Doddridge County Early Learning Academy sends students off to the races

WEST UNION, W.Va. (WBOY) — Classroom curriculum tends to stick better with students when the lesson is intriguing, which is exactly why the Doddridge County Early Learning Academy brought real race cars to the facility for students to see and play with on Thursday.

With the help of the community, the Doddridge County Early Learning Academy (DCELA) welcomed local race car drivers, remote control cars and riding toys to help teach the mechanics of its’ ‘push, pull and motion’ lesson plan.

The school day began with students riding around the school’s front parking lot on scooters and bikes with teacher supervision, while instructors with remote control cars demonstrated how to work the toys in the back parking lot.

13 racers who often race at the Tyler County Speedway brought their cars as a way to give back to the community. The race cars included multi-track champions, dragsters from the National Hot Rod Association as well as “mini legends.”

Doddridge County bus driver, William “Slick” Trent, helped connect the two groups with his ties to racers and the speedway and told 12 News why he thinks it’s so important for the community to get involved with each other like this.

“Seeing these little kids come out here in the groups that they come this morning, they get to sit in the cars, we’ll fire up a couple of them. To see their eyes, it just makes you feel really good when you see the kids react the way they are,” said Slick.

Slick also mentioned how he hoped bringing in these cars would spark interest in racing and mechanics in the students.

Pennsboro Speedway also chipped into the event by donating wooden toy cars for students to paint, decorate and play with. On top of that, students from Doddridge County’s Career Technical Education school stopped by DCELA to see the race cars in person.

DCELA Principal Katrina See, told 12 News that she was thankful that the community would put this kind of effort in for the students.

“We couldn’t do this without the community here in Doddridge County. I am thankful for our community partners; they are always stepping up and doing amazing things,” said See.

With the school year winding down, Doddridge County Early Learning Academy has a few more fun-filled days planned for its students before summer comes. You can follow the academy and all its events on its Facebook page.

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