him during his term.”
Mercer County Teacher Receives West Virginia House of
Delegates Legislative Citation
Susan French, Mercer
County Schools Teacher
of the Year and 6th grade
teacher at Montcalm Elementary, received a Legislative Citation on September 19, 2014, from Mr.
Cliff Moore, State Delegate for the House of Representatives, at Montcalm
Elementary School.
French is the district’s 50th
teacher of the year. August 4, 2014, began her
37th year teaching in the
same classroom.
Sharon Reed, principal at
Montcalm Elementary,
says, “French has touched/
influenced over 1700 students. She exemplifies the
model teacher. She is
consistent in using best
practices and keeps her
students engaged in learn-
ing. Her efforts have produced some of the highest
WESTEST scores in the
county.” Reed continues
by saying, “She is dedicated and loyal. She is the go
to person in the building,
and she is always encouraging and willing to share
her wealth of knowledge.”
In addition to inspiring
and influencing her students to always be the best
that they can be, French
also provides staff development opportunities for
her fellow teachers. She is
always willing to help or
assist fellow teachers in
their quest to educate students.
Coworkers believe French
goes above and beyond in
serving her faith, her family and her students. In
addition to being an exemplary teacher, she is also a
wife, a mother, a daughter,
a mentor and a friend.
Also in attendance to the
ceremony were Mr. John
Shott of the West Virginia
House of Delegates, Mr.
Marty Gearheart of the
West Virginia House of
Delegates, Mr. Joe Ellington of the West Virginia
House of Delegates, and
Senator Bill Cole of the
West Virginia State Senate.
It is with great pleasure
and honor that Mercer
County Schools announces the presentation of this
prestigious honor to Susan
French.
By: Gail Webb—Bluefield Middle School
Nearly a half century ago,
my parents, with four children in tow, piled into a
colossal brown station
wagon in the wee hours of
the morning to head to
Myrtle Beach, SC, where
they splurged on an efficiency apartment in a motel located two blocks
back from the shore. My
dad belted along with John
Denver’s hit, “Take Me
Home, Country Roads.”
The siblings collectively
groaned and reminded
Daddy that we lived in
Virginia, not West Virginia.
“Your grandfather was a
coal miner in Gary,” he
said. “I was born there.
West Virginia is home.”
Well, after thirty years of
teaching, I reckon I’m
finally home. Last year
was my first year in Mercer County, and what a
year it was. I’ve been
introduced to Westests,
Edline, and truancy reports. For all the veteran
MCPS employees, you’ve
been blessed. You have
dedicated leaders, professional peers, and challenging students. You receive
faculty senate monies for
supplies; your students
receive free meals. I’m
beginning to think that
Denver and Daddy were
right about West Virginia
being “almost heaven.”
When I began my career,
teachers’ smoke filled the
lounge. Oh, how times
have changed! My first
day of teaching at Princeton Middle, the seventh
grade team taught me how
to operate a risograph machine in the teachers’
lounge. Team? Yes, that
is correct! Mercer County
provides teachers with
team planning. Now that
I’m at Bluefield Middle
School, I’m impressed
with the way Mrs. Ivory
Rowe organizes the grade
eight teachers. I’m experiencing collaborative learning at its best. Not only
am I afforded this opportunity, I also have personal
planning! The eighth
grade English teacher who
shares my schedule, Mrs.
Darlene Browning, works
with me during personal
planning to write plans
using the Literacy Design
Collaborative (LDC).
Mercer County provided
us with the training this
past summer, paid us to
attend, and provides time
for us to write and implement our plans.
When I reflect upon my
good fortune, I can’t help
but mention how impressed I am with this
county’s push to keep up
with technological demands. One of my assistant principals this year
has implemented a free
App for Mercer County
Public Schools. Right
now, the only school operating the app is BMS, but
when I asked Mr. Johnson
about it, he said that any
school interested could
join. The cost is about
$.60 a student and if anyone needs information
they can email Mr. Johnson at
jgjohson@k12.wv.us.
Students and parents receive notifications, check
edline, and view menus
and sports schedules. My
favorite feature is the tip
line. Students or parents
can send confidential tips
to an administrator. Just
last week, Mr. Johnson
said that a parent relayed a
tip to him from an away
sporting event. Mr. Johnson was able to take care
of the issue in a timely
manner.
The best asset of Mercer
County is its students.
Many of them carry baggage much heavier than
I’ve shouldered, but I
think, somehow, their burdens endear them. I remind myself every day to
share a smile, and even
though I’m not allowed,
sometimes give a hug.
Mercer County, it’s good
to be in “the place I belong.” Thanks for providing your students with a
safe environment, professional personnel, and a
shared dream for a productive future. My daddy’s been in heaven for
thirty-four years now. I
think he’d be proud that
I’m “almost” there.
PikeView High School Track Dedication
The long-awaited dream
of a new track for the
PikeView High School
students, staff, and community has now been realized. The dedication of
the track was Wednesday,
August 27th at 2:30 in the
afternoon. The celebration was held on the field
adjacent to the track.
PikeView High School
comprises the largest track
team in the county with 35
– 40 athletes participating
in track and field sports
each year. In addition to
PikeView High School,
PikeView Middle School
also uses the facility.
They usually have around
60 student athletes participating in the sport.
This ceremony provided
an opportunity for students, past athletes, guests,
and members of the community to visit the new,
state of the art track. The
ceremony also offered an
opportunity to thank all
the individuals and businesses whose contribu-
tions enabled the project
to get off the ground. Additionally, it allowed Mercer County Schools to
thank the representatives
of some of the local foundations who contributed to
the project. These foundations included The Hunnicutt Foundation, The
Skewes Family, The Tierney Foundation, Frank
Litz Smoot Foundation,
and The Community
Foundation of the Virginias. The gifts from these
foundations enabled the
project to keep growing.
During the ceremony, local legislators who secured
substantial legislative
grants were also recognized along with the project’s largest benefactor,
The Shott Foundation.
The generous gift of
$180,000 put the track
replacement campaign in a
position to be highly successful.
According to Paul Hodges, who ten years ago initiated the fund drive and
now serves on the Mercer
County Board of Education, this project has truly
been a community effort.
He says, “We are so very
grateful to all the many
individuals, businesses,
legislators and foundations
that have made it possible
for the PikeView track to
be safe for our athletes and
to be a show place for
Southern West Virginia.”
Furthermore, Hodges
would like to make sure
that all the individuals,
friends, and ex-athletes
who gave $25, $50, and
$100 know they are appreciated and know that without their support this project would have never
been possible.
The Mercer County Board
of Education, PikeView
High School, the community, and Dr. Akers would
like to thank all of those
who contributed to this
project. These individuals
have made a lasting difference for the students, athletes, and the PikeView
Community.
Kudos to . . .
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Sam Hill, Bus Operator—May 110% Club
Susan Moore, Teacher, PSHS—Completion of Transition to Teaching Program
Victoria Grogan, Teacher, PMS—2014 Cole Chevy/Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Excellence in Education Teacher of the Year
Mr. David Kade, Teacher, Glenwood School , Finalist—2014 Cole Chevy/
Bluefield Daily Telegraph Excellence in Education Teacher of the Year
Montcalm Elementary School Administration and Faculty—earned the 20122013 High Progress Reward School, WVDE , for superb progress on WESTEST
scores
Jill Devault, Teacher, Princeton Primary, recognized by the Charleston Gazette
for “The ABC’s of West Virginia
Judy Foster-Holland, teacher at PSHS, recognized as Outstanding Faculty Advisor for the State of West Virginia at the Key Club International Convention in
Anaheim, California during the week of July 3-6, 2014.
K. D. Hill, Bus Operator, won second place in the Transit Division at the West
Virginia ROAD-E-O Competition. He also won eleventh place at the National
Competition held in Huntsville, Alabama
Ashley Shaw, Teacher, Montcalm Elementary—presented with the RESA1 Exemplary Educator Award
Julia E. Kade, Teacher, PSHS —received a Proclamation from Governor Earl
Ray Tomblin and a Resolution from the County Commission establishing September 15, 2014 at “Julie Kade Day”
Angela K. Neal, Teacher, Mercer School—wrote and received a Donors Choose
Grant
HATS OFF TO EVERYONE!!!!
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT . . .
Rachel Cole, Central Office, Secretary, Special Education Department
Debbie Ball, WVEIS Facilitator
Courtney Gracon, Career Connections Facilitator
Shelly Harman, Central Office, Secretary, Title I
Denise Johnson, Secretary, Central Office, Special Education Department
Krista Kessinger, Central Office, Director of Child Nutrition
Carla Neely, Central Office, Secretary, Department of Supervisory Services
Teresa Russell, Central Office, Data and Information Specialist
Anita Thomason, Central Office, Secretary, Department of Supervisory Services
Eddie Thornton, Central Office, Secretary/Switchboard Operator
Kemberly Whitlow, Central Office, Coordinator of Services/Executive Secretary
Tammy Argyrakis, Counselor, Princeton High School
Stephanie Blankenship, Counselor, Bluefield High School
Christine Buckland, Counselor, PikeView Middle School
Crystal Goddard, Counselor, PikeView High School
Mark Godfrey, Principal, PikeView High School
Gretchen Harshbarger, Assistant Principal, PikeView High School
Craig Havens, Principal, Montcalm High/Middle School
Anna Lilly, Assistant Principal, Bluefield High School
Lynda Lyndsey, Assistant Principal, Princeton High School
Kim Miller, Principal, Bluefield Middle School
Amanda Mountain, Counselor, Princeton High School
Ricky Mullins, Assistant Principal, Princeton High School
Beth Palko, Counselor, Princeton Primary School
Jennifer Perdue, Dean of Students, Princeton High School
Beth Stone, Assistant Principal, Montcalm High/Middle School
Mercer County Schools Presents Proud to be an
American Teacher
Chilling. Secretive. Entertaining. Inspirational.
Informative. These are
just a few of the descriptors used by Mercer
County employees to describe Dr. Deborah Akers'
presentation of Proud to
Be An American Teacher.
When Mercer County
teachers returned to work
on August 4, 2014, they
were treated to a unique
oratory display featuring
the exceptional talents of
Dan Turner, guidance
counsellor at PikeView
Middle School, and Angie
Sharp, music teacher at
Montcalm High School.
Preparing the music with
Dan is not work at all. We
seem to have such a natural chemistry."
"It was a secret," Turner
says. "Dr. Akers wanted
the presentation to be a
surprise to teachers and
staff before returning to
their classrooms. How
cool is that? Angie and I
were intrigued by the idea.
Each rehearsal was a
unique learning experience for the three of us.
We laughed at times and
became tearful at times.
Dr. Akers' creative vision
to integrate music with her
welcoming address proved
to be a powerful experience. I'm grateful for that
opportunity. It felt good
to be a part of something
so motivating."
Sharp reiterated Turner's
view when she commented about her role in the
presentation. She said, "It
was such a pleasure working with Dr. Akers once
again. Working with her
allowed me to see her in a
capacity that I don't normally see her in - relaxed."
Courtney Gracon, Career
Connections Facilitator,
continued the applause of
the presentation by saying,
"Dr. Akers' speech ignited
a sense of ownership and
pride in Mercer County
teachers and administrators. She gave an encouraging and challenging
reminder that we as educators are on the front lines
of preserving the American dream."
Gail Webb, English teacher at Bluefield Middle
School, continued the
praise by saying, "The
inspirational speech from
Dr. Akers combined with
the musical talents of Angie Sharp and Dan Turner
inspired teachers as they
began the 2014-2015
school year. Mercer
County certainly utilized
and celebrated the talents
of teachers and staff
members."
The presentation included
a variety of songs such as
Ally Oop which was used
to hammer home the point
that Mercer County teachers no longer live in yesterday's world to the Beatle's Hard Days Night in
which Turner and Sharp
masterfully blended their
voices to demonstrate the
view that even though
change is hard, "we will
be all right." Hoping to
inspire a sense of pride in
employees, Akers' produc-
tion took a patriotic turn.
By incorporating Brooks
& Dunn's Only in America, she reminded educators that Americans have
many blessings for which
to be thankful. She said,
"Our forefathers wanted
freedom to worship...freedom to live...and
freedom to learn without
having restraints placed on
those freedoms."
Akers closed her production of Proud to Be An
American Teacher with a
challenge to all educators.
She asked each of them to
consider the question,
“What do we have to do to
ensure that we continue to
live in a state and live in a
country where we can
openly speak and learn?”
As she uttered the challenge, Turner and Sharp
chimed in with the chilling
lyrics of Lee Greenwood's
Proud to Be An American.
As the words rang out
over the audience, a visual
presentation of the sacrifice American service men
have made in order to preserve America's educational freedoms illuminated the stage of the Chuck
Mathena Center.
After the program, Shannon Honaker, Technology
teacher at Bluefield Middle School, described her
vision of the morning
event. She said, "It was an
opening to the school year
that was not only informative but entertaining. Dr.
Akers' production made us
proud to be teachers, and
it brought us to our feet."
September 15, 2014, Proclaimed “Julie K ade Day”
During the halftime ceremonies at Princeton Senior High School, one very
special Mercer County
Schools’ Teacher received
quite a surprise. When
the announcer said that
Monday, September 15,
will be a special day in
Mercer County for a long
time employee of the Mercer County Board of Education who would be honored for her contributions
to Princeton Senior High
School, to the community,
and to the students she
served, unbeknownst to
Kade, he was talking
about her – the band director at Princeton for the last
27 years. After a moment,
Kade realized she was the
deserving employee who
was receiving a Proclamation from Governor Earl
Ray Tomblin and a Resolution from the County
Commission of Mercer
County establishing September 15, 2014, as “Julie
Kade Day.”
At the conclusion of the
halftime ceremony,
Princeton High School
Principal Lori Comer presented Kade the Governor’s Proclamation while
Commissioner Terry Basham presented her the
Commission's Resolution.
Former member of the
Mercer County Board of
Education and former
principal of PSHS, Ted
Gillespie, presented her
with a new custom designed bullhorn. Sheriff
Don Meadows presented
her with a gift card to
McDonalds good for one
full year of “Free Coffee.”
To the residents of Mercer
County, this announcement was long overdue.
Kade began working for
Mercer County Schools 30
years ago, but she has
taught for 36 years. She is
known for conducting
exemplary performances.
She gets outstanding results from her students.
Not only do her students
excel on the field, but
many of them have become champion caliber
people in life as well.
When speaking with
Kade, she humbly said,
“This is truly an honor. I
think there are a lot of
people in the Mercer
County School system and
in the community who
deserve to be recognized
like this. I am honored.”
The Mercer County Board
of Education, Dr. Deborah
Akers – Superintendent,
parents of current and former band members, and
the community of Princeton would like to express
their sincere gratitude to
Julie Kade for her dedication and devotion not only
to her students but to the
residents of Mercer County as well.
We’re on the web! http://boe.merc.k12.wv.us/downloads/onboard.pdf