MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Clay-Battelle High School Band is being recognized for their achievements in and out of the classroom with their first WVSSAC academic award ever. The band is being recognized with the 2022-23 Academic Achievement Award.
“The member school awards are based on the computed overall grade point average for the team sports award, the individual team sport award and the band award,” said Monongalia County Board of Education President Ron Lytle said at the Monongalia County Board of Education meeting earlier this week.
This is the first major academic achievement to be received by Clay-Battelle students. Band members earned a cumulative 3.8 GPA, the highest grades received by high school bands across West Virginia. Band Director Dr. Valerie Huffman said the achievement is a culmination of the positive environment presented at Clay-Battelle.
“This is pretty special for Clay-Battelle and not just for the band but for the whole school,” said band director Dr. Valerie Huffman. “It’s the first organization in the history of the school to be recognized by the WVSSAC for academics, and so I’m proud to share the story, not only just our band, but for the entire Clay-Battelle (high school),” she said.
A diverse level of interest in members of the band is considered a major catalyst for them in winning their award. Huffman mentions her students who participate in various school activities and their ability to find a balance between the band, academic and other extracurriculars, with the help of the school community.
“They’re athletes, they’re actors and actresses and dancers and highly involved in academics,” said Huffman on the various activities band students are involved with. “And so the fact that they work so hard at everything that they do, plus high achievement in academics, is just special.
Huffman is also crediting support from the school administration and other departments for allowing students to be flexible in their various activities. The support that Huffman sees working with students from middle school all the way through high school, is something she feels will continue and will lead to other achievements not only for the band but for the school as a whole.
“We have our administration who supports us every step of the way, including our athletic director, who has been a tremendous support for us,” said Huffman. “We have been very blessed, and we hope to continue that in the years moving forward.”