First and foremost, kids need to be in the classroom

A recent report by the West Virginia Department of Education says that 93 percent of schools have improved their attendance rates, and for that reason alone we offer a thumbs up of encouragement. But, goodness gracious, before sending out party invitations for a statewide celebration, know this: 23.5 percent of all students, or about one in four, are considered chronically absent.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as being missing from the classroom 10% or more of the school year, adding up to 18 days or more. Nothing good will ever come from so many kids missing so much valuable time of instruction.

Indeed, statistics presented at a recent state school board meeting by Michele Blatt, state superintendent of schools, show that students who attend regularly perform significantly better across all grade levels. Similarly, Blatt said that there is a connection between chronic absenteeism and behavior incidents. Students who had no discipline referrals, Blatt said, outperformed the others by large percentages

The good news in the report, if you scratch for it, is that 93% of districts have improved their attendance rates, that the overall rate, while astonishingly high, is down from 27.6 percent the previous school year.

We are encouraged that Blatt has set an aggressive goal of reducing absenteeism by 50% over the next five years. To get there, she will not only need the focused efforts of administrators, teachers, teaching assistants and other staff across the state, but of parents, too, who should be making sure their children get to school each and every day, each and every class period, while preaching the benefits of a well-rounded education.

If we want to improve educational outcomes in the state, and of course we do, then the kids need to be in the classroom, learning from a qualified teacher. Start there, good news and healthy outcomes will follow.

– By J. Damon Cain, editor of The Register-Herald

Thumbs up to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve bringing in nearly two million visitors, more than $96 million in tourism dollars, and more than 1,000 local jobs.

A recent National Park Service report shows that approximately 1.9 million visitors made their way into the New River Gorge National Park and the two parks within it – the Gauley River National Recreation Area and the Bluestone National Scenic River – over the course of last year, and spent a total of $96.5 million in the communities near the three parks.

Additionally, that spending went into supporting approximately 1,268 local jobs and allowed for a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $116.5 million.

The report also indicates visitor spending increased 9% over 2022.

The New River Gorge National Park saw the most visitors of all three park sites and saw the highest number of visitor spending at $86.1 million.

Thumbs up to the West Virginia National Guard's Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy – South program, located in Montgomery, which graduated 58 cadets as part of Class 62 at Haddad Riverfront Park in Charleston.

"The cadets of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy-South Class 62 have successfully proven their dedication, devotion, and commitment to furthering their lives and have earned this day and this significant graduation milestone," said Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, the adjutant general of West Virginia. "Over the past 22 weeks, these cadets have learned the values of leadership, personal courage, and hard work to overcoming adversity."

The mission of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy is to train and mentor selected at-risk youth to become contributing members of society using the Eight Core Components in a quasi-military environment during a 22-week residential and one-year post-residential follow-up program.

It is a free volunteer program for West Virginia youth ages 16 to 18 years old who are educationally at-risk.

A total of 5,812 cadets have graduated from the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy program since 1993.

Thumbs up to fewer adolescents vaping this year than at any point in the last decade.

Government officials reported the number of high school students who are using Elf Bar and other fruity, unauthorized e-cigarettes is shrinking.

The latest survey numbers show the teen vaping rate fell to under 6% this year, down from 7.7% in 2023.

More than 1.6 million students reported vaping in the previous month — about one-third the number in 2019, when underage vaping peaked with the use of discrete, high-nicotine e-cigarettes like Juul.

– By Mary Catherine Brooks

of The Wyoming County Report

for The Register-Herald