Renowned music professor and band to play benefit concert for Ukraine next month

March 31, 2023

James Miltenberger was engaging in a little fib that day, but no one seemed to mind. His audience, in fact, loved every minute of it. The occasion was the 2017 Spring Commencement of WVU’s College of Creative Arts. With all those musicians, painters, potters and designers going forth to foster the arts in a society that needs the arts, it was already a heady afternoon.   This one, however, may have even been more so. That’s because Bill Withers, the “Ain’t No Sunshine” soul-pop Everyman from Slab Fork, Raleigh County, who spun AM Radio gold in the 1970s, ...

Suncrest Elementary media specialist will purchase books in students’ native languages: It’s a celebration of literacy and diversity, Charlotte Chung says

March 30, 2023

Viraat Das may not have won the Monongalia County Spelling Bee on that sunny March afternoon more than a decade ago — but he was most definitely a fan favorite. Viraat leveled a lexicon of multisyllabic, and even obscure, words on his way to the final rounds. The elementary school ...

Dual enrollment program to give college credits

March 27, 2023

The West Virginia Legislature adopted and Gov. Jim Justice signed legislation establishing West Virginia’s first statewide dual enrollment program to allow more students to take college courses in high school. Through House Bill 2005, West Virginia’s higher education system will launch a pilot program this fall that will cover the costs of dual enrollment courses offered by the state’s colleges and universities that are tied to some of West Virginia’s most in-demand careers. “Prior to this legislation, what we have had is a system that favors our highest achieving, ...

2 schools dismiss early Friday due to storm

March 25, 2023

BY MIKE NOLTING Rainfall forced early dismissal of two Monongalia County schools on Friday, but MECCA 911 director Jim Smith said there were very few flood-related issues. Clay-Battelle Middle-High School dismissed at 10:30 a.m. and students from the Mason-Dixon Elementary were released at 11:30 a.m. Smith said Friday morning there was a report of water over W.Va. 7 in the Blacksville area, but the DOH responded to open a ditch to allow the water to runoff. “It was reported that the ditches were plugged, so DOH was notified and I believe they went out and opened that ditch ...

Virtual educational platforms offered to students in W.Va

March 24, 2023

Montgomery Preparatory Academy announced and expansion of the school’s virtual classes and online programming for the 2023-24 school year to 6th through 12th graders across West Virginia. The school system is globally corporate accredited with Cognia/SACS CASI. This learning system allows students to work at their own pace, with the ability to advance beyond grade levels and make up credits with recovery classes. The virtual program includes live online teachers, one-on-one tutoring and open communication with full staff support. All the benefits of a private school, it is now ...

Justice signs bill putting more aides in classrooms

March 22, 2023

CHARLESTON — Gov. Jim Justice visited the school where the Senate Education chair is a teacher to celebrate signing a bill meant to bolster educational resources for students in kindergarten through third grade. School children reacted in awe at the governor’s dog, who also attended the bill signing. Sen. Amy Nichole Grady, who teaches fourth grade, gave the young students a quick civics lesson in the governor’s role in signing bills passed by the Legislature. “I’m the biggest kid in the room,” Justice said at Leon Elementary in Mason County. The governor told ...