👏 Teamwork, pride, and a little friendly competition! 🎉
Dunbar Middle kicked off its new House Point System last Friday — a fun, schoolwide competition inspired by the Ron Clark Academy!
👩🎓 Students were sorted into one of four houses 🏡 — Protos, Amistad, Isibindi, or Altruismo — and will earn points for kindness, leadership, school spirit, and academic effort. The winning house each nine weeks earns a special reward — this time, a trip to Winterplace for tubing! ❄️
Friday's kickoff celebration set the tone with cheers, house pride, and a giant inflatable slide! 🏠
WATCH: 🔗 Checkout the Friday's event on WSAZ ➡️ https://www.wsaz.com/2025/10/17/new-school-incentive-encourages-good-behavior-teamwork/
More: ➡️ Read the article on our website to find out more about this new program at DMS
As South Charleston High School wraps up Homecoming Week festivities, the Black Eagles squeezed in one last event this morning. SCHS football players kicked off their day by visiting several elementary schools in the feeder area to read with students. ❤️
These young readers loved seeing their hometown heroes in the classroom — and the Black Eagles showed that leadership goes far beyond the football field.
We’re so proud to share the incredible achievements of two Kanawha County Schools students currently attending the Mountaineer Challenge Academy!
💪 Cadet Kaliee Peters, a St. Albans High School student, earned the Academic Most Improved Award — a testament to her hard work and commitment to growth.
🎖️ Cadet Ka’Lea Burkes, a Capital High School student, was selected as Assistant Platoon Leader for 1st Platoon — a role that reflects her leadership and drive to succeed.
Both students embody the determination and resilience that define our KCS family. Congratulations, Cadets Peters and Burkes — we’re proud of you! 👏❤️💛
The Kanawha County Schools Board of Education will host its monthly regular session meeting at 5 p.m. today. The meeting is open to the public.
This meeting will be livestreamed, and can be viewed at the link here 👇
https://kcs.kana.k12.wv.us/o/kcs/page/kcs-live-stream
The agenda is available on the KCS website 👇
https://5il.co/3qze8
West Side Middle School Student Council members showed what leadership looks like during homecoming week! 🙌 They created posters, stayed after school to decorate the halls, and worked hard to make homecoming extra special for their classmates.
When students take pride in their school, everyone feels the spirit! 🎉💪
Riverside senior art students Jaiden, Josie, and Pearl joined their teacher, Mr. Stanley, at Midland Trail Elementary to lead a hands-on STEAM art project with third graders! Together, they learned about pollinators 🐝, protecting our planet 🌎, and made colorful 3D butterflies to take home.
Projects like this are what KCS is all about—older students building confidence and strengthening their knowledge by teaching, and younger students seeing what’s possible when they dream big! 💚✨
As part of their unit on Ancient Egypt, students are diving hands-on into history with a S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) twist—mummifying a chicken! Don’t worry—no live animals were harmed! The chicken was store-bought.
This creative project brings ancient traditions to life, helping students explore Egyptian culture, science, and art through an unforgettable, interactive experience that deepens understanding and curiosity.
The KCS Office of Exceptional Students is excited to host a Trunk or Treat for all students with disabilities and their families! 🧡
📅 Date: Thursday, October 16th
📍 Location: Capital High School
🕔 Time: 5:00 – 6:30 PM
Come out for an evening of fun, candy, and community! 🍬✨ We can’t wait to see your costumes and celebrate together.
🎉🏆 Triple Crown ! 👑
We’re celebrating not one, not two, but THREE incredible KCS educators who were recently recognized for their outstanding work! 🎉
At Overbrook Elementary, Brooke Bias was named Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year by SHAPE WV! Mrs. Bias is known for her energy, kindness, and the way she inspires students to stay active and confident—both in and out of the gym. 🏃♀️💪
And over at Alum Creek Elementary, Mr. Chet Lowther was named the West Virginia Art Education Association’s Elementary Art Educator of the Year! His creativity and passion for art help students see the world through color, curiosity, and imagination. 🎨✨
🖌️ And at the middle school level, Elkview's, Mrs. Casey Aldrich has been named the WVAEA Middle School Art Educator of the Year! She’s devoted to creating dynamic spaces where young artists grow in confidence and imagination every single day.
Congratulations to both! Their dedication reminds us just how many extraordinary people we have teaching and mentoring students across Kanawha County Schools every single day. 💙❤️💚
There will be no school for students on Monday, October 13th — it’s Parent/Teacher Conference Day! 🍎
Parent/Teacher conferences are a great opportunity to connect one-on-one with your student's teacher, learn more about how they’re growing, and hear ways you can support their success at home.
If you haven’t already, reach out to your student’s school or teacher to schedule your meeting. Every conversation helps strengthen the partnership that makes learning possible! 💬✨
5th graders at Cross Lanes Elementary are turning into junior detectives thanks to KCS Security Officer Bob Houck and their teacher Tiffany Pace! For the past five weeks, students have been diving in to real forensic science, preparing for their sixth and final lesson! Today, students collected evidence at the "crime scene" — they suited up and tested fingerprints, analyzed DNA samples, and collected evidence to solve a mystery crime. 👣🔬
What started as a spark of curiosity has grown into a hands-on learning adventure that gets students thinking, problem-solving, and dreaming about future careers in science. 💡
Lessons like this are possible thanks to our KCS Excess Levy, which helps fund our 12 dedicated security officers. These officers do so much more than keep our schools safe—they’re part of our classrooms and our communities, helping learning come to life in amazing ways. 💚
Herbert Hoover snagged the Girls AAA title in The Health Plan Champions Cup! 🏆 This award goes to schools with the best all-around athletic programs in WV — based on how teams perform across a variety of sports and how well students do in the classroom. 📚💪
With standout performances across multiple sports—including runner-up finishes in volleyball, swimming, and track & field, a 6th-place finish in cross country, and strong postseason runs in softball and tennis—the Huskies earned an incredible 678.5 points to top the AAA girl's standings. 🔵💪🔴
Congratulations, Huskies!
📸: WVSSAC
🌟 Academic Support for Everyone
Every student deserves the tools to succeed.
Kanawha County Schools has launched a new webpage — Academic Support for Everyone — highlighting the ways we help students stay on track and graduate with their classmates.
From social and emotional learning and personalized education planning to mentoring, tutoring, career readiness, and dropout prevention — this page is your one-stop resource for student success.
If you’re a parent or guardian who simply wants to explore the built-in supports already woven into the KCS curriculum, this page also offers a great overview of what all students receive as part of their education.
Whether your student needs additional support, a mentor, or guidance for life after graduation, KCS is here every step of the way. 💙💚❤️ You can find the page by clicking the link below, or by going to the KCS website ➡️ click menu on the homepage ➡️ look under the Parents/Guardians section ➡️ click on Academic Support Opportunities.
🔗 Explore all available supports (including a list of certified KCS tutors):
https://bit.ly/KCSAcademicSupport
(This page will continue to grow as new programs and supports are added or expanded!)
In 2021—on Pearl Harbor Day—the West Virginia Department of Education and Common Ground Partners proudly recognized the first class of Purple Star Schools and Districts across the Mountain State. What began with 130 schools and 3 districts has now grown to 315 schools and 17 districts dedicated to supporting military-connected students and families. 💜
Kanawha County Schools is honored to be among them as a Purple Star District, continuing our commitment to helping students thrive—no matter where their family’s service takes them.
The Purple Star Award is one of many ways the Common Ground Partnership helps make West Virginia one of the best places in the nation to live, work, and raise a family. 🌄
During this morning’s “Back-to-Back, Face-to-Face” lesson, students paired up to practice letter sounds while staying active and engaged. All of the students did a wonderful job — there were smiles, cheers, and even a few jumps for joy! 💛
Moments like this remind us how magical those first steps toward reading can be. 💫
From digging into pumpkins to experimenting with their seeds, these students are learning that curiosity—and a few sticky hands—can lead to some amazing discoveries. 🎃🧠💡
DuPont Middle students made sure birthdays will be extra sweet this year. Thanks to DuPont's Student Council, Beta Club, and the entire Panther community, they packed up 400 cake kits and hand-delivered them to their eight elementary feeder schools — Belle, Cedar Grove, Chesapeake, Malden, Mary Ingles, Midland Trail, Pratt, and Sharon Dawes. AND they also made a stop at 1 Warrior Way to drop off cake kits to RHS. 🏫🎁
Way to spread joy, Panthers! 🥳👏
👏 Grant Gardner (6th period)
👏 Levi Grayam (3rd period)
👏 Kemp Meyer (1st period)
👏 Aleks Woody (8th period)
They used the formula r = (L² / 8h) + (h / 2) to solve a tricky problem with a winning answer of 30.72”.
Woodworking is more than just cutting boards and swinging hammers—it’s about precision, problem-solving, and bringing math to life in the shop. 🪵📏✨
Robots + public safety = one unforgettable class! 🙌💯
Shout-out to the KCSD team for bringing the 💡 + 💥 and showing how tech helps keep our community safe!
