MORGANTOWN — Tuesday night’s meeting of the Monongalia County Board of Education (BOE) had some star power attached.
That’s because Chef Brian and Miss Carol were in the house.
Your kids know them by the above, but officially, they’re Brian Covell and Carol Copeland.
And together, they are now the county’s Teacher of the Year and Service Employee of the Year, respectively.
The BOE made the announcements Tuesday night.
Covell is a chef who teaches culinary arts at the Monongalia County Technical Education Center (MTEC).
Copeland, a longtime employee in county schools here, is a kindergarten aide at Ridgedale Elementary School.
“My job’s easy,” Copeland told board members. “It’s very easy to love a 5-year-old. I feel blessed.”
It’s not as easy as it looks, Ridgedale Principal Sheri Petitte said.
“Miss Carol comes early and stays late,” she said. “She watches out for our kids.”
Passion and talent are the two main ingredients in Covell’s kitchen at MTEC, Mon Schools Superintendent Frank Devono said.
Covell brought his experience in restaurants and resorts to the classroom, where he quickly served up a recipe of success, the superintendent said.
“Chef Brian took a program at MTEC that was almost dead and turned it into something amazing,” Devono said.
In his two years at MTEC, the chef’s students cooked up nearly $2 million in scholarships and cash awards.
As he told the board, he doesn’t mind sharing his recipe one bit.
“I work tirelessly to challenge students’ expectations while embracing and influencing the way they view and taste food,” he said.
