Prior to the usual business of a board of education meeting Monday night, 23 Pocahontas County students were recognized as Hidden Promise Scholars by Glenville State College.

The Hidden Promise Consortium selects students in grades eight - 12 and assigns them a mentor who is a student at GSC. The mentor works with his/her student to prepare them for college and answer any questions they may have.

Along with working with a mentor, the students are invited to events at the college, including athletic competitions and liberal arts productions. The students also attend a summer camp each year where they are treated to ACT prep courses and hands-on education, as well as field trips.

If the students attend GSC after high school, they receive a $1,000 per year scholarship.

GSC President Dr. Peter Barr welcomed the scholars to the Glenville family and congratulated them on their achievements.

ﾓWeﾒre delighted that Pocahontas is participating with us in this endeavor,ﾔ Barr said. ﾓWe want more kids to graduate from high school, we want more kids going to college, we want more kids to graduate from college. We want to work with you and help you understand the importance of going to college and weﾒre trying to open those avenues for you.ﾔ

Although Barr would be pleased if every student selected went to GSC, it isnﾒt the most important part of the program.

ﾓWe would like to have every kid go to Glenville State College, that would be kind of a nice thing, but most importantly, we want you to go to college,ﾔ he said. ﾓYou are potential leaders, not just of West Virginia, but of the United States.ﾔ

Coordinators of the Hidden Promise program, Teresa Sterns and Keith Barr, joined the president with accolades for the students and explained their roles in the program.

President Barr also announced that a donor who awards scholarships to Webster County students who attend GSC recently announced that he is expanding the scholarships to include Pocahontas County students.

Hidden Promise Scholars for Pocahontas County are: eighth grade, Kindra Carr, Phillip Green, Daniel Gum, Sarah Lambert and Heather Pritt, of Green Bank Elementary-Middle School. Jimmy Campbell, Kimberly Lester, Stephen Mick, III, and Katlin Sharp, of Marlinton Middle School.

Ninth grade, Joseph Coy, Clay Friel, Amanda Gibson, Brooke Irvine and Lorena Rose. Tenth grade, Derek Hamman and Patrick Martin, III. Eleventh grade, Santana Beck, Elizabeth Fuller, Dillon Hovorka, Skyler Knisely and Chasten Taylor. Twelfth grade, William Bostic and Seth Doss.

In updates:

ﾕ Associate Superintendent for Operations and Treasurer Alice Irvine reported that the new intercom system at Hillsboro Elementary School is complete and should be in operation this week.

ﾕ Director of Federal Programs and Instruction Terrence Beam distributed Energy Express applications and said there is enough money in Title I to fund the program this year. He added that the Title I budget will have an estimated 30 percent cut for next year. Beam attended a conference about Title I funding and the budget is still not completed, so the cut may be more or less than 30 percent.

Beam also reported that the social studies fair is March 8 at Pocahontas County High School, nine PCHS students will participate in the regional math field day March 11 and fourth through ninth grade regional math field day is March 15.

ﾕ Coordinator of Student Services and Special Education Diane Delfino said the IEP training last week was successful and the teachers were pleased with what they learned. The universal Pre-K audit from the state department of education was positive and Delfino expects to receive the report within 30 days.

ﾕ Board member Leslie Cain gave student representative Nathan Hamonsﾒ report. The Lady Warriors were named the PVC champs and Tim McClung was selected as Coach of the Year. Shelby Snead also won the three-point shot competition.

Prom is May 14 at Snowshoe Mountain Resort. Board member Emery Grimes voiced his concerns with having the prom at Snowshoe because he feared for the students driving off the mountain at night.

ﾕ Superintendent C.C. Lester shared the following:

- Marlinton Elementary School had a Math Fun Night with 146 students and parents in attendance. The night highlighted the new math program with the students teaching math to their parents. Principal Ron Hall informed Lester that the night was very successful and parents enjoyed the evening.

- The West Virginia Education Alliance (WVEA) has a mentor program that connects students with mentors statewide. Lester explained that if a student wants to enter the field of nursing, he/she could be assigned a mentor from Morgantown or Charleston instead of just in the county. WVEA representatives are coming to PCHS February 24 to connect students with mentors.

- The annual School Building Authority (SBA) facility review is March 14. The SBA will travel to the schools to review projects funded through them to assure the money is used properly.

ﾕ Board member Margaret Worth reported that the Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce is working with the PCHS mentor program and members are very excited about the opportunity.

ﾕ Board president Kenneth Vance asked for a moment of silence for three former board employees who recently passed away; Trudy Wooddell, Ava Guthrie and Marie Nottingham. Vance also said he read that Fayette County is having school for half a day on four Saturdays to make up snow days. He asked if it was legal and how they were funding it. Lester said he did not know and would try to find answers.