Studies show that teacher quality is the most important factor in P-12 student achievement. Professional accreditation is one way to ensure the public that schools of education are graduating well-qualified teachers ready for today’s classrooms.

The Fairmont State Masquers and Town & Gown players along with a cast of local actors bring to the stage a new twist to holiday favorite “A Christmas Carol.”

The School of Fine Arts of Fairmont State University presents “Are There No Workhouses?: The Social Background of Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol,’ ” a lecture by Dr. James Matthews at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1, in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library.

Two Fairmont State students have been selected to attend Inside Washington ’05 in January, according to Dr. J. Robert Baker, Director of the FS Honors Program.

Recognizing the power that parent and family involvement brings to the educational success of students, the Fairmont State GEAR UP Partnership is hosting Parent Leadership Training throughout the region.

Fairmont State’s Community Music Program will have fall recitals on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 3 and at 5 p.m. in Rooms 229 and 236 of Wallman Hall on the main FS campus.

The Fairmont State Speech Team brought home honors from the Wilcox Forensics Tournament at Marietta College on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7.

The Fairmont State campus and the local community have an opportunity to learn about the “Roads to Appalachia,” through a study tour experience sponsored by the West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State University.

Registration for the Fairmont State Community Music Program’s spring classes begins Dec. 15 and continues through January 15, 2005. On-site registration is scheduled for Saturday, January 8, from 10 a.m. until noon in Room 304, Wallman Hall.

Sandy Shriver, Program Assistant II for the FSU College of Science & Technology, has been named Classified Employee of the Year for Fairmont State.

The Fairmont State Student Affairs Office is presenting a Brown vs. Board of Education Panel Discussion.

The West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education will hold a public forum for the discussion of the goals and standards for the delivery of vocational-technical education in West Virginia. The forum will be held on December 2 at 2 p.m. at the Erickson Alumni Center, West Virginia State University, Institute, W.Va.

The Fairmont State Stage Band, under the direction of Dr. Stephen Johnson, will perform its annual Fall Concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the Turley Center Ballroom.

The Fairmont Chamber Music Society will present the Kobayashi/Gray Duo as the second concert of its 2004-05 season at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, at St. Peter the Fisherman Church, 407 Jackson St., Fairmont.

A new scholarship at Fairmont State will benefit students with financial need.

A Campus Visitation Day is planned for Saturday, Nov. 13, for high school students, their families and adults who are deciding where to continue their education.

Fairmont State students and alumni interested in employment in health careers are invited to meet with health care representatives at the annual Health Careers Job Fair.

Fairmont State’s Student Government is sponsoring a Veterans Day Deployment Ceremony at 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11, in the lawn in front of the Education Building on the main FS campus.

The 11th annual Robert L. Carroll Lecture will be presented at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, in the Turley Center Ballroom.

The Fairmont University Community Symphony Orchestra will present a free concert in Colebank Hall at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7.