During his Wednesday, December 30, coronavirus response media-briefing, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that all elementary and middle school students across the state will be returning to in-person learning five days per week starting on Tuesday, January 19. In order to comply with the governor’s directive, Monroe County school officials have made several adjustments to their education model.
A statement posted to Monroe County Schools Facebook page on Thursday, December 31 states, “students will be on remote instruction beginning on 1/4/2021 through 1/15/2021. Students with special needs and students who are at-risk of failing will have the option of attending in-person during those two-weeks. Each school will be reaching out to at-risk students to encourage attendance. Food pickup will continue at each school on Wednesdays.
Beginning on 1/19/2021, all students will return to in-person learning five-days per week. All students will be required to wear masks and social distance when possible. Winter sports will not start until March 1, 2021. Consistent disinfection and deep cleaning will continue. More details will be provided as they arise.”
According to Justice and Burch, this decision was made for three primary reason; COVID-19 transmission rates are exceptionally low for students and staff of elementary and middle schools, the remote learning model has led to a 50% to 54% reduction in monthly child protective services referrals and, perhaps most importantly, virtual learning has been a categorical failure.
“We’ve got a bunch of kids out there, really suffering. So we must get back in school,” Justice said.
“The governor understands the data is undeniable,” State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch said. “I fully support this decision because we know that heightened transmission rates experienced in communities are not reflected within the schools because of the mitigations in place.”
As of Saturday, January 2, Monroe County is designated as red on W.Va. DHHR’s color-coded county health map. The infection rate is 80.17% and the percent positive is 8.14%. The DHHR updates the map daily. However, Mercer County has been upgraded in color designation for four consecutive weeks and has steadily increased in both measurable categories.
As is to be expected, not all education professionals are happy with this decision. The American Federation of Teachers – the largest teachers union in the state – were among those opposed to West Virginia’s new education model.
Through a social media post, dated Wednesday, December 30, Fred Albert, President of the AFT-WV said, “AFT-WV is disappointed that Governor Justice made such a sweeping proclamation on in-person school attendance at a time when community spread is at its most unchecked during the whole pandemic. Furthermore, he did so without getting any input from those on the ground doing the work.”
The West Virginia Daily News will provide additional updates as new details are made available.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.