Wood County Schools

There will be an informational meeting for the community regarding the new Lubeck Elementary School on Monday, October 28, at 6:00 p.m. in the gymnasium of the current Lubeck School. This is an opportunity for community members to learn about anticipated timelines and plans for the new Lubeck school. Members of the community will be given the opportunity to sign up to speak/ask questions at the meeting.

Today was a memorable day for all Wood County third graders as they enjoyed an incredible performance by ventriloquist, Doug Meckan!🎤✨ Special thanks to Artsbridge for sponsoring today's performance!

Having fun with fruit kabobs! Students at Jefferson Elementary Center are using fruit to create patterns in their Ready Math instruction.

We are excited to share a special video that showcases the excellence, dedication, and pride within our Wood County Schools community. This video highlights the incredible work of our teachers, coaches, staff, and students, and reflects our commitment to providing a high-quality education for every child. Thank you for being part of our amazing district! Watch the video: https://woodcountyschoolswv.com/wcs-shines

Be sure to follow the new Facebook page for the Wood County Technical Center to stay updated on the latest offerings from WCTC and the Caperton Center. Discover all the incredible opportunities available to Wood County students! https://www.facebook.com/woodcountytechnicalcenter

Are you a Wood County Schools' student and feeling creative? Design a poster or create a video for our Vaping Prevention Contest. Prizes awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and honorable mention! Learn more at... https://www.woodcountyschoolswv.com/page/vaping-prevention

FREE wellness resources and support for staff and families: https://www.woodcountyschoolswv.com/page/well-being-coaching

Dear Wood County Schools’ families: Thank you for your courage, patience, and understanding this week as our school personnel and law enforcement agencies worked together to keep our schools safe. We are fortunate for the relationship between our school system and law enforcement. Wood County Schools would like to express gratitude and appreciation for the law enforcement agencies throughout our county and state who provided support to Wood County Schools this week. Thank you to the Parkersburg Police Department, Wood County Sheriff’s Department, Vienna Police Department, Williamstown Police Department, and the Capitol Police. -- Christie M. Willis -- Superintendent

After investigation of information shared through the See Send app and to Principal Sears, Wood County Schools has learned that the Edison Middle School referred to in the social media posts is connected to Edison Middle School in Connecticut not Parkersburg West Virginia. At this time there are no threats to Edison Middle School in Parkersburg West Virginia.

At approximately 1350 hours the Parkersburg Police Department was contacted by a Deputy with the Washington County Sheriff's Department regarding threats being made on social media by a student at VanDevender Middle School which pertained to committing a shooting at Vandevender. That information was relayed to the School Resource Officer at Vandevender Middle School while additional officers responded to assist. The School Resource Officer was able to quickly determine that the 14 year old juvenile who had perpetuated the threats, is a student at the school, and was not in attendance. Various steps were taken to ensure the safety of the children and administrators while Officers of the Parkersburg Police Department worked to locate the suspect juvenile. A short time later, the suspect juvenile was located and detained by law enforcement without incident. Once detained, the suspect juvenile was transported to the Parkersburg Police Department to be interviewed. After being interviewed, the suspect juvenile was taken to Wood County Circuit Court and a detention hearing was held. At the culmination of the detention hearing, the suspect juvenile was ordered to be placed in the Lorri Yeager Juvenile Detention Center on the charge of Making Terroristic Threats. There are no other suspects, persons of interest, or further threats involved in this incident. In addition, no evidence was located during the investigation that would have enabled the juvenile suspect to carry out the threats made. The Parkersburg Police would like to thank the Washington County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this matter. The communication and teamwork facilitated a quick response by law enforcement and apprehension of the suspect juvenile. The Parkersburg Police Department was also in communication with the Wood County Board of Education from the onset of the threat being reported through the placement of the suspect juvenile in the Lorri Yeager Juvenile Detention Center.

The Wood County Sheriff’s Office was notified at approximately 4 pm today of a potential threat to Parkersburg South High School which was circulating on social media. School officials reported the incident after being made aware of the posts to the Parkersburg Police Department. The student making the post was not at the school at the time. Through set protocol, the Parkersburg Police contacted the Sheriff's Office as the student lives outside the city limits. Detectives with the sheriff’s office took into custody a 16-year-old male student of Parkersburg South who is being detained pending charges filed by the Prosecutors Office.   Officials had no reason to believe that an immediate physical threat was posed to students or faculty. The Sheriff's Office worked alongside the Parkersburg Police, Wood County School Administration, and the Wood County Prosecutors Office throughout the investigation to ensure the safety of students and staff.

We have been made aware of false information circulating on social media stating that Williamstown Elementary and Williamstown Middle/High School are on lockdown. This information is **not true**. There is no lockdown at either school, and all operations are proceeding as normal.

Wood County Schools is aware of an online threat targeting various school systems across West Virginia. We take every threat seriously and are actively monitoring the situation. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and we are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure that all necessary precautions are taken. We will continue to keep our community informed as we gather more information. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

FREE COACHING FOR SCHOOL FAMILIES AND STAFF: ParentGuidance.org is an online service that provides a trusted and safe community for parents to learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions. Parent Guidance is backed by licensed therapists to provide specialized courses and professional support to parents. It is also FREE and confidential for school families and staff, provided through a generous grant by the Cook Center for Human Connection. This link will take you to the website for more information and to sign up: https://parentguidance.org/&utm_source=school&utm_medium=badge&utm_term=school&utm_content=ad-1&utm_campaign=school

Wood County Schools will be closed on Monday, September 2 in observance of Labor Day. Schools and offices will reopen at normal times on Tuesday, September 3.

GOLDEN TICKET ALERT: The final Golden Ticket Summer Reading Challenge Book Fair will take place Thursday, August 29th from 3:00-6:00pm at the WCS Lincoln Warehouse. Hundreds of books are waiting to go home with readers; bring your golden tickets/reading logs and we will see you there! Wood County Schools, Lincoln Warehouse Beside Vandevender Middle School 918 31st St, Parkersburg, WV 26104 For more information visit https://woodcountyschoolswv.com/thegoldenticket

Greetings! Teachers and staff are excited to welcome students back and are eager to kick off an amazing new school year! Classes begin tomorrow, Wed., Aug. 21. To find your school's arrival and dismissal times, visit https://www.woodcountyschoolswv.com/page/arrival-dismissal.

Good evening! We want to remind you about our back-to-school open house tomorrow, Monday, August 19th. Our elementary open house will be from 4 to 6 p.m. and our middle, high, WCTC and Caperton will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Students' first day back to school will be Wednesday, August 21st. We're excited to see you and kick off a fantastic year!

Say “hello” to two-way messaging in the Wood County Schools app! The same district app now offers class streams, class announcements, and parent-teacher chat. Look for your personalized invitation to begin using this feature in our app after 8/21. Download for Android https://aptg.co/tLf49D Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/tXzp7c

Thank you to law enforcement for your service, collaboration and keeping our schools safe!