Wood County Schools Director of Attendance Chris Rutherford gave the Wood County Board of Education an update on the changes to attendance policies and laws sent down from the state that will impact the district. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

PARKERSBURG — New policies on attendance from the West Virginia Department of Education have been sent to school districts around the state and Director of Attendance Chris Rutherford gave the Wood County Board of Education an update on those policies Tuesday.

“Fact is, when the kids are in our buildings getting taught by our teachers, our teachers and our schools do a fantastic job, pure and simple,” Rutherford said. “Lost instructional time matters. I agree with the Legislature wholeheartedly on that. That’s chronic absenteeism. That’s what we’re trying to do, decrease lost instruction time.”

He said the state has now codified 10 days of parental leave per year, rather than splitting it between semesters. He said the district will adapt its chronic absenteeism policies to better address uneven absence patterns across semesters.

He said there have been changes to Jaycie’s Law which focuses on providing educational stability for expectant parents. He said it will extend postpartum and homebound services from six to eight weeks, and now offer two weeks of services for expectant fathers as well.

“We’ve never done this, so that’s something now that we can look at,” Rutherford said.

Madison Elementary fourth-grader Rose Casto and fifth-grader Sebastain Hustell talked to the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday about their school and the leadership roles the students take within it. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

He said the state has removed “leave of educational value” and “calamity” as excused absences. He said “leave of educational value” often covered family vacations and “calamity” covered things like house fires.

“That one breaks my heart. It really does,” Rutherford said. “Family has a fire in their home, how can we not excuse that? That’s my personal opinion.”

He said the new attendance codes will take some adjustment and things are still fluid.

“We’re waiting on the updates,” Rutherford said. ” (The) State Department said there’d be more guidance coming out.”

Board President Justin Raber said the district may want to ask for the opinion of the state superintendent if confusion persists moving forward. He said the state superintendent can provide opinions on the understanding of what the law is supposed to be so the district knows they are following correctly what the department is saying.

Wood County Schools Certification and Teacher Licensure Administrator Stephanie Cunningham and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources John Merritt talk to the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday night at Madison Elementary. The pair said the beginning of the school year has gone very well, with no major issues reported regarding the availability of teachers, substitutes, or support services. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Madison Elementary was recognized as a Lighthouse School for its successful implementation of the Leader in Me program over the past nine years. Principal Valissa Porter shared the school’s journey in adopting and evolving the program, which focuses on developing leadership skills and habits in students.

“I saw the changes that it had first in me and how I can use the habits in my own life. And then I wanted the students to also do that, and the staff as well,” Porter said.

She said a highlight of the program is the annual Leadership Day, where students take the lead in planning and executing the event. They design the theme, create artwork and scripts, and perform skits and songs to showcase their leadership abilities.

“It’s a full school effort,” Porter said. “We’re always proud of how it turns out.”

Porter said Madison was one of only five schools in the state to be named a Lighthouse School and moving forward, the school aims to maintain its status and continue inspiring more schools to adopt the Leader in Me program.

Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources John Merritt and Certification and Teacher Licensure Administrator Stephanie Cunningham gave the board a human resource update. The pair said the beginning of the school year has gone very well, with no major issues reported regarding the availability of teachers, substitutes, or support services.

“Very good start of the year,” Merritt told the board.

Technology Integration Specialists Jimmy Stewart and Eric Murphy talked about the communication app Rooms. The pair said they have been working since April to roll out the new communication platform to improve engagement between teachers, students, and parents.

The pair said gradual implementation, starting with Williamstown Middle/High School coaches and then expanding to other schools, has begun and the goal is to continue providing support to parents as they start using the platform, while also ensuring accurate data input by support staff.

“We want to definitely make sure that we are being that community resource to also help whenever they need some assistance,” Stewart said. “We also want to continue working with our support staff, including secretaries.”

In other business, the board voted to approve the appointment of Stephanie Agee to the position of Kanawha Elementary School Principal, effective July 1, 2025. Agee will finish out the 2024-2025 school year in her current position as principal of Franklin Elementary.

The board also approved the appointment of Candace Lewis to the position of Director of Curriculum and Instruction of Math, Science, Driver Ed, Health, Physical Education, Virtual School, and Gifted, effective Aug. 28.

The next meeting of the board of education is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 10. The meeting will be held at the board offices at Plum and 13th streets in Parkersburg. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed online.