After a year at Warren Elementary School as an assistant principal, new counselor Megan Bost came back to Wood County to work at PHS. Before going to Warren, Bost was a counselor at Hamilton Middle School for five years.
“I like working with the older kids a lot better,” Bost said. “So I started looking back in Wood County and saw the position open, and I just thought I would go for PHS.”
Bost became a counselor to support and help students, which is something that is important to her after not having a solid support system in her childhood.
“I moved a lot when I was younger and never really had that stable, steady adult or like a good, solid group of friends, just because I moved a lot and it was hard,” Bost said. “I just wanted to be kind of like that role model in the school that kids could have.”
She already knows some of the student body due to her years at Hamilton Middle School as a counselor and cross country coach. She now also coaches cross country at PHS.
“I worked with a third of these students before since they were in the sixth grade and just getting to watch them now as seniors walk across that stage at the end of the year is going to be surreal and really exciting,” Bost said.
As she starts her first year as a Big Red, she wants students to know that she is here to listen, help, and try to make students feel calm and supported.
“Share the weight, you guys don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders alone,” Bost said, as advice to the student body. “We’re all here to help. Talk to your friends, talk to adults, just know you don’t have to do it alone.”
New assistant principal Cody Ratliff came to Parkersburg High School after the closing of Van Devender Middle School. Ratliff, who had been working in the school system for 11 years, formerly worked as a choir director at both Vandy and Edison Middle School for a combined seven years before coming to PHS. He became an assistant principal because he wanted to deal with kids that acted a lot like him in school. He said he enjoys getting to meet everyone and getting to talk to kids all day long.
“You’re all going to make mistakes. You’re all gonna do things at some point or another, and those conversations can be hard,” Ratliff said of his message to students. “But I want you to look back and be like, ‘that day, with something dumb that I did’ and not do something so catastrophic that you look back and regret it. Because you can’t fix regret.”
Outside of school, Ratliff goes on walks with his wife and new daughter. He also enjoys playing video games. His main two, right now, are “Marvel Rivals” and “Fortnight.” His favorite movie is “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and he has many items in his office to show his love for the movie.
His goals are set on seeing all students walk across the stage with a diploma in their hands. He wants students to learn from uncomfortableness and to not think that they have to be one thing.
“Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in one rut of ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’ too soon,” Ratliff said. “I think in middle school what I always told students was, you know, try everything.”
Special education Earth Science and math teacher Tyler Stewart has started his first year at PHS and in Parkersburg. Stewart previously worked for four years in Ohio County schools also as a special education teacher and decided to come to PHS for a change of scenery and new opportunities. He is looking forward to all of the new things waiting for him at PHS.
“Just to build bonds with the staff and the students and to get a new experience in teaching,” Stewart said. “To broaden my horizons when it comes to teaching and community.”
It is important to Stewart that students put in effort during class even if they are struggling or don’t understand. He said he is always there for students and willing to help them by being honest and giving them advice. He encourages them to not be afraid to ask for help from any teacher because they all are very willing to help out students.
“I think being able to, as education can be kind of difficult for some students, bridge that gap and make it an enjoyable experience,” Stewart said of connecting to his students.
Outside of the classroom Stewart enjoys playing sports and video games. He did long distance running in college at William Jessup University and coached the Wheeling Park High School distance running team for four years. Now that Stewart is at PHS he is switching gears, and will be helping coach the boys basketball team this upcoming season.
The lingering sweet aroma in the second floor south hallway is the new baking teacher, Alyssa Smith, guiding her students through recipes. A 2004 PHS graduate, she has come back to her alma mater to teach what she loves doing: baking.
“I saw this position had opened up and thought, well why not,” Smith said. “I went to PHS and I absolutely loved my time here and I thought what a great opportunity to come back and do what I love, which is working with students.”
Before coming to PHS, Smith practiced as a speech therapist for 11 years, after earning her bachelor’s degree at West Virginia University in Speech Pathology and Audiology and masters in Speech-Language Pathology at Ohio University . She also was a substitute teacher for Wood County Schools and Wood County Christian. Before coming to PHS to bake, she had her own at-home baking business selling bread, scones, cookies and other pastries on Facebook. Her favorite goodie to bake is lemon blueberry scones.
“I want my students to excel in life. I want them to try even when they don’t want to and I want them to think they can do hard things because I know they can do hard things,” Smith said.
Outside of the classroom, Smith is a “family girl”. She enjoys being a mother and a wife and teaching her two kids how to bake. She likes to take walks, work out, hike with her family and attend WVU basketball and football games.
“I’m mostly looking forward to hopefully having a positive impact here at PHS,” Smith said.
New librarian Sheena Dotson is excited to help and inspire students. This is her first year as a librarian in a high school, which has always been an interest of hers. Dotson formerly worked in Morgantown with elementary students as a librarian and reading interventionist.
“I love reading. I love inspiring others to read and ever since I was a little girl, the first place I rode my bicycle to was the library in my town,’” Dotson said.
Dotson is honored to work here, recalling how she thought the school looked like a castle while visiting as a young girl from Paden City for football games and the mall. As the librarian, she is eager to meet students, provide resources and is always open to recommendations to expand the Big Reds’ book collection. Overall, she values keeping the library an open and respected place for everyone.
“I love that it’s a welcoming space,” Dotson said. “I want students to be able to come here to do all things academic. It doesn’t always have to be just reading.”
Mike Eddy is a new face in the building this year but is no stranger to Parkersburg. The new multi-cat math teacher from Tyler County also serves as a defensive coordinator for the football team.
“This is where my family has always called home even though we’re not originally from here,” Eddy said. “This is where my kids grew up so we counted it as home. We had an opportunity to move back close to our parents who are getting older so we thought coming back would be good for us.”
Eddy didn’t always want to be a teacher as he wanted to join the military after graduating high school at 17. When this path didn’t work he decided to follow his now wife to Fairmont State and study in the same field she did, education.
“I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I just chased a pretty girl,” Eddy said. “This is year 21. I really do enjoy it.”
In the classroom and on the field, Eddy values one thing above all: effort.
“I have a learning disability in math so I know how difficult math can be,” Eddy said. “The key for me is just try, give some effort. I’m not asking you to understand everything I ever show you but if you at least give some effort and try to learn something new then we’re making progress.”
Andrew Anderson is a first-year teacher who teaches manufacturing systems to grades nine-12. In this class, students learn safety procedures on how the equipment runs and make projects out of wood, injection molding with plastics and molding for lead. He graduated from Glenville State University in the spring and decided to begin his teaching career at Parkersburg High School. Before teaching he served in the Air Force for six years.
“I wanted to help people and I felt like this was a good position to be able to do that,” Anderson said.
Anderson decided to become a teacher through the inspiration of his former high school shop teacher. He has a motivation to help people learn conventional, resourceful skills and to have a fulfilling job that helps people. He hopes to see respect in the classroom and safety procedures being followed properly throughout the year. He is looking forward most to seeing how his students apply their knowledge to their projects and how they use these tools in their careers after graduation.
“Do the best that you can, learn in every class because not learning can impact you outside of school after you graduate,” Anderson said.
Former Van Devender Middle School teacher Teresa Grogg is getting used to high school life as she adjusts to her new job as a multi-cat English and credit recovery teacher. Grogg worked at Vandy for 20 years and when she heard news of the closing she knew where she wanted to go next.
“I had been looking at maybe coming to PHS for a while and I’ve worked with a lot of the teachers here, worked with the principals here, and I just knew that I had good experiences with them,” Grogg said. “So, I figured that this would be the better place for me to be.”
Grogg expects students to have respect while in her classroom but she also gives them room to be themselves. She enjoys incorporating educational games in her curriculum to keep students engaged and learning. Grogg has a love for the Harry Potter franchise and uses it as a connection point between herself and students.
“There’s not a lot of things that you can find that can reach a lot of people,” Grogg said. “And I feel like it (Harry Potter) reaches a lot of people, and it covers a lot of different areas. And I feel like for the most part, most people can find a connection to it.”
Grogg encourages students to never be scared to ask questions and ask for help. She wants students to feel assured that if they ask her for help or advice, they will get it.
“Teaching at Vandy for umpteen years, we always said once a Vandy kid, always a Vandy kid, and we’ll help you whenever,” Grogg said. “And I’ve seen that carry over here to Big Reds. Once a Big Red, always a Big Red.”
When Fairplains Elementary School was announced to be closing last spring, special education teacher Quentin Dils decided to interview for a position at PHS.
“School matters and I’m just here to help and teach what I can to prepare students for the real world,” Dils said.
A 2009 graduate of University City High School in San Diego, Dils spends time with his wife and kids and coaches baseball for Vienna Rec in his spare time.
“I like playing baseball and softball with my kids because it’s fun to watch them grow and evolve in the sport,” Dils said. “It’s very rewarding to watch them develop new skills and display the compassion and love for the game.”
Dils isn’t just here to teach. He’s also here to help guide students on their path to success after high school.
“High school is kind of a springboard moment in your life that can propel you into either a career, if that’s what you want to do, or college,” Dils said. “So I think this is the last important piece of your childhood before turning into an adult, so take it seriously.”
Austin McCune is a new face in not only PHS but also in Wood County. McCune is a new special education aide but previously was a one-on-one aide in Roane County for four years.
“I got into this because I enjoy helping special needs children,” McCune said. “It’s making a difference and watching them grow and become more independent.”
He wants students to know that he is always open to talk and is most excited to learn what PHS is about.
“I’m very laid back and easy to get along with,” McCune said. “If you need something you can always ask me. Don’t ever be afraid to come up to me.”
Outside of school McCune enjoys watching football as he called himself ‘a football enthusiast.’ He roots for WVU and the Denver Broncos.
“I started playing football when I was about six years old and I played all the way through high school,” McCune said. “I come from a family that loves sports.”
New teacher David Doyle has come from Van Devender Middle School to teach health and physical education.
In the classroom he values discussion and when students are contributing. However, in his PE classes he enjoys feeling like a “giant kid” and participating in games with the students. Members of his family in Wheeling are teachers and administrators which inspired him to follow the road of teaching.
“I’ve always grown up around coaches and teachers,” Doyle said. “It’s kind of like a family.”
Doyle is not only a teacher, but also the assistant wrestling coach. He wrestled with head wrestling coach Matt Littleton in college at West Liberty University and Littleton is partially the reason Doyle is now teaching at PHS. Being located in the Fieldhouse, he looks forward to interacting with the athletes in all sports, watching his students during games and being a part of the environment. He said he is excited to meet new students and teachers. He appreciates the teacher-student relationships that are built over time and watching his students grow up and find their rhythm.
“Embrace your weird, don’t be afraid to be the individual,” Doyle said of the advice he would give to students. “Wear it as a badge of honor.”
