Schools, Counties, Parents, Prospective Staff

GHA  Counselor or Principal Responsibilities (School-level responsibilities)

1. Inform all qualifying students of their eligibility. Speak with students about the merit of GHA. If a student from your school attended last year, have him/her speak to prospective students. Inform students that the application is available at www.govschools.wv.gov, and guide them to it.
2. For students who do not have home Internet access, provide an opportunity for the student to complete the application using a school computer.
3. Set a due date for students to submit applications at the school level. Remember that the county must submit superintendent's selections and alternates to the state office no later than published deadline, so you must check with the county coordinator to see when he/she must have the applications from your school.
4. Be certain to include first-semester or first-term grades. If they have not been transcripted, a copy of  the most current grade card will suffice.
5. Check to see that online application confirmation sheet is on top of the application.
6. Establish a selection committee composed of the principal or designee, a teacher of gifted or high level courses, the counselor, a technical education teacher, an alumnus of GHA if possible, and others at the discretion of the principal.
7. Meet with selection committee to review all applications and rank the recommended applications for the county selection team.
8. Send applications and rankings to county selection coordinator, using the Principal's Recommendation Form.  Check to see that the pages are stapled and ordered numerically, with the essay and transcript/test record at the end.
9. Do not fasten with paper clips; do not send photographs; and do not put each application in a separate folder.

  GHA  County Coordinator Responsibilities 

1. The first thing the county coordinator should do is read through the entire website, looking for appropriate forms and making note of important information. For example, the Superintendent's Selection form is found in a link in item # 8 below.
2. County coordinators should contact each high school to let the counselor or principal know the central office due date. This includes both public and private schools.
3. Each county has the privilege of choosing one male and one female to attend GHA. If there are suitable applications from both genders, counties may NOT submit the names of two students of the same gender as superintendent's choices. On the other hand, those names and applications may be submitted for consideration in the statewide pool.
4. The county selection team shall consist of the superintendent's designee (usually the county coordinator), one teacher of honors or advanced classes from each represented high school in the district, a counselor, a teacher of gifted students, and a representative from career/technical education.
5. Plan your selection meeting early enough so that if school is cancelled you will still have time to reschedule and meet the deadline.
6. When selecting students, try to be equitable across schools unless there is a serious breach in the quality of applicants.
7. Check to see that the pages are stapled and ordered numerically, with the essay and transcript/test record at the end. Do not fasten with paper clips; do not send photographs; and do not put each application in a separate folder.
8. Submit names and applications postmarked by February 15 to Sherry Keffer, WVDE, Building 6, Room 617, 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East; Charleston, WV 25305. The address is also on the bottom of the Superintendent's Selection Form.

 Parent Information 

Please encourage your child to look to the future and apply to attend the Governor's Honors Academy. Many times, students--especially those in high school-- will say that they "don't want to give up their summer."  As a matter of fact, several students who have actually attended GHA have arrived with that attitude, but they had parents who said, "You need to do this." 

On closing day, those students were shedding as many tears as the others because they hated leaving.  In the past several years, only one student has not completed the program because she was dissatisfied.  

The Governor's Schools of West Virginia are provided at no cost to the students or their families. The only financial requirements are that parents provide health insurance and transportation to and from the Academy.

Parents of home-schooled students need to contact the board of education office in their county to discuss the deadlines for submission to the county office.  Those parents may contact Sherry Keffer, cheryl.keffer@k12.wv.us, to find the name of the county coordinator. Because there is not a principal or counselor in the home-school setting, a narrative of what the student has accomplished may accompany the grades and any test scores.

Prospective Faculty 

1. The Academy dates are June 30-July 20, 2019. Employment will begin Saturday, June 29, and end Saturday, July 20.
2. There will be an orientation workshop in early spring.
3. All applicants are required to submit and pass a background check prior to the beginning of the academy. Payment is the responsibility of the applicant.
4. Most of the faculty will live in the residence hall. Faculty with local housing may elect to stay at home, provided they fulfill all Academy duties. Faculty salary is $5,500. Meals and lodging are provided. Travel is not included and will not be reimbursed.
5. All faculty are required to teach two courses each class day. Courses will be limited to 14 students each, with a minimum of 12 students. The two courses are 1) an Intensive Course that addresses a Governor’s Honors Academy student’s greatest academic strengths and interests and 2) a Broad-Based Course intended to expand a student’s knowledge base in areas that are not necessarily viewed as the individual’s strengths or primary areas of interest. Both courses shall include a multi-disciplinary approach to instruction as well as a brief discussion of how the Academy’s theme would be addressed .he Academy in 2019: Your Silent World.
6. “Being human in the digital world is about building a digital world for humans,” Andrew Keen
   Your digital world is full of limitless ideas, opinions, opportunities and education. However, limitless does not convey benevolence. Today’s students must think critically and sort through these limitless ideas to define their path as unique digital citizens. Our goal at GHA 2018 is to give students the tools they need to build a positive and fruitful digital world, while improving their lives away from traditional technology.
   We anticipate dividing activities into two portions: Plug-In and Reboot. Seminars will be more intensive experiences, encouraging the students to “plug into” technology, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary learning.  
             a. Academically, we consider the theme to be interpreted in different ways. We foresee faculty from different disciplines bringing their own creativity to Governor’s Honors Academy. Some ideas are Psychology of Social Media, Digital Humanities, Physical Technology, Free Speech in a Digital World, Digital History, and Ethics of Technology. Creative interpretations are welcome.
             b.  Socially, we encourage students to reboot and focus on their mental and physical health, as well as service to the community of Huntington. Faculty are welcome to participate or propose reboot activities for the students. We hope faculty will also enjoy this opportunity to recharge and connect with the students outside of the traditional classroom setting.  
             c. The theme will be strengthened by a trip to Pittsburgh, PA, a rising tech powerhouse, featuring offices from Apple, Google, Duolingo and more. In addition to access to multiple museum and theater options, we are exploring the possibility of touring or speaking with one of these local tech company offices.
   
7. Does this mean that your courses will be bound by STEM fields? 
    
   No, it does not. “Your Digital World” is not constrained to science or technology. Ethics, humanities, politics, and sociology courses all have a place in one’s digital world. 
    
   Marshall Honors College, focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to the core curriculum. We hope to see that carry across the GHA courses as well.
   “Do not fear the digital world. It will not kill us all.” Theophilus London
8. We hope the central organizing theme will bring together both the academic cultural and social aspects of the academies making them an educational and highly enjoyable experience for all the students attending.