Prospective sixth-grader Arionna Munday (left) learns how to manage her schedule from sixth-grade social studies teacher David Radabaugh during Van Devender Middle School’s open house Monday night. Wood County students begin school Wednesday. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Parents and students at Van Devender Middle School in the cafeteria during the open house on Monday evening. Classes begin in Wood County on Wednesday. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Jasmine Richards, medical assistant instructor at Wood County Technical Center (left), goes over the schedule for Haivn Wright, an 11th-grader at Parkersburg South High School and new medical assistant student, at the school’s open house on Monday. Classes begin Wednesday in Wood County. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Parents and students gather Monday in the gymnasium at Van Devender Middle School, where an open house was held Wednesday before classes began. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)

Dean Raines, welding instructor at Wood County Technical Center (right), talks with Carter Smith (right), future Parkersburg High School 10th grader, and his mother Cristi Smith, about what to expect in his classes Monday night at the school’s open house. The 2024-25 school year begins Wednesday for Wood County students. (Photo by Douglass Huxley)