Harrison County Schools shared encouraging academic progress during the October Board of Education meeting, as Administrative Assistant for Elementary Schools and Curriculum Development Julie Mancini presented the latest West Virginia General Summative Assessment results.
Mancini explained that this year’s report focused on tracking the same group of students across multiple years. “We are comparing apples to apples,” she said. “This does let us know—is it kids, is it teaching, or is it a combination of things?”
The results showed steady improvement in English Language Arts (ELA) and positive trends in mathematics, reflecting the district’s ongoing efforts to strengthen instruction.
Mancini highlighted the district’s continued success with the Science of Reading initiative. “Every teacher in our county has been trained on the science of reading in an elementary school,” she said. “We’ve taken those Orton Gilliam strategies and done it—not just what the science of reading is, but what can we do from there? We’ve done that.”
She praised Curriculum Specialist Stephanie Runion for her leadership and commitment to supporting teachers. “Stephanie’s phenomenal,” Mancini said. “She goes above and beyond to get the knowledge at the state level. She’s on teams for the state. She just does a lot of different things outside of her job.”
In mathematics, Mancini noted that improvement is happening, especially in the early grades. “In math, we are working on it,” she said. “Math is not an easy thing to teach. Even if you can do math doesn’t mean you can teach math. It is tough.”
She commended Curriculum Specialist Karen Freeland for her impact in the classroom. “She is out in the classrooms working with teachers. She works with kids. She is doing professional development, not just after-school classes and things about the curriculum, but she’s in that classroom trying to help teachers manage the math.”
Mancini added that consistency is key to continuing progress. “We have stuck with it,” she said about the county’s reading efforts. “We got to get something with math that we stick with. And I think we’re there. We have a new book, a new adoption last year. So we just got to keep going. We can’t just keep changing how we’re going to teach something.”
She also acknowledged the success of schools showing significant improvement. “I did get permission to say a few things about Big Elm because they’re on top,” Mancini said. “Their third graders were 29, and as a school, you’re not happy. I guarantee they work their butts off because the next year those same kids were a 48… When they went to middle school, there’s an example of how maybe those foundational skills have kicked in. They were a 61.”
Mancini said the district’s current goal is to keep moving forward. “Right now we’re shooting for above 50,” she said. “Then we want to move, but by that time we’ll change the test. Higher than the state is good too.”
Throughout her presentation, Mancini praised teachers, students, and instructional staff for their dedication and teamwork. “Our teachers are working hard, and our students are responding,” she said. “When we stay the course, provide support, and focus on engagement, we see real results.”