State Education Leaders Highlight State’s Most Successful Schools

The West Virginia Board of Education recognized six schools as part of the 2026 class of Exemplary Practice Schools during its regular monthly meeting Wednesday.  

The program recognizes schools that illustrate outstanding practices that positively impact student outcomes.  

Board president Paul Hardesty says that given recent negative news around West Virginia schools, it’s important to give educators and students accolades when earned.  

” There’s good things going on in Wyoming County. There’s good things going on in Wayne County and other counties across the state,” he said. “There are good things going on in our public school system, and at the end of the day every county that spoke, we’re doing this because we want to improve student outcomes. That’s why we’re here.”  

Three schools were recognized for their academic achievements including double digit improvements in reading and math proficiencies. 

• Crum Pre-K – 8, Wayne County – Math achievement increased from 15% to 51% over four years. 

• George Washington Middle School, Putnam County – English language arts proficiency increased 18%, with a 6% gain for students with disabilities, and the school has experienced a 20% reduction in chronic absenteeism. 

•  Guyandotte Elementary School, Cabell County – Reading proficiency increased 17% and math proficiency increased 11% over a one-year period. 

Three other schools were recognized for implementing successful programs addressing chronic absenteeism.  

• Jayenne Elementary School, Marion County – Chronic absenteeism rate decreased from 20.5% in 2024 to 16% in 2025, far exceeding goals and leading to improvements in achievement and behavior. 

• Huff Consolidated Elementary and Middle School, Wyoming County – A comprehensive, research-based approach led to the school experiencing a decrease in chronic absenteeism, an increase in English Language Arts proficiency, and improved discipline outcomes. 

•  Huntington High School, Cabell County – Chronic absenteeism decreased 12 points with targeted interventions, including an 8% reduction in chronic absenteeism among students with disabilities. This resulted in the exit from Comprehensive Support and Improvement – Additional Targeted Support status on the West Virginia Balanced Scorecard. 

Board member James Paul pushed the state Department of Education to further study exemplary schools for techniques that could be transferred to other schools.  

“If we can identify exactly what is driving these outcomes — and I’m focused on the academic achievement, but also the attendance too — that’s something we need to understand and see if it can translate,” he said. “Not everything is transferable in one county or one school to somewhere else, but these types of results in a short period of time are exactly the type of thing that we should be highlighting and that other schools should be learning from.” 

The state Department of Education provides grants to exemplary school teams to travel and train other educators to achieve similar success. 

The next scheduled meeting of the board will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 13 in Charleston.