LCHS is looking to improve education to ensure its students are prepared for their future. To do so, the Southern Regional Educational Board members were invited to the halls of LCHS.

Students and faculty were greeted by officials from the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) Monday, April 11. This included a group of Daniel Rock, and instructional coach from SREB, Brian Withrow, president, founder, and CEO of SREB, Dr. Andrea Lemon, a member from the WV Board of Education, and Kathleen McNally, Senior Instructional Coach at SREB.

SREB is a non-profit organization who aims to improve education in 16 states, including West Virginia.  

Upon their arrival, students saw new faces in the hallways and in the classrooms. 

They observed and asked questions to provide the school with data.

“They will walk around, observe classrooms, and interview a select group of teachers and students,” Mr. Dustin Cogar, Assistant Principal, said prior to the team’s arrival.

“We are here to give feedback to the school on how they are helping the students become college or career ready. To do that we are going to collect a variety of data that includes observation, interviews, surveys, and looking at different artifacts,” Daniel Rock, Instructional Coach at SREB, said.

Along with their observations, they also analyzed teachers’ lesson plans. 

“They are doing curriculum and instruction review,” Cogar said. 

Their ultimate intention is to improve and ensure that students at LCHS are receiving the proper level of education. 

“The idea is that the school will see the feedback and decide on what things they want to celebrate and also what things they may want to focus on improving in the future,” Rock said.

“Their goal is to give us some data on the implementation of the curriculum at LCHS. Such as, how people are being taught and why so we can look at it and potentially fix some stuff,” Cogar said. 

The visitors can agree that their time at LCHS was a positive one.

“We have felt very welcome here. It’s been a very warm environment to come in to. So, it’s been a very positive day,” Dr. Andrea Lemon from the West Virginia Board of Education said.

“Students have been very focused and on task and the teachers are really focused on student learning,” Rock said.

Overall, teachers are glad to see some efforts towards improving the school.

“I hope they improve something because I think there has been a disconnect issue, and I think the administration recognizes that,” Mrs. Mary Hogan, math teacher, said.

“I think that it’s necessary in order for us to keep ourselves in high standard,” Ms. Samantha Rogers, science teacher, said.

“It’s good to be evaluated by outside sources to provide a fresh aspect on the school,” Mrs. Christie Lybarger, heath teacher, said.