Communities in Schools working to decrease student dropout rates in West Virginia

MORGATOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Communities in Schools began its annual Support Students Institute conference in Morgantown on Tuesday as part of its mission to reduce student dropout rates in West Virginia.

To work toward reducing dropout rates, Communities in Schools plants site coordinators in schools to organize local programs and resources so they can be effective for students and families. The program has been championed in West Virginia by First Lady Cathy Justice, and both she and Governor Jim Justice attended the start of the conference to share their remarks.

Also at this week’s conference, site coordinators have gathered to share their experiences and advice to better learn how to serve their schools.

12 News spoke with two site coordinators for Harrison County Schools who attended the conference.

“[In] Harrison County, we’re very fortunate to have a lot of different agencies and a lot of different resources, but coordinating those and actually making them work for our students is what we focus on,” Nutter Fort Intermediate Coordinator Angie Carvelli said.

Logan McKinney, another site coordinator who joined Nutter Fort Primary in 2022, said his focus has been improving attendance, which he said has been a growing problem since the pandemic. According to McKinney, transportation can be limited for students; when the school stepped in to help families and students with transportation, Carvelli recalled cutting down one student’s absences in half.

William Milliken, the founder and vice chair of Communities in Schools, said he was proud of the growth of the program in West Virginia and credits the First Lady and the Governor in helping them extend their reach. He said that the key factor in helping students—no matter if they are in rural or urban areas—is the importance of relationships.

“I don’t care if it’s rural West Virginia, Harlem, New York City, or [the] South Side of Chicago. Every kid wants to know that somebody cares that they exist,” Milliken said.

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