How Doddridge County Schools have become one of the region’s top districts

DODDRIDGE COUNTY, W.Va (WDTV) - Doddridge County ranks among the bottom 10 counties in the state in population, but that hasn’t stopped its school district from punching above its weight.

Doddridge County Schools is providing free home Wi-Fi installation to all households with a student enrolled in the district, through a partnership with Citynet.

The partnership between Doddridge County Schools and Citynet began in 2019. The county board of education set aside $600,000 for the project, along with a $1.5 million investment from the Doddridge County Commission.

COVID-19 delayed the project, but Citynet secured more than $12 million in federal funding through the USDA Rural Development ReConnect Program and the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to put the plan into action this year.

Superintendent Dr. Adam Cheeseman said that, as far as he knows, Doddridge is the only county in the state to offer free home Wi-Fi for students.

“This is a pretty unique opportunity here,” Cheeseman said. “It speaks to the value of education in Doddridge County. Our taxpayers, our community, our parents, our staff. This is a top-notch place. And we do things that will benefit kids. And we’re excited about this opportunity.”

The school also provides all students with a laptop.

The free internet access will run through July 2027. Families who are interested can visit citynet.net to sign up.

Across 13 north central West Virginia counties, Doddridge students performed second-best in reading (50.52%) and science (34.89%) on 2026 state assessments, and third-best in math (40.39%), according to data from the Department of Education.

Cheeseman said test performance has grown by nine percentage points in science, seven in reading, and two in math since two years ago.

Doddridge is also one of the only school districts to see an increase in enrollment from 2024 to 2025, and serves over 1,200 students.

“We have steadily climbed the rankings, so to speak, in terms of overall academic proficiency,” Cheeseman said. “We started 53rd out of 55 back in 2014. Since then, we have grown to as high as third in the state. And now we hover around that top 10 each and every year.”

Cheeseman said the success has come from a staff willing to go the extra mile to support students. The district aims to educate students in the classroom while also addressing their physical, social and emotional needs.

Cheeseman said this approach has led to Doddridge County becoming one of the most successful school districts in the region.

Doddridge County welcomed students back to school Thursday, and Cheeseman said the year got off to a great start.

“I’ve been doing this since 2016. We probably had one of the best opening week and a half that we’ve had,” Cheeseman said. “The energy was high. The excitement was high. High fives, hugs, you know, just big smiles on kids’ faces at all four buildings. It was really, really good to see. It was a great first day.”