Monongalia County school buses will again be on the road three weeks from now.
The first day of school for the district is Aug. 20, when around 11,500 students are expected to answer the first morning bell of the 2024-25 year.
Buildings will be open the week before that, however, when the first of the open houses commence for parents.
Not that those buildings have ever been empty, technically, over the vacation break.
Mon Schools, in fact, just wrapped up its Summer Avalanche enrichment program, which is held every July.
“No, we never really stop, when you think about it,” Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr. said.
“We just served 2,200 kids at Summer Avalanche, and those were all-day sessions.”
The district, though, did end the previous year with major defeat.
That was in the May primary, when county voters overwhelmingly said no to the $142.6 million bond measure that would have built the science, technology, engineering and math-oriented Renaissance Academy.
The standalone, magnet-styled STEM school would have been a first for both Monongalia County and the Mountain State.
And it would have served students from across the county, whether they attended public school, private school, a charter or were home-schooled.
Don’t look for a slow-down after that either, Campbell said.
“We’re not going to stop working and looking ahead because of a setback,” the superintendent said.
Things such as marked achievement in Advanced Placement courses.
In 2024, Mon students enrolled in the lofty offerings outpaced their peers across West Virginia and the world.
Local students boasted an 82% passing rate for AP exams, reports Courtney Crawford, who directs assessment, accountability and counseling services for the district.
Compare that to the same 59% rate for their peers across West Virginia, she said, and the 67% rate globally.
“That’s just an example of all the good things we do in the district,” Campbell said.
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