Beginning at the middle school level and expanding at the high school, Mathews students have plenty of paths open to them if they wish to pursue career and technical education training.
That was the message given to members of the Mathews County School Board, as staff from Thomas Hunter Middle and Mathews High detailed the numerous CTE offerings available at the two schools during a presentation at the start of Tuesday night’s meeting, which was held in the MHS media center.
Ken Noonan, the assistant principal for THMS and Mathews Elementary, began the presentation, discussing the CTE classes offered by the “mother-son combo,” Michelle and Jason Williams. After a CTE position was eliminated in the budget, these two faculty members have stepped up to give the middle schoolers a growing list of CTE course options, with both receiving the necessary teaching endorsements.
Jason has taken on technology and robotics classes, while his mother has brought back the school’s Family and Consumer Sciences program. All the equipment used in the classes has come from either community donations or grants.
The programs are continuing to expand. Just recently, the school received a donation of a desktop hydroponics growing system and a fleet of drones is on the way, Noonan said.
At MHS, students are presented with a number of different CTE paths, from building trades (carpentry) and personal finance, to digital technology, engineering, Teachers for Tomorrow, and off-campus opportunities in nursing and welding, reported Katelyn Dodge, the school’s director of counseling. Each of the CTE paths ends in an opportunity for certification, which can either lead a student toward the next step in his or her studies or help in landing a job right out of high school.
In the evening’s other presentation, Virginia Sanford, the division’s director of special education, and THMS school counselor Denise McCuistion spoke about ongoing efforts to institute inclusive practices in the county’s three schools.
In the only action items on Tuesday’s agenda, school board members approved a pair of policies addressing the selection and use of instructional materials. In one policy, it states that parents have the right to inspect, on request, any instructional material used as part of their student’s curriculum. It further promises parental notification and review of any instructional material that may include sexual explicit content, giving the parents the right to opt their child out of that material, with alternative instructional material provided. The second policy spells out the adoption and use of supplementary teaching materials.
Both policies were approved by 3-0 votes, with school board chairman Desmond Smith and member Linda Hodges not present.
Town hall
The Mathews County School Board will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, in the MHS media center to give the public the opportunity to ask questions/make comments about school related issues.
Vice chairman John Priest will serve as the evening’s moderator. Questions will be submitted on available index cards by the public, read by Priest and directed either to Smith or School Superintendent Nancy Welch for a reply. After the question is answered, the submitter of the question will be given the opportunity for one follow-up question or two minutes of rebuttal. The meeting is expected to last an hour.
In response to a question posed by newly elected school board member Mari Gibbs made during public comment at the start of Tuesday’s meeting, Priest said that there will be an attempt to have the town hall meeting available on video.
Personnel
Following a closed session, the board approved personnel actions, most dealing with winter sports coaching positions. Appointments were made for Josh Grein (varsity boys’ basketball), Jonathan Matthews (JV boys’ basketball), Glenn Harper (varsity girls’ basketball), JJ Ashberry (JV girls’ basketball), Tony Forrest (indoor track), Josh Schaible (wrestling), Jennifer Doss (cheerleading), John Corrigan (Scholastic Bowl) and Stacey Griffith (strength and conditioning). The following volunteer coaches were also appointed: Carlos Clayborn (varsity boys’ basketball), Jalen Matthews (JV boys’ basketball), Taylor Carter and Robert Marrero (varsity girls’ basketball) and Dennis Schaller, Tanner Schaller, James Gray, Jami Thompson and James Cook (wrestling). The board also accepted the resignation of MES custodian Dina Hill.