Tuesday night’s meeting of the Monongalia County Board of Education ushered in a mix of the familiar – and mostly familiar – to the body that oversees all the academic and administrative doings of the district.
The familiar part came when longtime incumbents Ron Lytle and Mike Kelly were reappointed to president and vice president, respectively.
Both had served in those posts before during their tenures on the board – and both said a little continuity can go a long way in a district facing new challenges for the coming school year.
The mostly familiar? That was when Dan Berry and Jennifer Hagerty were sworn in as new members to begin their time on the BOE.
Both were the top vote-getters during May’s primary, and both are veterans of the school district.
Berry taught history, geography and civics for more than 30 years at Morgantown High School. Hagerty had two decades-plus as a teacher and principal in Mon schools.
Kelly, who ran successfully in that same election, took the oath as well, as he has since his stints on the board that began in 2005. He also netted the third-highest vote totals in the primary.
He said he’ll use his new go-around to do the same old thing: That is, to keep celebrating science, technology, engineering and math in county classrooms – while embracing the arts at the same time.
There’s that, and his continued nurturing of the critical-thinking directives, which, as he says, help make the district famous.
Kelly, the father of three grown children, equates that back to when his kids were small, and kept asking the question, “Why?” in response to every tale and factoid spun out by their dad.
“Every answer should create a question,” he said, “which creates perpetual learning.”
Speaking back in candidate forums, Berry said he’ll also work to encourage such critical thinking and measured responses all across the district, such as, for example, the idea of actually reading a book, first – if you’re going to make a call to ban it from the school library.
Hagerty said earlier she’ll use her newly elected position to further hone the craft and calling of her past career.
The former educator wants to see a “more relevant” form of professional development for those in front of the classroom, she said – related to the specific needs of their schools and the content areas they teach.
Whether the BOE’s newly elected and re-elected are familiar or mostly familiar, Mon’s district as a whole will lean into uncharted waters when the first day of school begins lapping the shore in August.
That’s when the West Virginia Academy, the county’s first charter school also has its inaugural opening for classes – and more than 300 students have already enrolled.
Mon’s district, meanwhile, will also face the specter of gun violence for the first time in a concrete manner. Students going to their classes this fall at Morgantown High, University High and Clay-Battelle will have to pass through state-of-the-art weapons detectors, first.
TWEET@DominionPostWV
