Three earned the right to attend by virtue of winning the state competition in their divisions at the West Virginia Future Problem Solving Program State Bowl held in April. The other two teams qualified as second place winners through a lottery held by the international office.  

The winning Junior Division team is from Summersville Gifted Resource Center and is coached by Dr. Pam Klawitter. The Middle Division winners are from South Middle School in Morgantown and are coached by Brad Nepa. The Senior Division team is from Nicholas County High School in Summersville, coached by Dabney Phillips. The second place Junior Division and Middle Division teams attending the International Conference are both coached by Becky Haun and are students at Suncrest Middle School in Morgantown.  

The International Conference is a culmination of a year-long program where students are taught to creatively seek, attack and solve problems related to projections into the future. Students worked on three problems during the school year (Entertainment, Terrorism/Security and Agriculture of the 21st Century) which were critiqued by trained evaluators. Based on the third problem, the top teams in each of the three grade divisions (4-6, 7-9 and 10-12)were invited to participate in the state bowl.  

While students know the general topic of this year's international conference - Business Crime - they will not know the specific nature of the problem they will attempt to solve until the international competition begins.  

For more information about the Future Problem Solving Program, contact the Affiliate Director, Dana Thomas, at (304) 872-5092 or e-mail to dethomas@access.k12.wv.us.