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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.

W.Va. Governor Reports Eighth Active Church Outbreak

Active COVID-19 outbreaks in churches have infected at least 85 people in the last couple of weeks, according to an update from the governor Wednesday afternoon.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources is now reporting an eighth church outbreak in Mason County. The DHHR’s list of outbreaks in places of worship on Monday included Kanawha, Logan, Boone, Raleigh, Wood, Taylor and Grant counties.

The Mason County outbreak includes three local residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus and two Putnam County residents, according to the local health department.

Staff say all members of the church have entered a two week quarantine, and in-person services are on hold. The health department refused to identify the church and its location, but said congregants did comply with the governor’s executive order for face masks and social distancing.

An executive order signed July 6 from Gov. Jim Justice includes religious entities among other indoor places subject to his mask mandate, according to the governor’s communications office. All West Virginians older than eight years old who don’t risk suffocation must wear a face covering indoors where social distancing is not possible.

Yet, Justice said during a virtual press briefing Wednesday that he and local health departments don’t have the authority to enforce this order in churches, unlike restaurants and stores that rely on health permits from the county.

“I don’t have any powers … to be able to fine people or whatever from my standpoint, I don’t have any powers whatsoever to do such a thing,” Justice said.

Public health leaders urge West Virginians to wear face coverings to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, even while indoors and standing at least six feet apart from others.

“Even if you are physically distancing, these two things work well together,” Dr. Clay Marsh, an appointed public health expert in West Virginia, said of face masks and social distancing Wednesday.

Marsh showed viewers of the governor’s virtual press briefing on Wednesday a video from WVU, where he works, that demonstrates how face masks mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

State health leaders additionally have asked places of worship to hold online services wherever possible. For those who’ve chosen to hold in-person services, state health officer Dr. Ayne Amjad said Monday the DHHR is still offering support and guidance.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.

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.

High School Graduations — A Balancing Act Between Tradition And Pandemic

High schools throughout the United States and in West Virginia have had to reimagine graduation for the Class of 2020. Many have already had drive-through, or drive by, graduations, some have done virtual ones, and others hold out hope to also have some sort of traditional ceremony later this summer.

For about 18,000 high school seniors in West Virginia, the final semester of their student career was turned upside down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“You got those last couple months taken away from you. We didn’t realize we were never going back,” said Oak Hill High School senior Marcayla King. “We didn’t think that we weren’t ever going to see each other again, or at least until graduation … We couldn’t use those last couple months to spend time and make memories and stuff.”

When the governor closed schools for good for the rest of the semester, it quickly became clear: No prom or big senior parties. But what about graduation?

Schools across the state are trying to get creative: Some schools asked students and their family members to drive up to a designated location to receive a diploma in cap and gown and snap a picture or two.

Ripley High School in Jackson County held a parade for its 2020 graduates, announcing their names and future plans on a loudspeaker on the main drag Downtown.

And King’s high school, like some others in West Virginia, had a drive-through graduation. School officials personally delivered all diplomas to everyone’s house. And the school plans to have a traditional graduation ceremony outside later this summer.

“They’re going to have us seated six feet apart, and they’re going to broadcast it live and stuff, too, so like, parents can hear it and see it,” King said.

At the end of March, the West Virginia Department of Education created a Graduation Task Force to survey all 55 county school boards and figure out what a 2020 graduation in a pandemic could look like.

“Our goal with the task force was to really pay attention to what people wanted to do with their senior graduations,” said Jan Barth, assistant superintendent of schools, division of teaching and learning. “And we were trying to figure out ways to make sure that they had a face to face graduation if the pandemic would allow for that.”

Barth, who’s also a member of the task force, said the consensus from the beginning was to hope and plan for something traditional later in the summer. And she said the majority of high schools in West Virginia are doing that.

“I think a lot of people got good ideas about how to do it as traditionally as they possibly can, within the guidelines of the CDC requirements and the governor’s guidelines,” she said.

Those guidelines include social distancing, wearing masks and gloves, and having hand sanitizer available.

But these guidelines aren’t mandatory, and Barth said how the graduations were shaped was ultimately decided on by the local county school boards and school districts.

A staff member reaches into a vehicle to deliver a diploma at Martinsburg High School’s drive-through graduation on May 26, 2020. The majority of faculty and staff did not wear protective equipment to combat the coronavirus.

During some of the recent drive-through graduations, not every school followed these guidelines to the letter.

Take Martinsburg High School in Berkeley County.

During its drive-through graduation, many students teared up or cheered as they got out of their vehicles. Family members looked on from their cars taking photos and honking horns. Teachers stood together up the street waving the school colors and hitting cowbells.

“We wanted to celebrate the students on the day they would have graduated,” said Principal Trent Sherman.

But something was missing from almost all of the staff members — protective gear to fight the coronavirus — including Principal Sherman, who shook hands with nearly every student while not wearing gloves or a mask.

Teachers stand together up the street to cheer students as they drive by during Martinsburg High School’s drive-through graduation on May 26, 2020.

Before the event, Sherman said he didn’t have any health concerns for the evening, because the area was open and outside.

“We got open air, “ he said, “it’s nice out here; a little bit warm, but I think it will be good.”

And Martinsburg High School wasn’t alone in these lax practices.

Jan Barth said she was aware that some schools weren’t following guidelines strictly. She said her team provided all manner of guidelines for schools to follow, but at the end of the day — they’re only guidelines.

“This is not state code. It’s not state policy. It’s a local school district decision and they have all the information they need,” she said. “They had the social guidance information that they needed from the governor’s office.”

Some staff members at Martinsburg High School did wear face coverings during the drive-through graduation on May 26, 2020.

Since early May, Gov. Jim Justice has been slowly reopening West Virginia’s economy. And while the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources says we remain below the case rate that would require the state to start closing again, there are still new cases of COVID-19 being discovered every day across the state.

In Berkeley County, where Martinsburg High is located, coronavirus testing has recently become more available to the public, and the number of positive cases has grown from roughly 25 per week to between 40 and 50 new cases each week. That’s according to Dr. Terrence Reidy, health officer for the Berkeley-Morgan County Health Department and the Jefferson County Health Department.

Berkeley County has also seen the highest number of positive coronavirus cases in the state.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” said Dr. Reidy over Skype. “That either the masks aren’t important, or I don’t have to worry about it, or that this is not a real virus, and it’s not really deadly. And that’s just not true.”

Reidy cautioned that as things continue to reopen, the way we interact with one another must change to limit the spread of the virus.

Reidy acknowledges that social change is hard, but he said if people don’t make the effort to take precautions, things will only get worse — especially in the Eastern Panhandle.

“To me, this is still the first wave coming in from Baltimore and Washington,” he said. “It’s not so much the wave, as the tide coming in. We know that every week or so they’re going to be more and more cases. And it may change a little bit, but with time it’s going to increase.”

As some high schools in West Virginia begin moving forward with traditional graduations, state officials are urging staff and students to be conscientious of others, to follow social distancing guidelines, and to wear a mask when inside a public space or when in close proximity to others.

The Dark Side Of Social Distancing — An Uptick In Domestic Violence Calls

Since stay-at-home orders were issued by Gov. Jim Justice on March 24, domestic violence calls are up in West Virginia. But advocates have seen fewer referrals for child abuse cases, and they think that will change once social distancing ends.

Call Volume Increases At Some W.Va. Domestic Violence Centers

Across West Virginia, there are several groups that help people in domestic violence situations find support, whether that’s for supplies or shelter. But the coronavirus pandemic has upended some of the traditional ways of doing that work.

“We have realized very quickly that staying at home is not always safe for everyone,” said Katie Spriggs, executive director of the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center in Martinsburg.

The center is one of 14 licensed domestic violence programs in West Virginia that serve all 55 counties. These programs fall within the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence and offer shelter, a 24-hour emergency hotline, advocacy, support and exit strategies for individuals and families in abusive situations.

Spriggs said since the stay-at-home order was issued by Gov. Justice, calls for shelter through the Empowerment Center have gone up significantly. And at least half of those calls are a single parent with a child.

“During a normal time, we get anywhere from one to three calls each day for shelter,” she said. “I mean, our hotline probably rings 100 times [on a] normal day, but actually requesting shelter, like ready to go exit plan, about one to three. And now we’re seeing about six to eight in a day.”

All of West Virginia’s shelters are still open, but Spriggs said her team has been inundated with calls.

Joyce Yedlosky, one of two team coordinators of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said while the Coalition hadn’t heard whether all 14 programs have experienced an uptick in calls, some of them have.

Spriggs said all the licensed domestic violence programs have taken extra precautions to keep people safe, not only from abuse at home but also from COVID-19.

“We started by moving the beds, and then we started incorporating extra cleaning into the schedule, obviously extra sanitizing. And then we issued our own mini stay-at-home order within the shelters,” she explained. “So [that] none of the clients were coming and going anymore unless they had a medical need or they were going to work.”

In the Eastern Panhandle, the Empowerment Center’s shelter normally offers 16 beds, but due to social distancing, it’s now 10. So, they have partnered with 12 hotels throughout Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties to help provide shelter. During normal times, the Empowerment Center would typically only have one hotel partner per county.

So far, Spriggs said she’s not aware of any positive COVID-19 cases among those who they’ve placed in shelter.

What About The Kids Who May Be Experiencing Domestic Violence?

Kate Flack, CEO of the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network, or WVCAN, said her team is actually seeing a decrease in the number of child abuse reports coming in. But not because there is less child abuse happening right now, but because there are fewer eyes on kids.

“As soon as we have children back in closer connection and more frequent connection with their community-based allies, and trusted adults, we do expect there’s going to be a spike in reports,” Flack said.

WVCAN has a network of 21 advocacy centers serving 43 counties in the state. Centers support and coordinate the work of police, caseworkers, doctors, victim advocates, prosecutors and other professionals. And they’re still open during the pandemic.

Last year, more than 4,500 West Virginia kids went to one of these centers due to allegations of physical or sexual abuse, exploitation or other types of endangerment.

“Most children in West Virginia are very safe in their own homes, however those who are at risk of being abused, there’s a good chance that their abusers are at home with them,” she said.

Flack said the child advocacy centers have started offering tele-mental health, while still providing in-person forensic interviews for kids who may have been abused.

But, for Flack, it’s still a struggle to find some supplies.

“We’ve been trying to find materials for our centers, and they’ve been scrambling to find materials, even cleaning supplies,” she explained. “All of them were making sure that the kids are six feet apart from the interviewer, and most of them were making available masks.”

Fewer Eyes On Kids

Flack said 1 in 5 reports of child abuse nationwide come from school serivce personnel.

But this week Gov. Justice announced schools in West Virginia will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Which begs the question, who will watch out for vulnerable kids stuck at home?

Berkeley County Superintendent of Schools Patrick Murphy said it’s about keeping that teacher-student support going through constant communication, whether through a phone call, or in a Zoom classroom, or just checking in on a child who visits a food drop off.

And if all else fails, he said his staff are prepared to stop by a home and check in on a child they may not have heard from.

“Families that may not have technology or the ability to connect with some of the things that we are providing, so, there may be nothing wrong; we can’t jump to that conclusion,” he said.

Murphy said doing home visits while still keeping physically distant, allows school staff members to see the students and connect that way, to make sure everything is okay — and to remind kids they aren’t alone.

Molly Born contributed to this story.

Artists You've Heard Before, What Social Distancing Looks Like For Them

For the past two years, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia team has been working on a folkways project that focuses on artisans and craftsmen within Appalachia.

For many of these people, their art or craft is their primary income, and a lot of them depend on social events, like concerts, farmers markets and craft fairs. In this new world of coronavirus and social distancing, that is proving difficult.

So we circled back with some of the artists, craftsmen and local business owners our team has interviewed over the past couple years and a few new voices as well, to see how they are doing.

Many are coping by continuing to make their art, and some are even finding inventive ways to continue making an income. A few examples include curbside pickup kombucha and a “pay what you can” roadside garden stand that includes aloe vera plants – a key ingredient in homemade hand sanitizer.

Eddie Austin at his wood shop in Hamlin, W.Va in 2019. He hand makes furniture for his business EA Woodworks.

As the way we live our lives continues to change in the coming days and months, we plan to stay in touch with these artists, as well as others who are affected. Reach out to Insideappalachia@wvpublic.org if you would like to share your story.

Artists, craftsmen and local business owners featured include, Clara Lehmann, co-owner of the Hütte in Helvetia, WV; Kara Vaneck, herbalist and owner of Smoke Camp Crafts in Weston, WV; Ginger Danz, professional artist in Fayetteville, WV; Eddie Austin, furniture builder in Hamlin, WV; Brannon Ritterbush, owner of Wild Art & Wonderful Things in Fayetteville, WV; Kelsi Boyd, owner of Silver Market Co. in Point Pleasant, WV; Shane McManus, member and cofounder of Greensboro Art Cooperative in Greensboro, PA; and Robert Villamagna, professional artist in Wheeling, WV. Click the links to read and listen to the original stories on these artists.

Shane McManus at the Art Cooperative in Greensboro, PA in 2019. The cooperative makes everything from pottery to refinished bicycles to music.

This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts, and culture.