PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. –As his term comes to a close, 2025 West Virginia Teacher of the Year Seth Skiles is reflecting on a year that took him to all 55 counties across the state.

Skiles, a music teacher at Rock Branch Elementary School in Putnam County, received the Teacher of the Year honor in September 2024. He began visiting all 55 counties in January after Toyota West Virginia provided him with a Toyota RAV4 for his travels.

Skiles recently appeared on MetroNews Midday to discuss his visits to all 55 counties, crediting a team effort for making the statewide tour possible.

“It took a lot of coordination, with me still in the classroom, but I did accomplish that, and I am just grateful for all of teachers and the principals and the superintendents that communicated with me all year long to coordinate all those visits,” Skiles said. “It took a lot of work, but it was very accomplishing to do that.”

He said the tour’s main goal was to learn from music teachers across the state while also highlighting as many educators as possible, along with their counties and schools

“I wanted to shed light on people and things that may have not been known to the public, unless it would have been for me going to visit them and bringing those to attention,” Skiles said.

He said he was pleased with the way communities support teachers in their districts.

During a recent visit to McDowell County, he met with Mount View High School teacher Catherine Jack and Assistant Superintendent Carolyn Falin and toured the new Coalfield Elementary School.

He said the McDowell County Board of Education conducted research on how the educational environment affects learning. Skiles said that research informed conferences and trainings for educators both within and outside the community, a focus he said was evident in the buildings’ design, furnishings, storage and efficient use of space

He said he hopes administrators in other counties will see what McDowell County has done and implement similar approaches moving forward.

“I hope that many administrators and principals and different boards of educations would travel to McDowell County to see that school to spark some enthusiasm and influence on moving forward with school structure,” Skiles said.

Skiles said many music teachers travel between multiple schools, adding that he was impressed by how they navigate those demands, particularly in more rural areas.

“Just to see how they navigated different schools, different communities, different resources, still trying to provide a quality education musically but having to be mobile and being able to use the resources that they have available to them,” he said.

He said it will be difficult to leave behind the travel and the opportunities to meet and talk with teachers across the state.

“I have really loved the work in this role, and I’ve tried to say yes to every opportunity and I really loved the travel aspects, I’m kind of an adventurous person so I’ve loved the travel, and I’ve loved going to see things, so that part will be bittersweet to say goodbye to that,” Skiles said.

Although he will no longer be traveling, he said he looks forward to returning to his classroom and focusing on lessons for his students.