Counselors, Principals and County Coordinators

Selecting students for the Governor's Honors Academy or the Governor's School for Math and Science does indeed take a village and the mayor of that village is most often the person designated by the local school superintendent to coordinate the selection. The following information, which delineates school-level and county-level responsibilities, should make your task a little less stressful. 

GSA   School-level responsibilities 

• Post informational flyers in every sophomore classroom. 
• Final Deadline December 2, 2016; 
• Teachers and counselors should guide talented students to apply to the School for the Arts. These professionals should see themselves as door openers and not gate keepers. Inform all students. Let them decide for themselves whether to apply;
• The counselor completes page 3 of the application, attaching an official transcript with the attendance record. No Social Security numbers, please; When reviewing the application, ascertain that the proof of submission of Part I is stapled to the front of the application.
• Students not achieving a 2.5 GPA during their freshman year are ineligible.
• The principal checks a recommendation box and signs page 2 of the application. If a student is recommended "with reservation," a brief explanation is necessary. It can be mailed separately if the application is being returned to the student for mailing;
• Mailing the application is the responsibility of the student, not the school;

GHA   Counselor or Principal Responsibilities (School-level responsibilities)

• 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 on line and guide them to it; 
• For students who do not have home Internet access, provide an opportunity for the student to complete the application using a school computer;
• 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 February 10, 2017, so you must check with the county coordinator to see when he/she must have the applications from your school. 
• 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.
• Check to see that online application confirmation sheet is on top of the application;
• 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;
• Meet with selection committee to review all applications and rank the recommended applications for the county selection team;
• 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.
• Do not fasten with paper clips, do not send photographs, and do not put each application in a separate folder.

  County Coordinator Responsibilities for GHA

• 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 bullet near the end of this list;
• County coordinators should contact each high school to let the counselor or principal know when the applications are due in the central office. This includes both public and private schools;
• Each county has the privilege of choosing one male and one female to attend GHA. If there are not 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;
• 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;
• Plan your selection meeting early enough so that if school is cancelled you will still have time to reschedule and meet the deadline.
• When selecting students, try to be equitable across schools unless there is a serious breach in the quality of applicants;
• 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.  
• Submit names and applications by February 10, 201, to Sherry Keffer, Department of Education and the Arts; Building 5, Room 205; 1900 Kanawha Boulevard East; Charleston, WV 25305; 
• The address is also on the bottom of the Superintendent's Selection Form.

GSMS—School Level Responsibilities ---the submission dates will be updated  by January 15.

• Ensure student participation in the Governor's School for Math and Science --Final State Deadline March 25, 2017.
• Coordinate and dove-tail due dates with county coordinator;
• Because they are dealing with middle-school students, counselors may have to take an active part in encouraging qualifying students to apply for GSMS;
• Counselors or others designated by the principal should notify students who meet the qualifications and go over the information on the web site. One effective way would be to meet with the potential candidates in the computer lab and navigate the web site with the entire group. At that time, the students could also download the application;
• Post information about the web site in all 7th-and-8th-grade science and math classrooms;
• Arrange to have someone type applications for students who cannot type their own;
• Send information about GSMS home in the school newsletter;
• Set a date that applications are to be turned in by the students and inform students of the date;
• Each school shall convene a selection committee that consists of the counselor, a science teacher, a math teacher and, when possible a teacher of gifted students;
• Plan your selection meeting early enough so that if school is cancelled you will still have time to reschedule and meet the deadline;
• The school selection committee shall send in rank order by grade the names and applications of no more than fourteen students to the county superintendent’s office;
• Submit school nominees and applications to the county coordinator using the School Recommendation Form;
• Staple each application in the upper left-hand corner. Do not use paper clips or binders;
• The recommendation form can be completed on a typewriter (do they still exist?) but may also be completed by hand.

GSMS County Responsibilities

Important Dates for GSMS 2017