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Barbour BOE is updating facilities

PHILIPPI  — Glenn Sweet, director of the office of attendance, facilities and technology for Barbour County Schools, updated the Barbour County Board of Education Monday evening on the status of Phase II of the contracted building improvement project that is now underway with Wendel Energy that includes upgrading lighting, building automation, plumbing and variable flow pumping.

The second phase also includes HVAC replacement at seven schools within the county, excluding the Barbour County Career Tech Center and Barbour County Board of Education office building.

According to Sweet, lighting in the Central office is complete and staff have commented they like the brightness and feel more energized later in the afternoon.

“This is a side we didn’t look at,” he said. “The change from fluorescent to LED has very positive effects on staff productivity.”

Lights are also being changed out on the first and third floors of Philip Barbour High School, and positive feedback is coming from both faculty and students. Sweet is hoping the gymnasium lighting will be finished in time for basketball season.

Sweet also noted the new connector hall being constructed at Philip Barbour High School is still in an extended planning process, and construction will not begin until the end of March. The exact start date will be determined by the company receiving the bid. The project will take approximately 35 working days.

In other business:

• The Board approved reinstating the “Colts Learn and Play Academy” at the Career Technical Center. Early Childhood Education students assembled to speak to the Board concerning the movement of the Head Start program to Belington Elementary and how it has adversely impacted their ability to finish out their required 80 hours to finish the program.

Student Ashley Warner told the Board there are 10 students who need to complete the program and the “Learn and Play Academy” will help with that. The Academy is scheduled to be fully operational by Jan. 5 and parents are invited to bring their children, (ages 2-3) to the Career Tech Center from 8-10 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays to participate in “developmentally appropriate learning and social activities.” The Early Childhood Education classes will cost $5 per week for snacks and supplies and will be supervised by a licensed teacher at all times.

• Ashley Workman, Mount Vernon Elementary School principal and special education teacher, presented the 2016-2017 Local School Improvement Councils annual review of Mount Vernon, one of two elementary schools scheduled to close after the 2016/17 school year.

A tastefully prepared 10-minute video focused on how the school has improved proficiency by creating more communication between student and family members, improving reading skills with “Flashlight Fridays,” developing leadership skills, creating a “Nine Weeks Honor Roll” and “Student of the Week” award and developing behavioral norms and progress monitoring.

“We know as teachers and professionals what we cannot change and what we can change,” Workman told the Board. “We concentrate on what we can change by using data to determine how we can bring about positive change.”

Parents and students from Mount Vernon were in attendance to watch the video and a one-minute video the students created for School Bus Safety week, Aug. 17-22.

• Beth Fox, highway engineer from the West Virginia Department of Transportation, addressed the Board concerning the 2017 Bridge Design and Build Contest.

Students participate in friendly competition, in teams, to create the most cost-effective and fully functional bridge design using Engineering Encounters’ Bridge Designer Software.

Open to middle and high school students, finalists will construct model bridges made of balsa wood, which will be load-tested and evaluated by a panel of judges.

The top-ranked design teams will be invited to compete for cash prizes in the final round, May 13 at Marshall University.

“Many of the schools that participate are from the southern part of the state,” Fox said. “I am here tonight to hopefully involve more students from the north-central part of the state.”

Teachers can request an engineer to make a classroom visit by contacting:  Beth.A.Fox@wv.gov or visit www.wvbridgedesignandbuildcontest.com.

• The next Barbour County Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., Nov. 14 at the Board of Education Office in Philippi.

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