RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Several community members urged the Raleigh County Board of Education to keep Mabscott Elementary School open during the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, sharing personal stories about the school’s impact on students and families.
Among those who spoke was Logan May, a former Mabscott Elementary student who will enter ninth grade at Woodrow Wilson High School this fall. May reflected on how the school helped him improve academically and said it has played an important role in his life.
“Every time I walk past that school, I think about the time I’ve had on the playground,” May said. He also recalled how a first-grade teacher encouraged him to improve his grades, adding, “Mabscott Elementary does not deserve to be closed down.”
Rachel Shrader, a former Mabscott student and mother of a child who will be a third grader at the school this fall, described the school as more than a place for education.
“Mabscott Elementary is more than just a building, it is a community,” Shrader said.
She highlighted programs such as the fitness club and show choir, saying they help make the school unique. Shrader also emphasized the importance of the school’s Title I program, explaining that it helped her daughter significantly improve her reading skills.
“Taking the school away that offers this help to so many kids will hurt them in the long run,” she said.
The discussion comes as school systems across West Virginia face declining enrollment.
According to the West Virginia Department of Education, the state has lost approximately 5,000 students since the last enrollment count, an amount state school board officials said is equivalent to the enrollment of six counties.
Education officials also said they are aware of eight to 10 schools across the state that could close in the coming year, though that number could eventually reach as many as 20.
