Cabell Midland High School Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Amid Close Call, State Board Of Education Renews Focus On School Safety

Some of the state’s public schools are not in compliance with a safety requirement aimed at facilitating emergency response.

In an illustration of the need for such requirements, a school safety officer told the state Board of Education a possible school shooting in Cabell County last week may have been thwarted by a tip.

Tony Smith, an officer with the school safety unit, told the state Board of Education Wednesday the student had a manifesto and a list of students and administrators he planned to kill.

Jason M. Spears, Cabell County prosecuting attorney, confirmed to West Virginia Public Broadcasting that the incident is under investigation, but declined to comment further due to the ongoing nature of the situation, as well as the involvement of a minor.

“We take threats of school shootings, or violence in schools, very seriously and give them our utmost attention,” Spears said.

Yet, Smith told the board that not all districts are in compliance with a law that requires school safety programs.

“We still have some schools that drag your feet on it,” he said. “But we are telling those folks and superintendents, we got to have those. Those have to be up to date, because in an unfortunate incident that we got a hot call on, this stuff has to be up to date.”

Passed in 2019, House Bill 2541, titled the School Access Safety Act, requires county boards of education to implement school safety programs that include placing room numbers on exterior walls or windows of school buildings, and providing local first responders with up-to-date floor plans.

The plans should be provided by Sept. 1. Smith said some schools his team has reviewed have exterior numbers that do not match the room’s actual number inside the school. Numbering is an issue the board has focused on in recent months.

Jonah Adkins, director of the office of pre-K through 12 academic support for the Department of Education told the board in December that state superintendent Michele Blatt had offered to have the numbering and lettering created and delivered to non-compliant schools free of charge.

Board President Paul Hardesty said he wants the names of all schools that have not completed their crisis reports to be published on the board website immediately.

“Any school that does not have enough or think it’s important to comply with this, shame on you,” he said. “And we will expose you for what you are. And if that’s being mean, I’m just mean. I take this very seriously. That’s why school safety is a standing item on the agenda since I took this presidency.”

Smith said tips like the one that alerted officials to the situation at Cabell Midland come from the state’s See Send app, which allows all community members to notify authorities of concerns or report an incident.

“From Jan. 1 2023 to Jan. 1 2024, we had 537 tips,” Smith said. “Fifty-six of those were immediate threats, we have diverted some serious school violence. Thirty-eight of those involve some type of gun threat.”

Other Business

The board approved a statewide waiver of Policy 2340, section 4.8.a., allowing students attending virtual charter public schools to test remotely for the West Virginia General Summative Assessment in grades 3 – 8.

Board member Debra Sullivan was the sole vote against the approval of the waiver. She asked Vaughn Rhudy, director of assessment for the state Department of Education, why students of virtual charter schools could not go to a local brick and mortar to take their assessments as do students attending virtual programs administered directly by the state or county.

“That would be something that the charter schools would have to arrange with the counties and I think last year, what the virtual public charter schools did, because that provision wasn’t in state law last year,” Rhudy said. “I don’t know if they reached out to county schools to try to do that. I think that we’ve heard reports that some county schools were reluctant to do that to allow those students to come into their schools.”

Sullivan said it appeared that the waiver would give students of the virtual charter schools a privilege not afforded to other students.

“Even though we have all these virtual students across the state, in various iterations, a subset of them is being told that you can stay at home,” she said.

Sullivan also expressed concern that virtual students were being deprived of one of their few opportunities to have an in-person interaction with instructors and other students.

“Having children appear once a year to come in in person and take a test and see somebody’s face to face, it seems to me that that’s an important thing,” she said. “It’s good to have eyes on kids…It shouldn’t be considered a burden to bring kids in to be tested on site. “It’s really an opportunity for teachers to get to know these kids, because they don’t have that. And with everything being virtual, there’s a lack of connection.”

The waiver takes effect this spring and will utilize the Cambium Assessment Remote Testing/Proctoring tool. The school, proctors, parents and students are required to agree to all state requirements. The waiver does not apply to the West Virginia Alternate Summative Assessment, the English Language Proficiency Assessment-21 (ELPA) or the SAT School Day.

Unrivaled Dedication: Brandon Maynard Clinches WVPB’s Prestigious Above And Beyond Award

Brandon Maynard, a special education teacher at Cabell Midland High School, earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for November, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.

Brandon Maynard, a special education teacher at Cabell Midland High School (CMHS), earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for November, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.

Maynard was honored by WVPB in front of his class, coworkers and administrators. He received a monetary award and a signature Blenko Glass blue apple paperweight. The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office sponsors the award, presenter of the SMART529 college savings program in the Mountain State.

Maynard was nominated by a parent of one of his students. She celebrated his ability to be patient, compassionate, understanding and joyful. All while consistently communicating with parents, administration and support staff. In her nomination, she states, “He is calm and energetic all at the same time. He recognizes the student’s best qualities and builds on those for making learning fun and relevant for long-term success. He created greenhouse opportunities for learning and incorporates life skills that will help students with disabilities become more independent. He ensures safety while also exploring moments for students to be leaders themselves and moments of being just like everyone else in high school.”

Maynard knew from the beginning he wanted to be an educator thanks to his second grade teacher, but there was a long road to his current role at CMHS. He wanted to teach science, then physical education and eventually history. Unfortunately, history teachers were not in high demand, so he began substitute teaching in a variety of classrooms which is how he was exposed to his current calling in special education.

He said, “I finally started my career. I enrolled in classes at Marshall towards a master’s in special education with an autism endorsement and I haven’t regretted it since. The population of students that I work with are incredible when you give them the right tools to be successful. Every day is a new challenge, and I am constantly learning and impressed by their abilities and talents. They make each day and school year worth every moment.”

Maynard is constantly making his activities engaging and relevant. They learned about the solar system and planets using salt dough and even though it was a messy time, the students loved it, so he used the same method to teach the skeletal system. They’ve also made model rockets and went outside to launch them to learn how difficult it can be to design a rocket for space travel. “Anything we can do that is hands-on and gets them actively engaged in a lesson is most enjoyable.”

The class also has a greenhouse available that they use to grow plants year-round. The students not only plant the flowers and vegetables but also learn the plant life cycle, plant parts, the responsibilities of raising a garden and the benefits of plants to animals and people.

Maynard also makes it a point to collaborate and work with others in the school. His coworker, Sherri Riggio, who is an autism mentor said, “I’ve worked with Mr. Maynard for years and nobody deserves this award more than he does. He puts heart and soul into this job. He truly connects with his students and always focuses on what is best for each one. He works cooperatively with everyone in our special education department and the school as a whole. He makes the classroom and school a better place through his involvement. If anyone goes above and beyond, it is Maynard!”

From left to right: Jared Collins (Assistant Principal), Matthew Adkins (Principal), Brandon Maynard (award recipient), Maggie Holley (WVPB Education Director), Danny Harbert (Assistant Principal).

*Credit: Autumn Meadows/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Maynard is praised for not only his work in the school, but also outside the building. His nominator said he would drive to her home to deliver materials she was unable to access and attend community theater performances her son performed in. He seeks out and communicates to families different community activities that are sensory friendly and accommodating to their unique needs. She said, “He is an outstanding advocate that goes beyond his job requirements because he cares and is genuinely invested in his students beyond the confines of the special education classroom.”

When asked about how he incorporates inclusive activities inside and outside the classroom, Maynard said, “The students I work with in special education deserve the opportunity to be included in everything other students participate in, to the best of their ability. I want to create an environment for my students where they feel they can be themselves and not have to worry about anxiety or other triggers that may create a bad experience.”

He recalled some rewarding experiences he had with the students by simply including them. Once, a student of his had the opportunity to create a project and present information about goats. To allow her to have a visual aid for the presentation, he brought in one of his own goats for her to use. “That day was the most I’ve ever seen that student smile. She did fantastic with the presentation and was able to show and teach other students about goats through a PowerPoint presentation.”

Another time was with a student and family whom he goes to church with and attended most of their church softball games together. The student would sit with him and would always encourage the players. So, after one of the games, Maynard took him onto the field to let him bat. Maynard said, “He ended up crushing a ball out of the infield never having played baseball before. He ran the bases and had a blast. I love taking the initiative to give these kids a chance to just be kids and allow them the opportunities to be successful in any activity I can get them in.”

Each month, WVPB has an esteemed panel of judges that select one deserving teacher who goes above and beyond for the students in West Virginia. If you know of a deserving teacher who goes “Above and Beyond,” please click here to nominate them.

No ‘Treble’ Choosing December’s Above And Beyond Winner

Tim James, a music education teacher at Cabell Midland High School, has earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for December 2022, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.

James was presented the award by WVPB’s Education Director Maggie Holley and Education Specialist Autumn Meadows, who was a prior student of James. He received a monetary award and a signature Blenko Glass blue apple paperweight. The award is sponsored by the West Virginia State Treasurers’ Office, presenter of the SMART529 college savings program in the Mountain State.

James’s impact on the community is evident in the numerous nominations received from both parents and students. His colleagues also spoke very highly of James during the surprise presentation.

Lloyd McGuffin, principal of Cabell Midland High, said, “Mr. James is phenomenal both in and out of the classroom, his energy and passion for his craft is infectious. Students are captivated by his vision and work to make it happen. He’s magic! A magic that must be recognized.”

He has many roles at Cabell Midland High including teaching music, theatre, jazz ensemble and band. He is also a student council advisor, and homecoming and prom coordinator.

Tim James holds his Blenko Glass blue apple paperweight. *Credit: Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch*

During his 13 years at Cabell Midland, he has directed the marching band to 11 back-to-back wins at the annual West Virginia Marching Band Invitational Championship. He shows creativity in not only his music instruction, but also with his music choices, show choreography, and even props.

“His designs are award winning and his motivation and effort with the kids makes the creative shows come to life,” says one of the nominators.

James is quick to give credit to his students for the successes of the theatre, show choir, jazz, and Marching Knights, and the students show much gratitude to him for his work and influence.

“I have never doubted him having my best interests at heart,” said senior Halen Nibert. “He radiates joy and fun in stressful situations. He pushes us to always do our best. He wants us to be the best versions of ourselves.”

Autumn Meadows, education specialist at WVPB, said that she is extremely grateful for the high expectations, patience, and compassion James had for her when she was his student over a decade ago.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be the one to present this award to Tim James for recognizing excellence in education after the major impact he has made on me as an educator myself as well as so many others.”

Senior Samantha Pay said that everyone needs someone they can look up to and go to for wisdom and advice in troubled times. For her, she said that is James.

“From not only me, but every student that has ever had or been around you, thank you for everything you do for us.”

Each month WVPB has an esteemed panel of judges that select one deserving teacher who goes above and beyond for the students in West Virginia. If you know of a deserving teacher that goes “Above and Beyond,” please click here to nominate them.