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By Ryan Quinn, Charleston Gazette-Mail
July 6, 2020
Shuttered since March, West Virginia public schools are scheduled to reopen next month, but it’s unclear how that will unfold.
Among the outstanding questions: How long will students spend in actual classrooms? How much online? How will different grade levels operate, or different subjects? What about special education? Who must wear masks? How will social distancing work, or sanitizing? What about...
By Jake Flatley, Charleston Gazette-Mail
July 7, 2020
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In an unanimous decision, members of the Kanawha County Board of Education voted to change the name of Stonewall Jackson Middle School on Monday.
The vote was 5-0 in front of a socially distanced but large crowd gathered both in the halls and outside of the board office on Elizabeth Street in...
WV Metro News
July 7, 2020
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch is expected to update the state Board of Education about the state’s re-entry plan at Wednesday’s board meeting.
The update will come nearly four months after classes were moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Students and educators completed the spring semester virtually, and spring sports were canceled because of concerns...
By Brad McElhinny, WV MetroNews
July 9, 2020
At almost the same moment federal officials were urging a full return to schools in the fall, West Virginia Jim Justice said the state isn’t ready and pushed back the start date to Sept. 8.
That came as West Virginia’s numbers for positives compared to overall testing, reproductive rate and hospitalizations surged alarmingly.
Two counties — Monongalia and Kanawha — reported one-day records for positive...
By Jeff Jenkins, WV MetroNews
July 17, 2020
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — All 55 county school systems have until Aug. 14 to submit a reentry plan to the state Department of Education using the department’s toolkit.
State School Superintendent Clayton Burch said those plans will cover a wide variety of pandemic-related issues.
“Everything from transportation to cafeterias to the classroom itself,” Burch said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline...
By Jeff Jenkins, WV MetroNews
July 20, 2020
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Words being used by education leaders in West Virginia show the significant impact the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had on both secondary and higher education.
“Our enrollment and room and board are down, auxiliary activities have been cut out, we’re staring down the possibility of closing multiple colleges this fall,” state Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Sarah Armstrong...
By Moriah Balingit, The Washington Post
July 22, 2020
The school year for Greenville County Schools, in South Carolina, starts a little more than a month from now, and officials are still scrambling to figure out what school will look like for the district’s nearly 77,000 students. Will students return to school full time? Or part time? Or will they even open school buildings?
Whatever the plan is, said Superintendent W. Burke Royster, it will be driven...
WV MetroNews
July 28, 2020
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — There are now official voting options for the 2020 November general election in West Virginia.
Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office announced guidelines that include a voter being able to request an absentee ballot online or by phone due to COVID-19 concerns.
According to Warner, all a voter needs to do is select “...
By Brad McElhinny, WV MetroNews
July 29, 2020
Some West Virginia county school systems are aiming to start the year with hybrid plans, where students are in classrooms some days and learning from home other days.
Raleigh County students, in the Beckley area, will likely begin the year two days a week in classrooms and three days a week learning from home.
The Raleigh County school board ...
By Ryan Quinn, Charleston Gazette-Mail
July 31, 2020
Raleigh County will be getting a new Stratton Elementary after all, replacing what state School Building Authority staff said is a circa-1939 building that’s nearly impossible to adequately renovate.
The Authority’s board, which gives tens of millions of dollars annually to county school systems for school construction and renovation projects, voted Thursday to provide about $8.9 million for the...