WEST VIRGINIA (WOAY) – As the push to reopen schools next month grows, some are voicing their concerns, including educators here in the Mountain State.
Wilson Harvey, a professional school counselor, has written an open letter on safely reopening schools to Superintendent Clayton Burch, WVEA President Dale Lee, AFT-WV President Fred Albert, WVSSAP Executive Director Joe White, and Governor Jim Justice, as well as to other relevant stakeholders (such as West Virginia COVID-19 Czar Dr. Clay Marsh).
In the letter, it lays out detailed plans on how to reopen, and how to move forward in the life of the pandemic. More than 200 educators in West Virginia have already signed the letter within just a few hours of it being posted.
“We don’t believe that there should be a return to more than 50% capacity until the vaccine is administered on a mass scale or a very valid medication is widely available, but that would allow for everyone to still be in school buildings (just on an alternating schedule – whether half-day, every other day, or every other week, with some form of supplemental learning occurring on the day they aren’t in school),” says Harvey. “We also suggest that there should be an option for any students or staff that have concern to go full virtual/remote if they desire, and we believe that the state should have concrete guidelines that layout exactly when (in terms of COVID spread) we would reduce capacity further or go to full-on remote learning.”
The letter can be viewed here.
Gov. Justice pushed the start date back to reopen schools until September 8th.
WV Department of Education releases school re-entry guidance
