FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2007

For More Information:
Annette Barnette
Public Relations & Marketing Director
Glenville State College
Glenville, West Virginia
(304) 462-4115

Glenville, WV -- An education research study recently released reports West Virginia students are graduating from high school at a greater percentage than those across the nation. Glenville State College’s President hopes that high school graduation rate will continue to rise as well as college attendance and college graduation rates. Dr. Peter Barr has been working on these concerns since he took office last July. Barr has met several times with selected West Virginia county school superintendents in the past year. Now they have met again at GSC to sign a collaborative memorandum of understanding.

Barr says signing the agreement marked the official start of K-12 and higher education officials in Central West Virginia working better together on several educational goals. “We hope to improve the number and quality of high school graduates including raising ACT scores, increase the number of students going to college, and increase the number and quality of college graduates,” said Barr.

The agreement is between Glenville State College and Barbour, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Upshur, Webster, and Wirt County Schools. Barr says prior to the agreement being signed on June 15th, he met with the group of superintendents a few times together to discuss goals of the collaboration. He has also traveled to all of their counties to meet with them individually in their board of education offices.

The Diplomas Count 2007: Ready for What? Preparing Students for College, Careers and Life After High School shows 71 percent of students in West Virginia receive their high school diplomas compared to a national graduation rate of 69 percent.