Jennifer Ratliff named WCS Teacher of the Year
PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg South High School choir director Jennifer Ratliff has been named the 2025 Wood County Schools Teacher of the Year.
Ratliff was honored Tuesday evening during a Wood County Board of Education meeting at Jefferson Elementary Center.
This year, members of the community submitted nominations for 127 Wood County Schools teachers, 41 of whom submitted applications to be considered for Teacher of the Year. Ratliff was one of five finalists interviewed last week by the Wood County Schools Teacher of the Year Selection Committee. The committee includes representatives from county teacher organizations, West Virginia University at Parkersburg, The Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley and the two most recent Teachers of the Year.
Ratliff has been an educator for nearly 9 years, 8 of which have been as a music teacher at Parkersburg South High School. She is choir director and sub-head of the South Music Department under the Fine Arts Department. She is president of the West Virginia American Choral Director’s Association, Region IV Chair of the West Virginia Vocal Music Association, and is Region V Solo and Ensemble Vocal Chair of the West Virginia Music Education Association.
In her application, Ratliff said one of the most important aspects of being an educator is to guide and encourage students through those difficult times.
“It is important to realize that through this journey of gaining an education, mistakes are going to be made along the way, and that is okay,” she said. “If a student gives up, they may never see the full potential they are able to reach throughout their lifetime. It is how a student gets through their mistakes that enables them to make a difference in their knowledge, in their future, in the world.”
Ratliff will represent Wood County Schools this fall in the 2025 West Virginia Teacher of the Year competition. The winner of that event will move on to represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.