Westside Middle tells county LSIC it is narrowing academic gaps, cutting suspensions and expanding student supports

Westside Middle School leaders told the Kanawha County Schools Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) on an evening meeting that a package of staff-led committees, targeted interventions and student supports has produced measurable improvements in benchmark results and discipline rates, but attendance and fundraising for an eighth-grade trip remain challenges.

The school’s interim principal, Candace Steele, said the school serves about 308 students and that 104 are identified for special education. “We have approximately 308 students, and of those students, 104 of them are special ed,” Steele said, and she noted 26 of 32 teachers are fully certified and the school serves a large economically disadvantaged population.

The LSIC presentation focused on three broad areas: academic interventions and data cycles; student supports and restorative practices; and attendance and family engagement. Those efforts, school staff said, have coincided with benchmark gains, a roughly 53 percent drop in discipline referrals over three years and fewer out-of-school suspension days.

Curriculum assistant director Mr. Lemaster summarized benchmark results the school has tracked. He said benchmark 1 math began the year with “88 percent of our students did not meet standards in math,” and by benchmark 2 the share not meeting standards had fallen to 73 percent; the number of students classified as proficient in math rose from four to 18. He described weekly teacher data meetings, “pretest–teach–posttest” cycles and in-class walkthroughs by administrators to verify that interventions identified in meetings were being used in classrooms.

School staff described PACTIME (a split-class intervention period) combined with the I‑Ready diagnostic and instructional program as the core of their remediation strategy. Steele and Lemaster credited Title I staff for model teaching, professional development and help implementing data cycles.

Student support staff described programs intended to remove nonacademic barriers to learning. Title I student support facilitator Miss Wilkinson said the student support center houses a clothing closet, food pantry, vision and dental clinics and an in-school suspension (ISS) room where staff provide academic help, restorative conferences and behavior planning. Wilkinson described short restorative conversations, journaling and small “escalation” activity boxes she uses to help students regulate and return to class.

On attendance, Steele and the new attendance director, Tina McKinnon, said the school is using a committee and a spreadsheet to identify chronically absent students and those “on the cusp.” McKinnon previously worked at the state Department of Health and Human Resources, staff said, and she is using targeted outreach and incentives to raise daily attendance. When asked, Steele said the school’s October attendance rate was about 18 percent and that rate “with all the snow days, it did recently jump up to 24%.”

Student representatives Ariana Daniels and Grant Coleman described student-led fundraising for an eighth-grade trip. Daniels said she organized a committee and solicited local donations; staff and LSIC members noted a bank donation substantially aided the effort. Students said the trip’s total cost was about $11,000 and cited roughly $5,800 in funds noted during the meeting; LSIC members offered to follow up with local legislators about potential donations.

Board and central-office members in attendance — including Rick Cavanagh (board president) and Dr. Williams (superintendent) — praised staff and volunteers for shared leadership and for creating committees that engage teachers. Dr. Williams thanked Steele by her first name for stepping into the principal role in October, saying she “stepped in and has done an absolutely outstanding job.”

No formal board actions were taken on school policy or budget at the meeting; the recorded formal motion was to adjourn.

The LSIC discussion included requests from community members for better transportation to evening academic events, continued mentoring and partnerships with local businesses, and for earlier coordination with feeder elementary schools to address preparation gaps before sixth grade.

School staff asked the LSIC and central office for continued partnership on attendance outreach, volunteer support for student events and assistance connecting students with potential funding sources for extracurricular trips. Steele and staff framed the recent gains as the result of sustained, school-led committees and teacher professional development rather than a single program.

Ending: The LSIC did not vote on funding or policy changes. Staff invited the LSIC and community partners to continue volunteering and supporting attendance and extracurricular fundraising; LSIC members offered to share contact information for local legislators and banks to help with student trips.