Here’s what Sasha Rounds’ mom, Melissa Rounds, has learned from watching her kid plow through the pandemic landscape in Monongalia County’s school district for more than a year now.
No. 1: Learning is infectious, no matter the delivery system, if a student is interested and her teachers are engaged.
No. 2: The Envision by WorldStrides people don’t scrimp on mailings — not one bit.
The latter, in particular, peaked everyone’s interest in the Rounds household a couple of weeks back.
That’s when that fancy gold embossed envelope with all the trimmings and adornments, and addressed to Sasha alone, plopped in the mailbox.
Melissa carefully opened said envelope — to learn her daughter is in elite company.
The 11-year-old fifth-grader at Cheat Lake Elementary was nominated by her school to participate in the Envision organization’s Pathways to STEM program in July in Washington, D.C.
It grew into a national organization from the mind of a Connecticut teacher who took her kids on a field trip to the nation’s capital, and was looking for ways to enhance that experience.
Envision’s science, technology, engineering and math offerings are being presented through its National Youth Leadership Forum.
It’s a pretty exclusive crowd — again, by nomination only.
Michele Brown, the school counselor at Cheat Lake, and Principal Dennis Gallon did the nominating part.
“I was excited,” Sasha said.
So was Mom — even if she did call the school to make sure.
“So, Sasha got this mailing.”
“Yeah, we know.”
The kid who is interested in everything
Like every other coronavirus kid in the 2020-21 academic year, Sasha learned to adapt pretty quickly to the proceedings.
First, there was last spring and total remote learning, via her district-issued Chromebook computer and desk in her room.
Then came the staggered return to her school building, followed by the five-day-a-week attendance.
Add facemasks, social distancing and all those other protocols — “protocols” now being a permanent part of the lexicon of every Mon County student.
“You just have to do it,” Sasha said.
The Pathways to STEM program will actually be on-site in the national’s capital this summer, even under the shadow of COVID.
That means a road trip and sightseeing sojourn for the family, including her dad, Tim (also her soccer coach) and big sister, Camryn, who is 13.
Melissa is probably the unofficial academic coach, not that her girls necessarily need such guidance, she said.
“They’re both obviously good students,” she said. “And Sasha’s interested in everything. Everything.”
She’s a math whiz at Cheat Lake who might want to be a veterinarian, she said.
Sasha gets a lot of experience in the latter by caring for Lola and Wendy, the family’s golden retriever and tabby cat, respectively, and both of the four-legged members of the Rounds’ house do trend goofy, at times.
There’s soccer and the school choir (although those aforementioned protocols have tamped down the singing, somewhat).
And there’s also the kitchen, where the budding chef is known for her quesadillas, cheesecake and guacamole creations — “I’m doing stuff with steak, too.”
Should you challenge her to a game of Uno or Connect 4, well, be prepared.
“I like board games,” she said.
Melissa likes the critical thinking her daughter is employing in all her pursuits, which will serve her well at the Envision outing, she said.
She credits Cheat Lake Elementary and Mon County Schools in general for that.
While in Washington, Sasha will delve into robotic coding, cardiology and more, all academically supported by that underlying structure of science, technology, engineering and math.
STEM (and other directions)
There’s a chance Sasha will be in college by the time it happens, but Mon school officials and board of education members alike are already working to steer the district to STEM like never before.
The idea is to reconfigure the county Technical Education Center on Mississippi Street into a STEM academy for middle-schoolers, while building a standalone high school also dedicated to those offerings.
“It’s the way of the world in education right now,” Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr. said.
In terms of getting from here to there in Washington, the way of the world is confusing, Melissa said.
Maddening streets that go from three lanes to one, then to bike lanes, with seemingly no signage to inform the out-of-towner of just such a shift, for example.
And don’t get her started on the Metro, the city subway system, with its 91 stops, differing fares and apparently assumed knowledge that one just may have to transfer from the Yellow line to the Red to arrive — unless it’s the other way around.
“We’ve got a map and two smart girls,” Melissa said. “They’re gonna get mom and dad where we need to go.”
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