West Virginia education officials emphasized the importance of in-person instruction during a Wednesday meeting of the state board of education.
State Superintendent Clayton Burch said most school systems in West Virginia are offering five days a week of in-person instruction while 14 counties have been granted a waiver to offer four days of in-person classes.
He said counties with the waiver are using their fifth day for a variety of purposes such as providing teachers with the time to keep up with students who remain in full-time virtual learning.
Around 40,000 students are still completely online but Burch said this number is decreasing and he expects all students to return to in-person learning next school year.
State board of education members, as well as the superintendent, emphasized the importance of in-person classes for students.
“The more and more I’ve watched this pandemic, every single day a school is not open to children is a day that I’m worried they don’t have access to the supports,” Burch said. “And that’s academic, that’s the folks that look out for them, that’s a meal.”
The state board decided they won’t require counties to go five days a week with less than two months left in the school year but as counties plan for the fall, they want to see schools open five days a week.