Marshall County’s McCulley, West Virginia’s School Service Personnel of the Year Winner, Finds Herself Thriving in a Job She Loves
Emma Delk Trending
GLEN DALE -- Center McMechen and Glen Dale Elementary schools librarian Nicole McCulley has received statewide recognition only a year and a half since she became a Marshall County Schools substitute teacher.
McCulley's fast track from subbing to becoming the 2025 West Virginia School Service Personnel of the Year began when nephew, who is nonverbal and has autism, began preschool. After witnessing how concerned her sister was for her son starting school, McCulley began working as a substitute teacher to ensure he was "well taken care of."
From there, McCulley fell in love with the job. She immediately sought full-time employment and began working in the Center McMechen Elementary School's pre-kindergarten Applied Behavior Analysis classroom.
When the opportunity came to step into the librarian role at two Marshall County Schools, McCulley found the switch a no-brainer, as she could reach even more children.
"I always want to reach out to more children, especially those that don't necessarily get included in everything," McCulley said. "Each kid is different, and differences are a good quality."
In her new position, McCulley rolled up her sleeves and began organizing the bookshelves.
While organizing, McCulley brainstormed how to add more titles to the shelves.
"Books aren't free, and I don't get funding like classroom teachers do, but I want to give my kids the best of the best," McCulley said. "The best way to do that is to raise money. I have a background in marketing, so I don't have a problem writing a letter to someone asking for a donation. The worst case scenario is they say 'no,' and the best case scenario is they send a check or donate a set of books."
McCulley's ability to raise funds for the elementary schools' libraries went beyond the bookshelves. Through her fundraising, she began the Scholastic Book Fair at Center McMechen, which had not hosted one for many years.
Hosting the book fair at both schools was not enough for McCulley, as she wanted no child to go home empty-handed. So, for two and a half weeks, she wrote donation letters to local businesses and raised money on social media to ensure every student could go home with a book at the end of the book fair.
McCulley's gumption paid off as donations began pouring in. Every child who attended the book fair at both schools went home with a book in their hands.
"Each child was so excited because they got to pick whatever they wanted to read, whether that was a 'Clifford' or a 'Goosebumps' book," McCulley said. "There was no holding them back, and every single kid loved it."
The donations carried McCulley beyond the fair, as she had funding leftover to add more recent titles to the school's bookshelves.
"Updating my books in my libraries at both schools for all kids has helped boost their literacy," McCulley said. "They want to read books of interest that are new and updated, so the kids love it every time I get a new box of books. They can't wait for me to open it up and see what I got."
In addition to fostering each child's enthusiasm for reading, McCulley began exploring how she could benefit children beyond her classroom's walls.
By combining her special education background with her new librarian position, McCulley created the Buddy Program at Center McMechen. In the program, fifth-graders at the school become "buddies" with a child in the ABA classroom and participate in different activities with them.
"The buddy program has allowed the kids to learn about different disabilities and understand that differences aren't a bad thing," McCulley said. "I'm also working on getting guest speakers who have different hurdles they had to overcome to get where they are today in successful careers to speak to the kids in the next few months."
McCulley's student programs have also reached beyond the school. Her Valentine's Day Card Project at both schools sent more than 1,400 cards to nursing homes in the Ohio Valley. She noted that once the cards had been sent out, students were already planning how to grow the program for next year.
"It made me cry, I was so proud of my kids," McCulley recalled. "What was even better was the first day of school this year. So many kids asked me, 'Can we start making those cards now?' and they suggested that we give them out to the whole state. I had to tell them, 'I really enjoy your enthusiasm, but we're going to wait until Christmas to talk about that.'"
For McCulley, these programs instill in students that "kindness is free." By teaching children this maxim, she believes they become kinder to each other in return.
"I love that my kids are learning that kindness is free because that's what I stand behind," McCulley said. "Students should not have to worry about getting bullied by other kids, so they need to learn to accept one another and be kind to each other. The school should be a happy place because not all kids come from a happy place."
Though she has many irons in the fire through her various projects at both elementary schools, McCulley is "thriving" in her position.
"I'm a 'yes' person," McCulley said. "At any given time, I'm probably juggling five things at once, and I enjoy the business of it all. I love it because I'm helping and making a difference."
What keeps McCulley motivated through her busy schedule is that she was once the student sitting at the back of the classroom, afraid to be called on to read during class.
"I want the kid at the back of the classroom that has their head down counting the paragraphs to what they have to read to be excited that in only five more people, they get to read to the class," McCulley said. "I don't want the person to feel like they have to go to the bathroom before their run because back in the day, I was that kid. Just because kids come from different backgrounds and have different issues does not determine their end game or life route."
It is exciting for McCulley to see her dedication to her role pay off in the form of statewide recognition. She hopes the award will allow her to do "bigger and better things" not only at her schools or in the county but in counties across the state.
Glen Dale Elementary School Principal Kim Cain described McCulley as a "go-getter" in her role, whether the librarian was organizing books or getting kids excited to read.
"For her, it's all about the kids," Cain said. "She wants them to be successful and have what they need. She always puts the kids first, and that's shown in everything she has done here so far."