After spending several weeks between the orange and red designations, Pocahontas County is currently experiencing a downward trend with regard to the spread of COVID-19. As of Saturday, February 13, with an infection rate of 15.59% and percent positive of 3.28%, the county is designated as yellow on the W.Va. DHHR’s color-coded County Alert System map.
However, despite the apparent diminishing risk of COVID-19 spread, the recent spell of inclement weather has forced numerous additional remote learning days, a situation which Ruth Lauffer Bland, Director of the Pocahontas County Board of Education took to social media to address.
In a Facebook post from Saturday afternoon, February 13, Bland stated, “The administrative staff of Pocahontas County Schools recognizes the frustration some of our parents have regarding the use of Remote Learning Days when it is a snow day. This will be an informative post to explain why the choice of a Remote Learning Day is made. When Governor Justice made the decision to not start the school year until September 8 for students, he did not keep in mind all the regulations that the School Calendar policy required. Nonetheless, each county was required to revise their calendars to reflect 180 instructional days and 200 employment days for faculty and staff.”
Bland’s statement goes on to explain the logic and process behind the scheduling decisions which have been, and are currently being made.
Bland concludes by saying, “There certainly has not been anything about this school year that has been traditional and we are faced with challenges almost every week. We are most grateful for our faculty and staff working hard to keep the instruction going and the schools clean, safe and warm for our students. We also know that the parents have been instrumental in “staying the course” in this extraordinary situation. Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned in this pandemic is we need each other. [] I will entertain questions regarding this calendar but will not engage in disagreements. Please ask any questions and I will do my best to answer the,”
Bland’s full statement can be viewed in its entirety on Pocahontas County High School’s Facebook page.
In other school news, Pocahontas County High School seniors are advised to continue checking their “Seniors 2021 Teams Page”, as several new scholarships have been recently posted.
According to school officials, “Please be aware of all deadlines! Take advantage of all of these awesome scholarships! Please see Mrs. Beverage or Mrs. Wilfong for additional questions.”
And lastly, the ACT Test will be offered at Pocahontas County High School on Saturday, April 17. Interested students should visit act.org to register for the test. Those registering after Friday, March 12 will be charged a late sign-up fee. Seating for the test will be limited.
The West Virginia Daily News will provide additional updates regarding Pocahontas County Schools’ academic schedule as additional details are made available.
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