Middle and High Schools Flexible Schedules, Clear Hallways
CHANGE COULD BE CONSTANT Multiple plans and protocols have been prepared to dictate what school looks like this year. Here’s a rundown. After weeks of juggling priorities and still with an occasional tweak, Monongalia County Schools has formulated a clear framework for heading back to school. The reentry plan sends children to school based on alphabetical groupings by the last name of the oldest student in each household. Students in families where the oldest student’s last name begins with A–M will head to school on September 8. On September 9, they’ll have a day of remote learning, and L–Z will attend in person. Students will switch every day, A–M attending in-person on the 10th, L–Z on the 11th, and they’ll continue alternating days of in-school and remote instruction through the semester—unless conditions change. The state Department of Education is maintaining a color-coded system that will indicate each county’s safety level for school based on a seven-day average of daily new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. Twenty-five or more cases will result in a red designation, close schools, and send kids home for 100 percent remote learning. Ten to 24.9 new cases draws an orange designation, 3.1 to 9.9 yellow, and 0 to 3 green, allowing for full attendance. Counties have discretion: Although Mon County was green when the map was unveiled in mid- August, county administrators stuck by their plans for a blended rather than a full in-person opening. The map will be updated at wvde.us at 9 p.m. every Saturday so parents can plan for the week ahead. All of this may be interrupted any time a student tests positive: BOE Deputy Superintendent Donna Talerico has shared the possibility of closing the student’s school for two to five days for contact tracing and cleaning. So attendance mode may change week to week or suddenly. Parents do have other options. Until 5 p.m. on August 24, they can enroll their children in 100 percent remote learning through Mon County Schools. That option offers predictability and will be taught by local teachers. Until September 3, they can enroll them in a 100 percent online virtual school offered by the state Department of Education. Virtual school offers predictability, too, although there is no local help for students in this program. They must complete a full semester before they can return to the local system. Applications for both are available on the Mon County BOE website, boe.mono.k12.wv.us . Homeschooling, also an option, requires parents to take full legal responsibility for delivering their children’s educations. Parents must seek approval or file a one-time notice with the BOE.
September 8 The first official day of school in Monongalia County for students with last names beginning with A–M.
September 2 First day of athletic team competition, based on guidance from the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activity Commission.
16 MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020
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