Fall 2020 Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

DeVos Praises School Reopening Efforts On Visit To Jefferson County

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos heard from principals, teachers, custodial staff, a band director, students and parents – all from Jefferson County Schools – who shared positive feedback on the district’s approach to fall 2020.

DeVos came to Kearneysville on Thursday to attend the in-person event and highlight the success the district has experienced since resuming school Sept. 8.

“It’s the unanimous commitment that I heard from those surrounding the table here, to doing what’s right for students, and to doing what it takes,” DeVos said. “And the tremendous collaboration that has taken place to ensure that kids could be back in school, in-person learning.”

Shortly after schools in West Virginia were closed in March, the Jefferson County School district began working to create a safe, in-person schooling environment for the fall, while at the same time polishing a virtual school model that syncs up with in-person learners.

County education officials ramped up cleaning efforts, and served more than 300,000 meals to students in the spring and summer. They held Zoom meetings throughout the summer with the community to collect feedback. They also got more devices like laptops and tablets into the hands of teachers and students, and even offered training for teachers in self-care.

Shepherdstown Middle School teacher and coach Kevin Holmes said despite his health problems and his doctor advising him not to return to in-person work, he feels safe after seeing the efforts to keep schools clean.

“[I have] high blood pressure, asthma, sleep apnea, diabetes. I’m probably at the top of list as the health risk in Jefferson County Schools,” Holmes said. “But when I came in … the floors were spotless, you could probably eat off of them, and all the supplies – we have magic wands to clean our keyboards. There’s no reason for me not to come back.”

Holmes argued his place was in the school – that he needed to be there for his kids.

Shepherdstown Middle School teacher and coach Kevin Holmes said despite his health problems and his doctor advising him not to return to in-person work, he feels safe after seeing the efforts to keep schools in Jefferson County clean.

Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Bondy Shay Gibson pointed out that many of the efforts her district has made to make school safer will be here to stay post-COVID.

“Even when there’s no more COVID, we don’t go back to how we were,” Gibson said. “That’s not how life works. So, a lot of the lessons that we’ve learned now, they’ve been hard lessons, but they’re getting us ready, I think, for a pretty amazing future.”

About half of students throughout Jefferson County are attending school virtually, according to officials. The West Virginia Department of Education reports, however, that statewide, the majority of learners opted to attend in person.

West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch was also at the event. He said Jefferson County’s reopening plan is a great model and noted that it was Jefferson County that stepped up first with a reopening plan. He also said it was the first one he presented to the state Board of Education. He reiterated a message, though, that in-person schooling is key to successful learning.

“I’ve been critical since March and throughout the summer of remote learning, and I will continue to be critical of remote learning,” Burch said. “It is not what’s best for children. It is not how we all learn. We must take care of our children. Remote learning in the state of West Virginia did not and is not working.”

Despite this criticism of remote learning, Burch did acknowledge that more needs to be done to ensure virtual schooling is accessible to those who need it in the state. He mentioned that he appreciates the Kids Connect Initiative, which created more than 1,000 WiFi hotspots throughout the state to help K-12 and higher education students, but said it’s not enough.

“Until every child in the state of West Virginia has access to high-quality internet, and every teacher, then we have not equalized the playing field for all,” Burch said.

(left to right) West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Bondy Shay Gibson in Kearneysville, W.Va. on Oct. 1, 2020.

DeVos echoed the importance of expanding access to virtual learning.

“This pandemic has revealed the benefits that technology can bring in new and unique ways,” DeVos said. “And I think that a lot of teachers and education leaders are also acknowledging and realizing that technology can be used effectively, in ways that we can really look forward to using it going forward, in ways that had not heretofore been considered.”

All West Virginia schools are required by the governor to offer in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning. Whether a county can offer in-person schooling is determined weekly by a color-coded map that offers updates on COVID-19 infection rates.

Despite Pandemic Shakeup, Less Than One Percent Of Students, Staff Testing Positive For COVID-19 At W.Va. Colleges, Universities

It’s been about a month since all of West Virginia’s public and private four-year institutions started their fall 2020 semesters. It’s no surprise that reopening in this historic year has been a challenge for all the state’s schools. But there is some hopeful news to report. Fewer higher education students and staff in West Virginia are testing positive for the coronavirus than expected, according to officials.

Back in the spring, when things just started changing because of the coronavirus pandemic, West Virginia’s higher education officials were trying to prepare for fall 2020. Were students and faculty going to wear masks? How would testing look? Would any classes even be held in person? And how often would cleaning have to ramp up?

Well, we know now that everyone is required to wear masks on college campuses, and cleaning efforts have increased a lot. Gov. Jim Justice committed $2.5 million so that all students and staff at public and private higher education institutions would be tested at the start of the semester. Most students in dorm rooms do not have roommates, and class sizes have been reduced and have taken on a mixed look: some in-person, some remote, some hybrid.

And less than 1 percent of students and staff are testing positive for the virus at most of West Virginia’s higher education institutions.

“I don’t think anyone thought the numbers would be that low,” said Sarah Armstrong Tucker, chancellor of both the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) and the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia.

“That has been really wonderful,” she said. “And is a testament to all of the hard work that the colleges have put in place, as well as the governor testing everybody up front.”

One institution though, Tucker said, has been an outlier. That’s West Virginia University. At the start of September, WVU suspended 29 students after they attended large parties at fraternities not recognized by the university. A member of one of those fraternities tested positive for COVID-19 and yet, still attended parties.

“I understand our community’s frustrations,” said Corey Farris, dean of students at WVU in a press release. “The university is frustrated, too. We clearly communicated prior to returning to campus the health and safety protocols that must be followed in order to have on-campus learning … No matter where they are, if a student cannot abide by the health protocols put in place for their safety and the safety of the community during a global pandemic, we do not want them here.”

On top of this, Monongalia County has seen significantly high numbers of cases and was in the red zone on the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ color-coded map for a few weeks.

But there have been other challenges that have arisen that higher education officials are giving a closer look.

Anna Williams, student body president at Marshall University, spoke at the Higher Education Policy Commission’s regular meeting last week to highlight for members, areas where Marshall students have been struggling.

She described how Marshall has tried to expand broadband access for students by installing 15 hotspots that provide high speed internet to students with mobile phone access.

“I took my law school admissions test, and I had to take it on the hotspot on my iPhone, because the internet could not support the system that they were using,” Williams said. “Talk about stress.”

She said it wasn’t until they got these hotspots up and running that, even for a place like Cabell County that’s relatively well-connected, she realized how big the broadband gaps are.

“I can’t imagine what some of these other students are going through in Wayne County, Boone County, McDowell.”

The West Virginia Department of Education has partnered with the governor’s office, the HEPC and the CTC System of West Virginia to expand broadband access across the state through the Kids Connect Initiative. It created more than 1,000 WiFi hotspots throughout the state, spread out in all 55 counties, to help both K-12 students as well as higher education learners access the internet.

But broadband is still a challenge for many students who may be unable to reach these hotspots.

Williams also noted how mental health concerns have become truly apparent for college students because of the pandemic. She said flexibility from teachers is key to reducing mental health woes as well as access to programs and other help.

“Mental health is safety-net programs. It’s the technology-device programs. It’s the food and security programs,” she said. “It’s helping students find housing, or some sort of stability in their interrupted routine.”

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that surveyed more than 5,000 Americans. The survey showed that people aged 18-24, people of color, and essential workers were experiencing considerably higher rates of adverse mental health conditions because of impacts from the pandemic. Those conditions included depression, anxiety and contemplating suicide.

Chancellor Tucker said mental health is a significant concern right now.

“People are staying in their apartments. They’re staying in their dorm rooms. And that can really add to stress, anxiety and depression,” Tucker said. “So, we’ve been trying really hard to push out resources to our students and to our faculty and our staff and our institutions that helps with mental health awareness.”

Some of those resources include simply reaching out to students more often through a text message service offered by the HEPC or having access to a counselor via telehealth. Some schools, like Marshall, are using apps that help students track their moods and keep a digital journal of how they’re feeling.

Enrollment, also, at some institutions has been a big challenge. For example, Marshall recently reduced pay for almost 800 employees because enrollment was so low this fall.

“I sincerely regret that we have to take this step,” said Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert in a statement. “It is still our intent for these temporary salary reductions to last no longer than one year.”

However, at schools like Shepherd, Concord and West Liberty Universities, they’re actually seeing an uptick in enrollment in certain programs.

Tucker said this is because many families have chosen to keep students closer to home or sent their kids to smaller schools.

Moving forward, Tucker said higher education officials are working with the West Virginia National Guard to do surveillance testing. For example, monitoring wastewater at dormitories. Tucker said you can detect COVID-19 in wastewater, and potentially stop an outbreak before it becomes an outbreak. But surveillance testing is not cheap.

Nothing about this pandemic is cheap.

“This pandemic is expensive. Doing what the colleges need to do in order to keep their campus community safe is expensive,” Tucker said. “So, there have been significant financial hits to all of the institutions.”

Tucker said she’s hopeful that the next federal relief package, like the CARES Act, will allow schools more flexibility in how they spend those relief dollars.

West Virginia’s four-year institutions saw $50 million from the CARES Act, two-year institutions saw about $10 million, and private, not-for-profit institutions saw a little more than $8 million.

But 50 percent of that money had to be given directly to students in the form of grants and refunds, while the other 50 percent had restrictions on how the schools could use it.

Most of West Virginia’s public and private four-year institutions have coronavirus dashboards on their websites that show how many people at those schools have been tested, how many cases are positive and active, and how many students have recovered.

All schools have specific resource pages that feature COVID-19 related news and updates specific to that school.

From WiFi Hotspots To Video Classrooms: Tackling Virtual School In A Pandemic

Across West Virginia, families have been promised the option of virtual schooling in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. And many families are considering it for fall 2020. About 50,000 children so far in West Virginia have already signed up for virtual school, according to the West Virginia Department of Education.

All 55 of West Virginia’s counties must offer at least one virtual school option, as mandated by Gov. Jim Justice.

Counties can choose to offer West Virginia Virtual School from the West Virginia Department of Education, or a local option structured by that county, or some combination. And in some counties, students will have to stick with their virtual program for a set amount of time.

“Google Classroom allowed for us to be successful during the springtime, at least to get everybody on the same platform. So, we are going to use that for this coming school year,” said Jennifer Rowan, director of technology for Jefferson County Schools, in a Zoom meeting with about 500 student family members last week.

Rowan showed parents in Jefferson County how to use Google Classroom – one of the programs Jefferson County Schools uses for its virtual school called Jefferson Virtual Academy. The public meeting, held by the Jefferson County Board of Education, was aimed to help families, curious about virtual schooling, understand what it would be like.

Jefferson County uses Google Classroom to organize and deliver classes and assignments. Students can type out questions and comments with teachers and classmates in real time. It’s also where they submit work for teachers to grade.

The county also uses an online program called Microsoft Teams, which allows for video conference calls during virtual class. These will also be recorded and available to students if they aren’t able to join when class meets.

Rowan noted that in Jefferson County, lessons will be synced up as close as possible in both virtual and in-person classes. This is in the event school must go entirely virtual because of virus outbreaks.

“It has never been more important than now to adhere to those pacing guides,” Rowan said. “So that if we have to go into a quarantine period, [in-person students] are now at the same type of pace as the Virtual Academy students.”

The county is also committed to providing personal electronic devices, such as iPads, to every student who needs one.

But families in Jefferson County must choose now if they want to go virtual or attend in-person scenarios. The deadline to choose the virtual option is Aug. 19.

If a student in Jefferson County who signed up for in-person schooling decides they want to change to virtual school, they’ll have the option to switch at the end of the fall semester.

Jefferson County’s Virtual Academy is just one example of what virtual schooling might look like this fall in West Virginia. Each county will vary.

Regardless, if parents want their child in virtual school, they have that choice.

“We will have total optionality,” said Justice in a recent virtual press conference. “If you feel like your child should not be in the school, then we’re going to make that child’s education, along with all the children’s education that choose not to come to the schools, virtual, and we will absolutely deliver a quality education to them for the time period that they’ve decided not to come to the school.”

One way Justice is hoping to make virtual school easier for families who choose it is through a broadband expansion initiative called Kids Connect, which is expected to go live by Sept. 8.

According to the governor’s office, 40 percent of West Virginians have access to broadband, so the hotspots will be crucial if virtual school is to be successful.

Justice has committed $6 million to Kids Connect. It creates just a little more than 1,000 WiFi hotspots, spread out across the state in all 55 counties. The project was a collaboration of the governor’s office, the West Virginia Department of Education and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.

These hotspots will be available in parking lots of all K-12 schools, which totals to 688 sites. 32 higher education institutions will offer hotspots, 255 libraries, and 31 of West Virginia’s state parks.

Students will also have access to school buses that will drive them to these hotspots so they can complete their work.

Sarah Armstrong Tucker, who serves as chancellor of both the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the Community and Technical College System, recently spoke about the initiative at an informal, informational meeting with the House Education Committee in Charleston.

“I think it’s going to make a significant difference,” Tucker said. “If we have to go to a virtual environment, or even a partially virtual environment, our students will know where they can go so that they can connect to the internet.”

The hotspots will also be available to higher education students.

West Virginia’s Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch echoed Tucker at the education meeting but said it’s only the first step into a much larger broadband issue in West Virginia.

“I appreciate the 1,000 points of WiFi that we’re targeting,” Burch said. “I think it’s a great project, but it is a Band-Aid.”

Virtual school this fall will be available to all students in West Virginia, from kindergarten to 12th grade.

School is set to begin in West Virginia on Sept. 8.

W.Va. Teachers' Union Wants Public Schools To Start Online

A West Virginia teachers’ union is urging public schools to avoid face-to-face instruction when students return next month due to the coronavirus.

The West Virginia Education Association suggested the online-only start Thursday based on a survey of the union’s membership.

WVEA President Dale Lee said most of the respondents felt uncomfortable returning to classrooms under their individual county’s reopening plans. In addition, nearly all members were skeptical that students could effectively maintain social distancing and wear masks.

“Full distance learning will give time for counties to get a handle on the situation and to further iron out the details on how the next steps of the school re-entry will be handled in each location,” Lee said.

Gov. Jim Justice has pushed back the start of the school year to Sept. 8. He said recently that a final decision on the reopening would have to be made by Sept. 1.

Last month American Federation of Teachers’ state chapter president Fred Albert expressed doubt that face-to-face instruction could occur safely based on health trends.

The number of virus-related deaths in West Virginia has jumped 23% since last Friday, pushing the total for the pandemic to at least 153. Confirmed cases in West Virginia have tripled in the past seven weeks to more than 8,150.

Lee said two-thirds of WVEA educators consider themselves at risk due to health, age or caregiver concerns.

“We understood that every county and their individual schools are unique in each circumstance,” he said. ”But safety for the employees and the students should be foremost everywhere. One outbreak of the virus is one outbreak too many. And starting before we are truly prepared will simply force shutdowns and create additional anxiety and uncertainty.”

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal. The vast majority of people recover.

Not Wearing A Mask On W.Va. Campuses This Fall Could Lead To Probation, Expulsion

Updated on Aug. 12, 2020 at 9:50 a.m.

All of West Virginia’s higher education institutions have varying return-to-campus plans in place for the fall 2020 semester. But how will plans be enforced? And what consequences exist if students refuse to comply?

As early as next week, some schools in West Virginia, such as Concord University and West Virginia University, will begin fall 2020 semesters, with others like Marshall and Shepherd University starting on Aug. 24.

All of West Virginia’s higher education institutions have protective protocols in place to combat the coronavirus, such as mask-wearing and social distancing.

Like their counterparts across the nation, most colleges and universities in the state are offering a mix of in-person, virtual and hybrid courses. Dormitories, in many cases, are single-occupancy rooms and will no longer allow visitors. And all institutions have greatly increased cleaning efforts.

Many schools, such as Shepherd, have signs all over campus that read, “Please keep your face coverings on!”

Gov. Jim Justice is asking that all public and private colleges and universities in West Virginia require coronavirus testing of all students who come to campuses.

At WVU, students and staff not wearing face coverings on campus could receive a written warning, be removed from class, put on probation, or even face suspension or expulsion, according to the school’s website.

Similarly, at Shepherd, if a student refuses to wear a mask, the situation will be “treated as a conduct issue by Students Affairs and Residence Life,” the university advised in an email to West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

At Marshall, students and staff who wish to report incidents anonymously can do so through an online form. Those in violation would be “subject to the rules of the student judicial system and Board of Governors Policy No. SA-1, Student Rights and Responsibilities,” according to guidance posted on the school’s website.

“[A] formal warning comes first, followed by conduct probation, [which] limits participation in extracurricular activities and student privileges, then probationary suspension, suspension, and finally expulsion,” said Leah Payne, Marshall University’s director of University Communications.

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission has provided a page on its website with links to all of West Virginia’s 4-year, 2-year and private institutions’ return-to-campus guidelines, which continue to be updated as schools sort out safety policies as they begin the fall semester.

Recently, Justice provided $2.5 million dispersed among West Virginia’s colleges and universities to support COVID-19 testing on campus.

West Virginia HEPC Chancellor Sarah Armstrong Tucker said this funding will help institutions ramp up testing and reopen safely.

“This accelerated testing, combined with the far-reaching health and safety protocols schools have already activated, will allow students to continue their education – which is critical to their futures and the future of our state – with greater peace of mind,” Tucker said.

**Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said Shepherd and Marshall would require coronavirus testing of all students living in residence halls as well as student-athletes, newly arrived international students or students coming from hot-spot areas in the U.S. This is in fact a request by Gov. Jim Justice for all students attending the state’s public and private colleges and universities.

How Will Public School Look In The Fall? Here’s Perspective From The Eastern Panhandle

Last week, Gov. Jim Justice ordered all public schools in West Virginia open for the 2020-2021 school year beginning Sept. 8. Schools must provide 180 instructional days and must have a five-day school week.

Of course, this could all change depending on how the coronavirus pandemic evolves. But county school boards are starting to prepare for that date and discuss how a return to school in a pandemic would look.

Earlier this week in the Eastern Panhandle, both Jefferson and Berkeley County Schools met for special board meetings to begin outlining fall 2020.

The main message from both was what we know now will likely change before the Sept. 8 start date, and no matter when school begins, it will not be business as usual.

“It is anything but that. It will not look like the school that you left,” said Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Bondy Shay Gibson speaking over Zoom to board members and the public.

“We will have reduced class sizes,” she said. “We will not be having lunches in the cafeteria. We will be holding class in the library. We will be holding class to a limited extent in the gymnasium. We will be utilizing spaces that currently are congregate spaces as classroom spaces in order to socially distance students.”

These are all situations that could occur if school returns to in-person learning, which the governor is hopeful will be achieved by all 55 counties.

Gibson said students age nine or older, and all faculty and staff, will be required to wear face masks throughout the school day. Frequent sanitization and hand washing will be a constant; random visitations to schools will not be allowed, and staff in Jefferson County schools will be provided with a variety of personal protective equipment.

“We will provide gloves, we will provide Tyvek suits, we will provide shoe booties, we will provide the equipment that ensure that our staff are safe, which means that students are safe,” Gibson explained.

Across the border in Berkeley County, much of the same message was sent to board members and the community, but not quite as many details as Jefferson. Berkeley County Superintendent of Schools Patrick Murphy noted in a live Zoom meeting that the county is preparing for the fall but they’re just starting to lay the groundwork.

“I know we want absolute decisions. I know we want answers. I wish I could give you all those answers,” Murphy said. “But I’m fearful that if I give you a specific answer today, tomorrow it will not carry any merit and the environment will have changed.”

Berkeley County Superintendent of Schools Patrick Murphy presents a PowerPoint to county board members and the public detailing the district’s reopening plans for the fall.

Murphy said the goal of Monday’s meeting in Berkeley County was to begin a dialogue with the public about reopening plans. He said he will be providing updates regularly.

“We need to plan. We need to think,” Murphy said. “We need to look at all of the different possibilities and progressions.”

One area discussed during Berkeley County’s meeting was fall sports and how that will look different. Don Dellinger, deputy superintendent of Berkeley County Schools, outlined some of those anticipated changes.

“There are still strict guidelines with sanitizing the equipment, social distancing … so, those are all in place,” Dellinger said. “Screenings and the daily check-ins are all still in place.”

He explained that athletes will be kept to small groups and fall practices have been slated for Aug. 17.

Murphy, the superintendent, noted that everything from sports to class instruction will have to adapt – and how schools respond to needs could change at a moment’s notice as the pandemic changes.

“I think we have to recognize it’s going to look different, and while we have a traditional model of education in our mind … what education will look like is going to be different,” he said. “And we’re going to have to adapt to that as we are adapting to many things in our life.”

Both Berkeley and Jefferson County schools also made it clear in online meetings that virtual school will be an option for any family who feels concerned about sending their child to school in person. And both counties are looking at internet access options for families in areas where broadband might not be as reliable.

“We’ve been working with the West Virginia Department of Education on a deal with Sprint that we are hopeful will come to fruition,” Gibson said. “[This] would allow a full-service unlimited data plan, in-full for the entire school year for any family that is within their coverage area, provided we can purchase the appropriate hotspots for them. That is a technical problem that we are working through, but we are actively pursuing every possible means for getting WiFi access inside the home to families.”

Both counties also noted that virtual school in the fall will look different from what happened in the spring. Virtual school in fall 2020 will, according to Gibson, have regular class meetings, accountabilities in place, testing and tutoring.

It was also acknowledged by both counties that between now and Sept. 8, or even after school begins, school for fall 2020 could end up being entirely virtual depending on the pandemic.

Also, to help limit the spread of the virus, in-person class sizes will be small, and students will likely remain in a pod, or cohort, where teachers can more easily control who those students are interacting with.

The subject of how students will be social-distanced on school buses, however, did not come up in either meeting.

All 55 of West Virginia’s counties will have the flexibility to decide how fall 2020 will look within CDC guidelines and requirements set by the governor, according to the state Board of Education.

The state BOE has provided a re-entry toolkit to each county. It offers guidance as counties complete local plans and provides a framework of requirements and recommendations.