HARMAN, W.Va. — So far so good at the new look Harman School in Randolph County.
The school year got started at in September under new management after the Randolph County School Board chose to close the public school. Now established as a private, Christian School, administrator Brad Spencer said it’s gone remarkably well.
“We have 20 full time students, which is an amazing number to have to start with. Plus we’ve got an incredible staff with a lot of experienced public school teachers and it’s all volunteer,” he said.
Spencer’s role would be the equivalent of the public school principal, although he also teaches Bible classes.
The Randolph County Board of Education voted to close the school at the end of last year. They transferred ownership to the Harman Education Association who now operate the facility as a private Christian school with an eight member board.
“It is a Christian school not a Bible school. Everything we do revolves around the reality of Christ, but you do not have to be a Christian to go to this school,” Spencer explained.
This year’s student body is mostly children in Pre-K through sixth grade with a couple of 7th and 8th graders mixed in. Spencer said they expect the dynamic to be fluid every year and they will adjust to accommodate ages all the way up to seniors in high school. The students start the day with an assembly of everybody in one class, but they split up when academic course work begins. Academic classes are taught during the morning hours and the elective classes are in the afternoon periods.
Along with the 20 full time students the school opens its doors on Mondays to home schooled students. The program called “Home School Connect” invites those students to come to the school and participate in some of the elective courses the school offers.
The new school only uses a small percentage of the building, all of it within the elementary school wing. The high school wing, for now, is used for storage. Those rooms could be opened up as the kids start to age and the student body widens.
The school has about ten-faculty members, all volunteers, and all previously worked in the public school system. Spencer said they’ve been thrilled with the quality of teachers who have jumped on board. The expenses of the school are large paid through each student’s Hope Scholarship which becomes the school’s tuition for attendance.
Although it’s now a private Christian school, Spencer said it’s still a school which belongs to the community and they want to honor its history. The building is still a gathering place for community events. Pictures of previous classes and students from years gone by still hang on the walls, previous awards from years go by still stand in the trophy case.
“It’s still called Harman School and that was a decision made because we want to honor the heritage of the school long before we got here. The school was established in the 1930’s and was re-established in 2026. In a town like Harman, the school becomes such a central focus of the community. We’re still allowing those things to take place that have been going on for years. We honor that heritage and foundation that was laid before us,” he explained.
Spencer also pointed out they are pleased with the direction and feedback they are getting.
“We get great, great input from families of how their kids are acting at home based on the character building we’re doing here at school and we’re really excited about that,” he said.