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Eleven W.Va. Counties Will Be Remote, Virtual School This Week

The West Virginia Department of Education announced that eleven counties will be remote learning-only for the week of Nov. 8. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday, Nov. 7 at 11:20 p.m. — more than six hours later than usual. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources told West Virginia Public Broadcasting the delay was “due to further data validation.”

Hampshire, Jackson, Lincoln, Marshall, Ohio, Putnam, Tyler, Wood and Wyoming counties, which were in the orange zone on the state’s color-coded map, will not be open for in-person instruction this week.

Mineral and Mingo were the only counties in the red category and will also be remote learning-only.

The COVID-19 Data Review Panel also announced that seven counties shifted in their color zones. They included:

Berkeley County: Moved from orange to gold based on additional testing results received and a reduced positivity rate.
Lewis County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and three cases being removed due to case status updated and one case removed due to outbreak information being updated.
Marion County: Moved from green to yellow due to data validation and one case being added due to outbreak information being updated.
Marshall County: Moved from red to orange due to data validation of 11 nursing home residents excluded and transfer of three cases to correct county of residence.
Monroe County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation and one nursing home resident excluded.
Morgan County: Moved from yellow to gold due to additional testing results received.
Randolph County: Moved from gold to yellow due to data validation of ten college students isolating in dorms excluded and transfer of three cases to correct county of residence.

Red (Substantial Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. No extracurricular competitions or practices are permitted. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in red include: Mineral, Mingo

Orange (Heightened Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. Extracurricular practices may occur, however, competitions may not. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in orange include: Hampshire, Jackson, Lincoln, Marshall, Ohio, Putnam, Tyler, Wood, Wyoming

Gold (Elevated Community Transmission): In-person instruction is permitted with restrictions, including face coverings at all times for grades 3-12. Extracurricular activities are permitted. Competitions can take place against schools within the same county as well as schools in other gold counties. Counties in gold include: Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Pleasants, Wetzel, Wirt

Yellow (Increased Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings at all times for grades six and above. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in yellow include: Boone, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, McDowell, Monroe, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Upshur, Wayne

Green (Minimal Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings in grades three and above when students are outside of core groups and in congregant settings and on school buses. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in green include: Barbour, Braxton, Brooke, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hancock, Hardy, Harrison, Logan, Mason, Mercer, Monongalia, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Webster

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the WVDE’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

Updates to the map are usually announced each Saturday at 5 p.m. and will be in effect until the following Saturday at the same time, according to the WVDE. The only exception would be if a county turns red during the week.

If this happens, the change would be made immediately to the map, according to the WVDE, and all in-person instruction and extracurricular and athletic activities would be suspended.

As of Saturday morning, DHHR reports 27,742 total cases of the virus and 502 deaths — 15 of those deaths were announced on Saturday alone. At least 6,454 cases are considered active, according to DHHR.

What To Know About Changes To W.Va.’s K-12 Academic Competitions, Events For 2020-2021 School Year

This is a developing list and may be updated.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of West Virginia’s K-12 academic competitions have seen some changes this year. Some are completely virtual, some have been canceled, and some have seen some rule changes.

Here’s how some of the 2020-2021 school competitions in the Mountain State will look.

Science and Social Studies Fairs

The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) reports the West Virginia Science and Engineering Fair and the West Virginia State Social Studies Fair will both be held virtually this school year.

County and regional competitions for these fairs have been canceled, and submissions will move directly from the school to the state-level competition.

If a school chooses to participate, it will need to select a school-level fair contact, and that coordinator will be the primary liaison between the WVDE and the school.

Each participating school will submit one project per grade band to the state for judging. There are three grade bands: 3rd through 5th, 6th through 8th, and 9th through 12th.

These projects are to be considered the school’s “best of fair” and will act as this year’s Science or Social Studies Ambassadors from their county.

All projects will be completed individually this year. No teams or group projects will be allowed. Projects are to be submitted to the WVDE as a 3 to 5-minute video presentation. These can either be a video or voice over PowerPoint. All fair rules still apply.

The West Virginia Science Fair will be held from March 1, 2021 through March 12, 2021. The West Virginia Social Studies Fair will be held from April 5, 2021 through May 6, 2021.

Golden Horseshoe

The Golden Horseshoe Exam will take place this year, but the testing process is still in the planning stages. Specific information will be available mid-November.

Geography Bee

The National Geographic Society has cancelled the 2020-2021 GeoBee.

Young Writers

The Central WV Writing Project plans to conduct the Young Writers competition this school year, but specifics are still being determined. The WVDE’s contact for the project is Barbara O’Byrne: bobyrne@marshall.edu.

Office of Technical and Adult Education

The WVDE has suspended all state-level, in-person Career Technical Student Organization (CTSO) events through Dec. 31, 2020. These organizations include DECA, Educators Rising, FBLA, FCCLA, FFA, JROTC, SkillsUSA and TSA.

Many of these organizations adjusted their strategies from their traditional format of in-person events and were able to conduct their Fall Leadership Conferences remotely, according to the WVDE. Some were held live on a virtual platform, while others delivered content through pre-recorded workshops and by mailing workshop supplies to schools.

In collaboration with the Agricultural and Extension Education faculty at West Virginia University, WV FFA was able to hold three of its career development events virtually.

The Office of Technical and Adult Education has formed a taskforce to prepare a plan for how 2021 will look for CTSO events through virtual, in-person or a hybrid of the two.

Due to the connection with the Department of Defense, JROTC will not hold in-person competitions this school year.

WVDE Floats Plan To Collect Student Data To Address Broadband Disparities

The West Virginia Department of Education wants to gather data on K-12 students across the state, hoping to pinpoint where digital and broadband access is lacking. The hope is to use the data to highlight specific students’ needs when they are learning from home.

As more students must study online in the ongoing pandemic, such access is crucial and impacts families who live in areas without connectivity. The WVDE wants to assist this effort to find gaps and fix them.

“The broadband issues across the state, in regard to education, became glaringly aware to us in March when we had to go to remote learning,” said Tim Conzett, senior administrator with the Office of Data Management and Information Systems Directory at the state Department of Education.

West Virginia Board of Education members Wednesday heard an update on broadband in the state including on the new Kids Connect Initiative that created more than 1,000 WiFi hotspots statewide for K-12 and higher education students.

Officials discussed how they hope to expand this service as well as broadband as a whole. New technology, like high-flying balloons and satellites, and new partnerships, such as with Facebook, are coming, according to the agency. But officials also noted expanding is expensive and that point is exacerbated due to West Virginia’s geography.

“Most of our schools are fairly well suited for equity when they’re in the school,” Conzett said. “But it’s when they’re out of the schools that is the problem.”

Conzett told board members of a new proposal on data collection for digital equity. The proposal would collect data on all K-12 students in West Virginia to identify technology needs in homes and could guide future internet expansion in the state.

“One of the things that this could do for us is to help plot areas where we can see an impact and help perhaps direct some of the deployment of broadband moving in the future,” Conzett said.

This data would be tied to individual students, he explained, and would highlight which homes need more support – whether that’s with a device like an iPad or for broadband needs.

“If we have that kind of information, we can help in counties that are not yet quite to a one-to-one device situation that they provide for their students,” he said.

The data, according to Conzett, would be placed as dots on a map that would show where there are the greatest broadband challenges.

“If I’ve got students that don’t have internet access at home, and they show as dots, and that’s basically all it’s going to be is a dot, then I can see clusters, and where those clusters are, I can perhaps then provide that information to a provider to say, ‘hey, look, you’ve got 50 within X mile radius,’” Conzett said. “So, as far as equity is concerned, it’s more about the inequity that a student is seeing from a home use or a home perspective.”

One board member asked if the data collection could compromise individuals’ privacy.

“That is a good question,” Conzett answered. “Part of that has to be in the language and the communication that we provide. As far as the collection is concerned, again, it’s not a matter of ‘Student A does and Student B doesn’t,’ it’s a matter of being able to help provide guidance to provide the services for those students.”

Under the Student Data Accessibility Transparency and Accountability Act of 2014, the proposal is required to have a 60 day public comment period.

Residents can submit comments on the proposal on the West Virginia Department of Education’s website.

Eight W.Va. Counties Will Be Remote, Virtual School This Week

The West Virginia Department of Education announced that eight counties will be remote-learning only for the week of Sept. 13. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.

Monongalia, Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, Mingo, Monroe and Putnam counties will not be open for in-person instruction this week.

The COVID-19 Data Review Panel has determined that Calhoun County will move from orange to yellow on the WVDE School Alert System Map. Calhoun County has had 13 cases which are linked and contained over the previous 14 days with no further evidence of community spread, according to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

Orange (Heightened Community Transmission): Remote-only learning mode. Extracurricular practices may occur, however, competitions may not. Staff may report to their schools, as determined by the county. Essential support services, including special education and meals, will continue. Counties in orange include: Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, Mingo, Monroe and Putnam.

Yellow (Increased Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings at all times for grades six and above. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in yellow include: Berkeley, Brooke, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Grant, Greenbrier, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDowell, Mercer, Ohio, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur, and Wayne.

Green (Minimal Community Transmission): School may be held for in-person instruction. Extracurricular practices and competitions may occur. Health and safety precautions include, at a minimum, face coverings in grades three and above when students are outside of core groups and in congregant settings and on school buses. Please refer to your county for specific face covering requirements. Counties in green include: Barbour, Braxton, Gilmer, Hardy, Hampshire, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Mineral, Morgan, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pleasants, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Tyler, Webster, Wetzel, Wood, Wirt and Wyoming.

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the WVDE’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

Updates to the map will be announced each Saturday at 5 p.m. and will be in effect until the following Saturday at the same time, according to the WVDE. The only exception would be if a county turns red during the week.

If this happens, the change would be made immediately to the map, according to the WVDE, and all in-person instruction and extracurricular and athletic activities would be suspended.

As of Saturday morning, the West Virginia DHHR reports 12,521 total cases of the virus and 265 deaths. 3,031 cases are considered active.

Nine W.Va. Counties Will Go Virtual-Only In First Week Of School

The West Virginia Department of Education announced Saturday that nine counties will begin with only remote learning for the week of Sept. 6 through 12. State officials rolled out updated data Saturday at 9 p.m.

Monongalia, Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Putnam and Wayne counties will not initially open for in-person instruction.

Monongalia is the only county in West Virginia as of Saturday night that is marked red on the state’s color-coded map that gauges whether schools are ready for in-class teaching, sports and other activities. Previously, Monroe County was also labeled red but was moved to orange on Saturday.

A level of red indicates “substantial community transmission.”

As of the Saturday update, orange level counties — which indicates “heightened community transmission — include Fayette, Kanawha, Logan, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Putnam and Wayne.

The remaining counties in the state fall into the yellow and green levels, which allows for in-person instruction to begin. Yellow counties indicate “increased community transmission,” while green translates to minimal spread of the virus.

The color-coded threat levels are based on an average of new daily cases — with counties of 16,000 or more on a 14-day rolling average. Those with populations of less than 16,000 are measured on a 7-day rolling average.

State officials announced last week they would create a data review panel to evaluate county coronavirus case data to determine its accuracy and reliability.

“Upon further review of the data by the Panel, it was determined that Monroe County should be moved to orange status,” said West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Cabinet Secretary Bill Crouch on Saturday. “This is because the county’s daily number of cases and the average seven-day incidence have declined sufficiently to meet the criteria for orange. From this analysis, the Panel concluded the level of COVID-19 transmission in Monroe County was improving.”

Monroe and the other counties in orange means school is remote only, but extracurriculars can still resume, however athletic competitions may not.

Updates to the map will be announced each Saturday at 9 p.m. and will be in effect until the following Saturday at the same time, according to the state Department of Education. The only exception would be if a county turns red during the week.

All schools, both public and private, are expected to adhere to the education department’s re-entry map to guide in-person instruction and extracurricular activities.

“We’re about ready to go back to school,” said Gov. Jim Justice in a virtual press conference Friday. “Unfortunately we’re going to have some that we just can’t turn loose right yet, which is in the best interest of the school.”

Justice announced Friday the state will devote an additional $50 million in federal pandemic relief funds for personal protective equipment and testing capacity at schools.

The 2020-2021 school year in West Virginia is set to start on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

As of Saturday morning, the state Department of Health and Human Resources reports 11,289 total cases of the virus and 243 deaths. 2,530 cases are considered active.

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.